About Mr. Shaw

This is Mr. Shaw's happy face.

Mini Bio

Hello! I'm Mr. Shaw. Or Shawnos. Or Shawmurabi. Or Shawlemagne. Or whatever else my students decide to call me. I have lived in Ann Arbor my whole life, and am a product of the Ann Arbor Public Schools' Open School program. I attended Bach Elementary (back when it was the elementary portion of what is now Ann Arbor Open), MYA (the middle school portion of AAO, which was located at Forsythe at the time), and Community High School.

I received my degree in Social Studies for Secondary Education from Eastern Michigan University where I graduated magna cum laude, and have been working in various capacities and teaching different subjects at Forsythe since student teaching here in the fall of 2010. The 2019-2020 school year will be my third year as a full-time social studies teacher.

Outside of school...

While my students might not believe this, when I am not at school, I spend my time doing pretty normal stuff. I am a league bowler, on a weekly trivia team, enjoy photography and PhotoShop, keep up with the newest tech news, watch a lot of UofM sports, and spend time with friends. I read/listen to podcasts about a lot about current and historical events, and follow the goings-on around the world pretty closely.

Particular areas of academic interest of mine are the Cold War and Astronomy/Cosmology.

This summer I bought a new camera for the first time in 15 years. I really enjoy macro photography and the amazing details you can capture in very small things. It feels really good to get back into it. There is definitely a "thrill of the hunt" feeling when I go out looking for things to take pictures of!

I was given this monstrosity after bowling my first league-sanctioned 300 game.

Last summer my trivia team won a Sporcle Live regional tournament!

After school activities:

Thinking Cap Club

At Forsythe, I run the Thinking Cap Club, which is an academic competition club that meets after school once per week. The focus of this group is to learn new things and be around other smart, like-minded students while preparing for general knowledge competitions that cover a huge range of topics.

The 2019-2020 school year will be my 9th year involved with this club, and the 4th year as the main advisor/coach. This club has a long history of success, including many recent 1st place finishes in both the regional and national competitions.

More information about the club can be found on the Thinking Cap section of this site.

Last year's 6th grade team.

Last year's 7th & 8th grade team.

7th & 8th grade Boys Volleyball

I have been involved with Forsythe's volleyball teams for the past 8 years. The 2019-2020 school year will be my 4th as the head coach of the 7th & 8th grade boys team. This group is split into three teams - A, B, and C - based on ability, attendance, attitude, and effort. I strongly encourage boys to give volleyball a shot - it is a lot more fun than people give it credit for! No matter what team you're on, you will have fun!

Last year's A-Team went 8-0 to win the city championship!

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