New Teachers at RHS This Year

Jaymie Atkins and Mary Fulford, Veritas Staff

Everyone is new to one thing or another at some point, whether it’s a sport, instrument or a school.  Being new to a school is the same for everyone. Whether it’s a teacher or a  student, it’s both scary and exciting.

The town of Rockland has almost thirty new staff members throughout the school district.  Stephanie Jung,   Brian Fisher and Melissa Shaughnessy are three new teachers at RHS this year.

Students are curious how the teachers are adjusting.

Ms. Stephanie Jung

Ms. Jung is a new science teacher at RHS who is teaching chemistry. She says the adjustment to the school has been good and all the staff members have been welcoming and supportive.

“I’m still getting used to the schedule like I’m sure a lot of people are,” Ms. Jung says.

Her students have said great things about the new teacher.

Sophomore Maddie Cedrone, speaking for her class on what it’s like to be a part of Ms. Jung’s first group of students at RHS, describes her as a “confident teacher.” Cedrone also said, “I think she’s a good fit for the school and is really chill about things.”

Mr. Brian Fisher

Before coming to RHS, Mr. Fisher taught in the Quincy Public Schools as a Special Education paraprofessional for two years.

He says he is excited to be here as a teacher and looks forward  to working with current students as well as future students.

Mr. Fisher  said, “The new school is beautiful and the technology is endless. It is a great place to work as well as a great place to learn.  All faculty and students have been fantastic. Rockland High School is a great place to be!”

Fisher’s father, Bob, was a teacher, basketball coach, and athletic director here at RHS for over 30 years. So, Brian Fisher spent a lot of his time in the RHS gymnasium as a kid. Fisher always knew he wanted to be involved with high school athletics and he is currently the varsity girls basketball coach at Hanover High School.

Mrs. Melisssa Shaughnessy

Foreign language teacher, Melissa Shaughnessy is a new Spanish 1 and 2 instructor at RHS this year.

She says she loves working with the freshmen and sophomores and that she may have more in common with her students than you would think. Mrs. Shaughnessy says, as a high school student herself, she did not like Spanish.

“I started loving it in college, but not at all in high school!”

At Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA  Mrs. Shaughnessy tutored inner city ESL youth for a community service requirement.  It was then she realized she loved working with kids and teaching them.

She ended up switching her major to Spanish the next semester.

RHS students explained how they really enjoy being in class with Mrs. Shaughnessy.

“She uses fun ways to teach us Spanish such as “Ponga! which is bingo, but instead of numbers and letters, it’s vocab words,” says freshman Shamara Caddeus.

The bingo-like game uses Spanish vocabulary words the students are learning. Students say it helps them study better and remember the terms for the quiz.

Mrs. Shaughnessy expects her students to make mistakes,  struggle, and maybe even fail.  She says her goal is to have them learn from their mistakes to lead them to success. “Languages are hard,” Mrs. Shaughnessy says. “But they give students an opportunity to learn about a whole different culture and way of life.”