This year St.Charles West has welcomed back one of our beloved teachers. Mrs.Taryn Gnau, one of SCW’s Family and Consumer Science (FACS) teachers has officially come back to SCW for the remainder of the 25-26 school year after having been on maternity leave. This week was Mrs.Gnau’s first week back at SCW. “My return has been great. It has been a lot to catch up and get myself organized again, but returning to the normalcy of working has been a relief honestly,” said Mrs.Gnau.
After having been gone for multiple months, missing the people, atmosphere, and routine of being back in school is normal. Mrs.Gnau said the thing she missed the most were teachers and the students of SCW. “I am so grateful to work in a place where all the teachers are supportive of each other and actually invested/interested in each other’s lives,” as well as, “I missed interacting with all 
my students and just having conversations about their lives. Actually getting to have conversations with people other than my 2 year old is really nice!” Said Mrs.Gnau.
The transition from being home for months and then returning to work can be difficult so support in a workplace is important. Mrs.Gnau said, “I knew my sub and I were always going to be supported with whatever we needed while I was on maternity leave. And knowing that she was covered and that there were people here to help Mr. VanLeuven if he needed anything was really all I needed to know.” Even while having support from your workplace, motivation can be hard to find, after a long period of time away. “In my opinion, motivation comes from passion. If you are passionate about what you do, the motivation to do it comes really easy. I love my job. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. Plus, I am a routine girly! I was very ready to get back to MY routine, not just my children’s,” Said Mrs.Gnau.
With being back at school, games and events are always a fun thing to return to, but with her new newborn Mrs.Gnau said, “I would love to get back to more games and things, but with a newborn that is really hard. I can imagine that my time at a lot of games won’t happen again until my boys don’t need naps. But that is definitely what I want to get back to.” Having a new baby in the house definitely limits free time.
With all of the busyness of having a new baby at home and being back at work, Mrs.Gnau said, “I am just excited to be back with my coworkers and students. My job is just so much fun.” SCW is happy to have you back at school Mrs.Gnau.
