Staff News and Announcements

Comet Shout Outs (Sunday November 17, 2019)

The 9th grade Grade Level Team for all the friendship, empathy and hard work. Great PD this past week!

Brian Castner and the entire varsity football coaching staff (in the building: Brandon Sethi, Bill Lapthorn, Gary Popovich, Darin Little, Ricky Reddinger, Alex Beurket, Barak Faulk, Patrick Oneal) - Congrats on making the state playoffs AGAIN this year. Good luck tonight as you take on a tough opponent! The CULTURE that has been created surrounding Mason Football is one to be proud of and it extends so much deeper than just a game on a field. It is building character and young men that value hard work, working as a team, trusting each other, and being a positive reflection within the community. Your investment in this team and these young men is valued and appreciated!

Aaron Roberts-- Thank you for always having an open door and an open mind.

Brandon Rompies, Dan Distel & Laura Spitzmiller - Thank you for everything you do as busy as you are all the time! This week has seemed especially busy, and you are quick to answer us and to be there when we need you. We recognize how much you do for our students and for all of us and we appreciate you.

Jere-your peer tutor program is a blessing to our 9th grade IEP students! I can only begin to imagine the back work/behind the scenes prep and daily grind that goes into running this gift that you give! Thank you!

Bud-thank you for the work you do with our 9th grade IEP students-attending IEP meetings, contact with parents and working with our team to make each student successful! You are also a fabulous cake baker!

Robyn Jordan - your transition into MHS has been seamless and you have quickly become a valuable resource for us. You are always willing to step in and answer the call when needed and we appreciate you so much.

Thank you for inviting us to the wonderful halloween set up on Z-2. Lehr is always thinking about my students and inviting them to activities he thinks they would enjoy!

Jason McKee - for being an amazing colleague and friend.

Dale Connor - For doing whatever it takes so that each student has a great experience in his class. AND for the amazing broadcasts and stories in the Chronicle that are produced in his class!

Andy Schur is an amazing person to work with. He comes up with great ideas, supports his colleagues, and truly cares about what is best for the students. I love his positivity, kindness, and constant support. I am lucky to work with him!!!

Dan Distel - so glad you came back to Comet Country! Thank you for always listening to teachers, working with us on making this a great place, and for making us all laugh in the process. You are awesome!

Deanna Hogenkamp - Deanna put together a great Project Chaos session last Friday. Students from 5 schools came to visit Comet Country. They worked through a Design Thinking challenge. Deanna's willingness to try new things has really helped the Project Chaos effort this year.

Dan Distel - "Shout-Out" to Dan for always offering to step in and help when needed. His calm humorous approach to problem solving is appreciated. Thanks for all you do!

Dan Broaddrick has been taking care of things at school and keeping us updated while Vance Reid and his wife are looking after their daughter in Children's Hospital. Dan is such a kind, generous, and strong individual-he models what being Comet Strong is all about.

Mel Wynn, Mel is so AMAZING and sweet. Always ready to help and never a negative word. Thank you Mel!

Allie Catalino has done such an amazing job building and growing the vision for the Write Place. The Write Place is now a resource for writing in any subject across the entire building. It's such a unique and powerful for all kids - no matter what relative strengths in writing they may or may not have.

Jere Clark and Carol Lehman run an incredible peer tutoring program. If you haven't seen the new lab, you should come by C3 and see the kids in action.

Kristi Stephens' energy is fire! Keep her coffee flowing!

Dierdra Ware eludes genuine positive energy and cares so much about our students!

Hubbard--Awesome job with the Cold Case presentations! Impressive!!

Deirdra Ware- She's super hard working and always out to ensure every student succeeds. She's also an awesome person.

A2 Pod- You all rock! Great people and great colleagues.

Tracy Brockway- She always does a great job supporting all students!!!

Dale Conner -For an amazing job with R -Factor roll out for our student body. Great job to you and your MBC Staff.

Katie Post for organizing events to bring our pod together

Catalino--Great job with the Catcher in the Rye study! Some themes are difficult to navigate--you have handled like a pro! Your efforts to make the mental health tracks more personalized will leave lasting positive impacts on your students.

Principals - Thank you for all your work helping to get students in the right place during lunch. Your presence in the halls has made a big difference in keeping the hallways clear and quiet during lunch to minimize disruptions to classes.

Amy Forsythe - I love the way she uses her humor and her crazy smart math brain to teach. She has a way of making each student feel like they GOT this, even if they don't fully have it yet. She stays calm and fun and they relax and learn. If you are lucky enough to be in her classroom sometime check out her clock! It's positive and fun...just like she is!

Kristin Stoll - WELCOME BACK! Kristin returned from maternity leave with a smile and a great attitude. Coming back to a fast-paced work environment after a lengthy absence of any kind is tough, and she's an inspiration for how to have a positive attitude in times of difficulty. E + R = O, and all that....

Diane Pfennig is a large treasure tucked away in a small office in a back hallway of MHS. Kind, generous, positive, encouraging, unfailingly friendly...the only thing sweeter than her smiling personality is her KILLER pumpkin muffins!

Diana Williams continually strives to consider the needs of all her Algebra students!

