As you may know Derek Bair the industrial tech teacher at Atlantic High School has resigned this spring to take his job opportunity at Newton High School in Newton, Iowa. When asked why he is leaving he said “I’ll be much closer to my family.” “ Newton is much bigger compared to AHS,there will be a few more industrial tech teachers there” when asked how big is Newton High School.

When Bair was asked what his favorite class to teach is he responded by “ all of my classes; I love to teach wood process, casting, metals, and welding. But wood process would have to be my favorite because it’s easy for the kids to pick up.” Bair makes bandsaw boxes, picture frames, pen and pencils, and cutting boards in wood process. In metals class the students have to make a “tool box and a hammer it’s a difficult class” Bair said. His most memorable moment was when “Cody Juelsgaard took his shoe and cut it with the table saw,I noticed it when his toes of his shoes was hanging on by a thread.” His scariest moment is when a girl “reached across the table saw to get her material while the saw was still running and her fingers were inches from getting cut.”

Derek Bair would not want to be remembered by making a “legacy” but by making a difference in Atlantic High School. Garrett Schwanke stated that metals and wood process was a fun class but graphic tech was his favorite. “My favorite memory of Mr Bair was when he took Allen VanArnem’s phone and smashed it with a hammer,” Schwanke stated. Sophomore Grant Podhajsky said his favorite memory of  Bair is, “joking around with fellow sophomores Jaxson Eden and Mason Goergen every day in pre engineering drafting .” Podhajsky’s favorite class was intro into construction where they made cabinets and bean bag toss for Physical education class. Bair would like to come back to see what has happened in about five or six years and see how the program has changed. Bair has only been to this side of the state’s five or six times only because it was either for vacation or for his job. Bair looks forward to coming back to see what has happened in about five or six years and seeing how the program has changed.