Story and photos by Quinnlyn Carpenter ’31
Have you ever wished that there was a class where you could learn to swim? Khannie Dastgah, Middle School PE Teacher and Director of Aquatics Programs and Facilities, decided to team up with Middle School Science Teacher Callie Bambenek to make a class for fifth and sixth graders during Winter Term.
After the students’ morning classes end, they walk up to the pool, get changed, and jump right in. When asked, “What made you choose this class,” Abby Podgorny ’32 said, “I had it last year and thought it was really fun because I love diving.” She then went on to say that she probably won’t do it next year, just because she has already done it for two years and wants to try something new. But she also said that she would recommend this class to her other classmates.
You are probably wanting to know a little more about the two wonderful coaches who teach this class. Well, Dastgah (Coach Khannie) is the main teacher, and Bambenek (Mrs. Bam) is there to assist her. Coach Khannie is a lifelong swimmer. She has been coaching swim for 37 years and has been at MICDS for nine years of those 37. She also swam as a kid. She started on a competitive team and then swam at St. Louis University. Coach Khannie went on to tell me about why she wanted to coach swimming. She said, “I followed my dad’s footsteps. He was a swim coach so I learned from him. I saw how rewarding an experience it was, and I saw people could really use it as a life skill, so that is why I decided to continue his legacy.” As well as doing a class during Winter Term she also does swimming as a class that the students take in PE. That is actually one of the reasons why she chose this class. She said, “The classes are longer and it’s a continuous nine-day unit so there is more chance to be able to work on skills, but during PE classes they are shorter so I feel like I have as much time to cover as much material, and in this class I am able to cover more material.”
The second coach, Mrs. Bam, is a Middle School Science Teacher with a big swim background. She swam competitively when growing up. In an interview, she was asked why she wanted to help with this class. “A: Just learn from Coach Khannie because she is the best and I think that all of this is really inspiring to me. And B: to help students to strengthen their confidence or grow in their stroke is me living a little side dream of getting to help these people.” She also shared that one thing that she has observed in this class is that one of the students who had just started swimming was able to swim all the way to the flags without any help, like a swim belt or flippers, within six days. She said, “Self-confidence—that’s a big takeaway from this class. I hope they realize how far they have come, and I hope they are able to see their own growth, whether that’s treading water, swimming without safety belts, or learning how to do their breathing.”
Because this class is for all, there are people who are swimming for the first time, people who swim competitively, and even people who have only swum in their backyard. Kate Liden ’33 is one of the students who has only swum in her backyard. When she was asked why she chose this class her answer was, “I wanted to swim and my friends were doing it.” She also mentioned that she would definitely recommend this class to her friends because it was a lot of fun, and she also was very happy that she could hang out with her friends in the class.
Swimming can also transfer over to different sports. Viaan Kenguva ’32 said, “I play soccer, and swimming helps build up stamina to help you run across the field without getting tired.” He has been swimming for about five or six years, but this is his first time taking swimming as a winter term sport. He also said, “I chose this class because I wanted to learn and teach.”
The sport has been around for many years, but in the past few years it has grown a lot. And thanks to coach Khannie and Mrs. Bam, the students at MIDCS will have a chance to try it out and see if they would like to grow the swimming population.