During a student’s high school experience many things impact the way they are going to live their lives once they are gone. One of those important factors is the teacher they have in class/see around. This year Potosi High School is losing five of those teachers. Those teachers are either resigning or retiring. So good luck to these five teachers who have made many many impacts on students’ lives, we hope you enjoy your retirement/resigning.

Resigning Teacher…

Mrs.Peek is the resigning science teacher, or as some others may know her as Miss. Koch. Over the summer (Corona break), Mrs. Peek got married. This February Mrs. Peek had her baby girl. Her name is Cecilia Joan Peek (she has fiery red hair). 

Before she came to PHS, she was in Outdoor Education at YMCA of the Ozarks Mrs. Peak has now worked at Potosi High School for all three years of her teaching career. While she has been here she has taught Biology, Biology II, Anatomy and Physiology (her favorites were Anatomy and Physiology). Mrs. Peak has also been volleyball coach for the JV team the past two years. 

She explained her favorite thing about Potosi. “I love the small town feel and how close knit our community is! It is great to see how unified we all become, especially when it comes to helping and supporting others in our town.” Her favorite memory at Potosi, as a teacher, is coaching and becoming so close with the volleyball team. 

Mrs. Peek is resigning because she and her husband just welcomed their first baby girl. She is taking a break from teaching to be a stay-at-home mom and to raise their child. Yet, she does plan on teaching again in the future. Currently, she is working on her Master’s in Biology. “Hopefully I will be able to teach at the community college level or dual credit classes through high school. My husband is in the Air Force, so we will be moving frequently. If we are still in the area, I will try to teach at Potosi. If not, we will just see where the Air Force takes us!” 

Retiring Teachers…

Starting in the math department…

Mrs. Dickinson is one of the retiring teachers this year. She has taught all sorts of math classes ranging from Pre-Algebra to Calculus. Other than math, she taught ACT Prep for many years. Her favorite class to teach is Algebra II. 

Mrs. Dickinson has been a teacher for 14 years, one year at Steelville High School, three years at Kingston school district, and ten years at Potosi High School. Mrs. Dickinson said that her favorite thing about teaching at Potosi is “I love teaching in my hometown!! I love the interaction with both students and faculty and especially love seeing the kids develop an understanding of math and how it relates to the world around them.” 

After teaching ten years in Potosi, Mrs. Dickinson has a lot of great memories. “There are too many (memories) to choose from but I have really enjoyed our Pi Day celebration each year.  It was a time when the students could not only see that math was meaningful but they could see that it was FUN”!

When Mrs. Dickinson retires she plans to live her life gardening, camping and just working outside. In case you cannot tell, she loved the outdoors!

Now onto the Special Education teachers…

Mrs. Arnold has been a teacher for 18 years, all at Potosi. Before she worked here she was a lab technician and a stay-at-home mom. When she started at Potosi she began teaching English, Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies in self-contained and co-teaching settings. Out of all the subjects reading and English are her favorites.

 Mrs. Arnold has worked for Potosi her whole teaching career which means she has most definitely found her favorite thing about Potosi: her relationships that she has built with the students and the teachers. Mrs. Arnold’s been here for 18 years and says that it’s hard to pick just one favorite memory. “However, most involved laughing with my department because we understood the humor in all situations,” said Mrs. Arnold. 

When she is retired she plans to travel more, do lots of camping, and be more involved with her church outreach. 

Mr. Cox is also in the Special Education field. He has been teaching for 31 years. One of those years being at the Houston School District located in Houston, Missouri. The other 30 years at Potosi. When asked what all he had taught Mr. Cox’s first response was “I have taught at each grade level in the district.” He continued,, “I have taught students in self-contained classrooms and co-teaching classrooms. I have taught all subjects including English, reading, math, science, and social studies”. His favorite subject is science (especially Biology). 

Mr. Cox has formed many relationships throughout the community and it is by far his favorite thing about Potosi. As well with the students and parents in our Potosi school system. Mr. Cox’s favorite memories have to do with the friendships that he has made while he’s been teaching here. He makes sure to say that he hopes all of those friendships endure the rest of time.

Now, Mr.Cox’s retirement isn’t like a lot of other retirements. He plans to go teach at the university level to train teachers, but he also plans to travel, garden, read, and spend time with friends. 

Now to our librarian…

Mrs. Mercille has been a teacher for 29 years, 28 of those years at Potosi. Before she came to Potosi, she worked at Belgrade State Bank and St. Joachim. She has been a kindergarten, 2nd, 3rd and 6th grade classroom teacher and a librarian at TIS, JEMS and PHS. 

Instead of having a favorite thing to teach, Mrs. Mercille has a least favorite, ‘Honestly, I have a least favorite (kindergarten) but I have loved every position that I’ve had.  Every position that I’ve had has different things that I enjoyed.  I loved being a classroom teacher and having a special relationship with “my kids.” “If I had to choose the most favorite grade I taught I’d have to say a tie between 3rd and 6th. Third grade was special to me because those students were at a precious age, and 3rd grade is where so much learning and growth takes place and I was able to nurture and help with that growth. When I moved to 6th grade, the first year TIS was open, I had many students for a 2nd time because I also had them in 3rd grade. I taught math to two other classrooms and had my students for everything but science and social studies, so I already knew most of the students that I had from elementary. I didn’t have to figure out personalities and what worked best with them because I already knew and I think that made a big difference in how I was able to run my class and create lessons. We did big projects and a lot of fun activities that year that I will always remember.”

 Her favorite thing about Potosi is that it’s home. She grew up here and always wanted to work here. She stated, “Potosi is small but we support and help each other.” Mrs. Mercile’s favorite memory is developing relationships with so many of her students and getting to watch them succeed in life or/and school.

When she retires she plans to spend more time as a parent and grandparent. She will do some activities at home and be involved with her church. As most know, she will also be working on her business when she is needed. 

In the time that these teachers have been at Potosi High School, they have influenced many students. These teachers are very much appreciated for everything they have done in the years that they have been here, and they will definitely be missed. While they will be missed, PHS hopes that they enjoy their time off. They have very much deserved it and we hope that they are able to do the things that they are wanting to and enjoy themselves.