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KCHS Newspaper Special Issue 1
Issue Date: September 26, 2019
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Get to know the new faces around KCHS
New Staff Interviews
KCHS Welcomes New Principal
Bianca Potts
Staff Writer
This upcoming school year Kent County High School welcomed a new Principal Dale Kevin Brown l.
Principal Brown has been gaining respect all around the school district. He has had a family of educators consisting of Principals, Teachers, Deans, and Presidents of Colleges and Universities. Most of his family are educators. His dad made him go to college instead of culinary school. That is when he realized his heart was with teaching.
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Brown is bringing new additions, big and small, to our school. New additions to the football field, steps going down to the football field, a convenience center, and less people in the hallway, and we will have more people graduating from Kent County High.
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Mr. Brown has been to other schools consisting of Elementary, Middle School, and High Schools. Brown has been a teacher, Vice Principal, and Principle. Once he became principle he never went down to a lower position. Want to know where you can find Mr. Brown now? In our hallways and school making it a healthy and safe environment.
Principal Brown has this job to keep the school in order to have this school as a whole with more achievements. Brown is determined to have a higher graduation percentage for the High School so that kids can get what they need to achieve in school. Mr. Brown wants what is best for the children that graduate from Kent County.
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You can expect big changes for this school year. Brown wants this school to be child centered. All the decisions and choices made will be made around the children so they're in the best interest. Profanity has been cut down and the school will be that the children that want to be here will be tended to and the children that don't will be assisted and helped with so they will want to be here.
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Mr. Brown is a big family man he believes family comes first. “Family is first, always” he said. He has a wife, four children, twelve grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Brown believes in the Kent County High School family because we look out for each other and build each other up. “Family is first, always” -Dale Kevin Brown l.
Stephan makes her way to Kent County
Ally Hickman
Editor-in-Chief
This year, Kent County High School welcomed a new administrator, Mrs. Emma (Fulton) Stephan.
Stephan started her college career at Towson University, then transferred to Kean University in order to earn her undergraduate degree in mathematical science and secondary education. She then went on to earn her master's degree in school improvement leadership at Goucher College.
Prior to her current position, Stephan worked in Baltimore County Public Schools as a mathematics and special education teacher. Farther into her career, she became a math department share as well as a special education share.
Eventually moving to a non-public school sector, Stephan held the principal position for three years at The Arrow Center for Education in Baltimore County.
Stephan said she was drawn to this job as she has “definitely wanted to come back to the public school setting” and found KCHS as a happy medium with a good student size. She enjoys Kent County’s great community and found it “a beautiful place to be.''
She favors her new position because she enjoys meeting new people, being able to go into the classrooms and watches lessons, and support the students in all of their extracurricular activities. The hardest part of her new position is “not having enough time for everything. We find we are getting pulled in a million different directions” Stephan claimed.
While earning her Master’s Degree, Stephan also worked full time in a teaching position and ran a small ice cream shop on the side. She considers earning her degree as her biggest accomplishment so far because “it was a lot at once, but very rewarding”.
Stephan considers herself to be very good at organization and is a math oriented person. Most of all, she has a passion for dance. As a dancer growing up and studying dance in college, her dream job would be to own a studio and teach children. She even plans on helping with the choreography of the school musicals this year.
Her favorite binge-worthy show being The Office and go-to music genre as pop rock, Stephan has many fun interests inside and outside of work.
Please help us welcome Mrs. Emma Stephan to our staff here at Kent County High School.
New Gym Teacher, Mrs. Lori Armstrong
Catherine Milligan
Staff Writer
The Kent County High School extracurricular team welcomed a new theatre arts, dance, and gym teacher, Lori Armstrong.
Ever since Lori Armstrong was a little girl, she had a love for the fine arts. She was a part of every musical and play production at her middle and high school. Much of her love for the fine arts comes from her parents participating in church choirs and plays as she grew up.
As she is new to the world of teaching dance, Ms. Armstrong has been teaching drama since 1992. She taught drama in New York and Florida before moving back to Maryland to teach at Kent County Middle School.
