Students aren’t the only ones with clubs at HHS.

“You don’t want to just come to school, teach, and go home,” said Mr. Vin Paolucci, Physical Education. “As a teacher, you should want to associate yourself with other teachers and be a part of the school and the teacher community within it.”

For 12 years, a group of teachers have been meeting for coffee every Friday morning at 6 a.m.

“[Friday morning coffee] started when Youakim, Katzenmeyer, and myself met one Friday morning for coffee, and then it went from one Friday morning to, ‘Okay, let’s meet again next week,’ and then we started inviting more people,” Paolucci said. “We now have about six to 10 guys on a regular basis.”

Mr. Champ Nelson, Mathematics, has been attending Friday morning coffee for the past 11 and a half years.

“I enjoy the fellowship and friendship with colleagues outside of school,” Nelson said. “There’s a difference between a professional business relationship and a friendship relationship.”

These teachers have met at four different locations over the past decade because many coffee shops have closed or changed names. Their current location is the Starbucks in Hopkins.

“People come in and come out because 6 a.m. on a Friday morning isn’t the easiest time for people to meet, but it’s fun to get together to chat about different things, which usually ends up being something sports-related,” Paolucci said.

Mr. Jay Katzenmeyer, mathematics, has also been going since the beginning.

“We used to meet at a place called Coffee Creek, where the Papa John’s is currently located off of Highway 7 and Hopkins Crossroad,” Katzenmeyer said. “The ladies that owned the place at the time put in a long high-top table that could seat at least 10 people. We liked to think they installed it just for us, but even if they didn’t, it was still great.”

Just like any lunch table at HHS, these teachers like to joke around too.

“It’s a pretty tough crowd,” Katzenmeyer said. “You better have thick skin to sit at the table.”

Along with Friday morning coffee, there are many other activities teachers participate in to stay connected outside of school, such as playing basketball in the morning at the Lindbergh Center or going to sing karaoke at night.

“You want a group that you can connect with, bounce ideas off of, and share stories with,” Paolucci said. “Because [HHS] is such a big school, it’s important, for teachers as well, to have a good group of friends.”

With 12 years of coffee club under his belt, Paolucci can’t imagine spending his Friday mornings any other way.

“I’m lucky to have this group because they’re all good teachers, good guys, and good role models,” Paolucci said. “I look up to them and I hope our friendship continues forever.”