This past November the Morris Knolls music department welcomed a new member: Mrs. Markowski. She is currently teaching music theory and choir at Morris Knolls, though she has been teaching for twelve years. 

Before coming to Knolls, Mrs. Markowski worked at two other schools: Moorestown in South Jersey, for about four years, and more recently Montville, where she taught for seven years. At the end of last year, she wanted a change, and when she saw an opportunity here at MK, she decided to go for it. So far she says that “the atmosphere is so pleasant and welcoming” and she has a feeling it will stay that way.

Music has always been a part of Mrs. Markowski’s life. Her mother recently retired after 40 years as a high school orchestra teacher, and her father makes and sells string instruments. Because of this, she has fond memories of her childhood filled with singing and learning to play the piano and the viola.

When asked about why Mrs. Markowski became a teacher and what her favorite part about teaching is, she replied “getting to interact with all the different students that walk through your classroom. Teaching choir and music specifically, I get a chance to interact with all the different students, not just kids who maybe would typically take [music classes] or students who have done it forever, but you get a little bit of everything. It’s a lot of fun to see everyone from all over the school come together for that one idea of making music together.”

Mrs. Markowski says that her main goal is to expand the choir program because “for a long time, this district has had such a wonderful tradition and legacy of the choral program. The school is known for the size of the choir, the performances they’re able to do, the places they’ve gone, [and] the different competitions they’ve done. I want to bring back that tradition and pride in the choir program, so I definitely want to see everything grow and just kind of go from there and see what we can do.” 

Mrs. Markowski’s love for teaching and her students is clear, and we hope she’ll come to see Knolls as a second home.