PHS Teacher Talk
Teacher Talk with THE Mr. Weber
by Haiden Magnussen
Mr. Zachary Ross Weber has been a teacher at Pierce High School for eight years. Throughout his time teaching, he has taught English 8, English 11, and applied communications. He is currently the head golf and volleyball coach as well as an assistant coach for the basketball team.
Weber’s most embarrassing teacher moment would come from any time working with his junior high students. He has had many experiences with cheating, but the funniest was when a junior turned in another junior’s essay and did not even bother changing the name at the top.
The motivation Weber had to become a teacher was that he had several very good teachers and coaches who he still looks up to this day.
Weber states, “When I was really young, I really wanted to be a professional golfer and professional baseball player. When I got to high school, I really had my sights set on being a college coach of some sort, but I’m definitely happy with where I am at today.”
Interestingly enough, Weber has a very cool hidden talent. He is able to do the wave with his eyebrows.
On a typical Saturday night, you can often find him playing with dolls or Barbies with his 2-year-old. Occasionally his daughter will allow him to take her golfing or do other fun activities. Throughout the summer, Weber spends his time coaching different sports, spending time with his family, as well as perfecting his golf game.
His most creative punishment is when he made students write various amounts of sentences. This does not seem too bad, but most of these sentences would span out to seven lines in a notebook!
As a student currently in his English 11 class, Kaden Froehlich says, “Mr. Weber has a very laid-back class; however, there are a lot of things that he teaches that can be used outside of the class. He really tries to connect with us and make sure we understand everything. Weber is an all-around great teacher and does lots of great things for us.”
If Weber were to win the lottery, he would invest none of it, live hard and fast for the summer until forced to declare bankruptcy, and then he would be back in the classroom and gym before August.
Weber hates when kids call other people “try hards” when they find someone who is better than them. This really annoys him. As far as slang words, Weber identifies much more with the old curmudgeon yelling at the kids on his lawn than with anyone who says things like “bussin.”
The thing that Weber loves most about Pierce High is the kids. “They’re the best kids around, and I truly wouldn’t be able to do what I do without their smiling faces beaming up at me every day,” Weber says.
Catching up with Mrs. Goetsch
By Addison Croghan
As we all know, Mrs. Danielle Goetsch, the school's guidance counselor, is an excellent role model for so many people at Pierce High School.
To start off, her inspiration to be a teacher was the Stark Family Christmases of yesteryear. She came from a family of teachers and coaches. She did not get to see them very much because her family members were busy teaching and coaching, but every Christmas was an opportunity to be around some of the best people she knew.
Pierce was a great spot to land because she said PHS is her second home. She loves the faculty and the relationships that she has built with students. Getting to know the students one-on-one is her favorite part.
On the contrary, Goetsch’s most embarrassing teaching moment would have to be when she passed out in the library while listening to Mr. Shada talk about a knee surgery, which was once out of three occasions. Continuing, when she started teaching whenever she caught a student cheating, she would take it personally. She thought it was an indicator of her abilities, so she would beat herself up for it. Nowadays, she knows it's human nature for students to cheat. Goetsch said that her most creative punishment is just the silent treatment. Kids hate it when you say nothing at all.
Onto the non-academic things, a typical Saturday night for Goetsch would be having Chris, her husband, cook…enough said. She does work throughout the summer though, spending tons of time outside doing whatever her heart desires.
When asked about her dream vacation, she said any opportunity to go hiking and explore forestry would be her ideal vacation. If Goetsch wins the lottery, she will buy the farm where she grew up and raise cattle, plus she will build a house for Emilia on the land they own in Stanton County.
Some trends that baffle Goetsch would be any trend in general. She hates how fast everything changes.
Lastly, Goetsch played softball and was a collegiate-level catcher, but turned down the opportunity.
Mrs. Amy Lambrecht, the counseling aid, comments on working with Goetsch, “It’s an adventure I’d say; no day is the same. She is an excellent mentor and leader not just for me but the students. We both have unique senses of humor that helps us work together with great chemistry.”
Teacher Talk with Mr. Emory
By Skylar Scholting
Ever wanted to know a little bit more about what our teachers are like? Mr. Michael Emory told us the inside scoop.
Emory has been teaching at Pierce High School since 1993. He has taught math 7, pre-algebra, algebra 1, and algebra 2 here at Pierce. In addition to teaching, Emory has also coached many sports at Pierce including football, softball, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, track, and baseball.
