Staff and student Features 

Science Teacher Feature - Mr. Kane

By: Carmine Genovese, Ashton Johnson and Nick Korneluk

Science is a core part of the day-to-day lives of students at HHIHS. Taking science is a requirement for all students, so students are accustomed to it. One of those teachers that influences students daily is chemistry teacher, Mr. Kane. The opportunity to interview him was one that the Seahawk News Network was unable to pass on.

Among all things that make the teachers so great at HHIHS, is having experience with students. Kane noted that he has been teaching for “eight years.” The presence of a teacher that has been teaching for a substantial amount of time can help students by making problem-solving easier.

Even teachers have their favorites, Mr. Kane loves the “problem solving aspect of it (science).” Mr. Kane’s also has a favorite subject to teach, is “chemistry.” Mr. Kane’s passion for chemistry allows his students to become more enlightened thinkers, while also learning about chemistry from a veteran teacher. Mr. Kane’s reason as to why he enjoys teacher chemistry is because it is “very abstract, logical, and there is great potential for student growth.” 

While Mr. Kane understands that chemistry may not be important to everyone, he mentioned how the class “helps with logical problem solving, which is a very important skill to have.” If students are able to develop those skills, than they will be a more valuable employee in the future.

In a sense, chemistry may not be for everyone; however, Mr. Kane believes that everyone should try it. Not only will students learn a fascinating subject while taking his class, students will also learn skills that will help throughout life, which is a priceless thing to have.

The Classic Lit Teacher

By: George Glover

This is Mrs.Canavan’s first year teaching at Hilton Head Island High School, in which she entails a little bit about herself and experience. She grew up in Boston Massachusetts and is the youngest of five. She has a heart for photography (preferably black and white), and animals, and is looking to help in animal shelters. She has quite the amount of experience, teaching for 19 years in Massachusetts. So far she is really enjoying her first year, stating that “I miss my last semester students, even Kyle.” She really appreciates the diversity this school has to offer with students coming from many different types of backgrounds. She adds another bright smile to the school and some more on students’ faces.

Before teaching, Ms. Canavan worked as a sales representative at the Boston Globe as an advertising salesman. This particular career has its highlights in the income it brings, however, Ms. Canavan felt she had a different, more meaningful calling in her life. She “enjoyed the opportunity and chance to explore but it didn’t have as much meaning to me as teaching does.”This type of career has quite the benefits but none in the right place. This is when she decided to become a teacher to help inspire and teach students to do or be whatever they want. Ms. Canavan is very encouraging in this field as she offers many alternative routes in work which make students strive to make their own path. She relayed to me that this is the fulfillment teaching come with, despite a drastic change in pay.

HHIHS Amazing School Counselors

By:Gabriela Rivera and Hannya Torres Vargas

A school counselor at HHIHS; Mrs. Mielcarek, said she decided to become a school counselor because her college counselor recommended it to her.At first she wanted to be a nurse but then talked to her college counselor and changed her career.  She stated “I decided to become a school counselor because I've always wanted to help people.”

Mrs.Mielcarek deals with serious situations with students by letting them know that they should be confident. If a student ever goes to her and they let her know that they want to hurt themselves or someone else she says “we have to by law and speak up.” If someone ever wants to make a serious decision both the school counselor and the student have a say in their decision.

Being a school counselor requires you being in an open mentality so you are understanding to help others. Mrs. Mielcarek stated “how you feel is  not going to be the same as how other people feel and you have to respect everybody's opinion, everybody's feelings where everybody comes from.”

The amount of schooling it takes to become a school counselor is about six years. First you need to do four years to get your bachelors degree and then two more to get your masters. She says” The minimum amount of schooling after high school is six years it could go all the way up to eight or nine years.”

At HHIHS, school counselors are thankfully not under appreciated nor taken advantage of. Mrs. Mielcarek says “at other schools I've been to, school counseling is not as appreciated.” It depends on the location to see if school counselors are appreciated or underappreciated.