Sarah Mowell is a huge help in the classroom. Always a good communicator and full of positive vibes.

Lori Allen - for being so thoughtful, kind, and supportive!

Jenny Leitsch, a big shout out to you for always being so helpful with your peers and sharing your ideas and lessons!

Jordan sends out a HUGE shout-out to B3 and the Social Studies department for their INCREDIBLE kindness and generosity!!!!!!!!!!

TJ Wilson for being so kind and empathetic; you epitomize exclusive excellence.

Comet Shout out to Bobby Dodd - For his positive leadership and clear understanding of the big picture.

Mel and his staff-Thanks for always responding quickly!

Bruewer - for creating a safe and inviting culture in her classroom that allows for enrich discussions!!!

Thurman Allen - Thank you for collaborating and talking about different perspectives!

wasn't sure if you rec'd this last week...but a big thank you to Ryan Lehr and the 2-Z pod for inviting us to join in the fun festivities for Halloween. Thank you for always including my students to events, they have such a great time!

Stephanie Nally - Steph is a great colleague. Her warm and welcoming attitude is obvious in her interactions with other staff members and in her classroom environment. She is wonderfully supportive, a great listener, and a creative problem-solver. We are all better off for having Steph in our lives.

Allison Catalino, Tim King, Nathan Coates, Michelle Bruewer: These teachers have such a commitment to trying new things and they are unafraid to take chances that are in the best interest of offering solid instruction for our kids! Love working with them!

This shout out belongs to Jeff Schlaeger and the SIBS for being so compassionate and supportive of those in our community who benefit from the Mason Food Pantry. You have made a difference. Way to go!

Dave Weiseman for being super friendly all of the time and for letting me use his color printer for my random bulletin board pictures. You're the best, Dave!

Nikki Wilson for being an amazing teacher leader. She keeps the senior English team going, and she always has innovative ideas to share.

Christie Loucks is a fantastic podmate and friend! She's always there to listen, and she helps out with pod planning. She's also an amazing ASL teacher--the pod and her students love her!

Brandon Rompies! His office is right by the copy machine. He could get super annoyed by being bothered but instead he always has a kind word and a smile to share with staff buzzing through. Brandon is such a genuinely nice and delightful person. Thanks for being YOU!!!

If the faculty and staff break into warring factions trying to take over the school, I want Liann Muff on my side. She's smart, knows this place inside and out, gets things done, and is a butt-kicker.

Deb Perry is so optimistic and helpful with everyone that it's reasonable to think someone's secretly pumping pure oxygen into her room. But after spending an evening crawling through the ventilation system, I can safely report that Deb isn't the victim of gassing, but is just fantastically awesome.

Jeff Schlaeger for volunteering to sit on a mental health panel for all 7 bells. In front of hundreds of juniors. On a Friday. He's truly amazing for his dedication to discussing mental health.

Dan Broaddrick for his tireless dedication towards helping out his colleagues and friends throughout the entire school year. From a small check-in to see if someone is okay to helping out a colleague in need, he's a wonderful human being to work with.

Tracy Brockway for being an absolutely wonderful person who is always dedicated to helping her students (and listening to her colleagues when they need to vent)

Tim Molnar for winning the annual B3 Chili Cook-Off for the 2nd year in a row.

Thanks to Joey Schnell and Jenny Leitsch for their friendship and competitiveness during our daily lunchtime board game battles.

Mel Wynn and his amazing team! I appreciate your willingness to assist at a moment's notice and always with kindness and patience. You are a true gift!

Danny Mullins does such a fantastic job working with some of our more difficult students. He motivates them, makes them think long-term, and really turns around lives that need some extra attention.

Betsy Carras made my Kindness Week! She saw me wrestling with the backing paper for a display case and offered to help me. Without her kind offer, I'd still be tangled in 8 feet of paper! On your way to make copies, take a peek at the display case for The Write Place and know it looks great because of Betsy's helping hand.

A big shout-out to Laura Spitzmueller for always being so supportive to both staff and students.

Lloyd Zacharias - whether it's a tech ticket, email, or a phone call, he is always quick to respond. A lot of tech issues and a big building for one guy. Thank you Lloyd!!!!

Sheppard, Doughman, Meyer, Parkinson, Sethi and Margraf...A quote from your student: "This year has been a struggle moving here from another state and trying to make sense of a new school and challenging teachers. But I believe I am getting a better education here at Mason." Thank you, awesome colleagues, for helping this student feel like they are growing and reaching their potential. This kid has a positive attitude about our school and their opportunities here because of you. YOU have made a difference!

Given the choice of a sharp stick in the eye or having to read the morning announcements every single day all year, most of us would be walking around with an eye patch. But not THURMAN ALLEN, who does this job with enthusiasm and wonderful theatrics. Oh, and he visits every classroom throughout the year so every kid gets to yell, "Comet Country!". How cool is that?

How amazing is Pat George? So amazing that she's taken one of the school's most challenging students, one who for the last three years would announce daily in class that he hates English, and somehow made him actually like the subject.

Angie Johnston, Tracey Brockway, Anna Holt, Arlene Balczo are amazing and helped me out when I was under the weather. These women are incredible and would do anything for their colleagues!!

COMET SHOUT OUT