by: Emma Helmick
Many new staff members have been welcomed by the community for joining team GS to teach in the 2023-2024 school year.
There have been several new teachers added to the GS staff in almost every department including Spanish, history, business, English and math.
After many years of running the language department, Señor and Señora Lyons are no longer teaching at GS. Mr. Dylan Rinehart and Miss Miranda Filak have been hired in their places.
“My classes so far have been really good, I have no complaints there,” Miss Filak said. “I love getting to speak Spanish with my students every day as a part of my job. It’s very rewarding to communicate with them in that way.”
Miss Filak teaches her AP Spanish class.
Photo by: Emma Helmick
Though the Spanish department may have been a tough area to find replacements for, the two new teachers seem to be settling in just fine.
“I have two blocks of Spanish II and one block of Spanish III,” Mr. Rinehart said. “From day one, I’ve been extremely impressed by how well the students speak and their willingness to learn. It’s really a testament to the skills of Señor and Señora Lyons and Señora Aragon.”
The new teachers are not the only ones who have to adapt to this; the students also have to get used to the previous teacher’s departure.
“It is definitely different,” junior Abegail Spaugy said. “It’s hard going from someone who has been doing their job for so long and did such a good job at it to someone who is newer at teaching. The new teachers are trying to replicate as much as they can, like carrying over the ‘leones’ money system.”
This may be a difficult adjustment for some students, but the upper-class students, Señora Aragon and even the new teachers are continuing to carry on the old classroom traditions.
There have been two new history teachers added to fill in the empty spots. Mr. Nick DeMary is now filling the role of Ms. Iapalucci as an American history teacher as well as teaching freshmen seminar, and Miss Sierra Aires has replaced Mr. Diehl as the new U.S. Government and Politics teacher.
“Being in Ms. Iapalucci’s room is awesome,” Mr. DeMary said. “It is crazy to be teaching students in a classroom I was once a student in myself.”
DeMary is a GS graduate who taught as a substitute at the middle school before moving up to a full-time teaching position at the high school.
Mr. DeMary teaches his freshman seminar class.
Photo by: Emma Helmick
“I have faced one challenge since stepping into the Social Studies position and it was starting after the first three weeks of school had passed,” Miss Aires said. “It is hard to start late on anything, but it was a challenge to get adjusted and settled so quickly.”
The business wing has also welcomed some new faces into its department.
Mr. Alan Gray has been introduced to GS, as he teaches tech and engineering, the maker class and robotics.
“My classes are a work in progress, but they are going smoothly,” Mr. Gray said. “I am working on the fly to adapt and make things best for the students. The students work hard and I’m excited to see their projects come to life.”
Gray was not the only newcomer to the business department, as Mrs. Rachael Pozik has also been added to the roster. She took over teaching financial literacy, life in the digital age and will be teaching entrepreneurship and marketing in the Spring semester.
“I’m most excited about being in a smaller school district,” Mrs. Pozik said. “The students here seem to have grown up how I did and it’s nice to really relate to my students again.”
The last two teachers to have joined the GS faculty are in the English and math departments. Ms. Alyssa Bewszka, who has filled the shoes of Mr. Hoffer, is teaching 9th and 12th grade English and will be teaching creative writing in the Spring semester.
“The administration has been very helpful so far and my coworkers have been super nice and helpful as well,” Ms. Bewszka said. “Throughout the entire district, I have made many friends already and they definitely make the transition much easier. It can be very nerve wracking as a first-year teacher, but having a positive work environment really helps.”
While most of these teachers are new to the district, math teacher Mrs. Lindsey Swartz is familiar to the brown and gold. She teaches algebra A and B and geometry.
“I taught at the middle school for 11 years and now that I have returned, I have seen so many familiar faces,” Mrs. Swartz said.
The absence of the previous teachers may be sad, but the latest addition to the faculty has already earned their place with the Golden Lions.
“The best part has been how friendly and polite everyone is here at GS,” Miss Filak said. “It’s hard coming in as the ‘new kid’ or ‘new teacher’ and it’s been a really welcoming and supportive experience so far.”
The Lions' Den 