Editor’s note: This week, May 2-6, is teacher appreciation week. Over the course of three days, staff members want to recognize their most memorable high school teachers.

Donna McCachern
by Jacqueline Costulis

Coming into high school as a freshman can ultimately be terrifying, even if you have already been through a semester of classes like I had at the time. So when I walked into Mrs. McCachern’s class and heard her lectures for the first time, I was petrified.

I had been in other pre-ap classes before, but once she had thoroughly described the foundations of the course I felt like I was way in over my head.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

With her hilariously horrifying stories of deceased grandma’s and maimed chickens, she, within a few days, had us enthralled with her more than exciting life. I distinctly remember glancing around the classroom and intensely giggling at the shocked expressions as she vividly described her cousins grotesque laughter as they forced her face to sit a breath away from her deceased grandmother’s when they were young. Needless to say, when she described the chicken incidents I felt horrible for the one vegetarian in the classroom.

Beyond her twisted sense of humor and, at times, gut-wrenchingly sad stories, she was a phenomenally passionate teacher, and one of my best. She never ceased to take the time to cater to our needs, and not once looked at us in confusion or distaste when we asked a question. She was passionate in what she taught, and how she taught it. The red marks slashed across the pages of my essays and short answers helped me to become the writer I am today. I would go through the struggle of maintaining an A in that class all over again just to hear her interpretations of the “Odyssey” and “Romeo and Juliet” as well as the wide variety of crazy stories that I still remember to this day.

Barbara Wright
by Kendra Lilly

First off, Mrs. Wright, you are the best teacher I’ve ever had. You made having a math class for first period fun and easy. The energy you had every day made the fact that we had to learn how to use SOHCAHTOA bearable and fun. You were so chill and happy about your job that it made us want to be there. You never gave up on us so we never had a reason to quit. No other math class compares to yours.

I will never forget your class. Thanks to you, I met someone who has changed my life forever. Thanks for letting me sit with her all the time and not getting mad when we decided not to do work that day. I won’t say her name but I’m sure you know who I’m talking about. All I have to say is that I will always have you to thank for that. I hope all of your classes turned out to be as cool as your 2014-2015 second 18 weeks first period class. It’s not gonna happen but, hey, it’s a thought. Thank you for everything.

Christine Archbold
by Deysy Yanes

As long as I can remember I’ve always considered English to be my strongest subject. However, when I stepped foot into my junior AP English class I didn’t realize that my true writing and thinking skills would be put to the test.

Mrs. Archbold is one of the teachers who pushed me to a place that I thought would be unreachable. She never doubts the ability of all her students to thrive. Our grades actually reflected the skills we possessed, and the time and effort that was put into them. My writing skills blossomed in that class and it was clear once we handed in our last essays.

Every day in that classroom was a fresh start. New material. New assignments. New knowledge. A chance to redeem ourselves if we had done miserably on an assignment.

I enjoyed that class because I actually wanted to go to it. I never got to the point where I was stressed or overwhelmed with homework because she found a balance. We still learned without being swamped with homework on a daily basis. We would go from group projects, to individual assignments, to lecturing, to group discussions, but never the same thing. And I greatly admire that about her. She always found a way to teach us new things without it being the same routine. And it was never boring. She made me want to learn. I thank her because it all paid off when I received my AP score. I am grateful for having a teacher who is truly passionate about what she does.

Bailey Ehler
by Sasha Hernandez

I have liked all my teachers who I have had, and if I had to choose a favorite teacher I couldn’t just pick one. But Mrs. Ehler is one of the best teachers I have had and she’s definitely at the top of the list.

My freshman year we had our English and world geography classes paired up together. I didn’t like the idea of getting up and having to learn English and world geography first thing in the morning.

But within the first couple of weeks in her class I was interested on what was being taught. She had a fun and positive attitude that made me look forward to getting up in the morning and made me walk into the classroom with a smile on my face.

One of the highlights in her class was whenever we had a test coming up we would work on the review by playing grudgeball. It’s a fun game that gets students excited and helps us prepare for the upcoming test.

Even though I didn’t have her for world history my sophomore year, whenever I passed by her classroom she would greet me with a smile on her face. Thank you for teaching the class and for being a fun, positive person.

Julie Williams
by Tallon Coxe

Like beginning any new chapter in life, high school starts off uncomfortable, awkward and sweaty. I had to quickly adapt to an ecosystem where being cool was traded like currency. Within the first month, the majority of students were scrambling to drop old friends and make new friends. “Drake and Josh” suddenly became study material on how to act around the ladies. With so many priorities weighing on my mind, I forgot the reason I was there: to learn.

We all know that keeping up with the attention spans of 30 freshmen is difficult enough, and with a subject like math, you may as well pack your bags and head home. But there was one teacher who was able to reach out to her students; the only one who could pry them from their phones and turn math into an enjoyable experience.

Her name is Mrs. Williams, and she single-handedly inspired each and every one of her students to reach their full potentials; in fact, she became the role model and friend every student looked up to at Harmon. Any time you passed her in the hallway, she made it a point to interact with you, even if that just meant a simple “what’s up.” Even the most simple, mundane things separated her from other teachers. Her optimism and sense of humor kept everyone engaged and comfortable in an environment that, at times, felt like a shark tank.

The awesome thing is that I’m nearing graduation and I still keep in contact with her; she’s still as lively today as she was the day I met her.

Jennifer Brockman
by Hannah Hinderliter

When I got put into a sports marketing class I thought I would dread going to class every day. Yet I found the teacher standing out in the hallway giving high fives and fist bumps to all of her new students letting them know how happy she was to have them. I had never felt so welcome by a teacher. I had never seen teachers care so much about students who they’ve just met.

