Teacher Profile, Mary Touchet

Mrs. Touchet, the new math teacher that took over the empty role of Mrs. Jasumback,
who enjoys working with the students and staff of AMES. Its her fourth year as a teacher and
she came to AMES because she knew Mrs. Strong and Mrs. Jasumback, who told her that she
was leaving. Mrs. Touchet is glad she came to AMES because she likes the CPM curriculum since
its perfect for students preparing for college.
She enjoys the fact that we are a Math oriented school unlike her old school that had
more focus on sports. Here she gets professional and personal help with the other staff
frequently, where her old job had only had staff meetings occasionally. Mrs. Touchet also likes
that fact that all the staff are kind, especially Mr. Wilson who; In [her] experience the principal
really helps the students.
Of course we cant forget about the students, so I asked her about what she likes about
the students. Mrs. Touchet loves the students because they work hard and that they teach her
new things. They have taught her about new strategies to answer a problem. She learned that it
takes time to be creative since the students that take more time usually end up with interesting
ideas that she never thought about. Mrs. Touchet has noticed that AMES students are friendly
with each other and to others. One of her goals is to help students realize that hard work pays
off.
Some interesting facts about her is that her board for Freshman house was to finish a
reading list that is comprised of books that her kids read by the end of the school year and shes
almost finished! Mrs. Touchet is that she is planning on writing a book on different therapeutic
methods and techniques. She has made a twitter chat for Math teachers across the state thats
#UTMathchat, which she moderates along with her other chat, #UTedchat for anyone.

The Auroras
Aurora Borealis, or more commonly known as the Northern lights, is the natural lights
that can be seen near the poles of Earth. This light display is caused by the particles of Earths
atmosphere that collide with the particles of the solar winds. This ionizes and excites the
atmospheric constituents that then produce light of different colors. It forms in bands that make
an oval-like shape that circles the polar regions.
The auroras have been very significant in history. On August 28 and September 2, 1859
the lights were so bright that there were scientific measurements, ship logs, and newspapers
throughout the US, Europe, Japan, and Australia. New York Times reported that the lights were
so brilliant that at about one oclock ordinary print could be read by the light. The coronal
mass ejection that caused this huge event that power supplies were switched off.
There are many legends about the auroras that cross many cultural groups. In medieval
times they were thought to be the messengers for war or famine. The Maori of New Zealand
shared the idea of the lights being reflections from torches or campfires. Menominee Indians
thought that the lights showed the location of the manabaiwok, or giants, the spirits of great
hunters and fishermen. The Inuit people believed that they were the spirits of the animals that
they hunted. Other aboriginal people thought it was the spirits of their people.