Ms. Armstrong has a lot of experience with directing and producing. Her favorite musical she directed at the middle school was The Lion King.
“There was so much collaboration between every child in the school,” Ms. Armstrong said. “As well as making costumes, learning songs and dances, and the overall spirit of the show and message of The Lion King.”
Ms. Amstrong claims that she is still adjusting to the switch from middle school to high school,“It’s nice to see the transition in students and watch them grow up from middle school to high school.” She notices the change of atmosphere and is still learning her way around the school.
“There’s some really nice people and teachers here that are willing to help me get through this transition,'' she says.
Other than just teaching drama and dance, Ms. Armstrong is certified to teach gym and health. Although she would like to teach more drama, she is happy to help grow the gym program and do what she can to help. Teaching health will be one of her many new experiences anticipated.
Currently, there are no in-school theatre classes being taught at the middle school since she has left. To help students spark an interest in the fine arts, Ms. Armstrong goes to KCMS to run the after school drama program. She is also hoping to bring fine arts to Kent Community, where once a month children choose a discipline they are interested in and learn the skills that go along with it.
Lori Armstrong is getting a warm welcome from teachers and students
“It’s a nice school,” she says. “I like the start of it and I’m excited to grow the program.”
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Mrs. Redman Looks Forward to Combining Spanish Language and History
Mrs. Armstrong has expressed interest in providing students with more opportunities to explore fine arts, like theatre and dance after school.
Photo Courtesy of Wix
Shania Wolfe
Staff Writer
New to Kent County High School this year is Ms. Bethany Redman, who works in wing 200 of the high school as a Spanish teacher.
She said her hiring process began last year. “It started in spring, I left my full time job and Kent County had an opening for the ESOL branch,” she said.
Ms. Redman originally taught at an elementary school, but now can be found in room 205 teaching Spanish to all grade levels.
Learning a new language as an older teenager is difficult, and Ms. Redman would certainly agree. Combine teaching a foreign language with the general hoops of teaching any subject, and that’s Ms. Redman’s classroom.
“Teaching Spanish, it's never the same,” she said. “You have your students who are engaged 100 percent, but you have those who are not. They already feel defeated, because learning a second language is hard. It's not for everyone.”
Ms. Redman is passionate about teaching Spanish history and loves talking about it with her students.
“My favorite thing to teach right now is history,” she said. There are so many different aspects of culture to teach within a Spanish class, but teaching about where a specific thing comes from is a very important aspect, according to Ms. Redman. “There's so many different cultures and backgrounds,” she said. “My college career dealt a lot with the Iberian Peninsula fishery.” Ms. Redman said she enjoys instructing about the 1700s to her students and explaining the background of Spanish wars and invasions.
Ms. Redman has big plans for her Spanish II classes; once those classes get into the sports section, she plans to have a few guest speakers come in.
“I have some great ideas for guest speakers to come in and talk about how they are a Spanish speaker that came here from Columbia,” she said. “I have one in mind. He's with the Red Sox organization and how appreciative he is having teammates respective of him learning English.”
Outside of teaching Spanish at Kent County, Ms. Redman has a deep appreciation for baseball. She said that it began as just a hobby, but transitioned into much more after she was in the pit for the Baltimore Orioles. Ms. Redman has experience in baseball game summary, as well.
Within Ms. Redman’s classroom, her students will see her passion for teaching, her appreciation for contemporary sports, and her love of the language. Feel free to say hello to her if you see her in the hallway.
New Addition to Math Department, Mrs. Press
MiAsia Hawkes
Staff Writer
Kent County High School welcomes so many new staff members this year. One of the fresh faces is Kayla Press, a teacher in the math department at KCHS.
Mrs.Press received her post-secondary education and degree at the University Of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne Maryland as a Math major.
She did not always know she wanted to be a teacher, but she knew she had to work with math in some way. As a current teacher, she loves helping students understand what aspects might be confusing in the subject while even learning things herself along the way. She moved here because of her job, so we can say that this job brought her here! We asked about how'd she thought about the school so far, and she told us that she likes the nice environment and loves the staff.
Mrs.Press is not only a new staff member to KCHS but also a new mother. And even though she said it hasn't been the easiest, she makes do.