Every day when you walk in she greets you and says that she is happy to see you. Mrs. Brockman is one of the most caring teachers I’ve had at school. She cares about all of her students; sometimes you might have a disagreement but the next day it’s all forgotten. She knows that you can’t always have a good day, and if she sees that you’re having a bad day she will do anything she can to try to uplift your spirits and bring a smile to your face. She’s like your own personal support system and she’s always there when you need her.

Mrs. Brockman is an outstanding teacher. She explains everything but doesn’t over explain and always does her best to make the lessons enjoyable. This is one of the many reasons that she got teacher of the year. She makes each class a thrilling experience even if it could be a boring lesson. Even taking notes is fun in her class, and when we do projects she makes them exciting and something that you want to do.

Lindsey Farra
by Elizabeth Wegener

I was nervous walking into second period biology my freshman year. My teacher’s name was Mrs. Farra, and it was also her first year at Killough. I didn’t know very many people in the class, and I was small so I was even more nervous. I hear “Kathryn?” and I snap out of my nervous gaze and say “Here.” I was too scared to say that I don’t go by Kathryn and that I go by Elizabeth. Once the announcements were through we talked about the rules of the class and started working in the groups where got to know each other. Once the bell rang for lunch, I walked up to her and explained that I go by Elizabeth and not Kathryn.

Once freshman year ended, Mrs. Farra volunteered to help the school soccer team with the bus and coaching. One day at practice I made a joke about her walking to a team dinner because she had lived down the street and she didn’t want everyone knowing, so she chased me around until she could catch me. When she finally caught me, she tackled me and made sure I didn’t bring it up again. Everyone got a kick out of it. Now I’m a senior looking back through all of my teachers and she has always given me the best advice about any problem I’ve gone to her about.

Ryan Hamilton
by Laura Godinez

History has never really been one of my top favorite subjects. I never understood exactly why we have to learn about the past other than to “not repeat” the mistakes. And when it comes to U.S. history, I think it is one of the worst simply because of how much textbooks refuse to say anything bad about this country. Junior year was one of the toughest scholastic years that I’ve had, and when I walked into APUSH the second nine weeks of school, I was kind of terrified and ready to be bored. Scary stories from last years juniors about the class didn’t come close to mentally prepare me for what I was about to experience. Yet even if history isn’t my favorite, the one thing that made me love the class was my teacher, Mr. Hamilton. No other teacher has made me as interested in learning about history and politics as he has. While he didn’t blatantly tell us what his position was on things, because he technically isn’t allowed to do so, those rare moments when he really let us know what he was thinking made everything much more fascinating.

And even after class he always made things interesting. Discussions about world events during lunch made it fun as the people in there argued back and forth and looked toward Mr. Hamilton for his input when we got stuck. We eagerly awaited his point of view on things because we knew he’d set it straight and give us even more things to talk about.

He didn’t sugarcoat things when it came to teaching. He gave both sides and then made his students think. He didn’t just teach so students could pass the class and the AP exam; he taught where students would actually learn something valuable that would stick with them a long time.

Some teachers are just here to teach; Mr. Hamilton is here to make us learn.

Michelle Pembroke
by Abby Shaw

Freshman year is never anyone’s favorite year of high school. You’re still learning your way around the school, finding your friends and trying not to die. With all of the things you’re going through, the teachers and classes you have can get lost in the mess. Mrs. Pembroke’s English class never got lost.

English has always been one of my favorite subjects, and Mrs. Pembroke’s class was no different. She always had a lot of fun with lessons and taught in a way that wasn’t condescending. Some teachers annoy me because they’ll teach the class like we’ve never learned anything before.

Whether we were having a Socratic seminar or learning about figurative language, every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in humanities was an adventure. While our class wasn’t always the quietest, or the most respectful, or the most attentive, she never failed to teach us something.

While the lessons weren’t always great, I’ll never forget how much she cared about all of her students. Whenever I got stressed with AP human geography she would somehow manage to help me calm down and relax. Her class felt like a break from the stress, yet I never felt like I was just wasting my time.

My favorite teachers are always the ones I get to know personally. Mrs. Pembroke loved to talk about her family and her plans. Some teachers will go an entire semester without mentioning their personal lives once, but Mrs. Pembroke would always tell us stories about her life outside of the classroom.

John Wasson

You are so laid back. You make the worst subject in the world, Latin, an entertaining subject. You often tell us weird stories that somehow relate to Latin, and you’re always interested in students’ lives, unlike some teachers who don’t care about the vast majority of their students.

When I first entered Latin, I didn’t think I’d be able to understand anything because I heard it was extremely complicated and hard. But when I entered your classroom expecting the worst, I instead got a fun teacher who made learning enjoyable.

You make an easy routine in your classroom, and it’s easy to fall into a pattern of turning in homework and knowing the way quizzes and tests are given. You don’t give out too much homework; it’s usually the class work we don’t finish that ends up as our homework. This makes it easy for us to get the grades we want, and I usually get good enough grades for the GPA I want.

Because you are young, you relate to students and can communicate with us in a way that’s not so old fashioned. We can joke around with you and tell you our own stories. What we find interesting, what happened to us, things we dislike, we can tell you all. You’re very easy to open up to and I feel like that trait, as a teacher, is essential.

Personally, Mr. Wasson is arguably one of the greatest teachers I’ve had in my entire life; he’s not outrageously strict and is very lenient. Because I have you first period, you turn my mood around, and I begin to anticipate my classes rather than dread what will come the rest of the day.