Women in Our Community: Samantha Gacke

In the spirit of back-to-school, we thought it would be fun to interview a local teacher to see what it's like to have one of the most important jobs there is. I'm thankful to be able to say that I grew up with wonderful teachers and had all the necessary recourses to succeed. Samantha Gacke prides herself in providing the same for her students.

Let's begin with your name and a little bit about what you do. 

My name is Samantha Gacke and I am a 7th grade science teacher at Patrick Henry Middle School.  This will be my fourth year teaching!  I have had great experiences in multiple grades and subjects, but Life Science is definitely my love.

As a 7th grade science teacher, what do you find (from your day-to-day) to be the most rewarding thing. This can be anything.

Teachers have this thing called an “ah ha” moment with students.  When we are covering new content it can be difficult for students to grasp it at first, but at some point they get this moment of discovery and all of a sudden everything clicks.  Those moments are awesome!  First their facial expressions are priceless, but at that point, they always want to dig in even more.  Love it!    

I can attest to that. For me it was math. I am certainly right-brained but can remember those "ah ha" moments as a student - calculus can...well, you know the saying. What is your greatest challenge as an educator? 

Having over 100 students every year has many challenges.  The greatest one I face is that I try really hard to take a personal interest in every student of mine.  I try to learn more about their families and interests, but that’s really tough with so many students, especially when I might only see them once a day and it’s in a class of 30.    

Is this not the cutest desk... EVER?!

My most memorable teacher was my 6th grade science teacher. I worshiped her and am, now in my adult life, friends with her. What do you hope to pass on to your students to stay in their memories? 

It’s funny because I just ran into a student of mine from the past and one of the first things that she told me was that she missed my laugh.  I just hope they remember how I was never afraid to be myself.  I always tell them that if someone doesn't like how I dress or act, that it’s not my problem as much as theirs.        

You were nominated by your sister to be the feature in our blog this month. She stated you as a woman that is involved and genuinely interested in the lives of her students. She said that you make it a point to attend their school extracurriculars, and so on. How does this impact your relationship with your students?

When students realize that their teachers truly care about them, it totally affects their learning in the classroom.  What I love best, though, is that I get to see students in their own element.  I see how they interact with others, how they tackle tough situations, but we also have the best conversations about the game or the play.

  

Your sister also mentioned that you participated in a backpack program for immersion programs in town. Can you elaborate on that, please?

I believe what my sister was referring to is that program that my “team” at school does to collect books for an elementary school here in town.  I work closely with a social studies teacher, math teacher and language arts teacher and the group of us and the students we have are called a “team”.  Each year we do a project to make book bags for students in the immersion program at Jane Addams.  In the bags we include books that have been donated or purchased for the project.  At the very end of the project, we take all of our students to Jane Addams so that we can read the books to them and give them the bags that we have created for them.  The best part of the trip is getting the chance to go to recess with them.  My kids love that part! (Side note: I totally remember 'teams' and if you were in middle school in the 80s or after, you do too. Go Cats! - Edison Middle School for life. Sorry Samantha. :))

Furthermore, you were a part of a walk for Crohn's/Colitis (inflammatory digestive problems) on behalf of one of your students. Hearing things like this is what solidifies the fact that I love Sioux Falls so much and that the educators in this city are wonderful. You're awesome. Can you share a bit about that as well?

I had so many amazing students last year, but Brianna was one of those students that I did NOT want to lose at the end of the year.  She had the biggest heart and was one of the hardest workers.  She struggled with Crohn's, but was a rock star when it came to raising money for the cause.  For the past few years there has been a walk to raise awareness for Crohn’s and Colitis, which she invited me to.  I was not going to miss that!

Thanks for sharing some of your details. August has to be the busiest month out of the year for you: setting up your classroom, orientations etc. so let's relax for a bit and bring up the fun stuff. Fashion tidbits on Ms. Gacke:  

What is your fashion style? 

Casual and comfortable.  If I am at all uncomfortable wearing something, I’ll change! 

If you had to choose 5 things in your closet to never part with, what are they?

This is a tough one!  Right away I thought about my cowboy boots, but other than that, I’m not really sure.  I have a few go-to’s like my denim dress and a green satin shirt, so I’d probably include them, too. 

You reach into your purse and pull out 5 things, what are they?

I actually tried this and here is what I came up with: gum, chapstick, eye liner, a penny and a pack of kleenex.  :) 

Who is your fashion inspiration for the classroom? Who is your fashion inspiration for a night out on the town?

Seriously, I would let Blake Lively dress me every day if she could.  She totally can pull of the casual/comfort look, which is me most days.  As for the night out on the town, I'm not totally sure who my fashion inspiration is!  My style changes as much as the weather.  :) (From one Gossip Girl fanatic to the other, you can be my Serena because I'm DEFINITELY a Blair.)

Talking with Samantha and seeing her face light up as she talked about her students and the past "activities" (taking photos in onesie zebra jammies for instance) made me so overly thankful for all the fabulous teachers as back-to-school gets closer and closer. 

xoxo, the boutique babes