GREAT FALLS — The first day of school was underway for Great Falls Public Schools on Wednesday, August 30th. The first day always brings new faces ranging from the staff to the students.
GFPS is welcoming 76 teachers to the district, many of whom will be teaching for the first time.
"My mind has been going a hundred miles per hour on how I'm going to prep for this year." said Chase Rossmiller, who is teaching Social Studies at East Middle School. This was his response when asked how he's been gearing up for the school year.
Rossmiller graduated from Power High School in 2016 and played on the Pirates basketball team. He went on to graduate from the University of Montana, with no clear sight on what he wanted to pursue.
"At the moment, I wasn't really liking what I was doing, and looking back, I was like, 'What did I really love the best?' and looking back at some of my male role models growing up, it was my history teacher in high school. I really enjoyed history and that was what I wanted to go back to. If I can try to inspire kids how he inspired me, not only in the classroom, but as a man as well, I want to pass it down and give it back to the community the same way the community treated me."
With the school year underway, Rossmiller said he is most looking forward to inspiring other people.
"I really want to shift the culture to where I want students to be excited to come to school. Since Covid, school has not been students' priority. They feel as though it turned into an optional thing for them ... I just want to shift the culture to where they are excited to come to school, coming to class, seeing their friends, their teachers, and creating a positive energy, while watching them grow not just academically, but also as a person and watch them transform.
CMR High School will also welcome former student Molly Christiaens.
Christiaens, who graduated as a Rustler in 2019, will now be teaching Freshman and Sophomore English. Likewise, she never expected to see herself teaching students.
Christiaens said, "Coming back on such short notice is very interesting and strange. I kind of hope that my teachers don't remember what I was like, because I was kind of rebellious with my writing, and I wanted a reaction out of my teachers. Some of them that didn't react, I respected. I didn't really like school, and so it's interesting that I became a teacher."
She added, "I think as a quality, that will make a good teacher because I know what it's like to be in a classroom where you would rather do anything else. I became a teacher because I liked English and Writing. I also had an English teacher here, and I adored their class, and I thought I can be a teacher."
Looking forward to her first year teaching, Christiaens said one of her main goals is to build relationships with her students.
"It made it surreal that I get to hang out with these amazing kids, and that's why I got into teaching as well," she said. "Not only because I love reading and writing, but because I want to hang out with kids."
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