Ms. Kalinowski

With entering the new school year there are many new students in the building. There are also many new teachers to the building. In this article i will be interviewing a new math teacher, Ms. Kalinowski. She is a very nice teacher and is passionate about teaching and Lindenhurst welcomes her.

QUESTIONS
1.What made you want to pursue teaching? I have always enjoyed Math. Pretty early I understood how crucial it is to understand it well because the laws of mathematics are evident throughout the world, and the problem-solving skills obtained from completing math homework can help us tackle problems in other areas of life. After moving to the US in 2008, I have worked different jobs but the one that gave me the biggest contentment was tutoring children in math. It helped me discover who I really am and what gives me joy. I found that being a teacher is a very rewarding job, it gave me a lot of satisfaction, therefore I have decided to pursue this as a new career.
2. What do you do on your free time?In my free time, I like to go to the beach. I enjoy walking and cycling. I also like cooking and reading.
3. What college did you go to?I have received my master’s degree in engineering from the University of Science and Technology in Wroclaw, Poland. I also went to Stony Brook University to pursue my master’s degree in Teaching Mathematics.
4.What is your favorite color? I like neutral colors, so grey, navy blue, and white are my favorites.
5.Where did you grow up? I grew up in Poland. I was born in Olawa, a small town in the south-western part of Poland. I lived there until I graduated college. It is a historic town, established in the XIII century. We had a beautiful old square market, with historic buildings (town hall, several churches, building apartments). Outside of the town center, there were many apartment buildings built during the communist era, typical for Eastern Europe. I lived in one of those apartments with my parents and an older brother.
6. What is your favorite TV show? I do not like fiction. I like to watch shows or mini-series that are based on true events, like “20/20” or “Inventing Anna”.
7. What is your favorite thing about teaching? My favorite thing about teaching is building relationships with students. I love talking to them, and listening to stories that they want to share with me. This is definitely the best part of my day. Another thing that I like is when I can explain a concept to a student, something that this person was stuck on or confused about, and suddenly I hear “aha!”, and I see the smile on that person’s face. It makes my heart sing!
8. What was the biggest event in your life? The biggest event of my life was moving to the US. I came here in 2006 for one summer vacation and I loved it! Two years later, I had an opportunity to come back. It was supposed to be a one-year-long adventure, but I loved so much living here that I decided not to go back. I came here with one suitcase and a heart full of dreams. It was one of the best decisions of my life! It was not always easy, but I would do it all over again if I had to.
9.Who is your favorite music artist? In general, I do not have a favorite music artist. I like reggae music and 90’s pop music.
10. What is your favorite childhood memory? My favorite childhood memory was spending summer vacations at my grandma’s house. She lived in a small village in the eastern part of Poland. She was a seamstress, so her house was always full of customers. It was never boring there. I loved sitting there and listening to different stories people were telling. My grandma had a small farm. I helped feed chickens, geese, rabbits, cows, pigs, and a horse. We went to a church every Sunday and my grandma always made sure that I wore beautiful dresses made by her. She also taught me how to make pierogies and bake a honey cake. There was a big forest nearby the village where we went to pick up wild blueberries. Home-made pierogies with blueberries, sour cream and sugar were my favorite! I consider myself very lucky to have such nice childhood memories. My grandma is 92 and I always get excited when I can visit her every time I am in Poland.