Cecilie Masewicz, who some might know as Ms. M, is a Intensive Geometry and Precalculus Honors teacher at Naples High.
She has been teaching for five years now and continues to grow as a teacher. She went to Florida State University and studied a variety of languages. On the side, she chose to minor in math because she thought it would be helpful if she wanted to pursue teaching.
Background
Masewicz got into teaching from her mom, current NHS teacher Dawn Peterson, who teaches grade 10 English Honors.
“My mom was a teacher my whole life, and my dad was a high school principal/teacher for most of my life growing up,” Masewicz said. “It always seemed like something I wanted to do.”
It was not only her parents who persuaded her to get into teaching but also her love of high school in general.
“The reason I chose to teach specifically is that I loved my high school experience, and I made the best memories in high school,” Masewicz said. “I love being in high school every day because it brings back those great memories.”
She first started teaching in college and then her career started to take off from there.
“I started out substitute teaching when I was in college, then worked at GGHS for a few months, but have been at NHS ever since,” Masewicz said.
Teaching
Starting off teaching at NHS was an interesting and positive experience for Masewicz.
“I started halfway through the year and had really no idea what I was doing. I had an observation and students were literally throwing something behind when I was at the board,” Masewicz said. “I will never forget that moment because it will always remind me of how far I have come in my teaching career and how much I have grown.”
Teaching has shown Masewicz that there are positives but also some challenges.
“The most challenging part of teaching is inspiring students who think they are not good at math/don’t like math to try so they can fail, make mistakes and learn from them,” Masewicz said. “It is very challenging to get certain students to care.”
If not teaching, she would be doing something with technology or having her own business.
“I would eventually love to be a stay-at-home mom once I have kids,” Masewicz said. “I would like to make things and sell them online as a personal business as well. I have also thought about doing something for TV and movie production. I do some of that at my church currently, and if I wasn’t teaching I would probably look into doing that full time.”
Love of Languages
Masewicz started her devotion to different types of communication in high school.
“In high school, I studied Spanish, French, Italian, and Mandarin Chinese,” Masewicz said. “I loved foreign languages, Chinese being the most interesting to me.”
She still uses these diverse languages to this day.
“I speak Spanish every day with my students, so I would say English and Spanish are the two languages I can speak,” Masewicz said. “I can speak French and Chinese conversationally.”
Free Time
During her time off, she likes to do various activities like walking her dog and painting different artworks. Additionally, she likes to do cooking, digital design projects and budgeting.
Students
Masewicz definitely likes to prepare students for her tests by doing different games and practice problems.
“Ms. M is a very interactive teacher and is always willing to help if students have any questions,” sophomore Heather McLean said. “She plays a lot of games in class like Kahoot and Quizizz to help prepare students for tests as well as giving study guides.”
She is also a very determined teacher and makes the learning process of math entertaining in a way.
“She is a very engaged teacher and has lots of patience when it comes to explaining the material,” junior Vanessa Castano said.
Masewicz is also not a fast-paced teacher; she takes time to slow down and makes sure you understand the content before she moves on.
“Her teaching makes it easier for me because she goes in depth on the topics and explains each step very well,” junior Amanda Marcy said.
