To all those teachers who have connected with us this year, thank you. 

Students shout out special faculty members that have made them feel safe and welcomed this year.

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We know the value of connecting and building relationships is more important than ever this year, so this Thanksgiving, students are saying thanks to the faculty members who have gone above and beyond in this respect.

Machine shop teacher Bruce Calvin

The teacher this year that has done the most to connect me personally and many of my other classmates is the one and only machine shop teacher Mr. Calvin. He is pretty new to the school from New Bedford and he is a pretty good teacher when it comes to teaching and preparing us for the future of this industry if we actually plan on doing it seriously. Sometimes when I’m not in a good mood he will tell jokes and find different ways to get us into enjoying the class and I am truly grateful for having teachers like that in this school community. The class is currently making a meat tenderizer and when you take the part out of the machine it gets inaccurate and you need to use this tool called a dial indicator that shows how many thousands (.001) that the part is off-center and he gives us hands-on step-by-step process on how to use every tool. Also he is one of those teachers that if you’re failing he will let you make things up and you’ll always end the quarter with a passing grade. –Anonymous

Medical assisting teacher Desirae Peary

One of my teachers this year that has done the best job in “connecting” with me personally is my medical assisting teacher, Ms. Peary. I’m not saying that because I’ve been in her class for the last three years, I’m saying that because she is one of the nicest teachers at this school. She’s been there for me more than any of the other teachers that I have this year. I’m not the only one that she’s been there for, any students that are in her class can back me up on this. Whenever I’m not doing good in school she pulls me to the side and tells me to bring my grades up. First quarter, I was failing pre-calculus, it was the end of the quarter, so she pulled me to the side and told me that instead of hanging out with my friends so much, I should spend that time doing work for my pre-calculus class and I went home that day and did exactly what she told me and I passed that class. For that I will always be grateful, because without her advice I would not have passed my class and that would’ve jeopardized me graduating this year. Thank you, Ms. Peary. –Anonymous

Art teacher Casey Cataldo 

In all my four years of going to high school, I can say that I am glad to have met the teachers that I’ve had throughout the years.. Even though I had started my senior year, I still feel like I’ve known my teachers for a while now. However there are some teachers I have quite literally known for a while because they at one point in their careers have taught me in the past. I’d like to talk about one in particular, one teacher who had teach me in sophomore year and is now teaching me again currently. The teacher I am referring to in Ms. Cataldo, one of the many art teachers on the 4th floor. I’ve enjoyed all my art teachers throughout the years, and have formed connections with all of them, but with Ms. Cataldo it really did make art enjoyable. When I had art sophomore year, I didn’t have friends in that class. Freshman year I had a group of friends, and in junior I had one friend who has now graduated. I didn’t have many to talk to in sophomore year, except for my teacher. She was overall a positive person with very fun subjects. When it came to the art projects I enjoyed them so much, but unfortunately that year got cut quickly because it would be the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully, Ms. Cataldo I see again in my senior year, and I have had so much fun with the art projects recently. It was always her optimistic and kind nature that made it fun to do art, and I always liked the art advice she gave me. And as the days go by, I just know that art will always remain enjoyable.  –Leonardo Garcia ‘22

Sociology teacher Michael Messina

A lot of the teachers this year are trying to make the classroom environment feel good so that they feel safe and I love that idea to make students feel comfortable in their classes. I’ve noticed that a lot of my teachers have done this but of my teachers I think my sociology teacher Mr. Messina who has really made me and I’m sure a lot of other students in his class feel comfortable and the reason being I think is because he is not a real uptight teacher. He is pretty laid back. I’m not saying he doesn’t enforce rules and just lets all his students rule the class while does nothing no he has rules in his class, but along with being a laid back guy he is also a really funny guy and sarcastic guy who likes to joke around with his students and I think that’s why students  like him because he is just a fun guy to talk to. And don’t get me wrong all my teachers have done good jobs with creating a the class environment to make the students feel safe and comfortable while they are here, but I think Mr. Messina has done the best with what he has and I think the teachers who are having a hard time making there class environment good should take a page out of his book. Because I think that’s what students want, a teacher who will joke around with them but still make sure you’re doing your work and getting good grades in your class. –Anonymous

