STUDENT COUNCIL

February Staff Shout Outs

Mrs. Yepsen

What’s your favorite movie/book/music artist, and why?

    • I don’t have favorite movies, books, or music.  I am an avid reader and will read just about anything. I am currently reading The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott. My kids have recently discovered Harry Potter.  I have enjoyed rereading those books to my kids.

What are some qualities you look for in students when trying to connect with them and do you feel respected by the students in your job? 

    • One of the most important qualities for students to have is the willingness to try something.  So often in math, students get scared that they might get something wrong.  I can always work with students who get questions wrong.  However, I struggle to help students who are unwilling to try a question.

What are some things you look forward to each year?

    • During a normal year, I look forward to taking my kids to sporting events. They love running around the track at football games.  I also love to travel.  We often travel to central America over Christmas break.

Was there ever a teacher you knew or still knew that changed your life? How? 

    • I was fortunate to have great teachers during all of my education.  The most memorable was my math and physics teacher in high school.  He tried really hard to make class hands on.  He strung a bowling ball from the ceiling of the gym while we discussed pendulum motion.  He also brought us outside to pull his car while talking about inertia. 
PHS Staff Shout Out

February 2021 Staff Shout Out

Ms. Bosnich

What is your favorite thing about working at PHS?

    • My favorite thing about working at PHS is the students that I get to interact with daily. I value the personal relationships I have built with athletes and students that last beyond years at PHS. I enjoy working with the staff because they are team players and together we can help students be successful! 

Was there ever a teacher that you knew or still know that changed your life? How?

    • I’ve had quite a few teachers in my life that really influenced me, but the two most influential are Ms. Cheryl Steinz and Ms. Clare Gonzalez from DePue grade school. They both valued honesty and hard work. I always knew that my efforts would be held accountable. They made me work hard, but also valued laughter in the classroom. They both are mentors in my life and still offer advice when I reach out.

What are some things you look forward to each year? 

    •  Each year I look forward to the start of a new school year. I enjoy seeing the students after a break and hearing how their summer was. I also look forward to the start of basketball season. I enjoy spending the extra time with the athletes outside of regular school hours. 

What is/are your favorite hobby/hobbies? 

    •  My favorite hobbies are spending time with my family and boat racing.  I also really enjoy traveling. I have been lucky enough to travel to many places all over the world including Honduras, Belize, China, Iceland, South Africa, and many places within the United States; Hawaii, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Florida, California, Seattle, Green Lake Wisconsin, Zion National Park, just to name a few… Needless to say, I am always up for an adventure! 

What’s your favorite story or memory you can think of about something that has happened in your time working here?

    • I enjoy being able to watch students participate in the activities that they enjoy whether it is sports, the band, or a musical, but my personal favorite memory is the fresh-soph girls basketball team finishing the season 12-0 in the conference in 2020.

  

PHS Staff Shout Out

February 2021 Staff Shout Out

Mrs. Markham

What’s your favorite thing about working at PHS?

    • I love working at PHS because I am a lifelong Princeton girl and graduated from PHS. Always proud to be a tiger! These are my people. 

What are some things you look forward to every year? 

    • I look forward to the celebrations the school year has to offer – homecoming, prom, graduation… Ready to have those back! And I love getting into all the holidays…I’m obsessed with Christmas.

What’s your biggest pet peeve? 

    • When people can’t put their phones down when you are spending time with them. 
  • If you had three wishes what would you wish for and why? 
    • 1). Infinite money so I could help worthy causes and, of course, buy vacation homes around the world and visit whenever I want. 2). Warm weather because I’m over winter. 3) For my family and friends to live long and healthy lives. 

What’s your favorite childhood memory? Why? 

    • Spending Sundays at my grandparent’s house. Loved spending time with family and they had the best house and property- Those were the good old days!
PHS Staff Shout Out

February 2021 Staff Shout Out

Mrs. Gray

What’s your favorite movie/book/music artist, and why? 

