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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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.
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Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders. Sylvia Thomas, from Bulloch Academy, is helping her students get an early start on working toward their dreams.
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You want a teacher who loves and supports you but challenges you. Because that’s when real learning and growth happens.
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This has been a tough year teaching during the pandemic, but this week’s WTOC Top Teacher says when she looks at the faces of her students it makes the world seem better.
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We got to surprise this week’s WTOC Top Teacher, Sunny Beasley from Bryan County Middle School.
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Many teachers say the classroom is just an extension of their family. They treat each student like they are their own child.
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Start of the new year and some new WTOC Top Teacher awards to hand out. This week we honor Kellie Clark in Savannah.
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp provided an update Friday on the COVID-19 response and vaccine distribution in the state.
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Taylor Bennett is teaching math to these kindergarten students at Calvary Day School.
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Kassie Sikes is busy reading to her Pre-K class at Calvary Day School in Savannah.
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Stephanie Karian teaches English and Language Arts to her 3rd graders at St. Andrew’s School on Wilmington Island.
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Most parents will never forget the first day their child ever went to school. It can be nerve wracking, but luckily there are teachers like Jennifer Griffin to make you and your child feel at ease in the classroom.
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Math can be a tough subject for young students, especially when they reach middle school. But one Effingham County educator enjoys doing whatever she can to help students understand the problems and the solutions.
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This has been a very tough year for students, parents, and teachers because of the pandemic. But on this Thanksgiving, we give thanks to teachers working hard, in and out of the classroom, to help students succeed.
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She’s a Pre-K teacher making sure her students feel safe, loved, and ready to learn. Meet this week’s WTOC Top Teacher Tamelia Williams from Long County.
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This week’s WTOC Top teacher is a Richmond Hill graduate now teaching some of Richmond Hill’s youngest children. Meet Rebecca Brinson from First Christian Academy.
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She is a kindergarten teacher willing to do whatever it takes to help her children succeed, even if it means changing her look.
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We know the pandemic has been hard on parents and students, but it’s also been tough on teachers, who miss the children.
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Michelle Mullally has been teaching Pre-K at Hancock Day School in Savannah for three years.
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Sometimes a student needs a second chance and sometimes they just need a different setting to help them thrive. This week’s WTOC Top Teacher Christy Anderson helps her students do just that at an alternative school in Effingham County.
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Sandy Nead teaches the PACE program that works with autistic children at the school.
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Janet McIntosh is teaching first graders online at Lanier Primary School in Bryan County.
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How many of you wished you would have learned more about credit card interest, student loans or balancing your bank account when you were in high school? This week’s WTOC Top Teacher does that and more.
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New year, new school for some. That’s the case for this Week’s WTOC Top Teacher, Michael Moore, from Effingham County High School.
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A Ridgeland, South Carolina coach was severely injured in a car accident in March.
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With all the panic buying, toilet paper has been the hottest commodity in the past few weeks.
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Rochelle Buchanan teaches 4th grade at Juliette Low School in Savannah.