New teacher starts with fourth grade at Sunnyside

Sunnyside Intermediate School has a new fourth grade teacher who moved here from west Texas.

"I'm looking forward to being back in the classroom with kids," Jenna McNew said. "After last year ending so abruptly, it'll be nice to get back in with the kids, get back to learning and building those relationships again."

Havre Public Schools open Wednesday with a blended plan with half of the students coming in one day and the other half on the next day.  

Group A will meet Mondays and Wednesdays, Group B will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Friday will be a remote learning day for all students.

In the event school is not in session Monday, Tuesday will serve as the "A" day, moving the days back with school in session on Friday.

McNew said that with the plan they have less time now and have to find ways to interconnect the subjects.

She is trying to find ways to bring in science and social studies into her math and writing units, she said, and make the most out of the time they have and not waste a minute.

For Fridays, she is preparing to use that time to reinforce what is being learned in the classroom at home, she said. 

"So the days that kids aren't here, I don't want them to forget what we learned the day before," McNew said. "I want to reinforce it and keep it fresh in their minds."

   She said she and her family moved here from west Texas, from Fort Davis, where she taught third grade. 

   She is originally from Wrightwood, California, she said. 

    She received her bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho in university studies, she said, adding that she got her teaching certificate from The University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas. 

    As she was going to school for managerial accounting she was subbing at the same, she said, and she realized she loved teaching, and needed to be in the classroom with the children so she quickly switched to do whatever she could to get into the teaching prep program. 

She said she has only been teaching since January, but substitute taught for three years prior to that. 

  "I love new adventures, and I'm excited to be here, and learning everything that Havre has to offer - that's actually one of things I'm excited about, what is their favorite thing to do here," McNew said.