So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!

Five teachers that we have had the privilege to learn from  in past years won’t be returning in the fall.  They have shared with us their future plans and their favorite memories of Pres:

Ms. Russo

Ms. Russo came to Pres right out of college and has been here for the past three years.   She has enjoyed all of the immersion trips she has attended  at Presentation. However, Ms. Russo has decided to follow a call to action against injustices and will be attending law school at the University of Denver this coming fall.

Mr. Hutchinson

Mr. Hutchinson has loved Pres, his first job out of college.  For the past seven years he has grown here and hopes to be able to come back and coach the alumni soccer game and still be part of the community after he leaves.

Mr. Hutchinson will be marrying Ms. Russo this coming summer and they will move together to Colorado where he will be teaching at an all-boys school, Regis Jesuit High School.  He has wanted to move to Colorado since his teens and looks forward to enjoying the activities that the Rocky Mountains have to offer.  Some of Mr. Hutchinson’s favorite memories at Presentation have been making the Men of Pres movies, coaching soccer and being asked to speak at the 2006 graduation ceremony.

Mrs. Kissane

Mrs. Kissane has been at Presentation for 29 out of her 35 years of teaching and has decided that it is now time to leave.  When asked what her favorite memory at Pres has been she said, “There have been far too many memories for me to narrow it down.  Probably doing demos like my fireball demo because the kids always get excited.”

Mrs. Kissane said that her life at Pres has been great but, “when I don’t have to get up with an alarm clock, it will be worth it.”

Mr. Cozort

After 11 years at Pres, Mr. Cozort has accepted a position as an Instructional Technology Specialist at Bellarmine.  He has formed many favorite memories at Pres, from coaching memories and technological advancements, to the Men of Pres events, the Baptisms of his two sons and his own Confirmation.

Mr. Cozort said, “I have a billion things I want to say.  At Pres you are never at a loss for people who care about you.  It’s a lot more than a job.”

Mrs. Teresi

Ms. Teresi will be leaving Presentation after seven years of teaching in order to teach AP psychology at Harker.  Although she has many favorite memories, especially pertaining to May Day, Feast and other “community stuff,” Mrs. Teresi has especially enjoyed her 6th period AP psychology class this year.  Ms. Teresi said, “I have been really lucky to work in such a wonderful place and I look forward to seeing everyone at the alum events.”

Track Overview

As the track and field team changes every year, one thing stays the same: the Presentation Panthers have always done what they could with the small number of people available. They finished this season with a well deserved 3-3-0 record below the top three of Archbishop Mitty, Saint Francis, and Saint Ignatius, respectively.
With a tough season that featured many injuries, the long distance section of the Panther’s team still came out undefeated. Although the sprinting section did not finish off as well, junior Allison Bajet, whose best time in the 100-meter is 12.9 seconds, said,
“The individual races within the team really help build confidence because usually, when someone goes into a race thinking they are going to win and they lose, they can’t get out of the mental downspin. I like that little competition within the team. The races really help you learn that while you lose a few, you win a few. Your teammates make you go faster and strive to become better.” Bajet took part in many of the relays for Varsity this year, improving considerably since the first practice after coming out of her junior varsity soccer.
With all of the help this year from seven coaches and the volunteer coach for pole vaults, the athletes kept their heads ups with the wins and losses. Still, according to Coach Chris Cozort, consistent attendance at practices and meets remained a challenge.  “Mr. Cooling encourages athletes to participate in multiple sports at Pres, which helps our programs by spreading the school’s athletic ability around to multiple teams,” said Cozort, who will be leaving Presentation at the end of the year to work at Bellarmine. “Many athletes unfortunately choose to participate in club sports outside of Pres which has a generally negative impact on school sports participation.”
Overall, the team had a good year with many personal bests and young freshmen and sophomores making a difference. With this said, next year is expected to break new heights. With the size of Presentation, it is tricky to form a strong team overall, but Cozort believes we can do it. “We want the caliber team, which is easier to find in a bigger group of students, but we’ve assembled some great, strong, quick runners even with endurance. There will be a young team out there next year.”