As the school year begins, freshmen scramble to get to their classes. They navigate through the hallways, and it takes them several weeks to get to know the layout of the school. However, unbeknownst to many, there are also teachers who have trouble at first getting around.

As students and faculty members welcome freshmen to Bronx Science, it is also important to welcome the new teachers at Bronx Science. The new students will spend their next four years at this school, but many faculty members will stay with Bronx Science for many more years.

Ms. Nicole Scotto, a Social Studies teacher, started teaching at Bronx Science this September. Scotto is getting accustomed to her daily routine at Bronx Science, but she admits that it wasn’t all that easy at first. When she first started teaching at Bronx Science, she felt overwhelmed because the old school she taught at was a lot smaller than Bronx Science. However, with a supportive faculty, things are getting better.

Scotto teaches freshmen Global History and junior US History. In addition to her colleagues helping her out, her junior students also lend a hand because often her freshmen will ask her questions and the juniors will help to answer them. For instance, a freshman asked where the nurse’s office was, and a junior was able to guide the freshman to the nurse’s office.

“Scotto enjoys teaching both classes with an equal amount of passion.”

Teaching different classes is a lot of work, but Scotto enjoys teaching both classes with an equal amount of passion.

Ms. Michelle Sagalchik, a Social Studies teacher, also started teaching at Bronx Science this September. Sagalchik teaches sophomore Global History and A.P. U.S. History. These two classes have different curriculums, which means that Sagalchik has to spend more time prepping. However, she also enjoys her classes a lot more because of the differences. Sagalchik admits that she enjoys the overlaps that occur, because as a teacher she can see both sides of a situation. In addition, Sagalchik enjoys the fact that she doesn’t have to discuss the same topics in her classes. Rather, Sagalchik enjoys that she can sometimes discuss current events with her global history class, and other times, she can discuss current events with her A.P. U.S. History class.

As a new teacher, Sagalchik did feel overwhelmed at first, but she admits to feeling less overwhelmed now than when she had first started teaching at Bronx Science. She previously taught at a small school in upstate New York, compared to Bronx Science, which is a much bigger school with many more students. However, Sagalchik feels more accustomed at a bigger school because she attended Stuyvesant High School, so she is used to being around larger groups of students.

When asked about her hobbies, Sagalchik said, “I grew up with everyone around me playing chess. I played the trumpet.” She also enjoys reading academic books and watching TV shows such as Jane the Virgin. Every year, as more new teachers join Bronx Science, it’s up to us, the students, to welcome them into our community.