Why have magic when you have math

by: Tristen Simmons

Mrs. Schaffenburg is the geometry teacher at Hilton Head Island High School who loves math. The students love the way she picks up any student to turn them into mathematicians. The year is going great and according to the 40-year veteran teacher “It is going great. There will always be those few struggling just because they are not strong in math like others are.” According to her, “math is beautiful due to the way I love my students and love to help out by influencing and teaching.” In a brief summary the reason she went to college was to be a teacher who can influence her ways of spreading love and being there for students. Being an older experienced teacher she has many years of math and more technology for her to teach while growing as a teacher. To sum it up, she didn’t have calculators till her freshman year in college and had to use graphs for trigonometry on paper. Her favorite quote that she wants all students to remember is “you know what's cooler than magic, math !!”

AP Feature - Mrs. Johns

By: Carmine Genovese and Ashton Johnson

AP Language/Composition is one of the many exciting classes offered to students at Hilton Head Island High School. Students can expect to develop crucial skills that can be used in the future. This course is taught by Mrs. Johns, a previous WTOC teacher of the year award winner. The Seahawk Times had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Johns about herself and the course.

Having a veteran teacher can be beneficial to student success, Mrs. Johns said “I have been teaching AP Lang for about 10 years now, however I have been teaching for 17 years total.”

Students can expect to develop many skills while taking this course, Mrs. Johns explained that “students can develop traits like time management, work ethic, and to be able to think about their own writing and how they learn.” She went on to mention students can learn skills such as “writing skills, as well as becoming better readers and analyzers.”

Being a veteran teacher, The Seahawk Times was curious if she enjoys teaching the course, she enthusiastically responded “Yes, AP Lang is my favorite class to teach because I love grammar and writing. Writing is an important skill for students to learn, and when they leave AP Lang it will help them to write anything.”

College preparedness is a very important skill to develop while still in high school. With AP English Language and Composition, students wonder “How this class help students in future classes and in college?” She recalled how previous students she taught went to college and their roommates “needed their help writing essays.”  She also mentioned certain skills that help students in college that are developed in the class such as “Writing a variety of essays and doing a lot of revising which are both very useful skills for college students. “

Mrs. Johns said “The skills you learn in AP Lang can be used not only for English classes, but for all classes, as well as offer skills needed for standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT.” The skills students will learn in AP Lang will last a lifetime, which is extremely beneficial.

Overall, AP English Language/Composition can be an extremely beneficial class for students to take for many reasons. It is recommended that any student looking for a challenge should take this course.

English with MacMurray

by: Deja Godson

Mrs. MacMurray is an English teacher at HHIHS. She says, “English class is based on the subject of English, which is a language, so essentially you're studying language. You are reading and writing, and speaking, adding an element to that communication area.” She teaches her students in creative ways, such as providing different warmups every day. Whether it's a prompt on creative writing or a question that causes you to think and research. 

On the importance of the writing, reading, and spelling processes, grammar has a great extent as to how it is impactful towards success in an English class of MacMurray’s. She said, “We need to understand that grammar is the structure of language,so studying grammar will help our ability to craft sentences that are meaningful and will help with advancement in education and careers.”

MacMurray is fond of seeing growth and progress from students from the beginning to the end of both semesters.

The Revered Business Coach

BY: George Glover

Mr. Barnewell is a teacher of HHIHS who teaches a number of classes that stem from business, such as accounting, marketing. Finance, hospitality and tourism, and more. He is a well respected teacher and family man who has taught at this school for over 28 years. He gives understandable lessons once you get into the swing of things, and offers help whenever you're stuck. His goal is to assist students into choosing their career route, and sparking an interest in the road of an accountant.

The requirements to become an accountant, according to Mr. Barnwell is to obtain your bachelor’s degree to start out, then sometime later they require a master’s degree. Once you complete your college requirements, “you have to sit for a CP test which is two days long”. This requires a lot of dedication and focus to complete, but once finished, with a little experience, you made it. This field offers 6-digits if you know what you're doing. Which Mr. Barnwell has mastered, with over 600 clients and his own tax business managed for almost 15 years. There are some hardships he faced when working with the government but that is expected.

