The new wellness teacher Matthew Jackling said he only knew two things in his first days at Triton: “Where my parking space is and where the bathroom is.”

Going into a new school might be confusing to some, especially Triton. It looks like a maze. But knowing the necessary elements is enough to get by if you’ve only been here since July. 

Even though he dosent work under exactly one person Jackling still has the people in his life who instructed him and keep tabs on him to make sure that he is okay. Anna Bates the district’s director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment has been with him since the start and taught him the ropes about what his job entails,  along with administrators and the principals wanting to make good changes for the new wellness program and the way of teaching it  

Jackling transferred from Burlington High School to here after  17 years. Even though it sounds like a big move, Jackling actually lives closer to Triton than Burlington. It only takes him 20 minutes compared to the hour or longer commute that he had to deal with going to the other high school. 

Jackling’s wife and two young boys are happy with the changes in terms of the shorter commute and how much more energy and time he has for them after work at his new job. In triton he saw the opportunity for growth, seeing that other schools don’t have the leadership and time on their side to actually get the help and wellness they need. 

Jackling has a lot of ideas and is very interested in helping with the Triton newspaper if we ever need anything. His kids have to keep him on his toes and make sure that he has a fresh pair of Nikes on his feet every day. 

 With a new job and way of teaching there aren’t many kids that need that kind of support right now. Especially this early into the school year however they already have everything planned out and just need people to get the ball rolling. Wanting to work and the group as a collaborative effort where the kids can talk and help each other. With keeping times less stressful and finding ways for kids to connect on deeper levels. With the spring coming up fast and people taking their finals and graduating it can be a very stressful time so he needs to account for that. 

“We can tell students to meditate but can’t enforce it without giving them the time to,” said Jackling.

Jackling said that some of his priorities are: 

– Constructing a whole new health and wellness system

– Reaching out to and working with Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital to keep student screenings and surveys going to understand more about what students need

– Figuring out and incorporating wellness time for students during the day

– Hiring staff to teach the wellness classes 

This is a lot on the plate for a new teacher to handle. Luckily he has had a lot of help along the way and is going to make great strides to improve the school.