Stewart shares his background from an intern at WES to a School Counselor

After interning at Wallingford Elementary School (WES) and while selling coffee beans in the market, Mr. Gavin Stewart brought his knowledge and education to Strath Haven High School.

“What brought me to Strath Haven High School was my internship that I just completed when I went to school at West Chester University,” Stewart said. “I did my internship at WES under the great guidance and supervision of the one and only Erica Weaver, who was the guidance counselor there.”

There are many aspects of being a school counselor that Stewart finds more appealing than teaching. He reveals that teaching in front of a class scares him, but he enjoys talking to students directly.

“It’s hard to create that one-to-one connection with a student because you have so many students. And as the school counselor, I get to know an in-depth amount of information or the background of students and that’s really cool,” Stewart said.

Having a strong connection to the students is very important to Stewart, being a school counselor, and he advises any students who are struggling alone.

“You should tell somebody that you’re struggling with depression, anxiety, or stress,” Stewart said. “That person could be me. It could be a teacher that they trust. It could be a friend. It could be any trusted person. Preferably a teacher or somebody who’s here at the school.”

Besides advice for students who are struggling, he also advises freshmen who are new to the experience of high school.

“I would like to add that if you are interested in something, and this is for everybody in high school, just look at it, and pursue it. Because this is what it’s all about, becoming a person. A lot of being a person is pursuing your own interests,” Stewart said.

Joining clubs, and checking out different sports is a great way to connect with the school community and meet new people.

“Other than that, high school is hard and I think that it’s easy to do it alone,” Stewart said. “The first step is asking and telling somebody that you need some help.”

Silva shares her passion for her new students’ dedication to music at Strath Haven.

After the retirement of former Choral Director Mr. John Shankweiler, Mrs. Lindsay Silva recently took on the role to start the 24-25 school year.

“Week one was really great,” Silva said. “I feel like we got off to a really exciting start in each of the choirs and my classes as well.”

Silva previously taught at Monroe Township High School in central New Jersey, where she directed six choirs with 150 students in the program.

“I love the kids there,” she said. “But I lived in Philly the whole time, and I needed to be close to home.”

The choirs were not the only thing Silva was in charge of. She also taught AP Music Theory and a special education music class.

Back in June, when Silva was applying for the role, the students at Haven left a good impression.

“My impression was that this was a place where people really cared about each other, which I loved,” Silva said.

Silva is currently teaching Vocal Music and directs the Silvertones, Camerata, and Cantata. She will teach the Theater Workshop class in the spring, and she anticipates directing the spring musical.

Her current schedule also involves crossing the bridge.

“For the time being, I’m starting at the middle school for two sections of sixth grade, which is really a journey,” she said. “But they’re very sweet and it’s fun.”

The biggest difference Silva noticed from the previous school she taught at was the block schedule.

“I used to have my choirs in the equivalent of our blocks one to four. So, I’d see them for an hour and a half of uninterrupted time of day, which was really different than the juggling of fifth block,” she said.

Despite her adjustments to the block schedule, Silva enjoys the students’ dedication to music.

“I think that students here really pour themselves in music in a really unique way, and, therefore, they’re willing to work with you to make sure they can really give their passion where it is,” Silva said.

With experience at the middle school and college level, Cortese discusses adjustment to teaching high schoolers.

Math Teacher Mrs. Laura Cortese has joined Strath Haven to fill the vacancy when Mrs. Lisa Sweeney retired at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.

Cortese previously worked in admissions at St. Joseph’s University and as a middle school math teacher in southwest Philadelphia.

One major change for Cortese was the switch from period scheduling to block scheduling.

“My high school was block scheduling, so when I went to teaching middle school and it wasn’t block scheduling, I just felt rushed all the time,” Cortese said. “Here, it’s wonderful. I think it’s a lot easier to mix and match all those different teaching approaches, which has been really fun.”

Some things, Cortese noted, have stayed the same no matter what level of math she has taught.

“The thing that brings me the most joy is when a kid has that ‘Aha’ moment and they’re like, ‘Oh, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was,’ or I finally taught it in a way that clicked,” Cortese said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re at, how old the kids are, but just seeing their brains grow and their eyes light up when they’re like, ‘Oh, you know, I may not understand all this, but this thing I got.’”

The other math teachers have helped Cortese feel supported as she adapts to teaching here.

“The administration and the math team is awesome,” Cortese said. “They’re stellar. They’ve provided me with so many support, lesson plans, ideas, just brainstorming and everything.”

As a new teacher, Cortese hopes to continue establishing connections and improving her teaching.

