Mike Cihla
Anchor
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Mike came to Savannah and WTOC-TV in September 2000.
Mike is an award winning journalist who before Savannah, worked as an anchor/reporter at TV stations in Knoxville, Tennessee, Austin, Minnesota (Spamtown USA) and Sioux Falls, S.D.
Mike was born and raised in the small town of Lonsdale, Minn. He graduated from St. Cloud State University, (MN) in 1993, with a BS in Mass Commmunication, Minors in Political Science and Speech.
He LOVES living in Savannah because of it's beauty, history, and mild winters (But after growing up in Minnesota winters, anywhere else is mild.) Join Mike weeknights for THE News at Noon, 4pm, 6pm and 7pm on WTOC.
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These first students have come a long ways since they started this school year. Helped along by their teacher Nicole Knoblauch at Hesse k-8 school in Savannah.
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It’s almost time to the end the school year, but before the student’s head home for summer, WTOC has one last teacher to recognize.
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The students at Statesboro High School are excited that their teacher Lee Sulham received this week’s WTOC Top Teacher.
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Practice makes perfect in Rachel Stephens 3rd grade class at South Effingham Elementary School.
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Music is life, that’s why our hearts have beats and one choir teacher is hoping her students have huge hearts while making beautiful music together.
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She was born and raised in Savannah and gets to teach what she loves in the classroom and on stage.
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Sierra Roberts teaches 2nd grade at Joseph Martin Elementary School in Hinesville. Roberts says her class is like one big family.
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It takes a lot of patience to be a Pre-K teacher, as the students are going to school for the first time.
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Special needs students need a special kind of teacher, who can give them the support and sometimes space they need to succeed. Meet Debra Phillips from Southeast Bulloch Middle School.
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Bailey Thornton is reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins with her 4th grade class at Calvary Day School in Savannah.
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The WTOC Top Teacher award was a nice surprise for Amy Keating, who teaches second grade at Memorial Day School in Savannah.
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Debra Hammer is reading to her kindergarten class at First Christian Academy in Richmond Hill.
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What better place to live and teach students about the tides and the sea breeze than right here along the coast.
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Sydnee Helms always knew she wanted to be a teacher and for the last nine years has been.
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She grew up in Baxley and is sharing her love of music with her students in her hometown.
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She’s passionate about her job and tries to make learning as fun as possible for her students. Meet this week’s WTOC Top Teacher, Rachel Harewood from Tattnall County.
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“If they don’t feel comfortable, they are not going to come in here to do the work to start with.”
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She was born and raised in Screven County and teaching is her dream job.
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With a new calendar year, it’s always fun to look back at the past year.
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It’s a huge transition for a child to go from elementary school to middle school. This week’s WTOC Top teacher tries to help her students bridge that gap by being a guide for their learning.
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“In my classroom, one of the things we don’t say is can’t, we say we can. It may take some a little bit longer but they all can do it,” Ansley McCarty said.
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When you wake up in the morning and head to work... some call it a job, others would say it’s their calling.
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Teachers change the world one child at a time. They hope to inspire and support their students to make their mark in a positive way.
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Anita Taylor is teaching her Pre-k students about butterflies and other things at Gadsden Elementary School in Savannah.
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Home is where the heart is, and for some teachers their heart is in the classroom. Meet Katherine Adams, this week’s WTOC Top Teacher.
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These children are performing a type of surgery, cutting away letters to make contractions.
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This week’s WTOC Top Teacher is a Georgia native but moved to Hinesville just three years ago with his wife, who is a military service member stationed at Fort Stewart.
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Words in a book can have different meaning depending on your perspective and experience. This week’s WTOC Top Teacher tries to open the world to her students.
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To get a student to learn, a teacher needs to build trust with that student and show that they care just as much as the student.
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Blessed are our teachers. They try to make a difference each day in our children’s lives.
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This school year has been anything but normal, but one Chatham County teacher is glad she gets to see her students face-to-face.
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“I just want to see that light bulb come on where our students are excited to learn,” Michael Bell said.
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Ernita Greene-Brown teaches 4th and 5th grade special education students at Hodge Elementary School in Savannah.
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“Everything gets them excited. They love to learn, they come in everyday ready to go.”
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Heather Redd knows that the sense of play helps her Pre-K students learn at Windsor Forest Elementary School.
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A teacher needs to adapt to their classroom. This year, teachers have done a lot of adapting to say the least.
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We had a special surprise waiting outside West Chatham Elementary School for 1st grade teacher Barbara Harris as she was named a WTOC Top Teacher.
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Math can be a tough subject in school, but so important because we work with numbers every day.
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This week’s WTOC Top Teachers motivation is to make his students the best they can be. Meet Kipp Manning from Long County Schools.
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Mary Jo Fina teaches Health Care Science at Richmond Hill High School. She knows what she is teaching can save a life.
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This is only her second year in the classroom, but teaching has always been in her heart.
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Teaching is a work of the heart, and this week’s WTOC Top Teacher brings that heart into her classroom.
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“This year is like my first year. It is like starting over again and learning the ropes again. It’s been challenging in a different way.”
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Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee is feeling the financial impact of having the parade canceled for two years in a row.
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Since the first Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1824, there have been extraordinary times when officials had to cancel the parade, and this is unfortunately another one of those times.