Sitting casually at her desk in her room, C20, with her legs crossed, history teacher Melanie Simas wrote a late pass with a red pen on a yellow sticky note for students going late to driver’s education from her room after school.

Her chin-length, wavy, dark brown hair swayed by her face as she looked down to write the note.

Her desk was cluttered with the typical items belonging to a teacher: a calculator, a clipboard, copies of blank tests, a daily planner, a white laptop, and a blue water bottle that was almost empty from taking periodic sips throughout the day. The desk was decorated with numerous yellow and pink sticky notes, and The American Spirit textbook sat on the filing cabinet pushed against the desk.

“It was some time in high school,” Ms. Simas said of when she knew she wanted to become a history teacher. “I had really good teachers who enjoyed the subject. I always liked history.”

Ms. Simas, only having two years of teaching experience, said she is enjoying her time teaching high school students. “I taught in middle school one year and I like the older kids better,” she said. “You can have these great discussions with the class.”

It is no wonder that high school students would be easier to relate to, considering Ms. Simas graduated from Assumption College not too long ago with a major in History and a Secondary Education Concentration.

As a new teacher to DHS, Ms. Simas has taken on teaching U.S. History 2 Honors, Youth and Law, and World History. “U.S. History is my favorite,” Ms. Simas said.

Ms. Simas said that a rewarding part of her job is when students understand the material that she’s teaching. “I like interacting with all the students and getting that ‘I get it’ moment,” she said.

She also said that it is rewarding when she can help a student to like history who never liked it before.

The correcting of papers is the least favorite part of her job. She said that as she gains more experience, the correcting will go faster and more efficiently. “I’m sure I’ll get used to it at some point,” Ms. Simas said.

In high school, Ms. Simas played sports such as tennis, basketball, and softball. She said she would definitely be interested in coaching some of these DHS teams if given the opportunity. Ms. Simas was the executive of the Campus Activities Board in college and describes herself as a “die hard” fan of all New England sports, especially football.