Wellesley High School fitness & health teacher Kari Sciera is a self-described “big gamer” — she owns full-size Ms. PacMan and Galaga arcade games — and that extends to the world of TV game shows.
Sciera will take her spins on Wheel of Fortune on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 7pm (WBZ-TV 4) and naturally can’t reveal exactly what happened on the pre-recorded show, so you’ll just need to tune in (UPDATE: 9/14/16: We won’t give away what happened, but if you happen to see Kari, ask her about “Showering the Goats”). But she did share the backstory on her appearance during “Teachers Week,” which she described in an email as “PRICELESS!!!”
She initially sent a video to Wheel of Fortune with her regular game night companion Margaret Flitsch, who teaches physical education at Sprague Elementary School, in an attempt to play on “Best Friends Week.” Several months later there were invited to audition in Brooklyn, but as individuals, not as a team.
“We had a great few days in NYC and the audition was super fun! We had to spin the wheel and guess letters and take a written test. I got an e-mail three days later inviting me to a tape date a week later to be on ‘Teachers Week’,” writes Sciera, who was joined in LA for taping by her 15-year-old Ryan (an older child couldn’t attend due to a previous commitment).
Sciera raved about doing the show and the efforts made by hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White, and the whole production crew, to calm contestants’ nerves.
The Wellesley teacher had a close call for TV game show stardom about 5 years ago when she spent a week opening suitcases during “Teacher Week” for the show Deal or No Deal, but didn’t wind up getting to play.
MORE: Registration open for Wellesley Spelling Bee 2016 | Wellesley High School students appear on WGBH Quiz Show
