This school year, Wayne Hills welcomes a familiar face back into the building: alumni and current STEM teacher, Ms. O’Neill!
After graduating from Wayne Hills in 2018, Ms. O’Neill continued her education at Ramapo College, where she majored in mathematics with a concentration in teacher education. Shortly afterwards, she earned her Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics, and plans to pursue a doctorate in the field or a related area.
Ms. O’Neill currently teaches AP Computer Science Principles and Pre-calculus Enriched classes, instilling her love of mathematics and programming into her students every day. She always loved the challenging nature of a learning environment, her favorite courses in college being linear algebra and time series data. Having such a strong passion for these subjects, she emphasizes that being able to not only understand but appreciate the “beauty of mathematics that is intrinsic to everyday life” is extremely important.
For her first year of teaching, she is most excited about having the opportunity to pass along her love of learning and knowledge of STEM concepts to the future generations. By exposing her students to various branches of mathematics and applications, she hopes to open their eyes to the power of modern technology and the impact of a well developed algorithm. Additionally, with the increasing interest in machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, she is committed to fostering a foundational understanding of mathematics and programming, skills she believes are essential for students.
In the classroom, she connects lessons to real-life applications, making mathematics more tangible and engaging. She is particularly fascinated by physics and often incorporates physical problems into her lessons, catering to students with diverse aptitudes and interests. Senior Ethan Kim is taking a computer science class for the first time this year, and finds her lessons “thorough and diverse in thought, making [him] eager to learn more.”
Additionally, having studied French from eighth to twelfth grade and continuing to practice through DuoLingo and textbooks, Ms. O’Neill is able to better convey the ins and outs of learning a foreign language to her students. She enjoys exploring the parallels between French and programming languages, highlighting their similar linguistic nature.
When asked about her transition to Wayne Hills, she expressed gratitude for her former teachers, many of whom are now her colleagues, as well as her students, whom she described as “hardworking, kind, funny, and extremely bright.” She focuses on taking this transition one day at a time, ensuring that her students feel safe, comfortable, and ready to learn as they enter the classroom each day.
While mathematics and programming are powerful tools, Ms. O’Neill stresses the importance of using them responsibly and ethically. Just beginning to instill a love for these subjects into her students, she encourages them to explore the endless possibilities ahead of them and anticipates all of the amazing things they will accomplish today and in years to come!
