Have you met one of our English teachers, Mrs. Bass? If not, you should! She has been teaching since 2002, so that is 12 years. Mrs. Bass struggled with English in school because she had a hard time expressing herself through writing. In high school she had some really good teachers that understood her learning styles and helped her understand that organizing her papers was her biggest problem.
“I remember cutting up one of my essays and puzzling it around to make it flow smoothly,” said Mrs. Bass. She says she knew that she would teach English because she wanted to give help to others who struggle in that subject.
Mrs. McBride, an eighth grade English teacher at SJHS, said, “Mrs. Bass is always willing to offer her help, which I really appreciate. She is a nice person, and I enjoy working with her.” They both have been teaching eighth grade together this year so they have been working together a lot.
Mrs. Bass grew up in Concord, California. She says she comes from a ‘yours, mine, and ours’ family, with a total of seven kids. She is number five. Her most enjoyable memories are being outdoors, playing sports, and just being active. Mrs. Bass has been married to her best friend, Mathew Bass, for almost eleven years. They have two children, Evalina (six years old), and Simon (just turned two).
“I love her class! She’s really funny and can do the worm!” said Rachel Harker, one of Mrs. Bass’ students. According to Rachel, she is a really funny but strict teacher, and she likes to goof around with their class.
Teaching has been Mrs. Bass’ only career, but she has had many jobs in her life. In high school she threw a paper route, cleaned a dentist office, cleaned houses, and babysat. In college she did janitorial work, delivered on-campus mail, and was a resident assistant in the freshman dorms. Some random jobs she had during the summer months or breaks between semesters in college were, nanny work in Virginia, front desk work at a gym, retail sales, and marketing for a drug store.
“I love to learn new things, especially if it involves doing, exploring, and hanging out with cool people. This adventurous side of me has taken me to many countries and has helped me develop new talents,” said Mrs. Bass.
Something interesting you might not know about Mrs. Bass is she has been involved in CrossFit for over a year! She says it has been awesome to see her body make improvements as she has developed and learned new skills. Through CrossFit she also does powerlifting. She is also planning on running three half marathons this year and has already started training for the first one! Let’s wish her luck.
We are glad to have Mrs. Bass teaching here at SJHS.