‘Catholic schools are the best,’ St. Dunstan teacher says

March 27, 2015
Tom Burke

 “From the first minute I started student teaching I knew this was the job for me,” Anne Hahn told me via email. “I loved the children, the faculty and found the job to be very rewarding and worthwhile.”

Anne is a graduate of San Francisco’s St. Rose Academy and San Francisco College for Women now part of USF. She has been teaching for 33 years, the last 22 as first grade teacher at St. Dunstan School in Millbrae.

“I truly enjoyed going to school when I was in high school and college,” she said. “My aunt was a teacher and my mother was a secretary in the SF Unified School District. I grew up around the teaching profession.”

Anne taught kindergarten in San Francisco public school for 11 years then stayed home to raise her two children. She then went back in the classroom as a substitute teacher at Our Lady of Angels School in Burlingame.

“I felt very comfortable in the environment and admired the way the school was run. It was like a family. Everyone worked, prayed and socialized together,” Anne said noting “including Christ in all daily activities” was a central theme to the goings on.

“Catholic schools are the best,” Anne said. “The students want to learn, they are well behaved, they treat each other with respect; they are friends.”

Anne loves getting up in the morning and greeting her students.

“First grade is a wonderful grade to teach as the children are so receptive creative, eager to learn and most of all love their teacher,” Anne said with a smile I could see even over email.

“Kids are fun. We have a good time in class. We work hard but there is always a reward for hard work, a note, movie, extra play time, a special treat, or a good time ticket to choose something special from the treasure box.” 

Those considering the profession should like kids. “You are with them all day. You need to know that you will teach in the classroom but there are many other things you need to do, yard duty, tutoring after school for those in need, planning extracurricular activities, give advice, be a friend as well as a teacher.”

Anne’s first graders favorite subjects are science, PE, computer, mystery sharing, and field trips related to class material taught and celebrations.

Anne is a loyal Giants fan and brings the fun to the classroom.

“When baseball season is about to open I have the students make Giants pennants to decorate our room,” Anne said. The project expanded through the years and now they all attend a Giants game together. They all board the train for AT&T Park.

“We notice the sights along the way, talk about how San Francisco is different from the Peninsula where we live. The kids love the seats as we always sit right in front of the slide so we are able to have fun and also have a good view of the field.”

PARADE PREP: The floats have passed the reviewing stands but not before the board of the United Irish Societies did some planning. Among those helping to make the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade a success were Cathy Mibach, Connie Lynch, Liam Frost (president), Valerie McGrew and Patrick Linehan, Bill Luque, John Lynch, Jim Weixel, Roger Gargano, Catherine Linehan and Sean McGarry.

QUICK CHECK: For those of us with storage lockers it might be a good idea to give an in person visit to the lock-up once in a while. I was watching that Storage Wars on cable and it looked like they were bidding on mine.

40 WINKS: My brother, Joe, and his wife, Sandy, retired to Florida. On the phone with my mom recently, she said she was going to call them the day before but thought it was too early. “Oh, don’t worry about that, mom, we get up real early,” Joe told her. “You’re retired,” mom said, asking why they’d get up early. “Because we go to bed at 4 in the afternoon,” he said. While they both laughed, they don’t go to bed much later than that and he’s younger than I am. Yikes!!!

Email items and electronic pictures – jpegs at no less than 300 dpi to burket@sfarchdiocese.org or mail to Street, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109. Include a follow-up phone number. Street is toll-free. My phone number is (415) 614-5634.