Friday, November 7, 1997

Volume 85, Issue 4

FHS chemistry teacher Geoff Hughes finds                 A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

by Aaron Engebretson

 Imagine a mild-mannered chemistry teacher, dressed in his lab coat with TI-83 in hand. Suddenly, from the depths of the back row, a troubled voice cries out in anguish, “The molarity of this solution has me stumped!”

This mild mannered chemistry teacher rips off his lab coat, dons a pair of black sunglasses and emerges as Periodic Table Man! In a flash of red, he dashes to the aid of the helpless student. With wit and cunning he explains the nuances of molarity, the ratio of the moles solute per liter of solution.

“His colorful periodic table shirt was great,” said junior Crystal Herzog. “I colored my table like (his shirt) and it helped me remember the elements.”

Who is this Champion of Combustibility, this Argonaut of Atoms, this Emancipator of the Elements? It’s Flathead’s own Geoff Hughes, who has been nominated for the Presidential award for Excellence in Math and Science teaching. He was nominated by math teacher Fred Longhart.

“He (Hughes) has been innovative in the incorporation of technology in the classroom,” said Longhart. “He knows how to use the graphing calculator and the CBL (Calculator Based Laboratory), which gives him an edge.”

After being nominated for the Presidential award, an applicant must then fill out forms that consist of several essays explaining his or her teaching philosophy.

According to Longhart, Hughes has been able to reach kids and get them excited about a difficult subject.

“I loved his analogies to explain the formulas,” said Herzog. “Like when he tried to push his desk to demonstrate that energy doesn’t equal work.”

Hughes has been able to add humor to a difficult class.

“I thought I would hate chemistry, but he made it fun with his (goofy) humor,” said senior Darcy James. “When he was talking about atoms of larger mass pushing around smaller ones and said an example (would) be at Rawson Field at 7:30 when the Braves play CMR.”

“He is methodical and breaks the terms down so you can understand them,” said junior Becky Henning

Periodic Table Man has inspired teachers and students alike. Now he is being recognized for  innovative teaching and love for the students.

Of all his accomplishments the Presidential Award may be his greatest, said Hughes, adding:

“Of all the things a person might win, this is the one I would most like to get.”

Four-period day scrapped for ‘99

On Oct. 24 the Flathead High administration decided against a four-period day for next year, and now is contemplating bringing back a six-period to FHS.

“It (next year’s schedule) will be similar to something that has been done before,” said Principal Gary Martin. “It might to be a six-period day with some kind of early bird again.”

FHS gears up for Rockfest ‘97

The music of Kalispell’s youth has come to life in the past three years. With the birth of the multiband shows, Flathead Rocks and RockFest and inexpensive ticket prices of around $6, these shows have been an accessible place for the bands to showcase their music locally.

Flathead color guard prepares for performance at U of M

 After more than 20 flag presentations this year, JROTC will cadets travel to Missoula Nov. 15 to present the colors  with an estimated audience of 30,000 at a Grizzly football game.

Math department holds TI-83 raffle for charity

Going once, twice, raffled! Flathead High’s math department is raffling off a TI-83 calculator so a student without a calculator may have the chance to own one. 

“I got the idea at parents night,” said math teacher Janet Kuchenbrod. “Parents asked if there was any extra funding for calculators for kids who didn’t have one.”

Princeton boychoir tours FHS

The FHS auditorium was engulfed in the sounds of the American Boychoir on the Oct. 30. Twenty-eight boys, ages 10-14 sang and spoke to the audience about their lives in the national choir from Princeton, N.J.

Global village classes work for peace in the middle east

A successful peace in the Middle East may be a tough concept to grasp,  but efforts are being made to resolve the conflict — at least in a simulation in Genia Allen-Schmid’s global village class.

Fighting, violence cause problems at FHS

According to Scholastic Update magazine, every 22 seconds, there is at least one random act of violence going on somewhere in the United States. Every 28 seconds there is an aggravated assault somewhere in America. And the students of Flathead High are not spared that violence — on and off campus.