Culinary arts instructors Corey Bourassa, Carolyn Parmenter, Richard Marino, and Edward Kaminsky

My culinary arts instructors have done the best job connecting with me personally, they come to me and some other students to help get things set up for the day, they are friendly and talk to us most times as if we were co-workers and not students. To me this really helps my self-esteem and keeps me confident about going to work in a restaurant some day without getting overwhelmed and not talking to anyone the whole time. It gives the day a more tolerable feeling where usually I feel stressed and overwhelmed in other classes if I don’t understand the work but in my culinary class it feels a lot easier to handle. There are more people that are willing to talk and help me out, and it’s a class where you need to talk and communicate with each other. The instructors also don’t sound frustrated when needing to explain something more than once. –Anonymous

English teacher Dana Oppedisano

To be honest I talk to to all my teachers and I try to make a connection with all of them. The teacher I really connected with was Mr. O. He’s helped me with so much this year. Honesty I couldn’t thank him enough for helping with homework and my college essay. He has even helped me write my two-week notice for my job saying that I quit. He’s one of my favorite teacher to be around. He always has a smile on his face and you could never have a dull moment with him no matter how upset you are. Mr. O had taught me everything since sophomore year. One of the best teachers a student could ask for. He’ll  never let you down no matter how hard the situation is. Mr. O is a bundle of joy. Every morning I walk into his classroom and he says “chicken lg piece.” It’s one of Gigi’s, Mr. O’s and my  inside jokes. He always put a smile on my face when I walk inside this building. It’s really crazy how a teacher can make such an impact on a student through out high school. Most students don’t really connect with teachers. Some students don’t even talk at all. But Mr. O is one of my favorites to connect with because he’s understanding, kind, funny, cool, and he’s  just someone people should get along with.  –Datchene Elysse

Weightlifting teacher Garnett Vamos

I think the teacher this school year has done the best job “connecting” with me personally was Ms. Vamos in weightlifting class. I am bad in explaining things, and I do not know if I understood the question well, but Ms. Vamos made every student work in groups. Even though I hate working in groups, in weightlifting class you do not have a choice, you got to do it, or you will get hurt, simple as that. That fact she knows me, made it really easy for me, because she didn’t force me to do anything, but she put me on a spot that I had to get involved with the others students to not hurt myself trying to lift heavy stuff. I have had her since freshman year, and even though sometimes I do not want to work out at all, I still like her class a lot. That class also helped me going to the gym by my self, because I knew what do to, I knew how to lift, and that fact that I knew what to do and what muscle to work, made me want to keep going. A lot of people give up when it gets too hard, and I get that, because sometimes I’m like that too, but the fact that it was not hard for me, and also the fact I wanted to get bigger, made me keep going. –Anonymous

Health teacher Susan Lomas

I might not be the most excellent student, I don’t usually get straight As in every single assignments and I tend to get tired of monotony easily, but definitely Miss Lomas really encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and made me a confident person. I remember the first time I had a class with her, of course it was in a middle of a pandemic and no one knew exactly how to manage an online class. I admire Ms. Lomas’ patience and kind words that make me think that I could have a great year as a junior. Now, I’m a senior and she is my internship teacher which make me extremely happy knowing that I could finally meet her in person. I always describe her as a role model for me, because that’s what my job as medical professional must be, always willing to help, making sure that everyone feels safe expressing their feelings and give them this confidence they need to face their personal difficulties. to be honest before I met Miss Lomas, I was not the most extroverted person ever (and I’m still not) but I could definitely notice a change for the better in the way I communicate with people, and I’m not afraid to express my opinions thanks to her, because she was the guidance I needed to become the person I am right now. –Anonymous

