This new school year brought many new educators to Emerson Junior-Senior High School, including a business teacher, a band teacher, a guidance counselor, and a math teacher. The one who has stood out the most is the new math teacher, Ms. Brentnall. This is her first year as a high school math teacher, and she is already showing that she can connect with students and make math more engaging with her teaching style!
Ms. Brentnall grew up in Hillsdale, and attended Pascack Valley High School. During her days in high school, she found math to be an easy subject, and enjoyed helping out her friends. She was introduced to Emerson by Ms. Murphy at a job fair, and loved the vibes she gave off. Ms. Murphy explained to her how close-knit the community is, and how it’s a small school, which caught Ms. Brentnall’s attention.
Ms. Brentnall commented, “The reason I wanted to teach math was because it has such a bad rep, and everyone hates going to math class, and I just want to try and change it a little bit, and want people to enjoy coming to math class and not dread it as much.”
She played tennis in high school and at Ramapo College. She helps out coach the boys’ and girls’ tennis teams. In the summer, she sometimes continues with tennis and competes in pickleball tournaments. Not only does she like to play tennis, but she also likes to bake, cook, and go to the gym.
So far, Ms.Brentnall has had an amazing start to Emerson and is adjusting very quickly with her students and coworkers!
She noted, “I do like it here at Emerson, the teachers, all my coworkers. I love them so much. I feel like I found friends who all hang out outside of school, and I love you guys. The classes are great, and hearing about your days, I like it. I couldn’t ask for more my first year.”
Ms. Brentnall earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics, which gave her a K-12 math teaching certification. Currently, she teaches Algebra 1, Geometry, pre-calculus, and statistics. She has bright plans ahead for her future here at Emerson. She wants to keep teaching geometry since it’s her favorite math class to teach. She would also like to earn an official tennis coaching position.
The students and staff are very grateful to have Ms. Bretnall teach at Emerson, and can’t wait to see what the future holds for her!
