The Connection

Fairfax Station sisters Hannah and Nicole Puhek are a couple of tweens looking forward to their middle school career and teenage years with little thought to how their June 16 promotion helped their family set a school record for the longest enrollment period of 25 years straight.

“This is the first time I have known a family consistently at one time for so long,” said Silverbrook Elementary School principal Melaney Mackin.

Even more unusual is the Puhek parents moved to the Barrington neighborhood 25 years ago as active duty military officers, yet managed to stay in one place during their Air Force careers and beyond.

It was 1991 when their oldest son, Danny — now age 30 — began attending Silverbrook Elementary School at 9350 Crosspointe Drive in Fairfax Station. He graduated in 1998 and was followed by:

• Jamie, 27 — who works in private health care in California.
• Jeff, 21 — who is in his third year at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
• Kevin, 18 — who graduated last month from South County High School then left home for Colorado Springs, where he follows in the footsteps of his father and brothers for Basic Cadet training at the academy.
• Twin sisters Hannah and Nicole, 12.

“Wonderful family” is how long-time instructional assistant Suzanne Frederick describes the Puheks.

“I remember all these kids coming through there.” She said the children were raised well and have great manners. Frederick, too, sets another school record for the longest career span since Silverbrook opened its doors in 1988.

Although they no longer attend school, Danny and Jamie were given an assignment to recall what Silverbrook contributed to their academic careers and life in general.

In his essay, Danny — a U.S. Air Force captain — recalls having “phenomenal teachers” whose names he remembers because they took an active role in the lives of their students.

“The military is all about creating high performing teams to accomplish your mission and we form our teams by understanding each other's strengths and weaknesses. I attribute the understanding of selflessness and teamwork to my days at Silverbrook.”

His younger sister, Jamie, noted her teachers and friends at Silverbrook “have left an everlasting mark on my life.”

Principal Mackin also is impressed by the involvement of parents Linda and James Puhek. She credits Linda, a retired Air Force major, for taking care of the landscaping around the school.

“She did this out of the goodness of her heart,” Mackin believes. Also, Kevin built a butterfly garden in the back of the school for his Eagle Scout service project and earned the highest rank for the Boy Scouts of America.

James, a retired Air Force colonel, recently spoke to a sixth-grade class about his work on space satellites for the military and NASA.

Hannah, 12, said she will miss her teachers the most — especially fifth-grade teacher Mr. Johnson. She plans to apply the study skills she learned at Silverbrook in the seventh grade at South County Middle School.

Nicole, 12, states she will miss the Silverbrook environment and her fifth-grade teacher Mrs. Takacs. Her favorite subjects were math and language arts. She appreciates learning about citizenship the most.

“It highlights the strong relationship our school has with the community,” Mackin claims.

It was the school community that rallied around Linda Sept. 11 as she waited for word if her husband survived the terrorist attack at his workplace: the Pentagon. School staff — especially Gail Petro, who taught the four oldest Puhek children — called to make sure Jeff didn’t arrive home to a tragedy.

“It’s the sense of family and caring about people,” that has made a lasting impression for Linda.