After the retirement of the beloved Mr. Bogatz, we are excited about the young teacher replacing him, Mr. Gill. Mr. Gill is the social study department’s new teacher of United States History and Government, Global History and Geography II, Participation in Government, and Economics.

“I know Mr. Bogatz was a big part of Wantagh and I’ll never be able to fill the gap he’s left, but I’ll be myself which is the best I can do,” said Mr. Gill. It’s tough being the new guy, but Mr. Gill says that everyone at Wantagh has made it easier and that’s meant a lot to him.

Education has always been important to Mr. Gill. “College was never a question for me,” he says. His grandmother and parents had always stressed to the young children in the family that a college education was not optional. He graduated as a history major with a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Albany. Mr. Gill has a widespread knowledge of history and is devoted to the success of his students. He most recently taught in Queens at an incredible school for recent immigrants from all over the world. These students came from various catastrophes and he says this brought a lot of life experience into the class. He recounted this as a great learning experience on many different levels, but he is excited to teach here at Wantagh the importance of government and historical events.

Mr. Gill says that respect in the classroom is of paramount importance to him. He likes to think of his class as a team that should work together to learn the importance of the content he teaches, and his motivation is his student’s excitement and participation. He finds it very important that our generation understand history and learn from its mistakes since we are the future of our country.

“It has been absolutely fantastic to be working with our newest member of the Social Studies Department, Mr. Gill,” says social studies teacher Mr. Benner. “His enthusiasm for history and his focus on student engagement is simply amazing. It is with great pleasure that I welcome Mr. Gill to the Wantagh family.”

History has always had a special place in Mr. Gill’s heart. His father and grandfather were fans of history and even lived through some major historical events so Gill has always had an interest in it. Both of his grandfathers’ life experiences motivated Mr.Gill. While one grandfather fought in WWII in the Pacific his other grandfather emigrated from Cuba. Both of his grandfathers expressed how lucky Mr. Gill was to be born in America and this is a big part of his American pride.