“My goal is to root myself in the community. I’m excited to be able to go down the hallways and recognize students, and [have them] recognize me. I really want to establish those connections and relationships,” Cortese said.

Cortese looks most forward to experiencing the student events here at Haven.

“I’m just excited to see as the school year progresses, the ebbs and flows,” she said. “I’m excited to see the events that happen, like homecoming week, what happens around winter break, and the dances in the spring.”

Zimmerman discusses transition to Haven and similarities to when she worked in Ridley.

Jumping from teaching Ridley Middle School students as a substitute teacher to teaching ninth grade students in Health and Physical Education at Haven, long-term substitute Ms. Sydney Zimmerman has found ways to adapt and find familiarity in her teaching.

“It’s been not too bad. I got my feet up under me, and I’ve been feeling pretty good, so I haven’t had any major issues,” Zimmerman said. “Ridley did do block schedule, so I’m used to pretty long blocks. They did about 80 minutes as well, but I’ve also had classes that have been super short.”

The other health & PE teachers have helped her become more familiar with her new position and the material.

“They have been super helpful and supportive of me,” Zimmerman said. “They’ve been showing me the ropes. They’ve been such a positive group of people that I’ve gotten to work with, so it’s been seamless, sliding into the position.”

One challenge Zimmerman noted was remembering names.

“Putting faces to names has been a little uncomfortable for me,” she said. “I have called kids the wrong name by accident, but I’m starting to get it now. I’m starting to get my bearings.”

Despite this, getting to help students learn Health & PE in a fun way has made the class enjoyable for Zimmerman.

“It’s been really fun and positive,” she said. “I have a great group of kids, and they make my life super fun.”

Zimmerman is also excited to see more of the student life here.

“It’s been really cool. I’m a big community person, so I like seeing everything that’s happening,” she said. “I think it’s really awesome that people show out and support one another, and you can totally tell it even just being in school, so I think it’s a really awesome element to Strath Haven.”

Zimmerman looks forward to continuing to teach and connect with the students.

“I’m excited to just see my students grow in the gym and the classroom, and make connections with them and understand their lives,” Zimmerman said. “I’m excited to just be a part of their learning experience.”

Maloney shares his excitement for the school’s resources and helping the school’s needs.

Mr. Pat Maloney recently started as the new Computer Science teacher for the 24-25 school year at Strath Haven.

The job was previously held by Dr. Kassiani Kotsidou for the 23-24 school year, after long-term department chair Ms. Katie McLead departed in September 2023.

“Everybody I have met and had conversations with has been awesome and welcoming,” Maloney said.

Maloney previously taught at Mastery Charter Thomas Campus in South Philadelphia, a smaller school where all teachers knew each other.

“I only see four people [now], so there’s 100 people that I don’t know,” he said.

He initially taught math before switching to computer science. He had no experience in computer science before but saw that his previous school was not teaching computer science.

“I went to my boss and I was like, ‘This is kind of where society’s going. We need to prepare our students. We should probably get somebody to teach computer science,’” Maloney said.

Maloney originally applied to Strath Haven as a math teacher but the school saw his experience in computer science and chose to hire him for that position instead.

“At first, I was scared, because I’m a math guy. But then I was like, ‘This is what they need. I’m capable of doing it,’” Maloney said.

Maloney’s classes are longer at Haven, which makes him more comfortable and allows him to step back and let kids push themselves on their own.

“It used to have to be more hands-on when it came to getting work done and helping, and now it’s expected,” he said.

Starting out, Maloney appreciated the resources the school provided to both the teachers and the students.

“It is nice to be able to go somewhere and expect to have what you need to be successful, both as a student, that can expect to have what they need to be successful and as a teacher,” Maloney said.

As for the future, Maloney plans to advise the eSports club.

“At my old school, I was the extracurricular coordinator. So clubs are incredibly important to me. But this school already has everything figured [out],” Maloney said.

Teaching civics in the history department, Ziff has already made Strath Haven a home.

During COVID, History Teacher Mr. Robert Ziff decided he needed a new career.

Forty at the time, and having worked in trade for over 15 years, his family and friends supported him in his aspiration to go back to school to become a teacher.

Now, he has taken a position as a long-term substitute teacher for Mrs. Alissa Harvey, who is on special assignment in the main office, and is hoping to find a permanent position in the district.

“I love the kids, the staff is great,” Ziff said. “I try to close my ears to all the things being said about the district. I still think it’s a great place and I’ve had a good experience.”

