With the first quarter at Bear River wrapping up, many students enthuse that the newest addition to the math department, Kara Scheitlin, has made a great impression.
Teaching Integrated Math I and Precalculus, Mrs. Scheitlin said that she has enjoyed her experience at Bear River thus far.
“I absolutely love working at Bear River, even though things are pretty unconventional right now,” she said. “The staff, students, and parents have been extremely welcoming. I enjoy smelling pine trees every morning (I used to live closer to Sacramento), and I could not be happier to be working here!”
According to multiple students, her supportive teaching style and willingness to help are some of the Bruins’ favorite things about her. Junior Ana Hamilton expressed her gratefulness for Mrs. Scheitlin’s availability during her additional Office Hours she scheduled.
“I think Mrs. Scheitlin has done a really great job at being understanding and reachable,” she said. “She helps everyone if they need it and is always willing to take more time aside to answer questions. She has set up Office Hours separately five days a week which is super important and helpful for this time.”
Gino Lorenzo, also a junior, agreed, saying that he appreciated her patience with students.
“One of [my] favorite things… about her is [that] she is understanding and is willing to help us out of school hours,” he said.
Although Mrs. Scheitlin has seemed to have had a smooth transition into her new job, the situation she was put into is not one that all would handle well. She said that she is thankful for the tight knit bond between the staff at Bear River.
“Since everyone is going through a really difficult situation at once, each in our own way, there is a lot of camaraderie and understanding and collaboration,” said Mrs. Scheitlin. “I feel like we all help each other and are in it together, which has been great since I’m new to the school. That being said, some days are harder than others for all of us, but I’m so happy to be in a community that is working hard to do our very best in tough circumstances, because it motivates me to keep working hard.”
Junior Mariah Crandall and Hamilton were both impressed with Mrs. Scheitlin’s level of organization with both her students and her lessons.
“I love that she actually cares that we understand the material that she is teaching,” Hamilton said. “She makes sure everyone is on track and constantly checks in with us all.”
“She has organized how to figure out the answers to homework with her slides and I think her teaching style is unique to those of our other teachers,” said Crandall. “I for one think it’s refreshing.”
Crandall continued praising Mrs. Scheitlin’s charisma and dedication to her students’ education.
“She is a really nice and understanding person and she cares for her students,” she said. “She cares more about if the students have learned the material than the grades they get. She is very, very forgiving and it makes for a less stressful time.”
Hamilton and Crandall had some words of encouragement for Mrs. Scheitlin moving forward.
“I hope everyone is treating her nicely, she’s doing a great job!” said Hamilton.
“I hope she likes it here at Bear River!” said Crandall. “… We are sure to welcome her with open arms.”
When asked what her favorite part of working here was, she commended the population of the school for their warm welcome.
“The people,” she said. “I’ve spent my entire adult life working with others, whether through my career, in sports, or just in general. And I’ve known for a long time that who you spend your time around makes all the difference. You never know 100 percent before you start working somewhere how it’s going to be, but I had a great feeling about Bear River (and had heard good things), and it has exceeded my expectations for having a great community.”
