The Johnny Green sat down with the new teacher of Global 9, U.S. History, Participation in Government, Text and Video (and Weedsport alumna) Mrs. Phillips. She has been teaching for 15 years but came back to Weedsport this year to replace Ms. Leonardi who retired this summer.

Phillips has a lot of classes to teach this year, but her previous experience has focused on U.S. History. “I feel like that’s where my expertise lies.” That’s not only her most well-known topic but also her favorite because of how versatile it is in activities you can do.

So far Mrs. Phillips has enjoyed the year, even with the big shoes she has to fill in replacing Ms. Leonardi. For her, the school is very community-based, kind of the hub for the community and it has always been like that.

Although Weedsport hasn’t really changed Mrs. Phillip’s role definitely has. Going from student to teacher can be a super nerve racking experience. She says that all her old teachers have embraced her as a colleague and have been very welcoming. She originally taught at another small town community-based school, Southern Cayuga. She decided to make her way back to Weedsport because she lives here, her kids go here, and she has always wanted to come back.

“I love teaching social studies so I was really excited for this opportunity.” 

Her time as a student here was fun, “All of my teachers made everything very fun for me. My best memories aren’t necessarily in the classroom but the other things I was involved in.” Sports were also a big part of Mrs. Phillips high school years. She ran track and cross country, played the saxophone, and her class was one of the first to do the USO show. She said it was so fun to watch all her classmates be involved and something like that.

Now that she is involved with the USO Show, it is kind of full circle for her. Of course replacing Leonardi is an intimidating task and some big shoes to fill. “I’m really lucky she’s mentoring me and guiding me.”

She said the teaching wasn’t necessarily a worry, but all the extras. “But it is so exciting to be involved in something so important.” She hopes to leave a long lasting positive impact on students. “Having kids as seniors is a unique opportunity to leave that kind of impact. I want kids to learn but also leave them feeling good.”

Mrs. Phillips also shared one of her favorite funny moments from high school. “Senior year environmental science before the baseball fields were there, there was a path to the creek. So we used to walk down with Mr. Lawler and it had rained the day before. We were running late so I was running across the field and I slipped and fell in a mud puddle. I did a tuck and roll in the puddle and I was covered in mud. They wouldn’t let me leave so Mr. Smith gave me his clothes to wear. So I had to wear his warm ups for the rest of the day.”