This article was written By Finley Torrens-Martin who is a Sophomore in the Journalism class.
Kerri Zurowski’s Peanut Butter, Oreo, Brownie Cupcake recipe:
Ingredients:
Brownie mix
Thin fudge Oreos Peanut butter
Follow the brownie mix recipe. In a muffin pan, put some brownie batter in the bottom of each section of the pan. Make a sandwich out of two Oreos with peanut butter in the middle, then place into each muffin section, pour remaining brownie batter over each one to cover. Bake.
This recipe is an example of Kerri Zurowski’s love for cooking, a love she incorporates into her curriculum, as our new health teacher at U-32. She began this fall, 2021, and teaches middle school and high school.
Zurowski always wanted to be a teacher, “but not necessarily health.” Her original desire was to teach PE.
She said she considered teaching, no matter the subject, partly because her high school PE teacher told her she would make a good teacher.
In the past, Zurowski has worked at Washington County Mental Health, in a daycare service for infants and toddlers whose parents suffered with mental health issues.
She has also taught PE at many schools, including Main Street Middle School in Montpelier, and Calais Elementary last year.
Zurowski acknowledges that, in teaching health, there will always be awkwardness to get around. She tries to make her students more comfortable and always gives the option for people to leave class.
A big part of teaching health for Zurowski, is accepting all identities. She tries to use the right pronouns and teaches about the importance of doing this.
Zurowski works to engage all her students. She tends to do a lot of art projects because she said conversations start naturally around them.
She built her schedule to adapt to the different grade levels. For middle school, Zurowski tries to make class a little more hands-on. And for her high school classes, she uses more videos and presentations. She said her favorite subject to teach was the food and wellness unit.
A Sophomore, Iris Neddo, said she enjoys Zurowski’s class. “I look forward to it,” she said. “I like Kerri, she’s really nice to me.”
Zurowski’s main inspiration for choosing health was that she said she feels like she is teaching valuable things that her students will use for the rest of their lives.
Zurowski’s cat
In her spare time, Zurowski plays in the Barre Women’s Slow Pitch Softball League.
She has a routine that she runs at every game: She only touches the painted lines of the field when running the bases; she wears the same, albeit washed, socks to every game; she also wears a metal ring painted with her team colors and her number on her jersey.
Zurowski’s kids, Aurora and Andrew, come to all her sporting events. She calls them her little cheerleaders.
Aurora and Drew Zurowski
She cooks with her children too. Zurowski said she enjoys teaching her kids about food, though “We end up getting flour and sugar everywhere.”
Recently she taught them to make meatballs. “I told [my son] it’s like playdough,” she said. “He actually made them better than I did!”
