We got a chance to interview some of the new staff at our high school, we hope you enjoy our first article of the 2024-2025 school year!
Noah Ritter
Mrs. George is a new English teacher for our high school. I had the opportunity to ask her some questions. She graduated from Slippery Rock University, and started her teaching career as a Spanish teacher, but she wanted to become an English teacher.
How do you try to make your students more interested in English?
“I try to emphasize the importance of good reading and writing skills. I also try to select interesting texts to read in class.”
What are some of your favorite books or authors?
“I love the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.”
What advice do you have for students who want to pursue a career with writing or in the field of English?
“There are many career opportunities for people interested in English or writing. I encourage students to explore what is out there. Read and write as much as you can, and find what interests you.”
What are some common challenges some students face in English and how do you help them overcome them?
“Putting thoughts down on paper can be a challenge for students, so I model how to do it and give lots of opportunities to practice.”
What do you hope your students take away from your class at the end of the year?
“At the end of the year, I hope my students develop a love for reading and confidence in their writing skills.”
Luke Lutton
I had the opportunity to sit down with Mrs. Siciliano, and talk about future plans as our Sr. high Assistant Principal.
Q-Where were you born?
New Castle, PA.
Q-In your early life, what inspired you to become a part of other peoples education?
I think because I had such a good experience in school I wanted to come back and pay it forward.
Q-Where did you attend college?
Slippery Rock, and Gannon university.
Q-What degrees do you have?
Slippery Rock for teaching certificate, and Gannon university for master of education and principles certificate.
Q-How long have you been with the school district?
23 years.
Q-How was the first week of school, as an assistant principal?
Fantastic!
Q-With your new position in the school district, what challenges do you face?
Becoming more acclimated to the Sr high, the curriculum, and the requirements for Sr high students.
Q-What are some key aspects of your career that pushed you to become a principal?
Taking on a leadership role, at this level you get to work with adults and students.
Thank you Mrs. Siciliano.
Rozella Pierce
A new highschool english teacher Anna Bupp
What made you want to be a teacher?
“Well in high school I was doing a lot of activities that put me in a leadership role and I really liked being able to help and guide people during those activities.My teachers too, they really inspired me to become a teacher in many ways.”
How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a teacher?
“I was about 16 or 17 when I realized I wanted to be a teacher.”
What college did you go to?
“I went to good old slippery rock university.”
What is your favorite thing about being a teacher?
“My favorite thing about being a teacher is being able to teach my students something new and being able to see when something clicks in their head, when they look at something and I see the light bulb go off in their head.”
What are your goals for this year?
“My goal for this year is to get to know my students better and to understand them and learn the best ways to teach them and get them to understand what I’m teaching them.”
Onyx Lawrence
Kaitlyn Mazor is a 26-year-old from Butler Pa. She is our new school psychologist at New Castle High School.
She attended school at Slippery Rock Area High School. She got her undergraduate degree from Penn State main campus. She got her graduate degree from Indiana university of PA. The job of a school psychologist is to provide consultation, support, and direct assessment of academic achievement and behavioral health within the school environment. When asked about her goals she said she wants to do her best to fulfill her new role at New Castle High School. One task school psychologists are best known for is providing psychological services to support students’ mental health.
Mallorie Brest
Meet Mr. Humphrey
I recently got the chance to me and interview Mr. Humphrey our new math teacher here at new Castle high school Mr. Humphrey
Mr. Humphrey graduated from New Castle in 2010 and went to Youngstown State University, where he also worked for the football team. Mr. Humphrey is a big sports fan; he likes being back home teaching at New Castle to teach and watch the Hurricanes.
- Why did you decide to become a teacher?
“I became a teacher because i wanted to help kids get their education ”
- What do you teach
“I teach 8th grade math”
- What are you learning right now?
“ Im teaching my students The scientific notation”
- Is this your first year teaching or have you worked somewhere else
“I Worked in youngstown for 5 years”
- How do you motivate your students
“By focusing on goals and what they wanna accomplish and telling them what they have to
do to get that”
