The new girl in town last year at JHS was the new English teacher, Ms. Heather Gerrish. Ms. Gerrish studied at Eastern Illinois University before accepting a teaching job at JHS.

Gerrish says that she was born to be a teacher, and everyone around her knew it ever since she was in kindergarten. She states, “In my kindergarten class, my teacher would always have to force me to stay in my seat because I would always get up to go help the other children.” Gerrish also loves teaching because she feels that there are constantly new challenges to overcome, and she gets the chance to be creative every day.

Gerrish’s favorite teacher in school was her AP US History teacher whom she had classes with for three years in a row, and they still keep in contact. When asked what she would be doing if she weren’t a teacher, she responded, “Dead? Or possibly writing teaching guides or editing textbooks.”

Gerrish’s least favorite subject in school was a tie between her home and interior design class and PE. However, she blames the lack of understanding in her home and interior design class on constant miscommunication with the teacher.

Gerrish says she enjoys teaching both seniors and freshmen for different reasons. “Everything is new to the freshmen, and they are excited while the seniors are getting ready to be adults; however, it is quite difficult to decorate a room for two completely different types of students.” Gerrish also expresses her enjoyment of being able to have mature conversations with most of the seniors.

One of her favorite things to teach  is better writing skills. She is also quite fond of getting to know her new students every year. Although her first year was just last year, she already has several memories from JHS. A favorite moment of hers from her first year at JHS was when the freshmen classes were reading the court room trial from To Kill a Mockingbird. “Just hearing the voices that people came up with in class was very entertaining,” Gerrish says.