Teacher Superlatives

Mr. Hunt and Mr. Conwisar

Mr. Conwisar: “I’ll take anything that wasn’t HHS Grandpa, so I’m very flattered. It’s nice to hear that from the students.” 

Mr. Callagy and Mx. Greenberg

Mx. Greenberg: “I don’t know how that voting happened. It might’ve been rigged by Barney Smith, because I would give him tips on his own rap battle performances. I also critique my students’ taste in rap, which could be the genesis of that.”

Mr. Abrams and Ms. Rudolph

Mr. Abrams: “I wonder how and why this happened… I try to tell a lot of stories in class and open up opportunities to share some of the things I’ve experienced, and I hope that that is helpful.

Mr. Hunt and Ms. Bassani

Ms. Bassani: “I am so psyched. I thought it was a very cool award as a teacher to be called enthusiastic, it’s a high compliment. . . I tend to jump up and stand on my little shelves there. That might convey enthusiasm, but I just do that because I’m too short to reach the board.”

Ms. Barenfeld and Mr. Abrams

Mr. Abrams: “I feel pretty amazing about this. I think it’s such a nice compliment. I really love working with my students and it’s exciting to know that, at least for some of them, they find me friendly and approachable.” 

Ms. Barenfeld: “Kindness and respect are free to give and I choose to see the good in everyone I meet.”

Mr. Konig and Ms. Dyman

Mr. Konig: “No, [I’m not surprised], because of the German accent and so on.”

Ms. Wagner and Mr. Riss

Ms. Wagner: “I’m not really sure what people are quoting that I’ve said. I would assume a lot of people are citing ‘Okily dokily!’ That would be my guess, I don’t really know what they were listening to, I kinda forget what I say about ten seconds after I say it.”

Mr. Riss: “I don’t know what I am known for by my students. I can’t get them to remember even in eight years how the second vowel of a diphthong should be pronounced. I would like to be remembered for ‘practice makes permanent’ and, in the words of my esteemed colleague Mr. Jerningan, ‘talent is replaceable, but humans are not.’”

Follow-up from 9th grade student Jay Werner: “So, ‘dai’ means ‘enough’ in Hebrew, but we didn’t know that, so in madrigals he screamed at us ‘dai! Dai! Dai!’ so we were a little confused.”

Mr. Willson and Ms. Dyman

Mr. Willson: “I am certainly quite flattered to receive this award!  This is my 8th year subbing at Hastings High School. From the very beginning, I felt that respect for both the institution and the students demanded that I dress appropriately.  I also think that the clothes that you wear can be an expression of your personality.” 

Ms. Solaski and Mr. Morgan

Ms. Barenfeld and Mr. Lopez

Ms. Barenfeld: “We always have delicious food coming from our Culinary Chemistry classroom thanks to my incredibly talented students, and students know I’m good for lots of candy prizes!”

Mr. Lopez: “I do have a little closet full of snacks when kids are hungry, and I do often give kids my excess homemade all-organic butternut squash soup.”

Mr. Hills and Mx. Greenberg

Mr. Hills: “[This is] unsurprising. Security in my old school used to tell me to put my cell phone away in the hallway, so I’ve had it my entire career.”

Mx. Greenberg: “[This is] pretty typical. That’s happened in my entire career. I’m smallish and I have a youthlike quality. I think most of all it’s the shoes. I collect Nikes and I enjoy wearing fun shoes. I have a mild form of Turner’s Syndrome. One aspect of it is that I have always looked young for my age.”

Ms. Gagliardi and Ms. Bromberg

Ms. Bromberg: “I’m flattered to have achieved a superlative in my first year teaching in the high school, and I’m just happy I have such a good relationship with my students.”

Ms. Gagliardi: “I guess this is a compliment. I hope it’s because I’m super nice.”

Mr. Callagy and Ms. Weitman

Mr. Callagy: “I’d like to thank my parents for their superior genetics. It was tough being a bald man in your mid-twenties, it’s a hard road, but this makes it almost worth it.” 

Ms. Weitman: “I’m so happy I got to keep my title from 20 years ago. I am worried that people think frizzy, gray, out of control hair is the best hair… Thanks to all my fans!”

Mr. Konig and Ms. Stern

Mr. Konig: “I think the students grossly overestimated my hand-to-hand combat and general outdoor surviving skills.”

Ms. Stern: “I’m honored. I do feel like it was probably inspired by my balloon-stomping prowess during the pep rally, but it’s true, if you give me a challenge or something to win, I’m gonna go all out and I’m gonna wanna win. Thanks for voting me, I’m honored.”

Mr. Conwisar and Ms. Royal

Mr. Conwisar: “I regret that my alter ego has been exposed, but I’m also flattered about that. I’m sure it’s because of my links to ComicCon and my interest in pop culture.”

Ms. Royal: “Now people know the secret’s out. So now I’m excited about it, but I’m a little concerned. I think I need to be more covert in my superhero-ness in the future. I’m extremely honored to be considered a superhero.”

Mr. Lopez and Ms. Rudolph

Mr. Lopez: “I do dance a lot in class at random moments when I’m feeling inspired.”

Ms. Rudolph: “I feel seen by the student body. Thank you for understanding me, thank you for this award. I feel really recognized and validated, and I’ll see you out there for the dance.”