Thanks for a Great 37 Years, Mr. Holm!
To commemorate retiring Language Arts Teacher David Holm’s fave parking spot in the Rotolo Middle School staff lot, his colleagues, Dave Crawley, Charlie Lambillotte, and Matt Myers, hatched a plan. They decided to encase a light pole in the parking lot by Mr. Holm’s go-to parking spot with ceramic tiles—each tile featuring a message from a former student or staff member. They also affixed a “Holm Place” sign to the light pole, which was made in London where Mr. Holm once taught.
The whole project was pulled off by several students and staff members who are big fans of Mr. Holm, a.k.a. Holmheads. RMS Art Teacher Jenna McKnight handmade the ceramic tiles and finished them for outdoor use, Mr. Lambillotte, Mr. Myers, and Mr. Crawley constructed and installed the tile table around the light pole and made sure it was built in a way that Mr. Holm could take it home and use it as an indoor or outdoor coffee table. (They feared Mr. Holm would never leave the lot if he couldn’t take the tiles with him!) One of Mr. Holm’s favorite/former students and non-relative, Matt Holm, who is a social studies teacher at Batavia High School, worked with BHS students to get their messages on tiles. RMS Math Teacher Amanda Marinko worked with RMS students to do the same.
Mr. Holm unveiling his “Holm Place” sign by the RMS parking spot that he has motored into for 37 years.
Mr. Crawley had the Holm Place sign made in London as a nod to Mr. Holm’s time spent teaching at The American School of London before coming to Batavia.
The tile table created by Mr. Holm’s colleagues and former students is portable and will become a piece of art in Mr. Holm’s house. No doubt it will have a few books on it.
Each tile features a message to Mr. Holm from former students and colleagues.
Happy retirement to Mr. Holm who is finishing his 37th year of teaching at BPS101 on Thursday, May 30, 2019! He’s already got plans for his next chapter and, not surprisingly, it doesn’t include resting.
