Senior of the Month
April’s senior of the month is Daniel Montgomery. Daniel is the son of Tom and Donna Montgomery. He is a four year member of the soccer team and a three year member of National Honor Society. He volunteers at his church and is active in club soccer. After graduation he plans to attend The University of Cincinnati and major in Civil Engineering. When asked what advice he has for the underclassmen, he replied, “Always communicate with your teachers; don’t be afraid to ask for extra help.”
(Photo submitted)
Mr. Morris retires after 31 years
By Reese McCain
Mr. Morris first started teaching at Fairbanks Local Schools in the year of 1993. When he first moved to the area, he was inspired by two of his neighbors who were associated with Fairbanks, retired teacher Ray Chappelear and board member Mark Lippencott. He describes it as a good 10 years, his time with them, and mentioned that it was nice to get to be first exposed to Fairbanks Schools by them.
Mr. Morris taught commercial education, keyboarding and computer classes and also served as athletic director. He has taught at the schools for 31 years, and has coached a sport in every season – golf in the fall, basketball in the winter, and coached track and field during the spring.
Some of the league titles earned under his time coaching included the girl’s track title, boys basketball titles, and boys golf titles. He added: “Kids here make it easy to enjoy success.” Mr. Morris said secondary to any recognition he received, (coach of the year selections in golf and basketball and some league awards), they were never more enjoyable than what a team championship could be. “If they gave me an award, I couldn’t tell you where it is, but when your team wins a championship, and that number goes up on the banner, that stays with you forever.”
When asked about his teaching highlights, he responded: “The highlight from teaching is how much the student environment has changed, where it used to be teacher-driven and now it’s more student and resource-driven.”
When asked what he would miss the most about being at Fairbanks, he replied, “The positive engagements I have shared with our students are countless. The energy and enthusiasm of Fairbanks students has been a fountain of youth as my educational career closes. I have much to be thankful for. I will miss meeting new students and the prospect of making their experience here special. I’ll miss the daily student and teacher interactions that make our school special. I will always cherish the wonderful colleagues I shared the workplace with.”
We all wish you the best of luck, Mr. Morris! Thank you for all you’ve done!
FHS welcomes new guidance counselor
By Grace Keiderling
This school year, Fairbanks had the esteemed pleasure of welcoming Mrs. Melissa Gonglik to the staff. A former Consumer Science teacher at Indian Lake Middle School and an Ohio Hi-Point School Counselor, she expected, once again, to be challenged with finding out how this school operated. Though this is a struggle for many, Mrs. Gonglik made an incredibly smooth transition and dove head first into helping the students. She has enjoyed being able to work in her own community and having the opportunity to attend events and ball games where she can see her “kids” in action. Living farther away from her work, the community feel is something that Mrs. Gonglik wasn’t able to experience in her previous employment, making it one of the reasons that she decided to come to Fairbanks. The typical day of this school counselor comes with surprises around every corner. Everyday is different and comes with diverse challenges and rewards. She greets students in the morning, catches up on emails and paperwork, updates the guidance website, plans pathways for various students for high school and college, and for a majority of her day Mrs. Gonglik meets with students in and out of classrooms to assist them in educational and personal matters. A new initiative that Mrs. Gonglik assembled, along with the help of administration staff is, “What’s Your E?” These are three options for students to think about concerning their path after high school to help them focus their direction of whether they want to Enlist in the military, Enroll into a college or seek Employment in the workforce. Outside of this difficult but rewarding career, Mrs. Gonglik is married to her high school sweetheart and has three children: ages eight, six and three. Always a busy mom, she enjoys sports, being outside, family gatherings and country music. When asked if she had any meaningful words or advice for students or staff she said, “I believe that you have to connect and care and the learning will come. No matter who you are or what job you are in, everyone needs support and then you can truly teach them.”
FFA elects officers, prepares for Convention
By Aubrey Burns
The Fairbanks FFA has had a busy month in April and next month will be even busier yet. The chapter has just announced their 2023-2024 officer team. The president is Kara Boerger, the vice president is Aubrey Burns, the treasurer is Hannah Sullivan, the reporter is Catlin Hayes, the student advisor is Anna Lynch, the sentinel is Aaron Johnson, the historian is Kadence Kise, and the Chaplin is Camdyn Burns. The chapter is very proud to welcome the new officers and they will take their new offices on May 10th at the banquet. Some of the chapter members will be attending the 95th State FFA Convention on May 4th. The following members will be receiving their State Degrees on May 5th: Aubrey Burns, Kara Boerger, Anna Lynch, Hailey Dee, and Julie Headings. The FFA is planning the biggest event of the year in their annual banquet at Der Dutchman. The week following that is their petting zoo where chapter members will bring in animals for the elementary students to learn about. As the year comes to an end, the FFA will say goodbye to their seniors. They will truly be missed but members hope to further the success of the chapter and continue the traditions.
Drama Club performs Shrek, the Musical
By Riley Jones
The curtains dawn as the hard work has paid off, and the performance takes off. This year the Fairbanks High School Drama Club decided to present Shrek the Musical. A lot of dedication was put into the musical as around 300 hours went into production. The musical was performed on April 21-23 at Vet’s Memorial in Marysville. The show was three hours long and entertained the crowd the entire time. Caroline Wilson, sophomore said, “Reviving the Fairbanks Drama Club has brought many people together in an effort to create a beautiful performance for our community to enjoy!” Unfortunately, the Fairbanks Drama Club has come to an end for this year. However, many friendships and memories were made, and unlikely to ever be forgotten.
NHS hosts Book Drive
By Callie Kitchen
Fairbanks High School National Honor Society hosted a book drive during the week of April 17th. Students and staff could bring in any books of their choice. All books were donated to the Marysville Hope Center. A senior, Tessla Woolum, started the book drive. She had been volunteering at the Hope Center before they moved locations and had noticed they were low on books. Therefore she was inspired to start a book drive to help the organization. She then proceeded to implement this into her National Honor Society project. About 50 books were donated and given to the Hope Center. It proved overall a successful drive. Even though a sum of books was donated, the Hope Center is still accepting items from books to clothes or any other charitable donations. If there are any questions about ways to help or donate, visit The Hope Center website at: HopeCenterOhio.org