Welcome to our first teacher feature of the 2024-2025 school year! I am glad to feature the second-year teacher, Miss Juma, a graduate of Richwoods! She teaches Biology and Horticulture which is the study of plants and gardening; it is a lot more interesting than it sounds! Some interesting facts about Ms. Juma include her birthplace in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, her graduation from Bradley University, and her ability to speak fluent Arabic! We are honored to interview Ms. Juma about her journey in teaching here and her goals for this school year.
Shield: You are a graduate of Richwoods. When you went here, what were your favorite parts of being here? Least favorite? What made you come back to Richwoods to teach?
Miss Juma: “When I was a student at Richwoods, some of my favorite parts were the pep assemblies that we would have around homecoming and prom. The energy that both students and staff had at these when I was a student was on a different level and made going to the pep assemblies incredibly fun. As for my least favorite part, I cannot really remember anything specific. For me, I have always had testing anxiety, so probably whenever I took my finals.”
Shield: What are some of your favorite hobbies outside of school?
Miss Juma: I listen to Arabic music; I have always found it to be my go-to music. It is quite different, and the Arabic language is very deep, and few words can be translated exactly as they are, so it is unique to me. I also enjoy spending time with my nieces and nephews, and I enjoy painting as well.
Shield: If you could meet any living person, who would it be and why?
Miss Juma: Robert Downey Jr. He is my all-time favorite actor. My love for Marvel started when I watched the first Ironman.
Shield: What made you decide to pursue teaching? Why Biology? Was it an instinctive decision, or did you consider other jobs before teaching?
Miss Juma: “My sister and mother are both teachers, so teaching has been second nature to me. I have always spent summers inside classrooms decorating and helping them prep, so I have always enjoyed the idea of teaching. I did consider different routes, but the idea of spreading knowledge about biology was something that really got me going.”
Shield: What do you like the most about plants, living beings, and Horticulture? What is your favorite concept to teach?
Miss Juma: “My favorite concept to teach is how we are all made up of trillions of cells; that concept has always amazed me. I feel like when it comes to biology, learning how our bodies work and how the living things around us interact with one another in the day-to-day reality that we live in and knowing how it all comes together is something utterly amazing.”
Shield: What was the best moment for you last school year?
Miss Juma: The best moment for me last year was towards the end of the year; realizing how many students I got to really build relationships with and hearing how much they have learned out of my class in such a fun way.
Shield: What are you looking forward to the most this school year?
Miss Juma: “This school year, the thing I’m looking forward to the most is adding a lot more activities that I have found throughout last year to build more into my lessons, as well as continuing building relationships with my students and making them want to interact as much as possible!”
Thank you, Miss Juma! We are lucky to have you back in Richwoods and hope you have a great year!
