The clock turns  to 12:30 p.m. at Newbury Elementary School and Mrs. Ashley Murphy packs up her bags and heads over to Masconomet School District for her second half of the work day. 

Murphy  is such a big fan of the NES environment and wouldn’t want it any other way, she states. But it is not her only job.

“I have been a teacher for a really long time and ever since I moved to the area, 13 years ago, I have never heard a bad thing about Newbury Elementary,” said Murphy, “and I think that’s really cool! So the idea of working at a great supportive school is awesome.” 

From young preschoolers who can’t even read yet, to loud middle schoolers  who are starting to prepare for high school, Murphy teaches them all. After getting her own four kids ready for school and on the bus in the morning, Murphy starts the day teaching with Mary Jo Lagana.  Lagana is known to her students as Mrs. Mary Jo, a teacher who has been at NES for as long as any alumnus of the school can remember. Lagana had lots to say about Murphy and the Newbury Elementary environment.

“Her classroom is very organized. The children feel free to explore and learn,” said Lagana as she described Murphy’s space at NES. 

We asked Lagana for three words that she would use to describe Murphy, and she replied with “Caring, Patient and calm.” Clearly these two have created a bond and have helped students enjoy working with each other in a short amount of time.

Being able to adjust to different situations and settings is an important skill that Murphy definitely has. She changes where she does her job throughout the day and still enjoys it very much. 

“I have four kids,” said Murphy, “and last year I took this job teaching reading at Masco and I liked doing that but then the opportunity came to do the morning preschools and since I missed it so much I applied for it and I just thought, I could have the best of both worlds! ”

The transition between each school every day is relatively easy and suits her lifestyle as a mother well, leaving her time to be home to pick her kids up from school. She loves both environments with the 4-5 year olds and the 12-14 year olds. 

From building blocks and arts and crafts to worksheets and text books, every day is an easier transition than you would think from school to school, especially for an experienced teacher like Murphy.