The Hawk Talk

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Mr. Loversky. He shared many good stories! Did you know Mr. Loversky led a protest in his youth? Did you know Wredling was supposed to be North High School? If you want to hear even more cool stories read below.

Interviewee: Mr. Loversky

Interviewer: Haileigh Prill

What’s your role at our school?

I am the principal of Wredling Middle School.

What encouraged you to become a principal? Is that what you always wanted to do?

So, I started teaching in 1990 and I had known after about five years of teaching that I wanted to head into administration. So I went and got my administration degree at National Louis University. It was there that I received my Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. I didn’t get a job right away. It took a couple of years, but in 2000 I got my first job. 

 So, did you ever teach?

 I did; My first job was in Batavia, where I taught first grade. That surprises people when I tell them that I was a first-grade teacher. 

Wow, you taught 1st grade?!

 Yes, and then I taught middle school in Wheaton for about nine years. I was a language arts and social studies teacher.

How long have you been here at Wredling?

 I think this would be year 8 and next year will be my last year. (Mr. Loversky will retire in 2025)

How long have you been a principal?

I started as an assistant principal in 2000 and then in 2002, I began my first year as a building principal. So more or less 21 years.

Last question about school… Who is your teacher bestie?

Dr. McGuire because he was an assistant principal here. Mr.Rocha just because we are a lot alike in many ways. Ms. Bohem and I have just connected… sometimes I need advice, and she’s there to help. 

Now for some non-school questions. Who is your favorite singer/songwriter?

It would be embarrassing if I didn’t say John Denver. I like a lot of oldies from the 60s, 70s, and the 80’s.

You always play his song, Country Roads, don’t you?

 Yep.

By popular demand, do you like Taylor Swift?

Actually, I do. I think she is such an amazing artist. I think she is a good human. You see what she does for her fans and the people who work for her. Like the truck drivers, she gave them a big check outside of their paychecks. Like a $100,000 bonus or something. 

What do you like to do outside of school?

I like to go see movies, but there has been a lack of really good movies lately. I love to go out to eat. We are foodies so we love to try new foods all the time. We also love to travel.

Where do you love to travel?

My favorite place is Hawaii, Maui in particular. We were in Portugal a couple of years ago. I love it there.

Do you have any cool family stories? Like the ones that really describe your family?

Growing up I lived in a tiny house with all my siblings (5 in total) so it was always really crowded which was pretty awesome. We also lived in a neighborhood filled with kids. Every night we would have games in the neighborhood, all summer long.

With my kids, one cool story is when we were in Hawaii, on the island of Kawaii and we were going to Queensbath, which is a tidal pool. What we didn’t realize was it was hard to get there. We didn’t know it but we had to walk down these earthy steps made out of rocks and roots. People were slipping and sliding, we were covered in red clay mud. We were exhausted by the time we got down there so we swam for a little while and climbing back up we were covered in more mud. It was fun, we were laughing. My kids love the Queensbath memory. 

What is the worst trouble you have gotten in? Obviously, you haven’t done anything really bad because you are sitting here talking to me right now.

That is so not true. I actually have newspaper clippings of one particular incident (shown in pictures below). So in high school, there was a teacher strike. Obviously, students didn’t care who won, we just wanted it over. So my three friends and I got together and led a protest. It went from Wheaton Central High School to Wheaton North High School. We tried to get a parade permit but they wouldn’t let us. We ended up taking up the main street of Wheaton. We tried to get everyone to stay on the sidewalk but when you have a couple hundred students protesting, they don’t exactly like to listen. So the police arrived and started taking protesters to the police station, including the four of us. Since we broke the law, we had to do community service. But it was a great lesson that kids have a voice and if they use that voice appropriately then it should be heard.

 So you liked organizing it?

Yep, I did. It was a great experience. We learned a hard lesson, we had to do 40-80ish hours of community service.

Did you have to do the community service over the summer?

We did it at the end of summer, so it went into the beginning of the start of the school year. I have never vacuumed more classrooms in my entire life. We knew we were going to have to pay a price and that was the price we paid.

Are there any cool facts about our school? I thought the school questions were over, sorry.

Wredling was actually supposed to be Saint Charles North High School because it was located north of East High School. And where North High School is right now is where Wredling was to open. But mold was found at East so they moved the entire high school into what is now Wredling, and all of Wredling was relocated to mobiles on Thompson’s grounds for a couple of years. 

If we could interview anyone else in our school who would you want to interview?

Definitely Mr.Rocha. He has other jobs outside of being a teacher, and he did some really cool stuff. He’s had a lot of unique experiences and interesting stories.

 So, will Mr. Rocha be the next interviewer? Or will it be someone else? I hope you had fun and got to know more about our principal here at Wredling!  If you want to find out if Mr. Rocha will be the next interviewer, be sure to look for our second edition of The Wred Feather.