On her music tastes, we discovered that she loves all kinds of different music and has many different artists. But her favorite bop at the moment is Cranes In the Sky by Solange. And when we asked if there was anything else she’d like to share, she let it be known that she loves Asian cuisine and has a twin sister!
Welcome to Kent County High School, Ms.Press! We are looking forward to this year.
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Mrs. Cohen Returns to Math Department
Cassidy Reuwer
Staff Writer
For the past three years, Mrs. Cohen has been one of the math teachers at Kent County High School. Many students enjoy having Mrs. Cohen as a teacher because she has an efficient classroom management plan. This helps keep classes very well maintained and functional as well as highly organized. Once getting to know her, you will find that she is a very outgoing, funny, and all together, nice teacher.
One of the main reasons Mrs. Cohen chose to be a teacher is because she simply loves what she does. She enjoys all her classes since “...all my children are great”. But don’t let her see your phone, it’s her biggest school pet peeve. If you are one of the lucky ones to have Mrs. Cohen as a teacher, you can expect to be given the rules straight forward and a fair consequence will occur to anyone who chooses not to do so.
While in schooling at Delaware State University for eight years, she realized she really didn’t want to teach all subjects and that math was the only one she wanted to work with.
Throughout her college experience, she majored in both math and science. Math being her favorite, of course. According to Mrs. Cohen, the reason she does what she does is because she wants to make math fun for kids and give them a better understanding of the subject to show them that math really isn’t all that bad like it is commonly presumed to be.
Before Mrs. Cohen began teaching at KCHS, she was a former teacher at the Air Base Middle School in Dover, Delaware. This was a bit of a different experience since it is an air base school, therefore the levels of maturity were much higher versus a regular high school. All together though, her experience was good and she enjoyed it very much.
In 2017 Mrs. Cohen decided to take a break year. She says that not much has changed since the last time she worked here. It has been easy to blend right back in. Being a teacher can be tricky sometimes, especially if you’re like Mrs. Cohen who has 50+ kids to maintain at work, and a little one at home as well. This can be very challenging at times for her, since she has to do her planning, and help her son with his homework too, all in a balanced timeframe. One of her biggest fears in life would be failing her child. She wants him to know that he is always loved and cared for.
Mrs. Cohen enjoys all the wonderful experiences that come with teaching. But, not only is she just a whiz at math, when it comes to arts and crafts she is quite the master. She even made her own school themed stole!
Although she has found a love for teaching, she isn’t sure if it’s what she wants to pursue her lasting career. Just like everyone else, she has a dream. Her dream is to one day own her business, but that will have to be determined when the time is right. For now, she is very content with being a math teacher here at KCHS.
A student takes notes in math class.
Photo Courtesy of Wix
Dr. Wharton Enters His 37th Year at KCHS
Hailey Cox-Pemberton
Staff Writer
When entering the lobby at Kent County High School, you may hear our very own band led by Dr. Keith Wharton. Previously teaching in the Athens district, Dr. Wharton has been teaching in Kent County for 37 years and has helped the band and chorus win multiple awards.
When teaching, Dr. Wharton’s students seem to truly respect him, when asked why he believes the students respect him Dr. Wharton said “What I try to do is treat them as an adult, treat them as a person, and listen to what they're saying and how they're saying it and working together to come out to the successful result.”
Dr. Wharton had the privilege of performing in the White House many years ago, as you can imagine the experience was great. “Performing at the White House was very unique, we learned that the person on the other end, receiving all the information, has their own personal zip code. So I didn't even need to put a name on an envelope to send over there for security information…we had to hurry up and wait. Then we had to wait four different times, and we got fed a different breakfast every time. It's so nice to have your own personal chef, cooking breakfast for you.”
Occasionally, students can see Dr. Wharton walking towards the hidden hallway by the main lobby or greeting his students with a personal touch. It’s the personal touches that make a person feel understood and listened to. KCHS students are very different in many ways, yet when in the band room they play and work as one. When a student leaves the band classroom, they become a different person. They learn to give respect to those who truly deserve it, including yourself and that is Dr. Keith Wharton’s effect on our high school.
