They did it for the Stein
Students in Mrs. Deborah Steinmiller’s Advanced Placement Biology class at Canon-McMillan High School surprised her with T-shirts bearing her picture and with the slogan, “Do it for the Stein.”
Students had joked with her all year about getting the shirts, and eventually decided to do so. Enlisting the help of science teacher Ashley Fazio, and the help of a parent with an embroidery business, Jody Centore, the students made the idea a reality.
On the Friday before the AP exam, all students came into class wearing the shirts. It took a few minutes for Steinmiller to fully understand what she was seeing. And, on AP exam day, all students wore their shirts – a show of solidarity for their teacher and for the subject of biology.
Mrs. Steinmiller, who is retiring from education after 35½ years, 21 of which have been spent at Canon-McMillan, views the action as another example of the special students at Canon-McMillan. “The T-shirts are a tribute to the kindness and thoughtfulness toward others that is a hallmark of Canon-McMillan students,” she said.
Junior Mackenzie Klutch, one of the leaders in executing the surprise, added, “We wanted to make T-shirts and surprise her because she is an amazing teacher and touched all of our lives. If we could do this simple thing to show her how much she means to us, it was definitely worth it. It will also be a great way to remember her. We may not see her in the halls next year, but we will see her smiling face on our T-shirts.”
Canon-McMillan High School Principal Dave Helinski said, “It does not surprise me that Mrs. Steinmiller’s students went out of their way to do this for her. We have great young adults here at Canon-McMillan and they are mature enough to recognize great teaching. Mrs. Steinmiller is quite frankly one of the best educators that I have ever known and she will be greatly missed here at CMHS. She may be replaced but she will most certainly never be duplicated. She is one of a kind.”