Emory’s inspiration for becoming a teacher was his high school math teacher and basketball coach Gary Samuelson.
Typically during the summer, Emory spends his break coaching baseball and basketball.
He also says that he has a hidden talent. Emory stated, “I think I am a great singer, my students may not agree though!”
Mr. Zach Weber also commented on Mr. Emory’s singing by saying, “I love how I can hear what mood Mr. Emory is in every day. Sometimes he’s singing along to K Love hits; other times he can’t believe that students missed a problem that was specifically covered in class.”
Emory also would love to go on vacation to major league spring training down in Arizona.
And finally, one trend that Mr. Emory is baffled by is that kids wear pants [jeans] with holes in them.
Teacher Talk with Marta Victor
By Brielle Unseld
At Pierce High, we have gotten a lot of new teachers this past year, one being Marta Victor. Mrs. Victor, who is the mother-in-law of our very own government teacher, Mr. Bretschneider, taught at Laurel-Concord-Coleridge and Wayne high schools as an English and Spanish teacher for 38 years. Mrs. Victor actually started the Spanish program at Wayne High school where she worked for three years before going back to her hometown of LCC to continue teaching.
She retired for one year before coming out of retirement to teach this year at Pierce. Mrs. Victor has been a very active teacher, as she brought back and sponsored the Spanish Club.
Zaylah Pfanstiel, a student in Victor’s Spanish 2 class, comments, “She’s an amazing teacher, and she’s very funny and light-hearted. Mrs. Victor understands that we make mistakes and tells us how to pronounce things actually.”
Victor’s worst experience with catching a student cheating is when she gave oral exams back in LCC. Victor would sit at her desk to give the test, so a student taped the answers behind her head, hoping Victor would not see the paper. The student would glance back at Victor’s desk and pretend to think while looking at the answers on the wall. Victor said that this was the worst attempt at cheating she has ever seen.
Although being a teacher can be stressful, Victor has loved being a teacher for almost 40 years.
“My inspiration to be a teacher is because I was the product of a country school,” remarks Victor. “I absolutely loved my teachers, and I wanted to be like them!”
Some of her hobbies include gardening in the summer, reading, and, her favorite pastime, spending time with grandchildren. Victor has 11 grandkids, ranging in age from 1-13 years old.
A typical Saturday night with Victor would be spending time with her husband and her dog, an Australian shepherd and husky mix named Pepper.
If she won the lottery, Victor would pay off all of their debt, give all her kids and grandkids a present, and donate to her favorite charities.
Victor’s favorite thing about Pierce High is how welcoming and caring all the people are.
Stepping into the Life of Shelly Adams
By Ella Gaes
Mrs. Shelly Adams has been teaching at Pierce Public Schools for 39 years. She currently teaches in the special education department, but has also been an elementary physical education teacher.
Adams has proudly assisted high school volleyball, track, girls basketball and junior high track. She has also sponsored the girls letter club for 39 years.
Some changes that Adams has seen at Pierce High since she began teaching are the dress code, technology, and methods of teaching. Her favorite rule is no cell phones allowed in the classrooms.
The most rewarding part of being a teacher for Adams is seeing how students change from seventh grade to when they graduate.
After asking about her worst experience with catching a student cheating she replied, “When my family sponsored a foreign exchange student, she cheated on a quiz for one of Mr. Adams’ classes, under my supervision and couldn’t understand why we were upset.”
Adams' inspiration to become a teacher was from one of her former high school teachers and coaches.
Her most creative punishment she has given to a student was making them recite the presidents in order.
Moving on, Adams likes to spend her free time with her family, especially the grandkids. She also enjoys walking outside when the weather is nice and shopping.
A typical Saturday night for Adams includes relaxing at home in front of the television or spending the weekend with her grandkids. If she could go take a vacation anywhere, she would choose somewhere warm with a beach. During the summer, Adams likes to complete projects around the house, spend time with her family, and walk.
Lastly, if Adams won the lottery she would retire, take a trip, and share some money with family and charities.
After talking to senior Addison Sporleder, a girls letter club member, she remarked, “Whenever we have girls letter club meetings, Mrs. Adams is always greeting us with a good morning to get the day started. She is always determined to get the job done and she is helpful when it comes to picking out any decoration for our school dances.”
