On May 16th during Uni Period, students of all grade levels gathered in Room 109 to enjoy cupcakes and time with their beloved teachers, Merf and Mr. Bild, both of whom will be retiring this year. During the event, students ate cupcakes and wrote heartfelt messages on posters for each of the two teachers, both of whom play a large role at Uni.

Mr. Bild, one of Uni’s math teachers, started off the celebration by asking everyone in the room to sing the Quadratic Formula Song, which was taught to all students in his Math 2 class. Merf, Uni’s fitness instructor, then jokingly told students to run around the block for her.  

In response to the event, Mr. Bild said, “I think it’s a nice thing to do. The kids get fed, which they like doing, and they get to say goodbye to me and Merf. I think it’s a great idea.”

At the celebration, many students also expressed their disappointment regarding the two teachers’ departure from Uni and shared some of their favorite memories of them.

Sophomore Sasha Rushing said, “Honestly, my favorite memory of [Merf] was the time she told us to line up in order of how much she liked us. Okay, I was not near the front of that line, but it was fun anyways, so I think that was my most unique Merf memory.” He went on to say that Merf’s charisma played a vital role in pushing students to achieve their best potential and brought everyone together.

“She only wanted your best in the end, and if your best was like a ten minute mile, that was great, and Merf would always be supportive of that,” sophomore Elizabeth Rienstra remembers.

When asked about his favorite memory of Merf, senior Noah Blue recalls, “…all of a sudden, Merf starts walking down the hallway. I’m sitting right there… and she walks pasts, she sniffs a couple times, she’s like, ‘Noah Blue, have you been smokin?’ and I was like ‘No, no, no, Merf, I swear, I swear to God.’”

Many other students brought up fond memories about Mr. Bild, who has served at Uni for 26 years.

“Well, we were in math class, and he took a ruler and started doing all these weird ninja moves with it, and spinning around the yardstick, and it was really funny,” freshman Rani Ramrattan reminisces.

Rienstra remembers, “He felt very approachable to me. Whenever I was struggling with something I’d stop in fifth hour, during study hall, and be like ‘Hey Mr. Bild! I don’t really get this.’ and he’d sit for like twenty minutes or something and help me understand the topic. And I always felt like I wasn’t afraid to be ‘stupid’, I guess, in his class.”

The memories of Merf and Mr. Bild will remain in our hearts, and we will always remember their tremendous contributions to our school. Best of luck to our two wonderful teachers in the next chapter of their lives!