EL teacher Andrea Kendrick

At the beginning of this year I thought I would have problems in general with the classes, but I must mention that my English teacher has done a good job and more than that I think that in general each and every one of these years my English teachers have had that gift, that ability to connect with each student in a way that makes their classes fun, not boring and you learn the most out of their teaching. But this year Miss Kendrick has done a great job connecting in general with each one of her students, I think it is a gift that she has the truth, the vibe and atmosphere she gives in her class and her personality when explaining sincerely make her great skills to be a teacher. Since my first language is Spanish in general in this subject they focus a lot on teaching English, my teachers in general have done a great job giving the best of themselves. The impressive thing is to see how ingeniously they make several students who pass through their classes learn English, they are so ingenious and creative when it comes to giving their explanations that I am sincerely surprised, connecting with each student. Thank you to my teachers for giving the best of themselves, no matter what, they deserve great recognition and their work is worthy of admiration because they give the basis for their students to give the best of themselves in other fields. –Anonymous

Physics teacher Adam Simpson

The teacher I picked this school year that has done the best job connecting with me personally is my physics teacher Mr. Simpson. Mr. Simpson has always checked up on me. If something was wrong he would talk to me and listen to what’s going on. He has talked to me about his past and what he used to do when he was my age and how back where he used to live in Colorado that the high schools were different and there wasn’t as much safety and school monitors walking around the school to make sure its safe. He has always helped me when I needed help with his class and would tell me to come after school. He would tell me if I ever needed help to always ask because most kids won’t ask for help most of the time and the teachers never know if they’re struggling unless they see that they put random stuff on their work and just turn it in. Meanwhile with Mr. Simpson he asks if any of us are lost to always always ask for help so he could help us learn and understand the unit or chapter we are working on. Mr. Simpson also is a very funny teacher and makes his class more interesting and fun for us which I feel helps a lot. –Anonymous

Health teacher Winter Abboud

A teacher that feel does an amazing job helping students build relationships, and creates a safe environment for students to participate in class is Ms. Abboud, my health teacher on the 5th floor. She motivates us to do class projects, and have class discussions that are interesting for the whole class to participate. We even had a debate once, it was pretty cool. By Ms. Abboud doing this, and motivating us to get to know the strangers in our class better. Not going to lie it’s the beginning of second quarter and I’ve made some friendships in that class. She always makes sure that we are participating while also being sensitive to our feelings and recognizing when we truly don’t feel like talking and participating to the socializing part of class. She also makes sure that we switch up the class schedule by once in a while taking us to the auditorium to do yoga and just relax, because she understands as stressed out teenagers sometimes we just need that. That’s what I love about Ms. Abboud, she’s not just someone who teaches and disciplines us, she’s our friend, and she puts a great effort to try to understand us by asking us questions on what we think about this, and this, and this, her effort is great. I think Ms. Abboud is a great example on how teachers should get students to be participant in class.

History teacher Wayne Bailey

As I go on through senior year, it’s been really good. Talking with my teachers, not so much. I’m able to talk to the majority and have a mutual understanding about certain things, not necessarily for others. It’s been hard for me. Though, I still try because it’s not easy to speak about fragile topics with someone you’re not comfortable with. So, I would say a teacher that I have a good relationship is with Mr. Bailey. Since I was a sophomore, I have always heard good things about him. Whether it be how good he taught his lessons or how fun his class was, it was always positive. I got Bailey for a teacher this year, for the first time in my high school experience. I take his Modern U.S. class, and it has been nonstop laughs and endless conversation! When we have debates, discussions, notes, even tests, there isn’t a moment where I don’t look forward to his class. Yeah, the work can be annoying. That applies to all classes, but I love that we can talk about almost anything and there’s no judgment. The connection between me and him is good, but I know that teacher and student relationships don’t continue after school because you can keep being a student at college. I do know a lot of people that still speak to other student’s that have graduated college and everything. Even though he’s the one of many I have a relationship with, he’s the best! –Salma Zaky