Staff Spotlight with Mrs. Hartz

 Victory Obielodan

     There is a fine line between a numerator and a denominator, but only a fraction of people will find this funny. If you don’t, Mrs. Hartz may have the right one for you.
     It’s Mrs Hartz’s second year here at PHS and it seems that she learned a lot from her first year. She told The Voice, “...something that I’ve learned from my first year is to always keep reflecting, because you never do something right the first time--well maybe you do it right, but there’s always a way you can do it better. So, you should always take some time to write down how it went, and then think about how you can improve yourself and I think that goes for students as well.” This says quite a bit about Mrs. Hartz and her character, but here are a few fun facts about her.
     Every teacher has their “duh” moments; Mrs. Hartz recalled one of hers from earlier this year. It turns out she had been pronouncing “linear” wrong: stressing the e instead of the i. She didn’t realize it until her Algebra II class told her. It just so happens that Algebra II is her favorite math topic. She says Geometry is good, but she likes “teaching the algebra of it… I like the algebra and equations better.” She says, “...my favorite memory so far… was at the end of the school year last year, when I had so many students that had then had me for a year just say nice things about how they had a good year with me, and that they thought I was a good teacher, and that they learned something…”
     As a piece of advice for everyone, Mrs. Hartz says remember to be kind to one another because you never know what someone is going through. For students thinking about going into mathematics, she says “Do it!” For everyone, she says to think about what you’re gifted in. She didn’t start off knowing she was going to be a math teacher, but she worked on her gifts and here she is now.
     That’s a bit of information on Mrs. Hartz. One last fact is her birthday is October 18th . So don’t forget to wish her a belated happy birthday.

Staff Spotlight: Señorita Herreid

Señorita Herreid

Hypatia Fitzsimons

  Señorita Herreid is our recent addition to the Spanish department for the quarter. She went to high school in Prairie du Chien and decided to go to UW-Platteville for college. She chose Platteville because she loved her visit there, heard great things about the school, and that is where her high school Spanish teacher went as well. Herreid will be graduating with a degree in Spanish Education this winter. “I grew up in Wisconsin and I have always loved living here, so I’d like to continue being here, but I’m also open to new places if they took me there.” To add she likes the idea of a small school better because she can have a better one to one connection with the students. While she was in high school, she participated in cross country, student council, key club, and international club. “I wanted to be a teacher since I was little and because I loved Spanish in high school and my Spanish teacher showed me that, then it made me want to be just like her.” Herreid has traveled to four countries: Spain for six weeks, Argentina for 4 months, Uruguay for two different weekends, and Portugal for a weekend. Currently, Herreid is working in the mornings at the high school. The classes she teaches are three Spanish 1 classes. In the afternoons, she observes Señorita McLean’s classes. Second quarter, she’ll be teaching Exploration Spanish and Spanish A/ B at the middle school. As for Platteville, “I like that it is a city that is small enough where to get to know the students but has a big city feel with Dubuque so close and the University.” The message she wants her students to learn is, “knowing Spanish opens doors and there are a ton of Spanish speakers around us and their population is only growing. Being able to speak Spanish will help with interacting with people and having more opportunities when traveling abroad.” To include, Herreid wants her students to experience the different cultures Spanish speaking countries have.