Summer Dates: Students get together with their favorite teacher

Most adults will recall that uncomfortable and awkward feeling when they ran into their fifth-grade math teacher at the movie theater. One 60-year-old resident recalls totally freaking out when he saw his third-grade elementary school teacher in sandals at a grocery store. Back when we were in school it was unheard of to socialize with your teacher.

Now it is a treasured outing and one that two students of Shana Saucier got to experience this summer. Spring Branch Middle School science teacher Shana Saucier recently treated students Lucy Huthnance, Olivia Green and William Halverson to crepes in CityCentre. Just in time too. Because Ms. Saucier is about to be a mom. Having just finished her second year teaching science at SBMS, Mrs. Saucier will be taking the next few years off to raise baby Landon, due to arrive in October.

She loved knowing she has made an impact on her students.

William Halverson, an eighth-grader at Spring Branch Middle School, says that Shana Saucier, his sixth-grade science teacher, is by far his favorite. “She made learning fun and explained it and helped us if we didn’t understand,” he says. “Like she made a song to the tune of ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ to help us remember the earth’s layers: “Crust, mantle, outer, inner – outer, inner.’ I liked it.”

William’s mom Brooke remembers, “William was so nervous about starting middle school. So we drove there before school started to meet the principal. She gave us a tour, which was really nice because they were really busy. And she introduced us to Mrs. Saucier, who was in her classroom, and it was her first year to teach. She made a special effort to make William feel at home and comfortable.”

“I saw her again the first day of school,” William says. “It was reassuring, because she knew me. She remembered me.”

Even after sixth grade was over, William says, “A couple of kids would go in her classroom during lunch or homeroom to help teach her class.” Mrs. Saucier says that William was her “teacher’s assistant,” and he was great at quieting her room. “The kids loved him,” she says.

“My favorite thing is just making connections with the kids,” she says. “At the end of the day, if they learn science that’s great. But mostly I want them to come in and feel safe and loved and be joyful about school.”

“It sounds bad, but I love knowing I’m their favorite. I love that they love coming to my class. It makes me feel like I’m doing the job I’m supposed to be doing. That’s probably why I became a teacher.”