Welcome New Teacher-Bonnie Rubottom

September 07, 2022

The Natoma High School web design class asked several questions to get to know our new teacher, Bonnie Rubottom. Bonnie started her teaching career here at Natoma educating kindergartners for the first time this year. She attended Frostburg State University for a B.S. in Criminal Justice, she also went to Stevenson University for a B.S. in Paralegal Studies, and also went to Kansas State University for a Master of Arts in Teaching. Her inspiration to teach was derived from many things. "When my children were little, I enjoyed helping them learn. When they started at Natoma, I volunteered to help with Tiger Tots, then I worked in the library. Next, I helped as a para in fourth grade and I also did my student teaching in kindergarten. I've always enjoyed helping out at our school and working with the students. It's amazing when you see a student understand a concept and "the light bulb turns on", for them", she told us. She choose to teach at Natoma because, "Natoma's atmosphere is like being a part of one big family. It's great to be able to work with people who feel like family. We all really care about each other, not just at school but outside of school as well. It's nice to be able to work with friends who are family".

Bonnie is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and moved to Kansas when she was 26. Her favorite subject in school was Earth Science. For her, teaching has always been a passion. She has always enjoyed helping children learn. Her first impression of Natoma came when her kids attended Tiger Tots for the first time. "Wow! This school is small compared to where I went to school (class of 375 students)." She loved that she already knew almost everyone at Natoma when her children started attending. Her favorite age group of kids to teach is kindergartners. "There is so much joy in teaching students to read and understand how different math concepts work. It's fascinating to see how each student's brain works differently to figure out a math problem." The other teaching jobs Bonnie has filled was a co-teacher during the covid lockdown. She taught on Kansas Connections Academy. Her and the other co-teacher had 160 third grade students. We asked what her initial reaction to Natoma's small class size. Her response was, "I am so glad, they will have a lot of individual attention and get to work closely with their teachers. As a teacher, I think it's great to have such small classes, because I can develop meaningful relationships with the students and their parents/guardians."