When you walk into the IHS doors before school starts, you can see many friends meeting up in the morning to catch up. What you also can see are teachers meeting and catching up before the day starts . We go from class to class with our friends but what about our teachers? Have you ever wondered if your English teacher is friends with another English teacher? Do your science teachers have chemistry? Do teachers that share a room together enjoy it? We talked to teachers and got the inside scoop to answer some of these questions.

Mrs. Barclay and Mrs. Chandler are two of the closest teachers at our school. We sat down with Mrs. Barclay to talk about the benefits of having a close co-worker at work throughout the day. When we asked her if she enjoys having a friend at work she happily replied “Yes doesn’t everyone?” Mrs. Barclay and Mrs Chandler recount their many lunches together, sharing advice and helping each other with class plans. Throughout our interview Mrs. Barclay wanted to stress about just how grateful she is for Mrs. Chandler; “I wouldn’t be here without Mrs. Chandler.” Their friendship isn’t just an in school matter; Mrs. Barclay also talked about her beach trips with Mrs. Chandler during the summer. Mrs. Barclay’s first impression of Mrs. Chandler was that “She was very smart and I knew we would be friends right away.” 

The most famous duo at our school is Ms. Turner and Mrs. Fritz, two teachers that went from having desks next to each other in the teachers room, to sharing and renovating a whole room together. When you walk into their room you can see the tapestries, lights and the comforting atmosphere. Before getting this room Ms. Turner says that they got very close, “We were in the teachers room together for four years and became close friends.” When we asked Ms. Turner, if she enjoyed sharing a room she said, “Yes and no, I like to get work done alone but it’s nice not feeling isolated.” We all can relate to needing quiet and alone time to truly get work done. Ms. Turner said the best thing about having a friend to work with is that “We hype each other up,” just as any friends would do. Ms. Turner and Mrs. Fritz cheer each other on and help each other be the best teachers they can be!

The last duo we sat down with was our very own Mrs. McShane and Mrs. Panciera, two English teachers. As Mrs. McShane very nicely put it, “Having strong friendships at work makes it an overall better experience.” As IHS students we are very grateful for our friends who make the school day even better. We can see even our teachers feel the same. We talked with Mrs. McShane about ways that teacher-friends help each other out and give helpful ideas. “I think most teachers here collaborate; teaching is a cooperative job.” Whether it’s bouncing ideas off of each other or helping with lesson plans, teachers work together. “I knew right away that Mrs. Panciera and I would be good friends.” Her intuition proved to be correct. 

Friendship is such an important part of school and life. Everyone needs someone to confide in or even just share a good conversation with. Humans are social creatures; no matter student or teacher, everyone needs a friend.