We have gained a lot of new teachers this year, but I would like to personally introduce Ms. Natario. She has come to Oakland Mills from Texas and only had 5 days to move! She was born and raised in New York and visited Columbia often, so she is used to the east coast but she most recently was in Texas. She loves diversity so Maryland being a very diverse area was a great fit for her. Ms. Natario has been teaching since she was 20 years old and began teaching children with poor home lives. Her inspiration to teach was a mixture of her teachers being bad at teaching with her even saying, “Surely I can do better right?” and the fact that she loved seeing the students’ reactions to learning. She loves teaching, and moments like that are what really made her feel that she had made the right choice to become a teacher. 

It was clear cut that Ms. Natario wanted to teach, but it was even more obvious that she wanted to teach English rather than any other subject. She absolutely loves to read. Her days often consist of reading multiple books any time she could, whether that be at bedtime or any other time throughout the day. With all the reading she has done in her life, one would assume that maybe she would have a favorite author. However, there are too many authors that she likes, so she cannot choose a favorite. An author that she loved when she was younger is named L.M. Montgomery, and she specifically loved Anne of Green Gables. Ms. Natario also loves The Chronicles of Narnia stating that she likes to, “…go back to [her] childhood favorites.” 

Ms. Natario is a special teacher here at Oakland Mills. As a new member of Howard County there’s a ton of stuff for her to do here and she already has jumped on it! Ms. Natario has already begun exploring the hiking and biking trails all around here. She has even made plans to go to a concert and is starting to find her footing here in Columbia. She said she is feeling welcomed by the Oakland Mills community and has already greatly enjoyed her time here.  

Ms. Natario’s goal as a teacher is to make it possible for her students to communicate their ideas effectively and powerfully through reading and writing. A lot of students she had worked with struggled to do this, and she is excited to help them become the best that they can be. She can teach them to write in a way that helps them express themselves thoroughly. She is able to get them to a level where they can understand themselves better so that they can communicate effectively.

Ms. Natario has explained how much better it is here at OMHS compared to where she taught in Texas. She has seen so much positivity around here. She made the positivity very noticeable as her catchphrase seems to be, “Kill with kindness.” Ms. Natario loves to be able to talk with anyone, including students and teachers. So make sure if you see her to say hi and maybe even have a nice chat with her. We are happy to welcome Ms. Natario and are excited to experience her kindness and amazing energy!