KO has provided an amazing first job for middle school math teacher Sarah Thomsen, but she is leaving the community for future endeavors. KO has provided an amazing first job for middle school math teacher Sarah Thomsen, but she is leaving the community for future endeavors.
In order to become closer to home, Ms. Thomsen plans on moving to Cambridge, Mass. to teach at Nashoba Brooks School in Concord. Ms. Thomsen will teach sixth through eighth grade, educating her students about six-grade math, pre-algebra, and algebra.
Ms. Thomsen majored in math and women’s studies at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., and KO was Ms. Thomsen’s first home as a teacher.
In her second year at the school, Ms. Thomsen said she would advise the KO community to give and seek help when needed. “I would say to love the community, be a part of the community, and don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Ms. Thomsen said.
At KO, Ms. Thomsen coached the diving team and the Middle School lacrosse team. Ms. Thomsen will also continue to coach field hockey at her new job, but instead of being the assistant varsity field hockey coach to the high schoolers, she will work with the middle schoolers.
Ms Thomsen said she would miss the people at KO the most. “This incredible, supportive, kind community has helped and taught me so much,” she said.
Ms. Thomsen said that she made the decision to stay in the middle grades to teach, since it’s a time to be there for kids as they grow up. “There’s a need for a mentor role, which forms nice relationships with students on the field and in the classroom,” Ms. Thomsen said. When choosing what to do with her life, Ms. Thomsen said becoming a math teacher always felt like the right path. “The goal is to try and help kids like math and be excited about it, not stressful,” Ms. Thomsen said.
To provoke students’ engagement and interest without the anxiety, Ms. Thomsen likes to use real world problems and hands-on activities in class.
Although Ms. Thomsen said leaving KO was a bittersweet decision, she said she is exciting to be in an all-girls empowering environment as the private school Ms. Thomsen will be working at is all-girls from grades four through eight. For the summer, Ms. Thomsen will continue to work on her graduate degree by participating in an Northeastern University online program and said she looks forward to being in Vermont with her family.
Outside of school, Ms. Thomsen said she enjoys kickboxing, which she will be teaching this summer, running, and watching the Red Sox.
The KO community certainly wishes Ms. Thomsen, who has been a teacher, coach, and mentor to many, all the best of luck on her journey, as we are only sad that her trail leads her outside the gates of KO.
