A Look into Mrs.Fessler's Science Classroom

      "Teaching is 50% how you teach them, and the rest falls into place," a quote from Brandi Fessler, a sixth-grade science teacher at Shikellamy Middle School, who wants her classroom to feel like a home for her students. Mrs. Fessler has been teaching for 24 years. She started her career in Baltimore, teaching 2nd grade, a placement that surely had to be chaotic and stressful. After a couple of years, she moved back to Sunbury to slow down and escape the craziness of a bigger city. She started teaching at the  Muncy school district and then moved to Shikellamy where she continued to teach 2nd grade. She says that as her son grew-up she realized that she liked the content that the older grades had to offer and she  took a position in 6th grade science. She finally got to use her minor is science, something that was very appealing to her as she loved science.

     

    

   

    

    

   

 

    

    

When walking into the classroom, you are greeted by the warm and welcoming aroma of cinnamon and pine pouring out of the aroma diffuser at the table in the front of the classroom. Her room is warm and welcoming with the help of multi-colored string lights lining the bottom of the cabinets hanging on the wall. The top of the whiteboard at the front of the classroom is illuminated by white Christmas lights. The light illuminates the daily goal that the students follow to complete their daily assignments. you can find Mrs. Fessler at her desk in the corner of the room, she'll probably have her glasses on and have her beautiful long blonde curly hair falling over her shoulders and be dressed in a trendy outfit that makes her appear younger and youthful in a way that beautifully matches her youthful and fun loving personality  " I want my classroom to feel like a safe space for the kids and for the kids to like coming to school because they look forward to feeling like they belong and like they are heard in my classroom." She goes above and beyond in that the kids love her classroom, asking other teachers to go hang out in her classroom. When it was time for independent time in class for the kids to do homework or play games, there was a crowd in the front left corner where Mrs. Fessler's desk sat because the kids flocked to her and loved talking to her and learning from her. 

Students independent experiment 

    " That plant experiment in the back," Mrs. Fessler said, gesturing to the back left corner of the classroom smiling proudly, " was 100% the kids. I didn't even have anything to do with it, it was their idea I just supplied them with the tools and materials they needed, and they took it and ran with it, and they are doing an amazing job with it." she finished beaming like a proud mother. She is so incredibly proud of her students and loves seeing them be passionate about learning, and it is evident by the smile that not once left her face while she was talking about the students experiment where they are testing how plants react to different substances in the water used to water the plants. The experiment includes spinach and radish and the different substances they are using to hydrate the plants include water, maple syrup water, hydrogen peroxide, and vinegar. The students take care of the plants by themselves truly showing how mature and willing to learn they are. Mrs. Fessler says that this is her best group of students she has had in many years, she proudly bragged about how dedicated, mature, and how willing to learn they were. Not once did I hear a negative thing about her students, even when she had to send a student to the office because the student was caught on their phone during class. Mrs. Fessler just kept on going like nothing happened and when the student came back she jumped right back into her work now that the distraction was gone.

     

Mrs. Fessler helping a student who had a question

While talking to her she said that she  wants her classroom to be a safe space. She wants her classroom to be the safe space that school was for her growing up. She shared that she grew up with a single mother and that there was fighting in the house so she used school as an escape and she loved school because of the escape it provided to her. And she is succeeding in that goal in leaps and bounds.  The students know that they can ask her questions and she will be ready to help them get to the right answer. The impression she has on the students does not go unnoticed she has won many awards for doing her job so amazingly. Last school year she won the award for "Classroom that feels most like home" from the students council. At the end of the day you can find a group of eighth grade girls who had Mrs. Fessler in sixth grade  gathered around the front lab table talking to Mrs. Fessler, asking for help on whatever science subject they are currently learning, advice about friendships or the ever-present middle school boy drama. Mrs. Fessler is a welcoming face at Shikellamy Middle that all the students know they can go to and trust she will listen and help them.