‘24

The beloved Miss St. Clair is taking her final bow at the end of this 2022-23 school year, completing her time as an Indian Hills English teacher. With over two decades of teaching experience, she memorably recalls each of the 23 years this beloved teacher has spent here . To take a walk down memory lane and put an incredible conclusion to her story with us, she agreed to answer some reflective questions with Drumbeats!

To recall the beginning of her journey at Hills, Miss St. Clair offers that she made her decision to become a teacher with inspiration from her family. She comes from a family of avid readers, painting the picture that, “ We used to spend our Sundays reading when I was growing up. My aunt was a high school librarian, my mom was an editor and a college librarian, so I guess it was only a matter of time before I had a job with some connection to reading.” She was drawn to English specifically given the prominence of books and reading in her home life. Interestingly enough, Miss St. Clair reveals that she taught horseback riding and trained horses prior to becoming a teacher at Hills.

Her first moments at our school were a blur given the excitement and hustle of a new year and new beginning. However, she feels fondly that her supervisor and department staff were very supportive. A year that does stand out to her while teaching was 2001. Miss St. Clair let Drumbeats in on her memory of the 9/11 tragedy while teaching, admitting, “It was my second year teaching, and I was just getting to know the students when the towers fell. Because of the events of 9/11, I felt most connected to my students that year.”

To turn a dark situation into a brighter culmination, Miss St. Clair believes her greatest accomplishment while teaching is one she is very proud of, explaining that, “I guess I am most proud of my ability to work with a class that is very challenging in the beginning of the year and turn it into a class that is manageable and productive.”

Cracking a joke about not missing the excessive paperwork that comes with the job, she tells Drumbeats that she will very much miss being in the classroom with her students. However, she did share that post retirement, she will be taking time with her family and returning to her roots in literature – finally sitting down with all the books she has on her list.

Miss St. Clair has shown dedication, loyalty, and enthusiasm throughout her time teaching, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors. She leaves us with words of wisdom from Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451: “Love what you do, and do what you love. Don’t listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. You do what you want, what you love. Imagination should be the center of your life.”