Nickleby Takes Pride In Teaching Health

Mrs. Nickleby was at her desk when she was asked who her biggest inspiration was. She responded: “Probably my dad. He was a teacher and he has always instilled in me and he still does to this day. When I talked to him about teaching, he said ‘What’s your lesson about?’ and I’ll talk about the lesson but he says, ‘No, What are you teaching them? Life, you’re teaching them about life, and you’re just going to use health as your curriculum to teach about life.’ That’s one of the biggest things that ‘s always inspired me.” 

Nickleby has been teaching at the high school since 2013. Over that time, she has shown exceptional leadership, and has become a huge inspiration to kids in our school. Mrs. Nickleby makes the mental health of her students a priority.

“I love connecting with kids and talking about mental health because health is forever. You will always need your health. I love that aspect of it,” Nickelby said. 

Nickleby has always had her mind set on being a PE teacher. Teaching health was new for her, but she easily fell in love with teaching a brand new subject. She takes pride in teaching kids the value of good health.

“My parents were teachers. Growing up I always said that I’m never going to be a teacher. I had my health degree, but I just thought I was going to be a PE teacher. I loved elementary PE. When I got the job here at the high school I taught health too, and I fell in love with health. It’s my favorite,” Nickelby explained.

Nickleby takes pride in teaching highschool kids. She enjoys having mature conversations with them. She wants to help her students discover who they are as a person, and what they want to be.

“I love little kids, but I think the best part of high school is working with young adults. People that I can actually communicate with and have a good healthy conversation with. I like that piece of working with students that are at a mature level and are ready to move on into the real world,” Nickleby explained.

Students trust Nickleby. They know that they can go to her for support. She teaches compelling lessons about mental health, and sometimes even has speakers come in.

“Mrs Nickelby is a good leader because of her willingness to help everyone. She made class fun, creatively taught lessons, and made sure we knew we could go to her if we needed anything,” junior Madison Vandusen said. 

All teachers face certain challenges with teaching. Nickleby expressed how she tries to keep her school life, and her personal life separate from each other.

“I just moved into the district, three months ago.  I was always able to separate being a teacher and a mom. Those are my two biggest identities. I love those roles. They were very separate. I don’t think it’s a bad challenge but it’s just new to me,” Nickelby said.

Nickleby expressed how she likes to keep her roles separate. She does this by “compartmentalizing and organization.”

“I’m really good at compartmentalizing. So when I’m here, I’m in teacher mode 100%. When I get home, for the first three or four hours I try to do mom mode until bedtime, and then I go back to teacher mode. When I compartmentalize, I’m not thinking of every single thing that needs to happen. I’m able to focus on one aspect. I think that really helps me to balance everything,” Nickelby said.

On top of being a health and PE teacher, Nickleby manages the link crew, and teaches 2 avid classes. She loves to help kids find their career path, and where they want to go to college 

“I teach avid. This year I’m teaching AP 11 and next year avid 12. I absolutely love those classes. I love talking about colleges and the future with the kids and trying to figure out their pathway. I’m really loving that process of trying to help kids transition to that next chapter. It’s really exciting to see the kids that messaged me saying ‘I got accepted.’,” Nickelby explained.

Nickleby continuously puts in effort to better the lives of her students. She has taught them leadership and how important health is.

“There should be a bigger picture to what we’re doing. It’s not just health, it’s how you are learning about life and who you are as a person,” Nickleby said. She believes that teaching health also helps her students develop life skills. She enjoys helping her students during this point in their life.