Teacher Highlights
When looking back at my time at Moeller, it’s impossible to remember the good times without a few teachers coming to mind, so I’m going to take some time to highlight the teachers that I’ve loved, both inside and outside the classroom. Let’s start with Mr. Girard. His freshman English class was a great kick in the butt for someone who never really had to try in grade school. He started everyone at an 85 and you had to work to get an A, which would be a turnoff for most if not all people. What makes him great is that his character is amazing. Towards the end of the year, we read his book, Project Cain, which to this day is my favorite book I’ve ever read for school.
Next is Mr. Shannon. Mr. Shannon is the perfect mix of immense knowledge of biology and a fun personality. The only annoying part of his class was doing CK-12, but other than that the class was filled with energy.
Mr. Crockett was a great teacher to have for Algebra I. He was an effective teacher and certainly wasn’t afraid to make fun of anyone. I’d already taken the class in eighth grade, so it was pretty easy. What made it special was that Crockett’s character was awesome. I wish I’d taken his class this year.
If you were to go around to all the alumni from the last 30 or so years and ask them which teacher was their favorite, a decent amount of them would mention Mr. Faller. Like Mr. Shannon, his substantial knowledge of US History and his amazing character make the class a blast. Sure, his class is pretty much just a lecture, but Mr. Faller imbues the content with his personality and nerds out about the battles (because that’s what we really want to hear).
On the topic of character, who has a more colorful personality than Mr. Gettings? Mr. Gettings is one of the fun math teachers (yes, they exist) that don’t like to give tests and can even bring energy to A4. He loves to make out of pocket jokes and subtle digs at students, just the thing that makes you want to go to math class.
Similarly, Mr. Tivin found a way to make world history relatable to students through interactive activities that relate historical events to our lives. Throw in some jokes, memes, and corny references and you’ve got an AP Modern World History class with Mr. Tivin.
A new addition this year, Ms. Wessels has really impressed everyone. She mixes humor with professionality and creates activities that make government not quite as boring.
Finally is one of the best to ever do it, Mr. Prugh. He lets his passion and knowledge of statistics shine through in his lessons.
Lastly, there are two teachers who I’ve never had in class but have been amazing. Mr. Bennett took over as head coach of the swim team for the 2024-2025 season and turned the team around. He took the team from about 15 club swimmers who only came together for meets and turned it into a cohesive community. A complete overhaul of team culture earned the respect of the upperclassmen, going above the title of coach to become close friends.
Finally, we have Mr. Hodges. He stepped up to be the third dean of Trinity House in as many years and from the start had us fired up. When he met with the senior leaders before freshman orientation, he hit us with a bold statement “I don’t care about winning the cup. I want to develop you as men.” This bold statement let us know he was different and ready to serve us.