TEACHER SPOTLIGHTS

“I have always wanted to be a teacher. As a kid, when my siblings and I would play school, I was always the teacher. At the end of the school year, when my teachers would give away old textbooks or classroom materials, I would always take them home. I knew it was the right career for me because I love working with the students and helping them to be the best versions of themselves while being able to introduce them to the fun of learning another language.”

“I had a lot of friends who went to Pius XI and I only heard wonderful things. I was drawn to the ‘vibe’ the school gives off and to the opportunity to work with a diverse student body. I also was excited to be a part of a Catholic school as I previously worked at a public school and missed some of the special things about working in a Catholic school.”

“It’s the unique and wonderful students that we have. They bring life and personality into the school and it is such a vibrant and positive community to be a part of.”

“I enjoy most being able to watch students grow and learn. I am super passionate about teaching students a second language, but I am also passionate about pushing them to do things outside of their comfort zone so they take strides in their learning. I also love working with the students and getting to know them as people.”

“In my classroom, we are focusing on reading to acquire the language right now. Students spend time at the beginning of class reading a book of their choice and then completing a short activity. In addition, my class is very project based. We play a variety of games that engage students in the content and students use creative freedom to complete projects to show what they have learned. We focus a lot on speaking in Spanish as well and students engage in a daily conversations with each other.”

“I never went to college thinking I’d be a teacher, but there were some great people along the way that encouraged me to look into education as a career.”

“The chance to focus on an advanced class at a very good high school. I wasn’t fit to sit on the couch all day when I retired in 2020.”

“The students have been super. It also helps to have supportive colleagues.”

“I enjoy how economics, especially macroeconomics, is so tied in with current events. The relevance of a class like this is easily applied to students’ day-to-day lives. I also enjoy teaching economics because it is so foreign as a subject to many students, yet so important to know how our economy operates on many different levels. To me, this is one of the biggest disconnects in secondary curriculums as taught today. Social studies classes that deal with history, political science, and economics are the building blocks of the next generation to become an informed electorate.”

“Analyzing the nuts and bolts of a business owned by a Pius XI alum (The Real Good Life - Maggie Joos ‘98). This has been a unique exercise for the students. Very real world with an expectation that students generate possible outcomes and strategies.”