By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

Brad Moritz, exploratory/industrial tech teacher at Hays Middle School, was honored with the district’s Best of the Best Award at the Hays school board meeting Monday night.

Moritz, who is also a department leader, was nominated by HMS Principal Craig Pallister.

On early release days, Moritz teaches digital citizenship to all HMS students over the school’s closed circuit television system. He talks to the students about how to use the school’s iPads and the rules of using the school’s technology.

“Brad takes on a lot of leadership roles and allows students and parents to be involved in activities and academics at Hays Middle School and cares and connects with every student, every period, every day,” Pallister said.

Moritz is the voice on channel 21 and is the announcer at the HMS assemblies. He plays games with the students over the PA system or shoots T-shirts into the crowd with the school’s T-shirt cannon.

“He came down to the gym the other day, and I said, ‘Ok, Brad, what are you doing?’ He said, ‘Well, I’m just going to get the kids going.’ I said, ‘Don’t get them too revved up,’ because this was at 8 o’clock in the morning.”

Pallister continued, “Brad is truly a master teacher in and out of the classroom that helps provide the total school experience whether it is shooting rockets they make in his exploratory tech classes or CO2 cars or doing the bridges.”

Pallister said Moritz affects almost every student in the school every year.

Moritz said it has been a pleasure working under Pallister at the middle school.

“It is has been nice to have the support we have had to make the changes in our technology program over the 20 years that I have been there,” he said. “I think the curriculum we teach — science, technology, engineering and math — speaks for itself.”

Moritz said he really enjoys his job.

“Sometimes I feel bad because getting to do the things we do — it is almost not like a real job,” he said. “If you happen to catch me at parent teacher conferences tonight, I will be building a robot for our robotics club we have in the afternoon. How cool is that to get to test bridges and play with robots?”

The student Best of Best Award was given to Logan Chance, seventh grader at HMS. He was nominated by Larissa Whitney, third-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School. Whitney was unable to attend the board meeting Monday, so Pallister discussed Chance’s nomination in her stead.

Chance is a part of the HMS peer tutoring program, and he travels to Lincoln to help students there.

“I appreciate his hard work already,” Whitney said in her nomination form. “For example, today he was finding ways to help me out instead of waiting for me to give him the next task. He decided he would organize a book cart, use proximity to monitor student reading and sort mailboxes.

“In addition to how helpful he is, I appreciate how proud he is to be on the Hays Middle School cross country team this year. Every time he comes into the room, he has the biggest smile and greets me with a, ‘Hi, Mrs. Whitney.’ ”

Logan is the son of Shawn and Shauna Chance.