Mr. Quick is an English teacher at Colonia High School, but he is also the girls track and cross country coach. Quick graduated from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania and began working at Colonia in 2011.
Coaching and Advising
He has been the Assistant Girl’s Spring Track Coach for the past three years, and recently took over as the Head Girls’ Cross Country Coach and remarked, “This will be my first year as the Girls’ Spring Track Head Coach. We have some talented runners and I can’t wait to see how our team does at the County Championship on October 25th.” Quick is also the Ski Club Advisor ever since it started in 2012.
Amanda Tanculski, 10th grader, said that when coaching, “he pushes you to keep going, and while you run he keeps you motivated to finish the race and his workouts were challenging.”
Practices this season for Cross Country begin after school at Merrill Park at 3pm. Practice starts with a 10-20 minute warm up like a distance run then we stretch and start our workout. Workouts range from mile repeats to hill repeats to sprints. Every practice the athletes get 3+ miles in and then end with a cool down for 10 minutes and stretch.
“ Our team is one big happy family,” Sophomore Lisa Liddawi who is also a member of the track team said. “The season was a good one and a time that I will remember. I liked that Mr. Quick would push you when you passed your limit and knew that you would be able to do it.”
Both Tanculski and Liddawi said they enjoyed practices and they are both joining track for the upcoming season and the rest of their high school years.
Teaching
Quick’s English classes are filled with a lot of jokes, laughter, and sarcasm. He focuses on teaching the curriculum but making it entertaining and enjoyable for the students. Quick likes to start his class with the word of the day and moves on to a journal where his creativity shines through with crazy topics. He also has a fact up on his door everyday.
“Throughout the class or the lesson you never get bored because the class is so lively,” Sophomore Emma Kull stated.
Quick teaches sophomore and junior English and has taught SAT Prep in the past. He doesn’t favor one class over another because he simply loves to teach.
2014 Girls Spring Track Team.
“The English department is a close knit caring family and as a whole– language nerds.” English Department head Mrs. DiChiara said. “Mr. Quick is charismatic, intelligent and caring. It’s who he is, how he behaves and the amount of energy he has that makes him a good teacher. He surpases teacher expectations.”
Quick tends to give thought provoking journal topics such as “If you were a rain drop falling from the sky . . . ” and “if you got a $100,000 what would you do with it.” Before his sophomore class began reading Lord of the Flies, Quick had them take a survival test. Some students learned that based on the answers they provided they wouldn’t last long in the wild.
Sophomore Jessica Malinchok described Quick as hilarious and said, “his jokes are very funny.” She also said, “He is a good teacher because he is entertaining, and he makes the class fun and enjoyable. I think the rest of the semester with him will be exciting because we are only a month into school and it’s such a fun class. I would only expect it get better.”
Senior Amanda D’Alessandro who had Quick as an English Teacher her junior year said: “ I loved him, he made the classroom experience fun, and I miss his jokes and sarcasm the most.”
When describing Mr. Quick, Kull said “ He is an outgoing teacher and he tries to make his class interesting and fun. I like how he is always smiling and making jokes so I am never bored in his class. I am looking forward to the rest of the semester with him because he is a very smart and funny teacher.”
Quick is also one of the PARCC’s test administrator and overall “tech guru” DiChiara said. The PARCC is the state test that is set to replace the current HSPA test which all students must pass in New Jersey high schools in order to graduate.
Quick is always smiling, is always into information and is just an overall happy person. His students enjoy his class every year and many students go back to him for college recommendations.
Outside of School
“I love to live an adventurous lifestyle.” Quick explained. “I enjoy running daily, snowboarding in the winter, extreme sports such as skydiving, and participating in Tough Mudders, which raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. Skydiving was exhilarating and I loved it! I am planning on going again soon. It gives me the thrill I am always looking for.”
Quick is also not your average morning person.“I am usually up around 4 or 4:30. If the weather is nice, I will go for a run. If not, I’ll get school work done, read a book, or catch up with some Sports Center.”
Mr. Quick started running in elementary school and in high school he achieved his fastest mile time which is 4:26.
“Right now I am averaging about 35 miles per week, but during training season I can get up to around 50. I find running very therapeutic and relaxing. It gives me an opportunity to really think and meditate.”
