New teachers arrive at NPHS
The return to on-campus learning sees many fresh faces on our teaching staff. Teachers like Alejandro Fernandez, Jenna Chappel, and Andrea Ganon, have all joined the NPHS faculty this year.
Fernandez, a US government and world history teacher, decided to teach at NPHS because of the Newcomer Program. “I was an English learner myself growing up, my home language was Spanish, and I learned English in school. That just really motivated me [to work here] because that’s the community that I wanted to be around,” Fernandez said. “They remind me so much of myself.”
As a teacher, Fernandez hopes to leave his students with many lessons. “I hope that my students get as much as they can out of this class in terms of learning about history, and how it applies to the modern day,” Fernandez said. “I just want them to enjoy the class, and to have long lasting relationships, even if it’s just here in high school with their peers.”
Inspired by her own background, Ganon teaches under the ELL program. “My mom was an immigrant and I have been teaching foreign languages, French and Spanish, for so long that I am used to kids who do not speak the language, so it was perfect,” Ganon said.
Ganon wants to inspire her students to read. “I asked all my neighbors on the neighborhood app if they would donate books to my classroom and they did. I got all of these books to ‘bribe’ kids to read more. I give them as prizes, and the kids get to keep them. I was really poor in high school, so I never would have been able to ask my mom to buy a $25 book, so if somebody had given me a ‘Twilight’ book I would have been so stoked,” Ganon said.
Chappel loves teaching economics and psychology. “I try to incorporate a lot of real world scenarios and lessons to prepare students for life after graduation. I’m also teaching AP psychology, which is a really interesting course. Students are able to learn a lot about themselves and other people as well,” Chappel said.
For Chappel, fostering an environment where students can trust her and their peers is essential. “I think my number one goal is always to give students that social and mental support that they need. I want them to feel safe and welcomed in my classroom, so creating an environment that students thrive in, as well as kind of setting up for my long haul hopefully career here,” Chappel said.