    • I feel like there are two camps when it comes to what I love to read, there are the books I love from what I get to teach and books I love to read at home. Of Mice and Men is an amazing story of friendship and hard decisions, and it’s the fact that the character cares enough about another person to make that hard decision. An author I love is a contemporary author named Greg Iles. I always look forward to when he comes out with a new book, and I feel like he just doesn’t quite write new books fast enough for me! My favorite movie is Fletch, and it is about a journalist. When I was in highschool we had phones that were attached to the wall, and I would always race to get to the phone first (before my mom) because sometimes my friend would call in the middle of the night and claim he was “Ted Underhill” from the movie!

What are some things you look forward to each year? 

    •  The season of Fall and all that comes with it. Being a teacher, the beginning of the year is always exciting with football, soccer, cheer, and poms. It is such an exciting time in the building. Other perks are homestead, homecoming, and the crisper cooler air. Besides Fall, I also love all the “breaks” during the school year.  

Was there ever a teacher you knew or still know that changed your life? How? 

    •  This is tough because I have always been blessed with great teachers. Mr. Heth, who taught global environmental science at IVCC, was always so passionate about everything. He would even come into class and talk about what he had just heard on the radio! His class partly made me think I would become an environmental scientist. Mr. Heth knew me outside of the classroom too because he actually lived right across the street from my mom’s house, so he knew my strengths. But he never doubted me in whatever I told him what I wanted to do or be. It definitely clicked with both him and I when I told him I wanted to teach! He really had an inspiring love of learning. Professor, Time Taylor from Easter was another amazing teacher in my life. He taught two classes on writing, and they changed the way I teach writing. In his class, was the first time I realized it’s okay to use “I” in a paper and in fact, it’s good to do that. I can write research papers easily, but he pushed me to write personal writing. I think it is important for me and is important for everyone, to stretch out your wings even when it’s uncomfortable for you.

What is your favorite childhood memory? Why?

    • I have lots of great memories, but I especially loved summer days in my swimming pool. It was that feeling of having nothing to do, and just floating in the pool looking up at the fluffy clouds. It was really a sense of freedom. Just not having to be anywhere, and being able to relax.

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

    • I feel like I have so many, it’s hard to pick. Loud eaters. But masks allow for less of that these days! Another one I have realized I have is close minded people. It is so important to consider new ideas, and we all need to be willing to listen to one another in order to grow. There is so much importance in taking in new information because a lot of times, when two people share their opinions, the truth lies somewhere in between.
PHS Staff Shout Out

February 2021 Staff Shout Out

Mr. Morton

What’s your favorite story or memory you can think of about something that has happened in your time working here?

    • I’ve always enjoyed working directly with the students, either on the football field or in the press box. It’s rewarding to see when a student buys in, or navigates a complex technical issue on their own.

What’s your favorite movie, book, and music artist, and why?

    • My favorite movie changes often, right now I’d have to say “Interstellar”. As for books, it might have to be “The Martian” it’s 100x better and funnier than the movie.  As for music artist, I’m from the 90’s..so, most of those bands are no longer around. So I’d have to say “Pearl Jam.”

When you were in high school, did you know what you wanted to do as an adult?

    • I thought I did, but as it turns out break dancing doesn’t really pay the bills.

What are some things that you’ve noticed are different between high school now and high school when you went?

    • I actually went to PHS so I have a unique perspective on this one.  For one, back in my day the halls were jam packed.  We had around 850+ students at one time, so going from class to class was a traffic jam!  Back then the internet was in its infancy, so we relied heavily on these devices stuck to our kitchen walls.  We called them telephones which were used to call the houses of our friends in order to coordinate plans.

If you could meet anyone you wanted, living or dead, who would it be, and why?

    • I have to take Mr. Smith’s answer here and say Jesus Christ.  His impact on the world continues to be profound.

Was there ever a teacher you knew or still know that changed your life? How?

    • Coach Lowe was a teacher that most every student had to have as he taught a required course.  During this class you knew, on day one with clarity what the expectation was. Be in your seat and ready at the bell.  Do not speak.  Eye Contact. Do not take notes unless instructed to, and for that matter don’t touch your pencil unless you’re taking notes.  It was evident that the rules were to be respected, and by following the rules we earned his respect.  He would also watch over study halls in the cafeteria, a vast room full of 200+ kids without air-conditioning. We never even made a noise.. not once.