Intern Ms. Grabiec Joins Mrs. McCown
Lexi Landon
Staff Writer
New to Kent County High School is Ms. Sophia Grabiec, a student-teaching intern from Washington College. Ms. Grabiec is located in Mrs. McCown's classroom, teaching tenth grade English and Journalism. She is from Pennsylvania and is majoring in English and minoring in secondary education studies. She will graduate with a Maryland State teaching certificate in May of 2020.
She started this year interning at Kent County High School, previously interning at Queen Anne's County High School, and Sudlersville Middle School. This is her senior year of college and she is the captain of the field hockey team. Her work experience includes lifeguarding in high school and working as an assistant teacher at a daycare over her summers in college.
Ms. Grabiec knew in the third grade that she wanted to be a teacher while teaching her little brother adjectives. From then on she would continue her passion for teaching.
She has always had a love for kids. She worked at a daycare for two summers teaching elementary students. But she soon realized that younger kids are fun to hangout with but not the age she wanted to teach in the future.
Her teaching brought her back to her roots. Ms. Grabiec’s father is from Kent County, which made her attraction and furthering her education at Washington College even more important. Her attraction to Kent County is because of the beaches, the quaint town, and overall she wants to stay on the east coast. Ms. Grabiec mentioned that she would not live beyond Pennsylvania down to South Caroline to continue her teaching, this is because she wants to be in driving distance of family.
Before moving to Kent County and being in the flat-lands, Ms. Grabiec was a hiker and she enjoyed it more than anything. Coming from Pennsylvania she could do that all the time. Now she enjoys running but says she does enough of that in field hockey practice. Besides field hockey and college work, Ms. Grabiec enjoys listening to Fleetwood Mac, 1975, and Marren Morris. She is a huge country fan but listens to all genres.
Ms. Sophia Grabiec is an amazing, family oriented, athlete and all around great intern for Kent County High School.
Intern Mr. Mcrae Joins Dr. Wharton
Cynthia Faber
Staff Writer
Mr. Mcrae is a music education major and Tuba player at Washington College who is interning this year at Kent County Highschool for Dr. Wharton. Previously, he interned at Kent County Middle School for Mr. Frison.
Mr.Mcrae came from Wilmington, Delaware and graduated from Concord High School. It was his time in high school that inspired him to be a music educator. High school bands are a lot different than middle school bands, as there are a lot more different types of groups to play with; marching band, jazz band, small ensembles and so on. Mr.Mcrae learned a great deal from his high school band director, which inspired him to strive to be just like him. He wants to be the person that opens up a student's eyes to the life of music.
Washington College is a great fit for Mr.Mcrae because they have an excellent music program, it’s small enough for professors and students have a lot of one on one time, the college itself is historical, and they offer a lot of scholarships.
He has been playing the Tuba since he was in fourth grade, continuing his passion for music while playing as a college senior. Many music education majors second guess their major, but not Mr. Mcrae. However, he said that he has seen how hard it is to be a band director through his internships and that has lowered his confidence, but with the help of Dr. Wharton and Mr. Frison, he has become more confident within himself.
He says that he has learned the ins and outs of what being a band director is really like from Dr. Wharton. He has seen all of the “behind the scenes” action and this has helped him prepare for his future.
On that note, we hope Mr.Mcrae has a great experience as an intern at our high school.
Intern Ms. Larrimore Joins Mrs. Walters
Lazaro Hernandez-Rosas
Staff Writer
Ms. Larrimore is an intern this year at Kent County High School. She is from Washington College as an intern which is required for her to become a teacher. She is from Easton Maryland, and is working with Mrs. Walters in the English department.
When asked about her experience so far, she said, “It is wonderful and the faculty is very welcoming."
She has loved her time at Washington College, and says that it’s close enough for her to be near her hometown. She enjoys her college experience because it is a smaller school, and she can get help when needed. The class sizes are smaller than some classes at KCHS, she said, which is helpful to her because she gets more one on one instruction time with professors.
She is looking forward to working with the students here at KCHS in Mrs. Walters' classroom until December.
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