Teacher of March

By Hannah Mildenberger

Although he may no longer be a teacher, Assistant Principal Mark Appelhans is the teacher of the month for March due to his sheer tenacity, perseverance and hard work for this school. He went to the University of Northern Colorado, Northern Junior College​, and Colorado Christian University.

Years ago, he taught at Campbell Elementary School for about seven years. He taught everything: math, reading and writing.

His main goal as a teacher was to have “successful students who learned as much as possible. My favorite part about teaching is that moment when a kid who was struggling with a subject finally got it.”

“I thought I was going to be a teacher after I retired when I was working somewhere else. I was involved in my son’s coaching and I enjoyed working with kids,” Appelhans said. “What influenced me most to become a teacher was when I was complaining about education to my wife and she said to do something about it instead of complaining about it.”

Appelhans’s favorite memory as a teacher was when he had an ornery student sitting up front while another student was messing with a bracelet. He confiscated it and put it on a shelf. When the day was closing and coming to an end, he noticed that the bracelet was missing. A third student said somebody took it.

“I looked right at the student and said that nobody was going home until they fessed up. That student jumped out of his seat and did just that. He fessed up,” Appelhans said.

Appelhans said, “A fun fact about myself, that most people don’t know, is that I like to do Karaoke and I’d say I’m a pretty good singer.”

He also enjoys doing home improvement projects on the weekends.

“My favorite holiday would be Independance Day, because on that day, I host a picnic with my family and friends,” he said.

His favorite book is Of Mice and Men and his favorite food is green chili.