Students may believe they have their teachers all figured out, but there’s often much more than meets the eye. Outside of school, KHS teachers have a variety of interests, ranging from music and art to serving the community. 

Physical education and health teacher Nino Capra:

Capra has taught at KHS for 28 years, but he originally majored in criminal justice at the County College of Morris with a desire to help others, and plans to enter the police force. 

“It’s in my personality,” he said. “I wanted to help people even if they were in the worst types of situations. If I can do something, I’m going to do it for you.”

Although Capra was accepted into a police academy, he made the difficult decision to pursue a different profession. “My girlfriend at the time, now my wife, brought up the potential safety issues that came with police work and how they would affect our future,” he said. 

Instead, Capra studied education at Montclair State University and began teaching at KHS. “I love what I do,” he said.  “I get to help people every day, and I’ve helped thousands over the years.”

Now a certified CPR instructor for the American Heart Association, Capra also teaches classes outside of KHS, and plans to continue training people in first aid, CPR, and AED full-time after he retires. “Sharing knowledge that could potentially help somebody in a dangerous situation is something that I would like to continue to do,” he said. 

Furthermore, Capra believes his training for law enforcement benefits him in education. “I don’t see my preparation to become a police officer as a waste of time and money. That’s how you learn. I would not change a thing because it all worked out,” he said. 

Mathematics teacher Noah Blanchard: 

In mathematics teacher Noah Blanchard’s classroom, students might witness coins vanish or ropes change length.

Although Blanchard now performs magic tricks for his students, his interest in magic started in elementary school.
“For Christmas one year, I got a big box of 108 different magic tricks with a hat, a fake rabbit, and a wand,” he said. 

At first, he learned card and coin tricks from books, which were free from his mother’s publishing company. Specifically, Blanchard practiced the sequence of magic tricks. 

“I wanted to be able to string together a couple of tricks in a row,” he said. When I practiced consistently, I could walk around and have 20 card tricks in my head.”

However, Blanchard quickly realized he needed to make the tricks his own.

He also improved his skills by purchasing new tricks from magic shops. “On family vacations, sometimes there would be a magic shop by the hotel,” he said. They’d perform a trick, you’d wonder how they did it, and then they’d sell it to you.”

Occasionally, Blanchard brings magic into his math lessons. “We were learning congruent line segments in geometry, and I showed students a trick where three ropes of different lengths appeared to become equal,” he said. 

However, not all of his tricks rely on sleight of hand. “Once, I did this trick with a deck of cards that worked because of math,” he said. “I offered my students extra credit if they could figure out how it worked.” 

Blanchard’s students clearly enjoy his tricks, whether they rely on illusion or math. “It’s always cool to watch when Mr. Blanchard does card tricks in class. I can’t figure out how they work,” said junior Erika Wang. 

Spanish teacher Jamely White: 

For White, Bruno Mars’ music is more than just entertainment. According to White, music has always connected her family, and she discovered Mars’ music through her three children. “We’re not very musical in the sense that we play instruments, but we are constantly playing music at home, and we all love music,” she said. 

Her family’s love for music also became a way for White to connect her family to her Hispanic culture. At her eldest daughter’s quinceañera, the two danced to Mars’ song ‘Just The Way You Are.’ “We picked that song instead of a more traditional Spanish song because the whole family likes Bruno’s music, and my husband isn’t Hispanic, so it kept it relevant to him too,” she said. 

White also enjoyed Mars’ new album, The Romantic, citing ‘Risk It All’ and ‘Dance With Me’ as her favorite tracks. “I like the album because of its Hispanic mood. ‘Risk It All’ has mariachi, which reminds me a lot of my parents,” she said. 

Specifically, White enjoys Mars’ music because of its energy. “His music is really alive, and I don’t think he has any bad songs,” she said. “Just watching his performances on TV, I think the concert is going to be a huge dance party.” 

Even so, attending a popular artist’s concert comes at a steep price. White paid around 200 to 250 dollars per ticket. “I was asking my kids if they wanted to pay that much to see [Bruno Mars] and they said yes,” she said. “I’ll have to see the show to see if that money was worth it, but I enjoyed seeing Bad Bunny’s concert with my family, so I’m still excited to go see Bruno with my husband and kids.” 

History teacher Steve “Doc” Racine: