Teacher Appreciation: Mrs. Peters

Ever wondered how to balance school, work, and family life? Well, just ask Havilah Peters, a City High School english teacher and drama department director. Mrs. Peters started working at City High four years ago and has been working to improve City High’s drama and English departments. She has been involved with directing multiple plays including Mary Poppins, Charlotte’s Web, Little Shop Of Horrors, and most recently, the 59 cast musical, Les Miserables. On top of this, she is a mother of one, and a recent dog mom. So how does she balance it all?  

“Balance doesn’t really exist during the musical, you take what you have and make the best of it,” Peters said. “I divide up my tasks that need to happen between Mr. Peters and I. [For example], he did directing for Les Mis and I did choreography.”

In the drama department, Mrs. Peters works on scenic painting, hair and makeup, and directing behind the scenes.

“One thing I really like about the drama department at City High is it has a lot of community aspects to it,” Peters said. “I feel very supported by the students and parents versus at West High there was a lot of parent pressure. Here, I feel like students and parents work very well together.”

On top of teaching English and working in musicals, Mrs. Peters also runs a public speaking class to help prepare senior students looking to pursue public speaking in college.

“Mrs. Peters is a person that wants the best for everyone and every student she talks to. You can just tell that she wants every student to feel welcome,” Virginia Maturi ‘19 said. “Last trimester I took her public speaking class because I wanted to improve my speech and you can just tell that she is so kind, she loves everyone, and she really wants the best for her students.”