blair » teacher
Backus, Leslie
By | April 30, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Leslie Backus deals with plants every day as the horticulture teacher at Montgomery Blair High School. Her leisure pursuits include gardening, motorcycling and devouring books. "I read a lot of science fiction and mysteries,” Backus explained. She also enjoys whipping up her own concoctions in the kitchen. "I'm an improvisational cook,” Backus joked. She loves flexible recipes she can tweak to her liking. Backus is also a music lover. She sings in a church choir, and she has been playing piano since she was seven years old. In the past, Backus has sponsored a Dungeons and Dragons club at Blair, but no longer has the schedule to participate in clubs due to the time she now spends with her two children.
Grossman, Mark
By | April 30, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Mark Grossman, 28, is excited about his first year of teaching. He was born in Silver Spring, but Grossman grew up in Bexley, Ohio where he attended high school there. He returned to Maryland to attend Goucher College in Baltimore where he majored in European Colonial History and minored in economics. He enjoys gardening, swimming, reading, and playing guitar. However, despite these ordinary hobbies, his life has been nothing of the sort.
Stephens, Todd
By | April 30, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Todd Stephens, U.S. History teacher at Montgomery Blair High School, has a smile radiant like the sun, reflecting many pearly white indentures. With a boisterous rolling laugh and a strong positive attitude, Stephens emits a positive aura around him. He is a first year full time teacher at Blair, has found teaching to be an overall rewarding experience from the very beginning of his career. His ultimate goal was
Hoelman, Louis
By | April 22, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
In Louis Hoelman's office, the walls are covered with pictures of Montgomery Blair High School's athletes. He coaches three teams at Blair and teaches two physical education classes. Hoelman said he loves teaching gym at Blair, one of the largest and most diverse schools in the county. "I wouldn't want to teach anywhere else," he said.
Williams, Bertina
By | April 10, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Sporting a trendy brown velour suit and bright red fingernails, Business/Computer Science instructor Bertina Williams sat comfortably in her second floor classroom. Her warm and friendly nature gave one the feeling that this educator was pre-destined to become a teacher.
Shilling, Karen
By | April 10, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
For most teachers at Montgomery Blair High School, the school day begins at 7:25 in the morning and ends by 3:00 in the afternoon. For teacher Karen Shilling, the amount of time she puts into her student's lives extends far beyond these hours. This is because Shilling is an ESOL (English as a Second Language), a job that requires her to play a large roll in her students' lives. Everyday room 156 is a place where Shilling and her students are continually learning about eachother and the cultures that make each of them unique.
Giacalone, Suzanne
By | March 31, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Suzanne Giacalone's round face looks long like that of a wise woman's. Her head is resting on her hand, Jackie-O style reading glasses sitting on the desk in front of her. The phone rings and Giacalone gets up still speaking and leaves the room briefly, her words trailing off. Upon returning she sighs.
Hopkins, Robert
By | March 27, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Hopkins, with over twenty years experience as a teacher, feels that he has "never left high school" himself. Though he explains that his own high school years were "dismal," he feels that being a teacher is his own way of rebellion against the institution that brought him down. "I immensely disliked high school, and I think learning should be fun, since it wasn't for me. I want to change the system!", Hopkins said as a smile formed on his face.
McManus, Mary
By | March 27, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
The blue, day-glow of her computer screen reflects off of her face, pouring flashing pools of light into the deep wells of her spectacles. She sits with her hands lightly clasped together in her lap, with her papers and materials packed conservatively away in binders upon her desk. She pauses, turns up her eyes as if in thought, and then speaks. "Kindergarten is wonderful; it is really neat. The teachers treat the job as a profession and they are tremendously well-educated.”
Gainous, Phil (Part 2 of 2)
By | March 18, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
"I dream that I've come upon this secret mist I developed. I spray this mist in the halls and the students breathe it and do 100 percent academically!" says Principal Phillip Gainous, as he leans back in his padded chair. He then looks up at the ceiling, shaking his head while saying, "Boy, if it were that easy!" before letting out a thunderous laugh.
Gainous, Phil (football career)
By | March 18, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Late in the fourth quarter in the 1964 orange bowl, a future Hall of Famer and world class sprinter for Florida A and M fields a punt a goes straight ahead, full speed. Boom! He runs into a brick wall.
Gainous, Phil (Part 1 of 2)
By | March 18, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
A guard's whistle blows, and a hundred metal doors simultaneously slam shut. Inside one cell, a prisoner sits on his bunk, wondering if he'll ever see home again. A week ago, he and his other black classmates were arrested near his college when they refused to leave an all-white movie theater. Expecting only a day or two in the local jail, they were put on a bus and sent to prison, to live under the same roof as hardened criminals.