While in graduate school, social studies teacher Mr. Jeff Kahn was his mentor. During the second semester, he helped substitute for history classes all over the school, including AP U.S. History, Modern World History I and II, and Civics.

“[Kahn] still is my mentor,” Ziff said. “He’s organized, smart, passionate about what he does, and a good role model, even though technically I’m older than him.”

Ziff got into school a little later than other teachers this year, getting a call for the position about a week before school started. He’s been acclimating to working in a new environment and creating student-teacher bonds, intending to make a place for himself at the school.

Ziff’s wife is a teacher, and he noted it was one of the reasons he wanted to go into teaching. He said he’s a panther at heart, wanting to stay in the district for as long as possible. He plans to continue to sub in the district if he is not hired for a full-time position.

Senior Violet Abrahamsson currently has Ziff for Civics. “His class is very structured,” she said. “He’s very passionate about history, and I’m happy he’s here.”

Ziff said he wants his students to think critically about every part of their lives, starting with history. And since he teaches seniors, he emphasizes getting into a field because you love it, not just because of a paycheck.

He wants students to know it’s never too late to change professions and go back to school, because in the end if it makes you happy it’ll be worth it.

“Just do it,” Ziff said. “If you want it, just work for it and do it. Nothing more to say.”

New position supports teachers and student success.

With the advent of a new role at Strath Haven, a math specialist, Culbertson recently joined for the 24-25 school year.

The role of a Math Specialist is to provide support for students and teachers with all types of math classes from Algebra 1 to Calculus.

“[I provide] support in terms of the Keystone being a graduation requirement, making sure that students feel confident going in that, as well as Algebra 1 being the foundation of every other math class you’re going to take,” Culbertson said.

With Math Specialist being a new role, Culbertson is still trying to figure out what times for meeting with teachers and students works best.

“Part of it is up to the teacher what they’re comfortable with,” Culbertson said. “Especially if you’re the one who’s like, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ it’s a little hard to get that help you need when you feel like everyone else is on board.”

Before working at Strath Haven, Culbertson worked at Penn Wood High School as a “Site-based Teacher,” where she supported the entire math department.

“It was a similar position,” she said. “Here, my focus is mainly on Algebra 1 and helping with the struggling students.”

Culbertson taught every course from Algebra 1 to Calculus before coming to Strath Haven.

“For the last couple of years, it was pretty much the Algebra 2 jam. It tended to be where I felt [I wanted],” she said.

Culbertson had to adjust to the new role quickly because she started working one week after the beginning of the school year.

“I feel like I missed something,” she said. “I’m glad I’m here and things are going well. It just surprised me how much they [students] are like, ‘We love Strath Haven,’ even if they don’t enjoy school.”

Culbertson has not thought about advising a club yet but is open to it in the future, but is interested if it’s the right club for her.

“I was a yearbook adviser, and we had a class during the day. That was interesting because it’s a big undertaking,” Culbertson said.

Hockfield recalls past teaching experience at Lower Merion as she describes her admiration for Haven’s liveliness. 

After a 35-year career as an English teacher and principal, as well as interim roles at other schools, Mrs. Marcy Hockfield joined Strath Haven this summer as an Interim Assistant Principal.

Her work started in early August as she helped the other administrative staff prepare the building for the start of the school year.

“I got to meet the other administrators, which was really fun, and I got to work on schedules, and get the building up and running,” Hockfield said.

As school started, one of the things Hockfield noticed was how upbeat Haven was and how many activities took place every day.

“I could not get over all the students involved in music here. I was like ‘What are they all doing?” she said. “I think the athletics that I’ve seen are really cool. I see all the kids who are out there doing all kinds of stuff. It just seems like a really vibrant place.”

Hockfield resonated with this liveliness, finding it similar to when she taught at Lower Merion High School.

“[There are] really driven students, active parent engagement, really wonderful teachers who want to be here,” Hockfield said. “In many ways, it reminds me of Lower Merion.”

Hockfield also mentioned how different it is to have been working at the administrative level recently and at Haven after years of being a teacher.

“I taught English for ten-ish years and was the department chair at Lower Merion, and I loved everything about it,” she said. “When I switched into administration, someone tapped me and said, ‘What do you think about?’ And I said, ‘There are days that I would rather be in the classroom and days that I’d rather be doing this. They are completely different jobs.’”

Hockfield looks forward to seeing the students learn and work with the administration as the school year continues.

“[I’m most looking forward to] just to see how things develop, and to be part of things,” Hockfield said. “When you come in new, you don’t know a whole lot, so just to be part of the whole life here is the goal.”