School and Community Fall 2022

new things and take risks. As long as you are reflective and never lose sight of your why, you will have an amazing career as an educator. What is the best book you’ve read recently? Professionally: Dare to Lead by Brené Brown For Fun: Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah What is the best piece of advice another teacher has given to you? "All students are worthy of success. Accountability is the best gift we can give our students because it has the ability to change lives." – Marty Huitt

Cassandra (Cassie) Smith School building: Orrick High School and Elementary District: Orrick R-11 Grade level: K-12th Subject: Art Number of years in education: 18

What makes you eager to start a new year? I think the thing that makes me most eager to start the new school year is getting to restart the creative process with my students. One of the best things about being K-12 is the continuity of having them year after year, so I don’t have to spend a bunch of time on rules and procedures. We can jump right in! Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself as a first-year teacher? Looking back, the advice I would give myself as a new teacher is that I do not have to do it all but do my best at the things I can get done. I felt as a newbie I had to be involved in everything, but all it did was add to the new teacher’s exhaustion. What is the best book you’ve read recently? A good book I read recently is The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. I loved how it had just the right pace of revealing pieces of the mystery, so it kept my attention, but not so much that I figured it out before the big reveal. What makes you eager to start a new year? I absolutely love teaching math. When you love what you do, going to work is easy, even when the work is hard. Since every group of students is different, I look forward to seeing what new faces and personalities I will meet. In a small rural district, I teach an 8th-grade supplemental math class and a 12th-grade dual credit class. Seeing how they have grown in that timespan, both in mathematics and as soon to be young adults, is wonderful each August. What new hobby or activity have you tried lately? Recently I have tried to get outdoors more and see more of nature. While visiting my sister in Alabama we took a trip to Prattville and saw a 26-acre bamboo forest. In the midst of a city is a beautiful and peaceful wilderness park. What is the best book you’ve read recently? I enjoy reading National Geographic and Scientific American magazines, as I am not an avid book reader. However, I am currently reading: Dear Math: Why Kids Hate Math and What Teachers Can Do About It, by Sarah Strong and Gigi Butterfield. With a title like that, how could I resist? Michele Spitzmiller School building: Arcadia Valley High School District: Arcadia Valley R-2 Grade level: 6-12th Subject: Mathematics Number of years in education: 23

Kristina Kohl *finalist School building: Truman Middle School District: Lindbergh Schools Grade level: 6th

Subject: English Language Arts Number of years in education: 4 If I asked your colleagues, what would they say about your teaching style? Here is a quote frommy grade-level teammate and teacher best-friend, Allycia Uhrhan: “Kristina is a guiding presence, not only on the sixth-grade floor but in Lindbergh. For a teacher so early in her career, she has a calm and overall demeanor that shows her love and passion for what she does, while also pushing those around her to be their best and hold high standards. She is an advocate for students and teachers from all walks of life, and she goes above and beyond to not only make sure all voices are heard and all perspectives are represented, but that all hold themselves to seeing the whole child when we speak to or about a student.” What new hobby or activity have you tried lately? It’s totally not a “new” hobby, but anyone who knows me knows how obsessed I amwith ultimate frisbee. I have played competitive ultimate frisbee for nine years and coached the Lindbergh High School girls’ ultimate team for five, and it’s one of the best things that has ever happened to me. If you’re not familiar, ultimate frisbee is a team sport played on a field similar to soccer. Every point involves seven players on each team running and passing the frisbee until it is caught in one team’s endzone (resulting in a score). However, what makes ultimate frisbee unique, and so exceptional, is that it is a self-officiated sport, even at the most elite levels of competition. This means there are no referees, and the players on the field are expected to know the rules, make the calls, engage in discussion, and resume play all on their own. We call this part of ultimate frisbee “Spirit of the Game” (SOTG). The vibes you find playing this sport are some of the best vibes around, and the community helps keep me motivated and energized year-round. What is the best piece of advice another teacher has given to you? The best piece of advice another teacher has shared with me is the “Find Your Marigolds” parable. It’s quite long, so rather than summarize please visit cultofpedagogy.com/ marigolds

S&C FALL 2022 | 17