Our school has a new teacher in room 209!  Ms. Aguirre has joined the Falls Church High School staff as the new social studies teacher.  I talked to her to ask her about her new position.  She said she always knew that she would teach at some point in her life.  “It was originally going to be my second job, like for when I am too old to do what I used to. “   Then she got a job teaching English and decided not to wait.  “Why wait to do something that I love?” said Ms.Aguirre.

Ms. Aguirre is currently working toward a Master’s degree in education at George Mason University; She expects to finish by the end of May.  When I asked her what she would like for her students to know, she replied, “My primary goal as a teacher is to provide students with the skills they need to be successful. I hope they learn abilities that will not only prepare them academically, but also in their careers.”

Ms. Aguirre is finding that she really likes Falls Church High School so far.  She likes the diversity of the students and staff, and how willing the students are to learn about other cultures.  She thinks that the teachers are very welcoming and are also always willing to lend a hand.

In her free time, she dances with a Bolivian dance group that performs a traditional folkloric dance called Caporales.  Caporales is performed traditionally in Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.  Caporales was seen for the first time in 1969 by the Estrada Pacheco brothers.  In June 2011, through a Supreme Decree Caporales was declared the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.’.

It is not an easy thing to take over halfway through the school year.  Be sure to welcome Ms. Aguirre to the Falls Church High School family by stopping by her room to say hi!