by Anna Peirce (7th)

There are many new teachers in CMS. One of them is Miss. Hackendahl, the 7th grade Blue Team ELA teacher.

This is her first official year of teaching, (last year she was a long term substitute teacher), and she is loving it.

Miss. Hackendahl first wanted to be a nurse but then decided that she wanted to be a teacher because her brother had a hard time in middle school -- his teachers were amazing and helped him through that time and Miss. Hackendahl was inspired by them.

She chose ELA specifically because she likes to see her students learn and maybe help them start to like to read and write more even though her passion is History. She hopes that her students enjoy her class and like her sense of humor.

 “I think my students enjoy learning with me and my passion for how silly I can be. I try to be passionate about reading and writing but at the same time have fun.”

Her students have stated that they love her way of teaching by making learning fun and helping them when they are struggling.

Miss. Hackendahl has a silly and fun way of teaching and expressing herself, but she also can be serious when needed. She does reading conferences and has her students write TDAs to see what level they are at. She loves when she sees improvement and when she encourages her students to persevere.

“I’m always proud when I see my students working hard on an assignment or like a book that I suggest," she stated. She tries to motivate them by giving mints, playing games if they're good, and just making the class enjoyable.

She doesn’t just help her students, but she tries to work on herself. She said her strengths are being kind and positive, but as a new teacher that she needs to work on not digressing so much, and this is a really good trait because you have to help yourself in order to help others.

Miss. Hackendahl only has a few things she wants her students to take away from her but they are important things. When students leave her class she wants them, "...to remember that I cared about them and I wanted what’s best for them but also stay positive and just be kind."

While Miss. Hackendahl has helped many of us, she has personally helped me a lot. She sends very thoughtful emails to our parents, and she takes the time to actually help us and explain to us about the things we have to do not just in school but just in general. She teaches us as people and not just students.

And it's not just me. Several of the students I interviewed mentioned that Ms. Hackendahl "cares and protects us" that she "is an amazing teacher and super funny and positive." Others have remarked that she is "kind and helpful," and even "...one of the best ELA teachers I've ever had."

Even though this is Miss. Hackendahl’s first year of teaching, she has made a tremendous impact on us all, and she has dreams and hopes to inspire many more people throughout her career here at CMS. And we know from firsthand experience that she will.