Mr. Manley

Interviewed and Written by Ella Escobar

     On this edition of the Pirate Press Newspaper, I was delighted to be interviewing the former Blue Team leader and my own current science teacher, Mr. Manley. A friendly and warm-hearted man, Mr. Manley shares his vast knowledge of human biology and chemistry to his eighth grade students. This interview presents us with an opportunity to seek out details from beyond the classroom setting and to gain an understanding of a teacher’s outside life which many tend to be unfamiliar with.

       Up until his fourth grade year, Mr. Manley attended two Merrillville elementary schools, John Wood and Iddings. After that, he moved into the Crown Point area where he found himself playing basketball at Taft Middle School and Crown Point High School. Once his years as a highschooler officially came to an end, Mr. Manley enrolled at Indiana State University and declared Pre-Med with the intention of landing himself a future as a veterinarian. “I really wish I would have listened to the adults and teachers in my life and taken my education more seriously because this was an extremely competitive field,” Mr. Manley says. “During my junior year, my counselor called and asked if I would be interested in teaching high school biology at a local Catholic school. I really enjoyed teaching this class, so I decided to change my major to science education because I had already taken the majority of biology, chemistry, and math classes needed for this degree. After this change, I only saw myself teaching high school, but after student teaching at a local middle school, I decided that would be my ideal grade to teach.” Mr. Manley is currently in his 14th year of teaching. There was a time in which he taught biology classes at the high school, but he has settled down as an eighth grade teacher for a while now. “If I could pass on any advice to your generation, it would be to apply yourself to your full potential. I would also encourage you to listen to the adults in your life. Believe it or not, they know most of the answers to life! Although I enjoy my profession, I would definitely be making more money as a veterinarian.”

Mr. Manley is married with two children, Zach (7) and Madison (5). He had previously owned a dog named Zoe from college, however she passed away a few years ago. He currently hopes to persuade his wife into getting a German shepherd or rottweiler as a new addition to their family. The two of them had taken a trip to Hawaii for their honeymoon, but Mr. Manley wishes to return to Alaska for his dream vacation. “A friend of mine was moving to Alaska for the summer and asked me to drive with him, and his dad would fly me back,” he recalls. “This place was absolutely amazing, and I have never seen anything like it before. The trees and mountains just seemed to go on forever. I have never seen so many bears, bald eagles and moose in my entire life.” Aside from visiting the Dunes with his family, Mr. Manley tends to find happiness when taking part in his favourite activity, golfing. “I’m not any good, but I definitely enjoy getting outside and seeing my friends from high school. I will offer bonus points to anyone who brings me golf balls! Just joking! 🙂”

Mrs. Howard

Interviewed and Written by Aria Johnson

Mrs. Howard is the 8th grade Copper Team Science teacher. She started teaching at Pierce this school year, but started teaching in 2009. While Mrs. Howard doesn't have a favorite Tv show, she has a favorite movie which is, “What’s Love Got to do with it?” Her favorite type of music is rap and her favorite animal is a lion. Hobbies she loves to do in her free time is to hang out with her family, read, and do online shopping. She loves teaching and her favorite thing about it is that she gets to help students learn and interact with students. 

Mrs. Siegfried

Interviewed and Written by Malia Arce

Mrs. Siegfried is the 8 Purple science teacher here at Pierce Middle School. When I interviewed her, I started off by asking her what she liked to do in her freetime, and she shared with me quite a few things. Those few things she told me was that she coaches soccer, goes camping, goes to the movies, and hangs out with her family. Her favorite place to travel would be the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Plus I asked what her favorite food was as well and she responded with “cheesy ravioli.” I then started entering teaching questions and asked her what inspired her to become a teacher. She told me that she “had a really cool science teacher in high school and he took us on field trips.” Her favorite lesson that she taught was called “Monster Lab.” It was where students would create their own monster, color it in, etc. One of the questions I asked her was ‘what is something that you would want to change in the world’ and she told me that she would want “Less conflict and have people understand each other more.” For the future, she would want her students to know “education is important, so that way it can further your life.”

Mr. Pope

Interviewed and Written by Autumn Underwood

Mr. Pope teaches 7th grade social studies on the silver team. He is also one of the youngest teachers in the school building. He balances teaching and coaching by making time for both in his busy life schedule. When he gets home, he prepares for the next school day and then he gets ready to coach his team. Mr. Pope got into teaching because he wanted to inspire young people to be better than he was and to be the best version of themselves. Mr. Pope’s favorite subjects are social studies and math. His favorite holiday is Christmas. His dream job is to someday be a college football coach. He doesn't have any pets. Debating sports, listening to podcasts, and playing video games are some of his hobbies. He has also been on a cruise to the Bahamas. 

Mr. Klippel

Interviewed and Written by Aowen Kiel

Mr. Klippel is the notable social studies teacher of the 7th grade red team. He has 3 tattoos. “I will prolly get more,'' he states. “I have the Tree of Life down my right side, and then I have a sleeve on my left leg, and I am currently working on a sleeve on my right leg.  The meaning behind all of them is pretty deep.  The Tree of life represents the connection between heaven and earth; the Bodhi tree is also where Buddha reached enlightenment and becomes the Buddha. The left leg has Buddha on one side, and above Buddha, I have the Chinese character Tao Te Ching, which means ‘Walking the way or the path with wisdom and virtue.’ Then, on the other side of that leg, I have the Hindu “Om” symbol which represents the connection to the world.  Around the ankle there are 4 eyes that represent Brahman, the main Hindu God that units everything in the universe.  Around the eyes are Tibetan lotus flowers, and the lotus flower represents strength, rebirth, and becoming a better person. The rest of the sleeve is just cool geometric shapes and designs.  The right leg, that I am currently getting tattooed, has the Hamsa hand, which represents protection against evil, and on the inside of the hand, is the Star Wars Jedi symbol to remind me to not turn towards the dark side.  Yes, I am a Star Wars nerd.  The piece that I am working on now  is not done yet, but there is the Wu-Tang symbol, with a human face on the inside. That will turn into the universe and the face represents mother nature. and will work into darker colors that will turn into the galaxy and stars. I am hoping that it will be completely done in about 2 more sessions. Like I said there is a lot of deep meaning behind my tattoos.” 

     Mr. Klippel graduated college with a Bachelor’s Degree in History. He doesn't know where his dream vacation would be, but he would want it to be somewhere hot, sunny, and with a beach along the ocean. He would also like to go to Southeast Asia, United Arab Emirates, and Australia. Something Mr. Klippel thinks his students would be surprised to find out that he is actually very chill and relaxed outside of school. “When I am here, I am in teacher and coach mode, staying on people and sometimes having to get loud to make sure that my students and athletes always push themselves and make themselves better.” When he is at home, he likes to chill and relax, watch movies, listen to music, and cook. How are his students this year? Are they better than his students from last year? He replies with a simple answer, “Kids are going to be kids.Every year I have my favorite/good student that follows expectations and puts forth effort, and then every year I have students that do not follow expectations. That is why I am still a teacher here, I like the students that I am able to teach/coach and able to make better and make a difference in our community.”