By Katya Agrawal

With the departure of the beloved former advisor Ms. Plata last year, The Banner welcomes two faculty advisors– one returning and one new. 

Ms. Simpson has been copyediting for The Banner for two years and is now stepping into a full-time role advising and editing. She has been teaching English at Winsor since 2019 and loves the subject because of the “stories and words– and gossip,” she said. In her free time, Ms. Simpson reads, works on her own novel, and “[plays] on the nearby playgrounds” with her two-year-old daughter.

 When asked to tell a short story from her life, Ms. Simpson recounted a lively anecdote about her and her sister: “I love Halloween and all things spooky. A long time ago, when I lived in Charlotte, NC, my sister would come to visit me in October, and we would go to Scarowinds to ride roller coasters in the dark and scream our way through the haunted houses. One time, we made our way through a psycho clown-themed haunted house. We held hands as the monsters leered and growled at us; we survived the jump scares. Then, at the very end, a clown came out of nowhere and menaced us with a chainsaw. My sister–my closest friend in the world–dropped my hand and bolted.”

Ms. Cantos is new to both Winsor and The Banner this year. She grew up in Chicago and, before coming to Winsor, taught history at Colorado Academy in Denver. At Winsor, she teaches the 9th-grade course Modern Europe and the Problems of Power, the Indian History Global Studies elective, and the senior elective Genocide and Collective Violence. 

Ms. Cantos passionately remarked that “the study of history really empowers us to question what we encounter, to form our own opinions and not just follow something.” She continued, emphasizing that it enables us to “become critical consumers of information… [and to] build empathy.” Ultimately, for Ms. Cantos, knowing “history can just help us to be good people.” 

The Banner looks forward to working with both Ms. Simpson and Ms. Cantos; their infectious, witty, and intelligent spirits will be a delight!