Masuk Free Press

Whether you are a current, former or upcoming student at Masuk, you have likely heard of Peter Schmitt. He is one of Masuk’s most beloved teachers, and has been teaching science for 34 years. This year, Schmitt is retiring, leaving behind a long legacy that has touched thousands of Masuk’s students. 

“Mr. Schmitt has single-handedly carried the Masuk science department on his back,” said Junior Ollie Panella, who took Physics 1 with Schmitt Sophomore year, “he is definitely the reason I understood physics last year and I am so grateful that I had him as my teacher.”

Panella recalls how Schmitt made their class fun. He created memorable projects like a Physics Olympics, an egg drop contest, a catapult project and a cardboard boat project. Even during class, he would stand on tables to demonstrate a lab, incorporate students’ names into the quizzes and have energy to keep the class alive.

“I just remember always going into class excited because whether we were doing a lab or just listening to Mr. Schmitt teach, I could always count on being super engaged.” said Panella

  Many students share the same views and memories of Schmitt, agreeing that he is the best science teacher they have ever had.

“If I am being honest,” said Junior Cadence Fedeli, who just finished her Physics 1 class this year, “I have never liked or understood any sort of science class before I had Schmitt. He knows how to teach and explain anything and everything, which is something that I admire.”

Fedeli recalls her favorite memory of his class being the boat project at the end of the year, in which students design, build and test a boat made out of cardboard. Fedeli was able to take her Taylor Swift themed boat to the Masuk pool where she swam in the boat until it sank.

“Overall, it is just a fun experience and a super memorable school project,” Fedeli added, “I am going to miss it so much.”

“Physics is by far my favorite subject to teach,” said Schmitt, “I love AP Physics 2, it has all the cool stuff, relativity and more, it is just fascinating.”

Schmitt has taught a plethora of classes during his 34 years, as he came to Masuk in 1989 as his first job out of college. Originally a Freshman Earth Science teacher, Schmitt taught Physics 1, AP Physics B, AP Physics 2, Geology, Forensics, and the dual enrollment physics class through the University of Connecticut. 

“I have probably taught every science class under the sun,” he joked.

Besides teaching, he was also heavily involved in Masuk sports. He coached four sports, starting with JV softball, which he coached for 15 years. He then created the girls soccer team, the girls golf team and was the assistant coach for the Boys Ice Hockey team; which Schmitt jokingly admitted was for fun.

“I love to skate” said Schmitt, “I think the only reason I coached was so I could skate everyday.”

Although Schmitt loves his career and all the things he has done within the community, he is ready to move onto other things in life.

“I really do love teaching, I have been doing it for a long time and I love the subjects and working with kids,” he said. “But, after a while I have kind of done everything, I’ve taught the same course five times a week, three times a day, for many, many years.” 

He plans to devote most of his time in retirement to his many hobbies, including skiing, hiking, rock climbing, guitar playing, and fish flying. He also plans to spend lots of time with his dog Huntington and his wife who is also retired.

“It’s not so much that I am retiring from Masuk. There is just so much I want to do that I haven’t had time for,” he said. “I also really want to travel, and my wife and I haven’t traveled a lot because of the school schedule.”

“We are gonna be livin’ the life baby!” said Schmitt. 

As for keeping up with Schmitt, students who have previously used his Facebook, Masuk Physics Club and his Instagram account, @peterschmittphizyxclub are soon to be disappointed. 

Schmitt reveals that these social media pages where he flips the puppy calendar every month and posts funny pictures of his students are deactivating after his retirement. 

“The facebook page will probably be shut down right after school,” said Schmitt. “And I think the Insta page would probably be a little creepy to keep up. So I will probably make a new page for myself and use the Schmitt whatever-gram to post the monthly sheppard of the month.”

The Masuk community owes a lot to Schmitt. He has always been an impactful teacher, seen through his students’ memories of his class, and how he taught science to current science teachers at Masuk today. 

The students and staff wish Schmitt a happy and fulfilling retirement, one that many agree is extremely deserved.