By Catherine Shivers, Ben Lucas, Emma Lederman

Cancer is unfortunauntley a common disease throughout the world.  For those diagnosed, it affects their lives as well as the lives of their loved ones.  For many of these people, their prespective on life dramaically changes; life becomes much more valuable.  Now cancer free, Mr. Peter Salmans decided to live life to its fullest—starting with pursing a teaching career.

Since the start of the 2013-2014 school year, Salmans has joined the Walpole High School staff as new teacher in the English Department. Before coming to WHS, Salmans was a student-teacher in Taunton, Massachusetts; however, after a few months at Taunton, Salmans decided to take on a full-time job.  A Walpole resident teaching with Salmans in Taunton initially sparked Salmans’ interest in Walpole High School as he praised the Walpole community.  WHS ended up being the first and only high school Salmans looked at, as he got the job and now teaches two Freshman CP2 english classes as well as three CP1 english classes.

Before becoming a teacher, Salmans grew up in Connecticut where he found teaching to be his passion his junior year in high school.  Explaning the source of his interest in the english subject, Salmans said, “I had an inspirational teacher that year who changed my apathetic view on English.  I ultimately decided to teach at a high school level because I knew the students were responsible and I did not want to babysit.”

Salmans decided to pursue a teaching degree at Wheaton College, but he had to put his dream on hold just two days before the start of his sophomore year because he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma—the most common type of bone cancer.  After nine months of chemotherapy, he was told he was cancer free.  Therefore, after recovering, Salmans returned to Wheaton and was able to earn his teaching degree.

Salmans, priding himself on his hard work and dedication, tries to observe one teacher per week so he can learn new ways of interacting with the students.  Now a part of Walpole High for several months, he continues to be impressed everyday by how caring and commited the teachers are to their students.  Where Salmans taught before the kids were often difficult to manage.  With appreciation for the Walpole student body, he said,  “The students at WHS are very hardworking and have a strong will to learn.”  Salmans looks forward to having a very successful career at Walpole High School while continuing to grow as a teacher each and everyday.