If you had one hour to live, what would you do, why would you do it, and who would you do it with?

    • I’d spend it with my family doing whatever they decide! 
PHS Staff Shout Out

February 2021 Staff Shout Out

Coach Gray (Soccer)

When you were in high school did you know what you wanted to be as an adult? 

    • Not really, I knew I liked sports and history, but did not know what specifically I would do with those interests. Teaching and coaching was a way that I could keep those interests an important part of my life, and not just hobbies.  

What are some things you look forward to each year? 

      • I always look forward to soccer season. I love the challenge and the competition. I also really do love the game. I  look forward to teaching certain subjects within my class as well. World War One has always been one that I look forward to. 

    What’s your biggest pet peeve? 

      • When people are not accountable for their actions. 

    If you could meet anyone you wanted, living or dead, who would it be, and why? 

      • It would be really difficult to choose only one, but Abraham Lincoln would be high on my list because I find him very interesting. I would love to have all types of discussions with him about politics, religion, race, etc. Another person of interest for me would be the political philosopher John Locke. For much the same reason as Lincoln. I find his writing and ideas to be fascinating. 

    If there was any place in the world that you could go, where would it be? 

      • Scotland. I have always wanted to visit there. I would love to be able to trace my ancestry and visit places my ancestors would have lived. 

    What is/are your favorite hobby/hobbies? 

      • Sports have always been a hobby. I love playing and watching, especially soccer and football. 
    PHS Staff Shout Out

    February 2021 Staff Shout Out

    Mr. Gray

    What are some things you look forward to each year? 

    • Seeing new students each fall and watching all the extra curricular activities each year

    What’s your biggest pet peeve?

    • Pessimistic attitudes

    What are some things that you’ve noticed are different between high school now and high school when you went?

    • We had mods instead of blocks. Each mod was around 15-20 minutes, so an average class was 3 mods in length except science classes with labs which were 4 mods long. We could have study halls built into our schedules as well. And, some years, depending on our schedules, we might have a late start at 9:00 or an early dismissal at 2:15. 

    If you could meet anyone you wanted, living or dead, who would it be, and why?

    • I would say Mike Rowe. I really enjoy his podcasts and he’s a great orator.

    Was there ever a teacher you knew or still know that changed your life? How? 

    • Mr. Lowe. I had him for health and for P.E in high school. I wasn’t the best student, but he helped me learn how to focus by telling me exactly when I needed to take notes. He had high expectations and held people accountable. I wish I would have had the opportunity to play basketball for him, but he wasn’t coaching anymore. He’s someone I respect greatly. 
    PHS Staff Shout Out

    February 2021 Staff Shout Out

    Mrs. Dye

    What’s your favorite thing about working at PHS?

    • I grew up in Princeton, so it has been wonderful to be back at PHS as part of the staff. My favorite thing about working at PHS is all of the athletes and activity participants that I have gotten to work with in the past year and a half. Our students are incredibly talented and a great representation of PHS, so it has been great to watch them thrive at doing what they love!

    What’s your favorite story or memory you can think of about something that has happened in your time working here? 

    • Last year our family hosted an exchange student, so I really enjoyed getting to watch her participate in a variety of activities at PHS. Football was something that was completely new to her, so my favorite memory would have to be watching her experience Tiger Football and all of the excitement that came along with it!

    What’s your favorite movie/book/music artist, and why? 

    • My favorite book that I have read recently is Educated. It is a moving memoir about a woman who overcame the odds to access an Education and to get the courage to leave and walk away from a negative family situation.

    What is/are your favorite hobby/hobbies? 

    • I enjoy playing piano, playing tennis, and doing yoga. 

    When you were in high school, did you know what you wanted to do as an adult? 

    • When I was in high school, I wanted to teach junior high or high school Math. 
    PHS Staff Shout Out

    February 2021 Staff Shout Out