Mount Carmel chemistry teacher Mrs. Emma Norise has a story worth telling.

When Norise started off her first year at Mount Carmel in 2018,  she thought, “Oh my God, I’ve died and gone to Heaven.”

The faculty was “amazing,” and “welcomed her with open arms.” In fact, she loved everything about her first year at MC, especially the students.

However, towards the end of the 2018-19 school year, Mrs. Norise suffered a stroke. Just about the beginning of May, when students were starting to prepare for final exams, we heard the distressing news of her illness, and were left to finish out the year with substitute teachers.

This absence of this wonderful teacher really affected her students. As one of those students, I experienced the absence of Mrs. Norise first-hand. Prior to her illness, many students (up to nine or ten sometimes) would come into her room to work on homework after school, and she welcomed each and every one of them.

In addition to missing her presence and homework support after school, Mrs. Norise’s absence affected our class emotionally. We soon realized how much joy and excitement she brought every day. She supported all of her students, in and out of the classroom, by coming to cheer on any sports team on any given day. It was this support that helped us through hard times throughout the year, as she talked to each and every one of us and made sure we were okay on a day-to-day basis.

When our class last year found out that Mrs. Norise would be missing for the remainder of the year, I told my parents the bad news. The concerned look my mom gave me really confirmed that Mrs. Norise didn’t only reach the students and the faculty, but the parents as well. Even the brief conversations at parent-teacher conferences between my mom and Mrs. Norise were enough for my mom to know what a loving, caring, supportive teacher Mrs. Norise is.

The good news as this year began was that Mrs. Norise has returned to Mount Carmel, and is ready to teach again.

A sophomore student this year who has Mrs. Norise as a teacher had many positive things to say.

“She’s so nice,” he stated. “We don’t want to make her mad because she is so nice that we would just feel bad.”

Asked about her influence as a teacher, the same student pointed out that “she seems calm in her teaching approach, and is always ready to help.”

In a recent interview with Mrs. Norise, she recalled that she hated being away from MC during her illness. She said she missed her students, the classroom, and her co-workers.

Now that she is healthy and back in the classroom, Mrs. Norise is happy to be back.

“I’m looking forward to the rest of this year, next year, and the years to come.”