At the start of this academic year Rolla High School welcomed thirteen new teachers. Cheryl Briggeman and Peter Bryant are two of the recent additions.

Language arts instructor Cheryl Briggeman, is no rookie when it comes to new experiences. 

“I am a child of a military family. As a child my family lived in Lakenheath, England and Ismir, Turkey. We also lived in many different states. When I was in the fourth grade I had already gone to six different elementary schools. I know what it is like to be a ‘new student’,” said Briggeman.

Social studies teacher Peter Bryant is also a new educator at RHS. He had previously taught at West Plains and Kansas before he decided to come to Rolla.

“It’s an opportunity to go to a bigger school where I’d have a chance to have teachers that taught the same subject as me that I could collaborate with and bounce ideas off of,” explained Bryant. “Everywhere else I’ve been before here, it’s always been kind of me by myself.” 

Along with being a former football coach, Bryant now coaches girl’s basketball and takes up photography in his free time. 

“I will be coaching basketball. I do photography, you’ll probably see me at sporting events and band concerts and choir concerts and all that. I really like to immerse myself in the culture of the school that I’m in as much as I can,” stated Bryant.

An important aspect of Bryant’s teaching experience is making sure students have a fun and different way of engaging in material.

“History has always kind of interested me and there’s just so many really fun things that you can do with history to make it a little bit more alive. […] It was kind of a challenge for me to try and make it something that kids would look forward to coming [to class for],” said Bryant.

The new educators are very excited to be a part of the Rolla Public School System. 

“I am very glad to be here in Rolla. I believe that we have a wonderful staff and student body. Everyone is so kind and supportive,” said Briggeman.