Meet the interviewees: SAC ALUMNI FACULTY

Mr. Todd showing his
multiple talents.

John Todd

Mr. Todd as a young
PE teacher.

Mr. Todd in 2013 with former students now colleagues.

John Alexander Todd Jr. represents the first generation of interviewees and is the oldest teacher at SAC. John Todd was born on May 5 1947, Nassau Bahamas. His parents were John Alexander Todd (deceased), an Ice House worker, and Lorraine Elizabeth Smith (deceased), a house maid. John was the youngest child of both his mother and father. His mother had one other son (deceased) and his father had one other child: daughter, Betty Todd (deceased). After attending St. Francis School for his primary education, John received a full scholarship to attend SAC, following the grateful encouragement by his parish to take the test to attend this school, John came to SAC in 1962-1965 (never officially graduating) when it was only an all boys school with the impression that he was being groomed to become a Catholic priest. However, this honorable career path that had been bestowed upon him was not one that he took. After completing summer courses at COB called “Arts and Crafts”, he became a Physical Education (PE) Teacher at age 25 in 1972 first at S. C. McPherson Junior High School  (click here to few details about this school) where he taught for 8 years. During this time, he had completed a two year course at COB for teaching but received no official certificate and completed a course in Mexico for three months under the Olympic Association to develop the skill of swimming which he received a certificate for. It was not until 1980, when the late Deacon Leviticus ‘Uncle Lou’ Adderley, former Math and PE teacher, headmaster, principal and president of SAC, headmaster at that time, offered him a job to SAC that he gladly took. He left S.C.McPherson 35 years ago and never looked back. He sits on the teaching staff at SAC as the Head of the PE department. Mr. Todd, alongside teaching, has a certificate to be a Psych Supervisor and thus, provides swimming lessons to individuals at his home. He also coaches a variety of sports inclusive of basketball, softball and volleyball.
(Click here to watch an video with Mr. Todd and his junior boys softball team at SAC)
His advice to a pre-service teacher, particularly one in Physical Education, is to be well versed in all sports. His advice to a new SAC teacher then is to be patient and listen to your students. He also says to try to build a relationship with students and encourage them.

Dawn Johnson

Mrs. Johnson is ready for her close up.

Mrs. Johnson is dressed in her
Bahamian colors on Bahamian day
with colleague Maureen Chambers.

Another pose for the school's
yearbook.

      

Dawn Michelle Woodside – Johnson, on the other hand, has been teaching at SAC for 19 years and is one of the many teachers who attended SAC during the late 70’s and early 80’s, graduating in the class of 1985, who are currently educators at the school. Her start, however, was quite different from Mr. Todd’s own. Dawn Johnson born on August 7^th 1968, at the Radisson Hospital (currently Doctor’s Hospital), Nassau, Bahamas, is one of the youngest of her parents’ Joseph Millard Woodside, an engineer then 799 taxi cab driver, and Monica Elaine Wallen-Woodside (deceased), a house wife, 9 children. Ranking position number 8, just above her twin sister Dianne, Mrs. Johnson has 7 sisters, 1 of whom died in 1922 at age 33 and 1 brother. At a young age, she attended St. Joseph Primary School (St. Francis and Joseph now). As faith would have it, Mrs. Johnson came to SAC for her high school years because of her loving parents, Joseph and Monica. All her siblings attended but three high schools, Government High School (GHS), SAC and St. Anne’s School, however, SAC was her destination. After graduating from SAC, she attended Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky where she obtained her undergraduate and graduate degrees: Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Master of Arts degree in Recreation and Leisure Services. Returning home from school, before becoming a teacher, she was a sports and recreational officer at the Ministry of Youth & Sports (now the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture). However, under the great influence of her younger twin sister, Dianne, who was currently a teacher at the school during this time, she applied for an open position for a PE teacher in 1996 and was hired by the current principal of the school, Mrs. Sonja Knowles who thought that she not leave her post at the Ministry of Youths & Sports but told her “Well, you have the job, if you want it!”. She took the job gladly with open arms holding the post of female PE teacher for 4 years before her current position as a Commerce teacher, during which she obtained a Diploma in Education from The College of The Bahamas and was later made Head of the Business Department. She currently holds the position of Commerce teacher but is now a part time employee as she shares the 6 classes with another teacher. She is also the principal/director of the Wallen Homeschool Academy. 

Her advice to a new SAC teacher is to have good classroom management, always be prepared, greet the students at the door, have brain-teasing questions on the board every so often, allow students an opportunity to speak or discuss things in class to get them involved and manage your time well. She also recommends reading "First Days of School" by Harry Wong. (Click here to get the book now!)
Asheka Culmer

Confidence and poise are some
of the qualities Ms. Culmer possesses.

Asheka Culmer is one of the younger but noteworthy SAC alumni teachers at the school having attending SAC during the late 90’s early 21^st century. She graduated in 2001.Born on December 21, 1983, Asheka is the youngest daughter of 5 children – 4 daughters and 1 son, to Samuel Culmer (deceased), an auto-mechanic, and Sheila-Dean Culmer, an educator for 40+ years at the Stapledon School for the Mentally Retarded. During her early years she went to St. Cecilia’s Primary School then like, Mrs. Johnson she too, came to SAC because it was a school that her siblings attended. However, this was the only school that she and her siblings attended. In her words, “There was no other way. SAC was embedded in me from birth”. And indeed it was! After getting a dual degree in computer programming and mathematics from Lamoy Newen College in Memphis Tennessee, she spent two years as a Computer teacher at Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School, currently awaiting conversion into a special needs institution, however, she dreamed of teaching at a high school. So contacting Mrs. Knowles frequently enlightening her of the many subjects she had been capable of teaching, her determination had finally paid off, when Mrs. Knowles told her to bring in her documents. She was to start as a junior high school Math teacher August 2010. During this time, she obtained a masters degree in curriculum and instruction to further her education at Barry University in Florida. 
Her advice to a new pre-service teacher would be to enter the field with creativity and an open mindset to embrace all avenues of the classroom. She then advises a new SAC teach to rarely frequent the staff room, find a place of solace or comfort other than there during free times.