Teacher Appreciation Week

LH: What is your name? M: My legal name is Maria Velina McTaggart, but I like to go by my middle name, which is Velina. LH: What do you teach? M: I teach ELL high intermediate 2 and low intermediate. The low intermediate is the next level after you have had beginners for about two years. Then you have other levels before you reach the Advanced Level. LH: Can you explain what ELL is? M: EL...

If the casual observer were to walk into room 1315, they might have the opportunity to see Matt Miller instructing his young fledgelings on the complexities of advanced placement calculus. And if they stayed for a while, they too would be wrapped up in all the integrals, summations, and derivatives that make homework both hell and a party at the same time. I was lucky enough to be a part of the si...

Mrs. Hefley has been a Spanish teacher for the past 25 years and has taught at City High since 2008. Throughout these years, she has taught at Highland High School and chaperoned six different trips to Costa Rica, Spain, and Mexico for students. Mrs. Hefley, who we know as Señora Hefley, has made Spanish more enjoyable with the different ways that she runs her classroom. When students walk int...

Dr. James Thompson has been teaching at City High for 10 years now. During this time, he has inspired students through music. “I just feel like this is a chance and opportunity for me to really demonstrate my love of, in my case, choral music,” said Thompson. You might not know that Dr.Thompson also worked with college students for three years. But his path wasn’t always that clear. “I didn’...

Sra. Eivins, a Spanish teacher at City High can almost ways be found standing right outside room 3111 talking to students and wishing them a good day. She teaches Spanish in a fun way, incorporating not only the language, but also the culture into her classes. I sat down with her to ask her a few questions about her teaching experience. Q: How long have you taught at City High? This is my fift...

Aaron Ottmar has only been teaching at City High for one year, but he has already proven to be one of the best teachers at The School That Leads. During his first year, Mr. Ottmar has really connected with his students and created many memories. Whether it’s on trips to Saint Louis or just in the band room, everyone seems to have a funny story or memory about him. “At Six Flags during the Saint Louis band ...

Despite his corny jokes and long moments of awkward silence, Mr. Sheldon deserves to be recognized for creating a classroom that is a low-stress environment. Instead of focusing on repetition and memorization of terms, Mr. Sheldon makes sure the students know the key principles of biology. The class isn’t focused on getting a good grade, but rather learning about biology. Another key element of his ...

Beth Fettweis grew up thinking that she wanted to play first base for the Mets, marry into the British royal family, be a lawyer, or be a stay-at-home mom with six kids, but we were lucky enough to get her at City High. Fettweis graduated from Wake Forest University in North Carolina and then continued on to graduate school at Iowa where she received her masters in literary studies and teaching. ...

Squirrels? No, butterflies. Certainly a river or waterfall. There was probably a songbird and descriptions of dewy morning grass included as well, but they’ve escaped my memory along with the rest of it. Whatever the details of this excessively elaborate poem were, I will never remember them because it was recited to me during the last lap of an exhausting threshold workout by a full-lunged, relax...

Jonathan Rogers can be found in room 2109 wearing keens with a suit because his feet get sweaty. He enjoys editing photos with snapseed, and rewarding his students with cake. He encourages every student at City High to try journalism for at least one trimester because, after all, it is the most important class of the day. Why did you become a high school journalism advisor? I had a really gre...

Anybody that has walked the halls of City HIgh has more than likely had the joy of meeting Mrs. Borger-Germann. Mrs. B, as her students know her, is a teacher, mother, graduate student, and an advocate of social reform. Mrs. B has wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father from a young age and become a teacher. Those who have had Mrs. B know that her infectious enthusiasm and energy makes her...

Dr. Humston has been teaching at City High for only two years, but she’s already had a huge impact on her students–including me. Currently, Dr. Humston teaches chemistry. Dr. Humston decided to teach later than many of her colleagues, going through undergrad and grad–and earning a PhD in research–before switching to education. “I knew that when I was doing research, my favorite pa...

Dr. Ayers is a man of many talents. We have him for English 10 Honors, but rumor has it that he also has a part-time job as Iron Man. Even more incredible is his ability to withstand stupid questions, procrastinating students, and the occasional vulgar Kahoot name. Despite all this, he manages to never be angry with us…just occasionally disappointed in a caring, supportive way. Such mastery of teachin...

A friendly face in the third-floor halls, you might see her waving and saying ‘¡Hola!’ or ‘¡Buenos días!’ to students as they pass her room as she stands outside her door. Mrs. Gasperetti is known for her bright personality and her fast Spanish speaking, she always has a bright smile on her face. We sat down with her to ask her some questions. LH: How long have you been teaching? LG: A...

Considering my high school experience so far, I know there is at least one person from it who I will never forget: Mr. Schumann, the AP World History teacher.  I knew he was going to be an iconic part of my life from the very first day.  When he pulled up his expertly-crafted PowerPoint and immediately started explaining how this class would prepare us to succeed on the AP test with an enthusiastic...

Ms. Knutson deserves an award for not only surviving but thriving during her first year at City High. She has adapted her lessons to fit her classes and has worked hard to make sure her students are learning not only what they need to learn, but also what they want to. “I really enjoy getting to know students more personally than just in biology class, finding out what they like and what they�...

Mrs. Knoche has devoted 22 years of her life to teaching at City High, but most people don’t know that the beloved geometry teacher almost led a very different life. “I had two choices of careers in college that I kind of went back and forth between, and one was teaching and the other one was being a DJ,” she said. “Then I went and I spent a week with my old calculus teacher in high school...

Mr. Leman came to City High looking for a change of pace from his corporate job. He applied for a part-time position armed with a whole lot of doubt and very little experience. “I decided to take a chance on it,” Leman said. “Most everyone told me that I wouldn’t get a job at City as I had no experience, but I did.” Mr. Leman began teaching everything business. Almost 11 years later, he has become ...

World language programs have always been some of my favorite classes. I’m enamored with language and words, and I’m strongly considering a major in linguistics, rhetoric, or comparative literature. But Sra. Dolores Silva’s class is an entirely new experience when it comes to language. Sra. Silva weaves stories about her life into the class, painting pictures for students of her experiences wit...

Few faces are more synonymous with City High School than that of PE teacher and football coach Dan Sabers. Coach Sabers has been the head football coach at City High since taking over for legendary coach Larry Brown in 2001. In that time he has won a state title and led the Little Hawks to numerous MVC and divisional titles. Before taking over as head coach, Mr. Sabers was an assistant on Coach Brown�...

Michael Close is the digital art teacher at City and I think it's fair to say everyone appreciates him. Michael is so chill he goes by his first name; it's weird when someone says Mr. Close. One of my favorite things about Michael is that he trusts his students. Though a lot of teachers don’t give their students that much freedom, for example most teachers have an exact plan of what their studen...