By Shannon Donahue
Staff Writer

Cheri Sobolik, who has come straight from the South Boston School System, doesn’t even know where to begin about Westford Academy. With one year of teaching under her belt, Sobolik says that she was always a good student, and that she’d always wanted to teach.

Sobolik teaches three courses: Algebra I and II, and Intermediate Geometry. These classes contain students from grades nine to eleven.  She says that of the three, geometry is her favorite, as it is more visual and hands-on. Sobolik also mentioned that there is more success in geometry, for the students who struggled with algebra.

Her favorite thing about teaching is that “A-ha” moment.

“You can almost see the light bulb come on in their head,” she said. “ Then you’ve got them, so from then on they sort of have developed a trust with you.”

Sobolik appreciated the tight, friendly community at her last job.

From when she was just in high school, her favorite aspect was the sense of community; enjoying the school’s ability to bond.

This strong community was not only present with her at her high school, Nashoba Regional, and on the soccer fields; she has carried this feeling with her to WA, where she is the new freshman girls’ soccer coach, replacing the previous coach, Jen Girardi.

Not only does Sobolik have an interest in soccer, but she was quite involved with field hockey, college rugby and even deck hockey. These sports can all be considered physical, which explains why she would have an interest in being a stuntman if she weren’t a teacher.

With the many sports teams and sense of community within her school, her high school years are possibly Sobolik’s favorite years in school, but are in a tight competition with her third grade year. Of every elementary grade, Sobolik recalls this year the most.

She explained that her teacher was “just amazing.”

Sobolik remembers the one corner of the room with “cushy” bean bag chairs for the students’ enjoyment.

She also, with a smile on her face, described the “book store.” This was not a place where books were sold, but instead where the third grade class could write their own books and even bind them, creating their own finished product.

Sobolik verified that she hasn’t taken any techniques from that one teacher, but admitted, “If I could bring in bean bag chairs here, I would.”