WOODBURY — Transitioning into a new school is always scary, even as a teacher. Gillian Blood is Nonnewaug’s newest addition to the community, subbing this spring in advance of her start as a full-time agriscience teacher in the fall.
Blood is a 2019 Nonnewaug graduate who was in the agriculture program and was on a CDE team.
“I really liked the ag industry and I kind of figured like just being around ag teachers helped me realize that’s what I want to do in my career, becoming an ag teacher,” Blood said.
After high school, Blood continued her educational career and earned her ag education degree from Delaware Valley State. After earning her degree, her eyes turned back to Nonnewaug.
“They happened to have a open position, so I applied for it and I had my interview and I am currently a building sub until next year, and then I’ll be the new ag teacher here at Nonnewaug,” Blood said.
For Blood, she very quickly learned to navigate difficult, uncomfortable, or difficult topics in the classroom, showing she is ready for the job.
“She did very well. We actually learned a lot,” said senior Skylar Palmer. “She gave us a quiz and a couple graphs and we had to fill in the blanks, and she had to show us a paper with a diagram of a female uterus. I do think she will do well here. I think having an awkward topic like that and having to say certain things around high schoolers is a difficult thing, and she handled it pretty well.”
Blood has also been a sub for multiple classes while teachers were out, and many students have loved having her as a substitute teacher in classes outside of agriscience. Moments like these speak not only for her teaching abilities but her character and skill to connect with students.
“Ms. Blood is a wonderful addition to our school. I think she is going to do very well,” junior aquaculture student Chloe Walsh said. “She was able to maintain the classroom in a very calm demeanor, which is very useful because a lot of the ag kids are very chaotic. I think that she has a very good mindset going into it and I think she is going to be perfect for introductory freshman courses. I think the freshman are really going to be able to cling to her and really enjoy spending time with her in class. She is really good at what she does.”
Blood is not the only new addition this year. Jesse Hungerford is finishing her first year as a full-time teacher at Nonnewaug and recalls going through a similar situation. Hungerford was a long-term substitute for Jen Jedd last year but didn’t have a job lined up until the summer.
“She’s got a huge upper hand [since] she is technically being signed on next year with us,” says Hungerford. “This is a great chance for Ms. Blood to fully immerse herself in the classroom while other teachers are doing things and learning the ropes of the job in preparation for next year. So by the time she is teaching a full-blown schedule, she has a really good upper hand.”
The Nonnewaug community is excited for the new addition to the school’s faculty and can’t wait to see how well Blood does.
“Ms. Blood is going to do a great job,” said senior Jacob Gorlewski, who had Blood as his sub in his aquaculture class. “She was my sub multiple times, and she has done a really good job making sure everything is organized and making sure people are doing what they should, and overall she is just a very good inspiration to students.”
