2012_09_25 - Saint Thomas Aquinas High School

10 September 25, 2012FeaturesEternal SaintsEleven teachers who tooka chance on Saint ThomasAquinas remain from Day 1.MADISON PETRACEKManaging EditorThe teachers who came fromschools in the surrounding areashared the excitement of thestudents to be part of somethingnew, but also were making amore permanent leap.Latin teacher Greg Wilsonleft his teaching job at BishopMiege to join the Saint ThomasAquinas community. He wasvery involved at Miege: teachingEnglish, coaching the sophomoregirls’ basketball team, teaching anelective combining Latin and religion(Miege dropped their Latinrequirement), coaching track andbeing the head soccer coach. Heleft all of this due to his desire tobe a teacher at a school that justopened.Looking at the teachers whohad started when Miege opened,Wilson admired them andthought the experience would beamazing. He became the school’sfirst cross country coach, with 26runners. Wilson’s willingness towork with runners of all abilityturned into a tradition of largeteams. By 2005, his team hadgrown to 162 students. He retiredfrom cross country in 2005,but continues to teach Latin andcoach track.English teacher Craig Ewingswitchedfrom Miege to Aquinasin order to work with the newpresident, Blake Mulvany.“I wanted to be part of buildinga school from the groundup,” Ewing said.Unlike Wilson and Ewing,Lisa Stoecklein, Spanish teacher,whose last name was formerly1989 Medallion yearbookLatin teacher Greg Wilson smiles while talking to students in 1988. WhenWilson was teaching at Bishop Miege, he admired the teachers who had beenat Miege since the school began and thought being apart of that experience atSaint Thomas Aquinas would be “amazing.”Nash, was forced to leave her oldschool. Stoecklein worked at theold Aquinas in Shawnee, but wasexcited to have the opportunityto move to a new school.Every teacher who came toAquinas took the risk to leave anestablished school or was forcedto leave one.“Yes, I was scared to leaveBishop Miege. I did not wonderif the school would last. Iwondered how the new facultywould work together,” Wilsonsaid. “Latin was a required courseat Aquinas. I wondered if theydropped the requirement if Iwould still have a job, but Mr.Mulvany promised me I could1989 Medallion yearbookEnglish teacher Craig Ewing works with a stymied student during the first year.It would be another 22 years before Ewing could get his first iPad. Instead,Ewing used chalkboards in a room without air conditioning but got his dream to“be part of building a school from the ground up.”teach English.”Stoecklein never worriedabout leaving the old Aquinas towork at the new school.“I was happy to get a jobat the new school and was veryexcited to get in from the beginning.It was a big deal,” Stoeckleinsaid.There was tension at the oldAquinas, though.“During my first year ofteaching at the old Aquinas, asit became clear that it was thelast year for that school in thatlocation, all of the teachers wereworried about keeping or gettinga job,” she said.“It was a very uncomfortabletime for teachers and for theparents of our students. Emotionsran high that year. Therewere parents and teachers whoresented those of us who wereoffered jobs at STA.”When Ewing looks back,he realizes his old job at BishopMiege is very similar to his currentone.“I taught junior English andI coached boys soccer,” Ewingsaid. “But I looked forward to abetter working environment withan upbeat and excited staff surroundedby optimism.”Stoecklien remembers theold Aquinas only having 400 studentsand the faculty being quitesmall. Like her old job, she stilltaught all the Spanish and Frenchclasses and coached volleyballand track. She added cheerleadingsponsor to list of job titles.Wilson saw from the beginningthat this job would be different,special, and exciting.“Every school I had taughtat before (Shawnee MissionSouth, Nallwood Junior High, St.Ann’s, and Bishop Miege) all hadestablished routines and traditions,”Wilson said. “Everythinghere was new. Teams were made.Uniforms were chosen. It wasneat because we had input. Youcould be one of the people whodecided how to do it.” G