Pope John Paul II High School

First Year Blogs!

When first asked to write this blog by Advancement Director Mr. Catelli, I had to chuckle because of my own past experience. I spent the entirety of my Senior year in college blogging for the Holy Cross website (Go Crusaders!) and now will spend my first year at Pope John Paul II High School doing the same thing. Life has certainly come full circle!

Before coming to Pope John Paul II High School there was one word I kept hearing: “family.” I heard it from Head of School Mr. Keavy when discussing the faculty. I heard it from Administrative Assistant Mrs. Hufnagle concerning the students. And, I heard it from my fellow PACT teachers when discussing community.

I have a fantastic family back in good ol’ Northampton and tend to keep family and work as separate as possible. Never in a million years did I think that the two would come together so well nearly 200 miles from my true family.

The “Back to School BBQ” was my first inkling of what was to come and I think all of us new teachers were overwhelmed at the excitement and welcome we received from parents and students alike. The faculty offered us everything from teaching tips to curtain rods and we want for nothing when it comes to advice and materials.

This sense of family has certainly made life easier these past few weeks, especially after clocking over 60 hours at the school before the first day! When scrambling to arrange desks, Custodian extraordinaire Mr. Ernie was only a page away. And, when looking over my wobbly, uneven and completely off-center bulletin board Administrative Assistant Mrs. Astone still had the courtesy to tell me it looked great.

All of this preparation led up to the first day and of course a first day pep talk from Mr. Keavy. He told us to relax and most importantly enjoy the day for what it was.

For me, it was the first day of a career I have wanted to enter since 5th grade. When I came home that night, I realized that my cheeks hurt from smiling literally all day long.

As I begin my time here, I realize that I have truly embarked on a “family” journey for the 2009-2010 school year. It’s nice to know that everyone on the staff here supports us; it makes it easy to teach and easy to show that same support for our students.

I have already received questions I couldn’t answer (“Has anyone ever written anything in Antarctica?”), given a few stern lectures (sorry sophomores!), and I can’t wait to see what next week holds!

Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for more 1st year blogs!

When first asked to write this blog by Advancement Director Mr. Catelli, I had to chuckle because of my own past experience. I spent the entirety of my Senior year in college blogging for the Holy Cross website (Go Crusaders!) and now will spend my first year at Pope John Paul II high school doing the same thing. Life has certainly come full circle!

Before coming to Pope John Paul II High School there was one word I kept hearing: “family.” I heard it from Head of School Mr. Keavy when discussing the faculty. I heard it from Administrative Assistant Mrs. Hufnagle concerning the students. And, I heard it from my fellow PACT teachers when discussing community.

I have a fantastic family back in good ol’ Northampton and tend to keep family and work as separate as possible. Never in a million years did I think that the two would come together so well nearly 200 miles from my true family.

The “Back to School BBQ” was my first inkling of what was to come and I think all of us new teachers were overwhelmed at the excitement and welcome we received from parents and students alike. The faculty offered us everything from teaching tips to curtain rods and we want for nothing when it comes to advice and materials.

This sense of family has certainly made life easier these past few weeks, especially after clocking over 60 hours at the school before the first day! When scrambling to arrange desks, Custodian extraordinaire Mr. Ernie was only a page away. And, when looking over my wobbly, uneven and completely off-center bulletin board Administrative Assistant Mrs. Astone still had the courtesy to tell me it looked great.

All of this preparation led up to the first day and of course a first day pep talk from Mr. Keavy. He told us to relax and most importantly enjoy the day for what it was.

For me, it was the first day of a career I have wanted to enter since 5th grade. When I came home that night, I realized that my cheeks hurt from smiling literally all day long.

As I begin my time here, I realize that I have truly embarked on a “family” journey for the 2009-2010 school year. It’s nice to know that everyone on the staff here supports us; it makes it easy to teach and easy to show that same support for our students.

I have already received questions I couldn’t answer (“Has anyone ever written anything in Antarctica?”), given a few stern lectures (sorry sophomores!), and I can’t wait to see what next week holds!

Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for more 1st year blogs!