IH Welcomes New Teachers!

By Crissy Tinio ‘18, Lauren Berger ‘18, and Mia Speier ‘18

With new freshmen come new faculty members — and this year, Rachel Hirshberg joins Immaculate Heart as the new freshman counselor. She says she admires how IH is a “community that’s academic and intellectual, but also has a great spirit and is a safe place” — especially for empowering young women.

Ms. Hirshberg’s methodology is “all about growth mindset” and “the idea that you have the potential to change and grow” because “that’s what you are meant to do.” Consequently, she is a strong advocate of “creating opportunity out of mistakes and not thinking that [mistakes] define who you are, but add to who you are.”

Overall, Ms. Hirshberg says her goal is to help her students “find parts of themselves that they like and be confident in that” while assuring them that “there is always help available, you just have to ask for it.”

 

Ms. Masha Tatarintseva, the newest member of the art department, faces a busy year as she teaches graphic arts, studio art, photography and yearbook. Fortunately, she enjoys the “strong sense of community” here at IH with its “supportive and enthusiastic” faculty and students.

Coming from a background in theater design and immersive environments, “Ms. Masha” enjoys “transforming large-scale spaces into one theme or another,” which will surely aid her in her work for Mary’s Day later this year. This skill will also assist her in her classes, seeing as her goal is to “communicate complicated things in the easiest possible way so that students don’t feel like their projects are daunting” through a step-by-step process.

 

Immaculate Heart High School welcomes Bethany Curia is the latest addition to the Math Department. A Capricorn, Ms. Curia was born in New Jersey, but brought up in Huntington Beach, CA. For college, she attended Florida State University, earning a degree in mathematics.

As a FSU graduate, she is also a big college football fan. Her favorite books are Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Ms. Curia loves music with a passion. She sings and plays the guitar, drums, and harmonica. She also enjoys cooking. Her favorite person in the world is Bernie Sanders, whom she wishes would have become president.

Currently, Ms. Curia teaches Geometry and Honors Algebra II. She enjoys IH because of her enthusiastic students who make her job a little bit easier. She also loves the welcoming atmosphere of the IH school community, noting that people here are polite and respectful. The only trouble she is currently dealing with is with her classroom’s Smart Board, adding that they just do not “click” for now!

 

#