Shindel, Kevin
By | March 4, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Although this is Kevin Shindel's first year at Blair, he is not a novice when it comes to teaching. In the past he has worked with students of all ages, "from kindergarten to college," he says. He taught at the University of Maryland before he came to Montgomery Blair this year.
Kaluta, John W.
By | Feb. 26, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
John W. Kaluta, a tall man with a serious but gentle disposition, has been teaching at Blair for the past 17 years. Focusing on the technological areas of study, he has helped many students master computer skills. However, Kaluta has not been at Blair for his whole career. Previously, he taught high school in Arlington, Virginia and worked in a museum shop. After a decrease in Arlington's enrollment in 1986, Kaluta came to Blair. Although teaching is Kaluta's first choice as a career, his life does not revolve 100 percent around school.
Honerkamp, Katie
By | Feb. 25, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
ESOL teacher Katie Honerkamp was wearing a fitted green and white striped skirt and shirt set, brown loafers, and a bubbly smile that rarely left her round face. She flicked her shoulder length dirty blonde hair out of the way of her brown eyes as she talked happily about her traveling and her experiences at Blair.
Dvorsky, MaryAnn
By | Feb. 16, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Eight- year-old MaryAnn Dvorsky stands up in front of her classroom, ready to assign the evening's homework. "Tonight's assignment will be from your workbook, problems one through ten." The bell suddenly rings, signaling the end of the school day. Dvorsky announces, "Class dismissed!" with a clap of her hands and escorts her Barbie dolls out of a makeshift school house in her living room.
Smrek, Julia
By | Feb. 16, 2003, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Miss Smrek sits at her desk amid the hectic, almost crazed noise fest that is a birthday celebration in the Social Studies office at Blair. She is decked out in jeans, a comfortable looking pink sweatshirt and an easy, enthusiastic smile, a trend pleasingly common among educators today. She looks like a perfect fit for a teacher of psychology, a seemingly casual and hopefully fun subject. And if it isn't fun, she'll make it fun.
Balla, Desiree
By | Dec. 10, 2002, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Every morning, Ms. Desiree Balla goes to room 345 to teach. She finishes her day at eleven o'clock with a smile. She enjoys the time she spends in class, bettering the lives of her pupils and making a meaningful contribution to their future. She has been teaching at Montgomery Blair High School for seven years, and hopes to continue her beneficial contributions to the students here.
Sloe, Darcy
By | Dec. 4, 2002, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Darcy Sloe is a slim, attractive brunette with an easygoing smile. With her athletic build and boundless energy, she could easily be mistaken for the tennis coach at Blair, a position she actually held 11 years ago. Today her friendly disposition and brisk manner constitute the perfect formula for a high school biology teacher. Sloe has been working at Blair for 14 years and could not be happier with her present situation.
West, David
By | Nov. 27, 2002, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
David West has taught Nation State Local Government at Montgomery Blair High School for the past nine years of his teaching career. West also taught at Seneca Valley High for four years and at Wooton High for one year. He chose to come to Blair because of the "especially friendly, motivated, and skilled teachers."
Walstein, Eric
By | Nov. 27, 2002, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Magnet math teacher Eric Walstein sat behind his tidy desk as a few students trickled in quietly for his first period class. His stern face was intimidating at first glance, but once he began to speak, his light and cheerful demeanor brightened his serious image.
Thomas, Amy
By | Nov. 27, 2002, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
According to first- year U.S. History teacher Amy Thomas, teaching is not an easy job. Teachers are under a lot of pressure to cover the required topics in an obligatory format. They must try not to leave any students behind. Teachers must be very dedicated to help their students succeed.
Bryant, Pamela
By | Nov. 27, 2002, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
English teacher Pamela Bryant's easygoing nature belies her hardworking attitude. Bryant's dedication and amiability are present in her life and work.
Van, Leslie
By | Nov. 26, 2002, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
Leslie Van, a Biology and Matter and Energy teacher at Montgomery Blair High School, sits at a large table at lunch with coworkers, munching on Cheez-its and telling jokes. She is young, outgoing, and spirited.
Templin, John
By | Nov. 26, 2002, midnight | In Teacher Feature »
What is it about talking to a teacher out of class that makes it so un-comfortable for a student? For the most part, students look at their teachers as people with whom they are forced to put up with everyday, whose names' begin with either mister, miss or misses and above all, are boring people who live at school. Without much probing, however, it becomes obvious that the teachers here at Montgomery Blair High School are in fact a colorful bunch.
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