Tenth grade English teacher and head of the English department Jennifer Ollquist is preparing for a leave of absence next spring due to her second pregnancy.

Ollquist is due to have her second baby on March 29. She is currently in her first trimester of the pregnancy. Ollquist feels that her due date is at a great time in the school year because it is after all of the important tests that she needs to prepare her students for, such as MCAS.

So far, Ollquist’s teaching has not been severely affected by her pregnancy, however she did say, “I feel a little more tired now.”

The students think Ollquist does a good job acting energetic during class and keeping the students engaged. Catarina Ferreira, a student of Ollquist, says “I don’t think her pregnancy has affected her teaching.”

It is common for students to feel concerned about how their learning will be affected when their teacher leaves. Some students cannot adjust easily to the teaching style of the substitute once they have become accustomed to the teaching techniques that their original teacher uses.

Ollquist states, “I was nervous about how the students would react, knowing that I wouldn’t be here for the last two months of school.”

Ollquist has nothing to worry about. Harmony Picard, a student in one of Ollquist’s classes, says “I know that it’ll be different to have a sub around instead of Mrs. Ollquist… but she’s an organized person so she’ll have everything planned out.”

Many students have the same opinion about Ollquist. Ferreira thinks “she’s an organized person because she hands out calendars for us to have our homework ahead of time and she also has her own schedule planned out.”

Ollquist proves these opinions true because she is very prepared for her leave. “I’ve started planning out and keeping track of my assignments, all of my tests, and all of the things that I know I want to do. I’ve kept a log of them so whoever steps in will have an outline…everything will pretty much be laid out for them,” Ollquist describes. She says that she has a lot of fun projects planned that the students will enjoy. This certainly shows organization and concern about her students’s education.

The calm feeling is mutual. Ollquist has not been expressing any concern for how her classes will behave when she leaves. “I have great classes. I’m not worried about leaving them at all…I think they’ll have really great class discussions and have a lot of fun.” Ollquist will be leaving in March with confidence.

Everybody is “really thrilled” about the pregnancy, according to Ollquist. The students are really happy for her and her family. Her family is excited as well. Ollquist describes, “my daughter is really excited to be a big sister… she knows that things are changing.”