Mr. Barnwell found his calling in teaching students, in his words, “I love teaching high school and I love teaching students,” it allows him to give influence to students going to college. Despite having a very successful job, Mr. Barnwell pours his whole heart into helping kids decide their next step in life, and giving advice whenever it's needed to his students.

Teacher In Training: Ms. Laseter

By: Carmine Genovese, Ashton Johnson and Nick Korneluk

Student teachers can be found all over Hilton Head Island High School (HHIHS). However, some students may not know that there are many “student teachers,” or teachers that are in training here at HHIHS. Ms. Laseter is one of those teachers who has inspired students in her short time here so far. 

Teaching is a great way that people can interact with students as well as support and build relationships with the future generations. Teachers play a crucial role in strengthening the minds of the students here at HHIHS. Ms. Laseter said, “I chose to become a teacher so that I can help people. I aspired to do a profession where I can make a difference in the world, and I figured teaching is the best option.” 

Many teachers have many ambitions for which they would like to teach. “I'm going to be certified in English classes, I really hope to teach a creative writing class at some point.” It is great that creative writing will be getting another teacher as this will allow more open spaces for students to take the class.

Ms. Laseter gleefully explained, “It has been really good. It's been really ideal. I love all of the students that I am teaching, and I love the classes I am teaching, and the community at Hilton Head Island High School has been really great and supportive.” It is wonderful to hear how the community and staff at HHIHS are so supportive of new faces around the school.

Getting the support needed is very important in the development of one's teaching abilities. And HHIHS is a great and safe space where everyone is supported. Ms. Laseter said joyfully, ”Honestly, I don’t think so, my experience here has been fairly ideal, I'm getting loads of support from all the other teachers and the students are great.”

Ms. Laseter calmly said, “That sounds fun, but being a principal does come with a lot of responsibilities and I do respect highly anyone who does become a principal but right now I think I will stay a teacher.” Even though being a principal takes a lot of work, it is great that she shows respect and open mindedness when thinking about the opportunity of being a principal.

The Esteemed Art Enthusiast

By: George Glover

Mrs. Harrington is a new art teacher at Hilton Head Island High School. She is easily considered to be easygoing, down to earth, and an all around pleasant teacher to have, according to friends and students. Anyone would enjoy having her class, not only due to her personality, but the classroom environment and work load.

When attending high school, she had “a lot of jobs” since she was 15, ranging from childcare/daycare, a barista at a coffee shop, and had the opportunity to work as an interior graphics designer under a professional. Being the oldest of seven, it's a big accomplishment to have that many jobs to help around the house, and setting a good example for others who look up to her.

Ms. Harrington had a lot of encouragement on her decision when applying to Hilton Head Island High School by teachers, staff, and even principals. She’s had many peers telling her the potential she had in teaching art, since she is entwined in child care and her love for the arts. In her words, this decision “ended up being perfect” for her current career route.

In a way, art had discovered her interest, as a young child, she always proclaimed herself as an artist, which her mom gave her her first art kit. Her mom has always supported her choice of becoming an artist to her fullest capabilities which in turn gave us a great teacher at Hilton Head Island High.  In her words she feels “I wouldn’t be doing this without my parents”. 

Since it is her first year, it's important to know how it's going along . She says her classes are going really well, she had some concerns about her energy being drained by the 4th block. Instead she is refreshed even more by the calm and peaceful environment this block brings. Her 4th block is a 3-d Art class which focuses heavily on creativity and expressions.

If Ms. Harrington did not choose to become an art teacher, she would have pursued her other career choice which would be an animator, partly due to the love of animated shows and movies. However it can be quite competitive within that specific work force. Not only that, but it would’ve changed her college route. In her words, “I’m happy with this” and “I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be”. Even without all the free time it's pleasant to think creatively along with the students of HHI, it inspires both sides to create new innovations and idea concepts. She is still very young and this will not be her last job as she still wants to pursue something later in life that could be closer to her goal. Though it seems she achieved the perfect situation in this time of her life.