Every year, several teachers add to the teacher staff at North Forsyth High School. One of those hired for the 2016-2017 school year is Mrs. Amy Henke, a teacher for painting one and two, visual arts one and yearbook. Henke came to North Forsyth High School after working for North Forsyth Middle School for ten years looking for a “new challenge”. Being a teacher has always been a dream of hers, but she always thought of being an elementary school teacher. She declares that in her middle school experience she began her journey with art, and it was her high school art teacher who pushed her to pursue her dream of teaching while still being involved with the arts.

Over her past few weeks at North, Henke has fallen in love with the new environment that this school offers. It is much different than middle school, and not just because of the age difference. The maturity levels and love for art have both been heightened in the high school classroom. In the words of Mrs. Henke, “In high school, we’re talking about college and career readiness and having more adult conversations and really planning for the future, which is exciting,” Henke states. Her students are working hard every day in a subject that they have a passion for and know that they want to include in their lives as they grow older, as opposed to students not being sure what exactly it is that want to do in life or simply being placed in art.

Mrs. Henke is a Georgia native who loves bowling (though she claims she is not good at it), her two daughters, a three-year-old and an eight-year-old and, of course, art. Henke would encourage every student to take art as an elective in their high school experience because it could act like something as simple as a stress reliever, or it could be helpful to students with their future design-related careers. Art is not only an entertaining elective, but very useful for future life.