[ot-caption title=”Mr. Ames shares a laugh with senior Bryce Hackmeyer before teaching European History. (via Sabine Katsoulos, senior)”]

Pine Crest teachers are renowned for their academic knowledge and teaching ability. However, our diverse Pine Crest community is much more than just academically talented. If a student gets to know some of the teachers here at the Pine, he or she will learn that teachers play instruments, dance, write, and paint among many other things. Even more impressively, these teachers take time out of their busy schedules to use their artistic talents at Pine Crest. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Students may know Mr. Spitzig from the math classroom, but he also played the drums in a band for six years. He started playing the drums when he was ten because his brother started playing the guitar and insisted that the two play together. He, his brother, and some of his brother’s friends formed a band called The End of June in high school, and continued playing in college. They played what Spitzig considers “a pretty even mix” of covers of artists like Dave Matthew, Pearl Jam, Weezer, and the Goo Goo Dolls. The group also performed original songs written by his brother and the lead singer. More recently he has performed in Playing For Change with students. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

[ot-caption title=”Sra. Zingg works with seniors Madeline Hage and Ariel Casaretto on an assignment. (via Sabine Katsoulos, senior)”]

Moving to the Spanish wing, Spanish teacher Sra. Zingg discussed her twenty year career as a classical ballerina. Her routine was demanding, to say the least. “I would go to school in the morning, and from 3:30 pm until around 9:00 pm and danced with a small company in Maracaibo, Venezuela.” Although she never danced professionally, the small company constantly needed dancers. She had the opportunity to dance in Swan Lake, Giselle, Carmen, The Nutcracker, and a few other ballets. Although she is a Spanish teacher, she asserts her dancing talent here at Pine Crest as well. “When Mrs. Gooden and Mrs. Cichoski asked me to choreograph a piece for this year’s Dance Etc. performance, I was thrilled. I cannot describe how happy I am for the opportunity to step on a dance floor again, and to be able to work with such talented group of ballerinas and teachers,” says Sra. Zingg. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Mr. Liguori is a professional artist who goes by the name ALIGUORI because he mostly paints allegories. However, he is also the an AP art teacher here at Pine Crest. “I am the in-house Artist for Red Crown Records/Red Crown Radio,” says Mr. Ligouri. “For them I usually paint in acrylics or mixed media.” He worked in Wynwood and the Design Districts of Miami for the last five years and is represented by the Liminal Art Gallery Out of Miami. He has displayed work at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, The Boca Museum, Fort Lauderdale Art Serve, the SLS hotel in South Beach, and even had one of his paintings used for Wall Street International’s coverage of Art Basel Miami 2013. Here at Pine Crest, he is working on student shows, both in school and out of school exhibitions, and assists and donates to the photography club. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Although you can usually find Mr. Ames in the history wing, he’s led quite an interesting musical career. He began playing drums around 5^th grade, and continued all through school with different bands: symphonic, jazz, marching, and more. He has played with an array of different jazz groups, wedding bands and concert groups, but his biggest success was the group he helped create, Soul Street. This group plays a lot of Motown for corporate events, festivals, and concerts. Additionally, Mr. Ames created a company about ten years ago, called Razor Entertainment, that now acts as the booking agency for artists and acts that he works with. He started a music history class at Pine Crest this year, and hopes to work more with the band director and the jazz groups as time goes on. Mr. Ames has established a love for music and the drums, and said, “it is a blast to play the Motown tunes and funk charts as they are some of the best written tunes in the last fifty years.” [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

History teacher Mr. Stival pursues his talents with a completely different type of art. He is a screenwriter and has written scripts for both movies and television. For two years he has worked on a television comedy called FoxCross, which revolves around the lives of teachers and students at the nation’s most prestigious boarding school. This pilot is being reviewed by agents now and will hopefully be on television soon. Although he typically writes comedic scripts, the film he has been working on and will work on for many years is a drama. He frequently writes for his mentor Steven Kampmann, an esteemed writer, actor, and director who wrote on and produced the hit television show WRKP IN CINCINNATI, as well as co-writing movies such as Back to School and Stealing Home. Mr. Stival is a new teacher at Pine Crest this year, but hopes to eventually form a screenwriting club if it generates enough interest. “I would love to work with students at Pine Crest on screenwriting down the road,” says Mr. Stival. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

The Pine Crest community is home to educators and students who thrive both inside and out of the classroom. Pursuing extracurriculars outside of their teaching realm, many of our Pine Crest teachers have found success in the fine arts. The well-roundedness of many teachers on campus is what inspires students and creates the amazing environment that is Pine Crest.