Many faculty members are good friends with their coworkers, whom they see each and every day at 5200 Yorktown Boulevard. However, some teachers extend their friendships outside of the school doors and hang out together on their own time. These friendships can be lifelong, special bonds that will continue even after they are no longer working together. From running races together to rock climbing, teachers’ friendships lead to lasting bonds that help them become better coworkers and friends for a lifetime.

One department that features strong friendships between its teachers is the Physics Department. The physics teachers are good friends both inside and outside of school, which contributes to their strength as a department.

“Sometimes we get together and build physics equipment… we do have lunch together every Friday, one person makes a crockpot for all of us to share,” physics teacher Aaron Schuetz said.

Being friends makes the physics teachers better coworkers and better as a department as a whole because they know each other well and can appreciate each others’ skills.

“We’re all different people, and we all teach in different ways, but because we get to know each other, we can see the benefits of the different skills we bring and the different methods we bring,” Schuetz said.

Another department that fosters strong friendships is our Counseling Department. The counselors are good friends and enjoy spending time together outside of school doing a variety of activities.

“We go and hang out… and get food at Whole Foods… and Ms. Bresnahan and I actually just ran a 10 mile race together… so we go and work out a lot together,” Counselor Juanice Jenkins said.

“Sometimes working out, going out to eat… going into DC, baseball games and stuff like that,” Counselor Kaitlin Bresnahan said.

The friendships that exist outside of school with the teachers in the counseling department make them a stronger unit and improve their working relationship.

“I think when you have good relationships with your coworkers it makes it easier to be honest about things that happen at school, and you have a better understanding of things they’re dealing with outside of school that may be impacting them here… and it makes the job a lot more fun,” Bresnahan said.

“You get to know each other on a personal level… and it just increases the communication that you can have,” Jenkins said.

The chemistry teachers also spend time together outside of school which strengthens their friendships and cohesion as a department.

“With my chemistry colleagues, they were all invited to my daughter’s wedding… we’ll occasionally meet for breakfast in the summertime, just to talk about how our summers are going,” chemistry teacher Janet Fenstemacher said.

The chemistry department also has a tradition called Ninth Period where they hang out at one of the chemistry teachers’ houses after school.

“We go to somebody’s home in the department and we all just get together and we just have a good time,” Fenstermacher said.

Math teachers Cara Saavedra and Rachel Tarr also have a close friendship that is strengthened by their children being the same age and participating in activities together.

“Our kids play, we have the same age group kids so we can get them to play together, and Ms. Tarr’s son and my son play on the same soccer team, and we celebrate birthdays together,” Saavedra said.

Teachers are also friends across different departments. Film Studies and English teacher Rachel Sadauskas is friends with teachers in a variety of different departments.

“A good crew of friends that I have, and we’ve gone to each others’ weddings and been in each other’s weddings, would be Mrs. Saavedra, Mrs. Tarr and Ms. Wiedemann… we’ve traveled together and just celebrated each other and supported each other,” Sadauskas said.

Having strong friendships with coworkers is helpful whenever Sadauskas needs someone to bounce ideas off of, or to help with anything school related.

“If I need something, I know I could call them and they would drop whatever they’re doing and help… we all have very similar personalities, and so it’s good to talk things out when there is an issue at school,” Sadauskas said.

Psychology, sociology and Leadership Skills for Diversity teacher Chris Mauthe is friends with a variety of his coworkers and they enjoy doing an array of activities together.

“Sometimes we just go to restaurants, with Ms. Wiedemann we go see concerts… Mr. McIntosh and I go rock climb together, and sometimes Ms. Seldon comes along too,” Mauthe said.

Spanish teacher Evan Glasier also has friendships with many of his fellow teachers across various departments.

“[I’m friends with] Ms. Wiedemann, Ms. Sadauskas, Mr. Olsen, Mr. Bunting, Mr. Young, Ms. Shearin, Ms. Welgoss… a lot of them have kids so a lot of times we’ll go to their kids’ parties or the occasional get-together, especially when the weather gets better,” Glasier said.

Teachers spend a significant amount of time at school, interacting with and learning from their colleagues. Forming relationships with the people that they collaborate and work with each and every day is inevitable. These friendships go beyond the classroom and are like any others; they involve trust, respect, having fun and enjoying the company of great people who care about you. Work is always more fun when you get to do it with your best friends.