The CHIEF May 2024

A Year in Summary with Mrs. Rustman and Mrs. Hamann By: Lauren Russow

With finals week coming up, teachers like Mrs. Hamann and Mrs. Rustman can reflect on their first year of teaching at PTHS.

Mrs. Hamann teaches Civics and History, and volunteers with girls and boys cross country and girls track. Subsequently, she enjoyed the girls track team going to state for the 4 x 800 relay. She describes our high school as inclusive. She went to ISU for college and Aurora University for her masters. She had a different experience then the current high school student because she went to Woodland High School where kindergarten through 12th grade were all in the same school. She says that PTHS is ten times bigger than her high school and there are just high school students in our school. The students in our school also have more academic and extracurricular opportunities than what she was offered during high school. Prior to teaching at PTHS, she taught Reading and Language Arts to the 4th and 5th graders at Pontiac’s Washington School and since she had such a wonderful experience there it made her interested in teaching at the high school level. She is looking forward to reconnecting with old students that she taught when they were younger. This year she enjoyed getting to teach Civics for the first time, getting to know students and building relationships with others, as well as the cookouts and tailgates our school hosted. Mrs. Hamann enjoys running, spending time with her husband and two Siberian huskies, and traveling to different places. She listens to hairband music and reads nonfiction true crime books. She says, “It is better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission” (meaning you do not need to wait around for anyone else's approval to do the things you need to succeed). She also informs students to put the phone down and get a lot of sleep. She also says they should spend time with their family and friends because in the blink of an eye their high school experience will be in the rear view mirror. Mrs. Rustman graduated from Winthrop University and teaches Career, Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies. She describes PTHS as welcoming. She showed interest in teaching at our school because she wanted to teach Life Skills, and was impressed with our Life Skills program. She enjoys being able to work with other people and her kind co-workers. She is involved with unified peers and says that it is a great way for students to get to know others that they might not otherwise be around. She also taught prior to coming to PTHS as a Special Education, Resource and Life Skills teacher. Mrs. Rustman’s favorite memories of working at PTHS are from going on field trips with other classes. In the beginning of the school year she looked forward to meeting new students and being a part of the PTHS community. When she went to high school she did not have as much access to technology or social media, making it different from that of the current high school student. Mrs. Rustman enjoys spending time with her kids, playing games and watching movies. Her favorite song is “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper, and she likes reading Dr. Seuss books. She tells students that if they get involved they will have a successful school year.

In conclusion, Mrs. Rustman and Mrs. Hamann are two teachers who have completed their first year of teaching at our school. Along the way they have made many memories and are looking forward to meeting lots of new students next year.