What is your name and department? My name is Ms. Miller-Berry and my department is science. 

Did you work at any other school or is North your first? I worked at the McGaw YMCA center as a little baby teacher and I’ve also worked at Evanston Township High School (ETHS). 

How would you describe most of your classes? Did students find your subject difficult? I think they find my classes challenging but really gratifying when they figure something out. 

What were some fun things you do in your classes? I got the opportunity to do owl pellet dissection which was really fun, growing radish seeds has been really fun to see the growth, other labs that I have done in the past were creating an acid-base indicator. My all-time favorite to do is make bacteria grow. 

Do you have a favorite song? What is it? Right now I am vibing to “Special” by Lizzo. I think everybody goes through a point where they think they aren’t special or they’re not the main character to their own story and it’s good to be reminded that even when nobody else tells you that you are special you remember you are. 

Do you have any pets? I do not have any pets, I am pretty much allergic to everything. I sometimes wish that I had pets. 

How would you describe your fashion sense? The religion that I follow is Quakerism so I tend to wear really plain clothes with no patterns on them. Outside of that, I don’t think it’s that great. It’s a regular mom type of wardrobe. 

What is a quote you’re inspired by? A Maya Angelou quote “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Particularly in the teaching world as much as I love my subject and as much as I love teaching my subject I know that not all kids are going to love biology. But, I want to make sure every kid that steps into my classroom feels valued and feels that there is someone in the building that cares about them. 

What is a valuable thing you’d tell a new teacher? Make sure to set boundaries. Whether that is you don’t take work home or you make sure you take an actual break for lunch with no work. Just make sure that you’re setting healthy boundaries because it’s really easy for work to bleed into your home life.

What’s your best memory of teaching/working at north so far? That’s a hard question because I feel like I have the best moment every day. But honestly, the Black Student Union (BSU) Black History Month presentation was amazing. I’ve never heard so many students come out of a presentation or an assembly with such positive things to say.  

What inspired you to start wearing Disney clothes on Friday? I’ve honestly amassed a bit of a collection of Disney clothes. Disney is like my happy place so it’s my way of going to my happy place every Friday. I also feel that a lot of kids can relate to enjoying Disney. 

Why do you like Disney so much/ what is your special connection? I’m a child of the 90s so the animated classics were geared toward my age group at that time. I also love the idea that you can make pieces of your day magic every day. 

What’s your favorite Disney clothing piece you own? I love my mickey ears. But I also have a big collection of lounge fly bags that I really like.