Every year, as the summer comes to an end, students get ready to start a new school year and return to their beloved campus.
That includes meeting new teachers. In high school, more often than not everyone is familiar with the teachers prior to the start of the school year. But a surprise might be waiting when walking in to find a fresh collection of new faces amongst the new staff members.
This year there are 10 new members to the faculty of the high school at Colegio Menor.
Paula “P” Salazar is a teacher with undeniable experience in this field, having taught years upon years of Calculus on top of her own rigorous studies. “P ” is an amazing teacher and in they are in charge of instructing calculus, AP calculus, and AP statistics.
After a long conversation with P about why it’s important to understand teachers as well and to appreciate some of what our school has to offer, it became obvious that there are many things students don’t get to see or experience going on behind the scenes.
A teacher like “P” has been allowed to make their class a unique space; this “freer environment” has given them a space where they have had the ability to teach appropriately and (more importantly) comfortably.
P came here because this school offers a lot of things that aren’t commonly offered in other schools. Before coming here P was also teaching at another bilingual school in the area, but it lacked certain amenities .
“I was teaching all over the place,” said P. “I was teaching everywhere from fifth grade to (Grade 12) and I would much rather teach more interesting math.”
As a teacher, lacking administrative organization can be difficult and that’s one of the reasons “P” decided to come here.
The staff at Colegio Menor has made many attempts to make the new teachers’ environment into a welcoming community. According to Ana Paula Santamaria, a school counselor, they even have partners for teachers to help make the adjustment.
Similar to students, new teachers are often assigned someone to help them find their way in the Menor community. Teachers have even set up multiple events amongst each other and have a wall for staff shoutouts in the faculty room.
“Teachers like to set up events in their classes, and in the last few weeks, we have had a few,” said Santamaria. “Mariel invited us for a sort of picnic lunch in her class, and Val did too! She even bought pizza for all of us.”
Beyond what teachers can do for each other, human resources has been a real means of support. This department, located in the front office, focus a lot of their efforts on making the transition for teachers as comfortable as possible.
According to “P,” a special thanks goes out to members of that department: Carolina Martinez, Andres Coronel, Maria del Pilar, Camila Ripalda, and Paola Chiriboga.
It may not seem like it, but often teachers who aren’t from here have a tougher time assimilating, so remember to be nice and welcoming to all of your teachers this year.
