This year, Ms. Trebels joined the Mason staff as a not-so-new new teacher. She taught science at the middle school for eight years but decided to switch to Mason this year.

She had considered the move several times in the past, but after finishing an administration license, she decided this was the perfect year to make the step. Although it’s her first year at the high school, Ms. Trebels has already gotten involved with the student body in addition to teaching four different courses.

She said, “A reason I really liked the high school is the community aspect of it, with homecoming, sports teams, and all the different clubs. I feel like there’s just a lot more opportunities for kids to get plugged in, and since that was a big part of my high school experience, I’m excited to be working with that.”

On top of teaching honors biology, regular biology, and IB Environmental Systems and Societies, Ms. Trebels is the Assistant Director of Activities, working with Director of Activities Mr. Wooten to figure out clubs and sports. She is sponsoring the new Astronomy Club, something she has been interested in since she was in school herself. Ms. Trebels also coached the Mason Volleyball team from her first year teaching to the 2017 season. 

Ms. Trebels feels lucky that she only feels like a new teacher in some regards. A big adjustment is having multiple different courses to plan for instead of one, especially in a virtual setting. 

“Online school is definitely a lot of work, because even though the science teachers here have been really good about sharing what they’ve done in the past, this year what we’ve always done might not work in a virtual setting. It’s a lot of planning,” she said. 

Virtual learning has posed barriers for Ms. Trebels and many other teachers, including how to set up hands-on assignments like science labs and how to get to know students without seeing them face-to-face. Luckily for Ms. Trebels, she sees a lot of familiar faces. 

“I feel really lucky that I already know a lot of the kids which is helpful, especially in a virtual setting. It’s been cool to see how the kids have grown up and matured. It’s also nice knowing different teachers and the administration and already knowing Schoology and Powerschool,” she said.

Already knowing her way around the FCCPS communities and platforms has given Ms. Trebels the opportunity to get as involved as she can with the student body. Although the challenges of virtual school have only complicated the challenges of being a new teacher, she is excited for how the year will play out and is glad that teachers and students seem to finally be getting in the groove of virtual learning. She said, “I’m excited to see how the year plays out and I’m really hoping we can come back because I got to tour the high school, and it’s going to be so cool.”