Science teacher wears many hats

Every morning, AP Environmental Science and Biology teacher Kristen Thomson wakes up at 5:23 in her home in Santa Cruz. By 6:45, she has left her house to drop off her kids at the daycare.

Thomson said that because she has to drop off her kids, she is always rushed getting to school, barely making it on time.

“Just this Wednesday, my husband dropped me off at school before dropping my kids off at the daycare,” Thomson said. “It was the first time in a long while that I had come to school before 7:10.”

When at school, Thomson teaches Biology first period and AP Environmental Science during periods 2 through 5.

Thomson said that she is excited about the opportunity to teach multiple classes in a row.

“I love my school schedule, despite teaching five classes in a row,” Thomson said. “I’m really excited to teach four APES classes this year, and I love all my students.”

After school, Thomson can be found co-coaching the girls’ swimming team.

“The team is big, exciting and fun to coach,” Thomson said. “That pretty much sums it up.”

According to Thomson, coaching the swimming team sometimes conflicts with student activities and field trips, such as the Mexico trip.

“I had six APES students who were missing an APES test,” Thomson said. “I remember them, using desks and chairs from the classroom, just taking the test on the pool deck.”

Thomson also thinks that compared to the 12 years of her career, the difficulties she faces as a teacher are smaller. Difficulties include teaching at different rooms and coaching on campus.

“I remember that I taught in five different classrooms the first year I started teaching here,” Thomson said. “The pool here was also being redone, so I had to drive to West Valley immediately after school.”

Although Thomson only teaches now in one classroom and coaches on campus, she said she still has vivid memories of her first teaching days.

“One biology class was taught at a math classroom, and I thought that the desks were not able to support the weight of the microscopes,” Thomson said. “There were students sitting on the floor looking in microscopes.”
 

Thomson picks up her kids from the daycare after the girls’ swimming practice ends, usually getting home between 5:30 and 6 p.m. She grades tests and projects at home when she has the time.

“I usually have tests in my bag to come home to grade but they rarely come out of the bag,” Thomson said. “Projects are a little harder to bring home.”

Yet, Thomson said that even on the weekends she has no time to relax.

“My kids, who are 5 and 2, take up my extra time,” Thomson said. “Over the weekends, [my kids and I] usually do a Costco run, do many loads of laundry, try to see my parents or my sister’s family, or have playdates with other families.”

According to Thomson, she wants her family to be as physically active as possible on the weekends. 

“My son used to have soccer Saturday mornings, but since that is over, we are looking into some other type of outdoor activity,” Thomson said. “We always try to do something outdoors at least on one of the days on the weekends.”

Thomson says that her heavy workload helps her to be constantly active in her life.

“I hate being bored and I haven’t experienced boredom for quite a long time. It helps that I love the subjects I teach, the students, and coaching,” Thomson said. “The most challenging thing is being able balance my time at work with time with my own kids at home, but at least I get plenty stories to share with my students about my kids at home.”