Many new staff members have been integrated into the Campo community this 2024-2025 school year. Some shared their thoughts about how their experience here at Campolindo so far has been.
English 2 and English 4 teacher Katie Terhar has been teaching for twenty five years. Terhar has had to adjust to the big school environment, as she was previously teaching at a very small school. Terhar said, “The number of students in a classroom and the number of bodies going through the hallway was just something I had to get used to.” With this aside, Terhar has been really enjoying her time so far at Campolindo and expressed that the students have “always been my favorite thing about teaching, honestly that’s why I’ve been doing it for so long.”
Other teachers share similar sentiments about their first months at Campo. AP Calculus AB and Algebra 2 teacher Terelyn Tom said “at first I think it got a little tough [especially] at the very beginning [I felt I] just had to prove myself a little bit, but I feel like after the first 2 weeks it’s been really nice,” said Tom. While she said the first couple weeks were a big transition for her, Tom appreciated an impactful moment she had when first arriving. Tom said, “[at the end of class] I stood by the door and said [to the students] ‘have a good day.’ Everyone said thank you and it was so nice and it…[feels] very welcoming .”
Shay Kornfeld is another new teacher at Campolindo and also teaches at Miramonte. Kornfeld teaches Living Earth, Human Social Development, and AP Environmental Science. When Kornfeld started teaching at Campolindo, he said he was happy to see, “how welcoming everyone was, including the office, staff, and students.” Kornfeld also expressed his favorite and most surprising observation when arriving at Campo: “what surprised me the most was the hidden gem that you all have goats and chickens! So cool.” Being a science teacher, he was thrilled about the animals on campus because, “that is science that you can’t learn in a text book.”
Counseling Enriched teacher, Lisa Tom, has felt welcomed into the Campolindo community. Tom stated their thoughts about coming in as a new teacher and teaching a special education class. Tom said the students have “lots of different things that are very individual to them.” She continued, “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the students are great. They work on lots of different strategies and skills when [they’re] in [the classroom].” Tom feels that despite, “everyone having had to transition from the previous teacher to [her], they’re doing really well.” Tom also expressed they have been really enjoying their time on campus and said “I love it here at Campo. I’m so excited and am really looking forward to the rest of the year.”
Gavin Mack is the computer science teacher at Campolindo and teaches both AP Computer Science Principles and AP Computer Science A. Mack is excited to be at Campolindo and said, “everyone (students and staff) have been incredibly kind. I had plenty of students offer to help out with whatever I need.” Mack said, “before Campo I had never been told thank you at the end of a class period. Campo is an incredible school and a great environment to be in every day.”
Mack is not only interested in computer science at Campo. He said, “the most shocking thing was the long history of success in athletics. The high school I attended had three championship banners in the gym, so coming into the gym here and seeing it covered in championship banners (not to mention the alumni Olympic athletes), was a bit of a shock.”
Government, Economics, and World History teacher Nicole Meyer. Meyer has a lot of experience in teaching and is really excited about being here at Campolindo. Meyer stated, “My favorite things as well as the most surprising thing about Campo is how both teachers and students alike have a collaborative mindset, making the classes overall more engaging and fun to be in.” Like every other new teacher, Meyer is super happy to be here at Campolindo and stated, “I just appreciate how everyone has had open arms and have been so welcoming! It’s a fun environment to be in.
English 2 and 3 teacher, Victoria Devincenzi, is another addition to the Campo community. Devincenzi is not new to teaching English, however she did feel “nervous changing schools so late in [her] career, but the Cougars have proven to be worth the leap of faith.” So far, Devincenzi said her favorite thing about being at Campolindo is “all of the students. I care about their learning, want to succeed, and are committed to growing relationships. It has been so cool to see.”
These new teachers are enjoying their time so far at Campo and are really excited about the upcoming events to come in this school year.
