Walking around at the high school, it is an assumption to see many new faces. Some of those new faces are new teachers who have joined the MHS community this year. Here are some of the new teachers with the interviews below.

What is your name? What subject do you teach? How many years have you been teaching and where?

My name is Makenzie Bachman. I teach English 9 and 10 general English. I taught for a year in Wisconsin, and substitute taught in Minnetonka last year, and now I’m here.

What or who inspired you to teach?

I had an aunt growing up who was a teacher, and every summer it was my favorite thing to set up her classroom each year. I was always very into school and have known I have wanted to be a teacher since I was very little. When I was in 5th grade the only thing I wanted from Santa was an overhead projector to play teacher in my basement. I have always been connected to the academic side of school, and I also want to make a difference. That is a big reason why I’m attracted to the job and love it so much.

What are your favorite topics to teach and why?

I love narrative writing. I love science fiction and dystopian novels, so if I could integrate that into my classroom I would love that.

Give a fun fact about yourself.

I’ve played volleyball in Greece. 

Give a fun fact not about yourself.

The Minnesota Vikings are 7 and 1 this year.

What is your favorite piece of media right now?

“Where The Crawdads Sing” [the movie], and I loved it because I read the book.

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Well, when I was growing up I was obsessed with the cooking show Rachel Ray…When I was ten, she signed my cookbook, and we got to talk. She’s not that famous but I was freaking out, because I was crazy about her. 

What cookie would you be and why?

For sure chocolate chip, I know it’s boring but it’s a classic, I don’t like any other.

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What is your name? What subject do you teach? How many years have you been teaching and where?

I am Mrs. Florio, I have been teaching for 18 years, and this is my second semester teaching at Minnetonka High School. I’m not new this year, most of you had me as your health teacher last year’s final semester. I have taught at several schools in Wisconsin before.

What or who inspired you to teach?

My family owned a business when we were younger, a campground near the Wisconsin Dells, and a lot of our customers spoke Spanish because they were from the Chicago area…I wanted to communicate better [with them]. That’s where my love of Spanish came from, because I was originally trained as a Spanish teacher. I have always been into health and wellness, so that’s where my interest for my current position as a health teacher came from.

What are your favorite topics to teach and why?

I love teaching about stress management lately, because I think it’s fun to be able to tell the students that I’m the only teacher that they will head all day long encouraging them to put their heads down and take a nap. And I really like being able to help students feel better, and give them strategies to manage their busy days better. I also like teaching about nutrition, I think there were a lot of topics when I was young that are taught today really differently. And the way I teach today is my way of a redo process, a second chance almost of giving students a different kind of health experience than I had when I was younger, a health experience that is more compassionate and less rigid. So topics like nutrition, eating disorders, and obesity are topics that I talk about very carefully because I want students to experience them in a more positive way than I had.

Give a fun fact about yourself.

I like playing hockey. I thought I was going to marry Prince William when I was younger, but now that he’s balding I think I lucked out. 

Give a fun fact not about yourself.

The girls hockey team at MHS is insanely good and I’m completely envious of all their power turns. Also, I highly recommend everyone check out the musical Grand Hotel. It’s such a great performance. I don’t want to give anything away, but there’s murder, romance suspense— it’s thrilling.

What is your favorite piece of media right now?

I love to read. I’ve been really into reading all the books I can find about Isabel of Castille lately— for you Spanish speakers, she’s Isabela of Fernando y Isabela. I am also reading an awesome book about Giannis Antetokounmpo called The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion. It’s so good. I highly recommend it.

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

I would like to have dinner with Princess Diana, there’s so much I want to know

What cookie would you be and why?

I would want to be an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, a touch of health benefits with amazing chocolate flavor. Rainbow sprinkles would really jazz it up as well.