At the end of this school year not one but two long-time teachers at Orcas Island High School will be retiring from teaching. The wonderful Val Hellar, who has taught many things, but mainly social studies and history, at the high school for 35 years. Also retiring from teaching at Orcas Island High School is Brett McFarland, who has taught mostly physics and shop for the last 23 years. We appreciate all the work they have done to help hundreds of students learn and grow and to help preserve a supportive, curious, and fun community here. We asked them a few questions about their time teaching, and here are their responses:
BRETT MCFARLAND:
1. Do you have a favorite memory from teaching at OIHS? Oh my…so many memories and some of them good. I always got a kick out of the Physics demos at the Holiday Luncheon – one of them in particular was having a student lay on a bed of nails, putting another bed of nails on their chest with a cinder block on top of that and then someone would smash the cinder block with a sledgehammer. I’m amazed we never had an injury.
2. What’s something you’ll miss about teaching? The money for one. Access to the shop for two.
3. Do you have any plans to travel/work on specific projects next year? I have a lifetime supply of unfinished projects! I’ll be traveling around the islands in my umiak.
4. Are you looking forward to anything in particular? Yes, as Coach Dahl says, I’m looking forward to “six Saturdays and a Sunday” for my weekly schedule.
5. Do you plan to stay on Orcas? Yes, but I will be spending time on Waldron also.
6. What’s something that surprised you about teaching here? How similar OHS was to DGF, the high school I attended in Rota Spain.
7. What made you want to start teaching in the first place? I was studying Electrical Engineering at OSU and got a job as bike trip leader at Camp Nor’wester on Lopez Island – it was a blast working with kids.
8. If you could only teach one class what would it be? Applied Physics Boat Building was probably the most challenging and rewarding class I taught.
9. What’s something a student taught you? Oh, I could fill volumes. Juan Diaz and Pasha Bullock taught me that if you work hard you can accomplish difficult things.
VAL HELLAR (in classic Val style she did not respond directly to our questions, but she did write a very sweet farewell):
If I were to attempt answering even half of these questions you would have a book!
All I would like to say is that I feel I am the luckiest teacher in the world.. seriously. I have had a job I LOVE, students who are heroes to me, a teaching assignment that has allowed me to teach the very BEST and MOST important topics a student can learn…. History, Speech, Mythology, Film as Literature, Theatre… those are a few. I’ve been given the opportunity to travel the World!! I’ve been to Italy (twice), Greece, England, Scotland, France, Spain and Morocco, Thailand… and oh yeah JAPAN–11 times! The staff have been so supportive…even Mr. Austin who I am sure I tortured for years with my loud voice, loud students and very loud movies. We have top notch teachers here. The administration over the years have been supportive and trusted me with academic freedom. The very best thing has been that I have laughed EVERY DAY that I’ve worked here. Students have put up with crazy stories of my misspent youth. I’ve frustrated them with my pointless meanders, superfluous tangents, repeating myself, mispronouncing words, forgetting names, and misspelling EVERYTHING. So…Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls and those beyond the Binary…I salute you and thank you for keeping me young and making my life amazing.
