This year, the Ship’s Log will be running a brief feature on all new teachers and educational staff.  We have tried to pare down the information about the staff member and are including all the pertinent information about that staff member that he/she has shared with us.

*Name: Anastasia Preciado

*Subject Taught: Science (Biology and Environmental Science)

*Grades Taught: 9th and 10th

*College Alma Mater: Montclair State University

1. What is you background and experience in education prior to coming to CHS?

I was a piano teacher for seven years, from freshman year of high school to almost the end of college. At Montclair (MSU), I majored in Biochemistry and completed minors in Biology and Gerontology. I went right back to MSU without taking any time off for a Master of Science in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry. During my two years as a graduate student, I was a graduate assistant and taught a few undergraduate lab sections on my own. The summer in between my two years of graduate school I was an adjunct professor at MSU. Last year, I taught Honors Chemistry and CP Chemistry at Montville Township High School in northern NJ.

2. What made you come to CHS?

My husband and I knew we would be moving out of NJ to wherever he matched for his residency (training) in pathology. He applied all over the country and ended up getting a contract with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. I immediately began to look for jobs in the Philly area and a colleague of mine mentioned being from these parts, and to look at Cinnaminson. I browsed the website and looked up some school and demographic statistics about what my life can eventually be like if I worked at CHS and I was immediately sold. As soon as I got the job offer I accepted without thinking twice or waiting for any more offers.

3. What do you have to offer to the students at CHS?

I know my content and I believe in humanity, first and foremost. In my class, students can expect to work hard but to always be treated with respect and equality. I was raised in Paterson, which is very different from Cinnaminson. Students are usually interested in this difference and in my high school stories.

I have been involved in community service, specifically with a camp called New Day that offers recreation to the developmentally delayed adult population of NJ. This past summer marked by 11th year there. I have traveled to 20 countries and territories outside the US to date. I can offer a fresh perspective on serving the community, broadening your horizons after Cinnaminson and beyond, and what it means to succeed in the face of adversity. 

4. What drove you to become a teacher?

All the way through middle school, science was my weakest subject according to state standardized tests. It wasn’t until my high school biology course that I started to realize that it may not have been for a lack of ability. I never loved the subject because I never had the right teacher. In high school, that changed for me. My biology class opened up the possibility that maybe I can actually thrive in science. I gained such an appreciation for the field that I eventually decided that it is what I wanted to study in college.

As for teaching, I always told myself that I would try to impact as many people as I can in the same way that my biology teacher impacted me. Becoming a science teacher was always in the back of my mind, even when I strayed and decided to try different things, but eventually it fell right back into my lap again and it’s where I feel that I truly belong.

5. Outside of teaching what are your interests?

My husband and I are huge animal lovers. We adopted two dogs, Sasha and Tycho, and our cat Ziggy. A lot of time is spent caring for our three fur-children. I am an avid reader, a knitter, and an occasional pianist (this is something I wish I found more time for). I love reading news articles in Russian and trying to translate them to English to keep my skills up (Russian was my first language although I was born in NJ – it’s a long story). I love trying out new things in the kitchen and am very involved in community service. I’ve recently been taking on home improvement projects on a budget and find so much joy in finding new things to do to make our house feel more like a home, especially since we just bought it at the end of July. I signed up for a watercolor painting class that starts the last week of September in my community adult school and am very excited to get started on that as well.

6. Is there anything else about you that we should know?

I’m double jointed in both my arms! One of my classes was involved in a conversation about tissues and the skeletal system and I just had to show them. I also just want everyone to know, students and faculty alike, that my door is always open so if anyone needs anything just feel free to stop by Room A200!