Brookfield High School Student Introduces 'New Faces of BHS'

Written by Nick O’Connor

With the influx of the new school year comes the fresh wave of friendly faces. BHS welcomes 10 new faculty members to the already stellar staff list.

While the 2014-2015 school year welcomes the new teachers, it also bids farewell to the retirees. Of course we will undoubtedly miss our previous teachers, but with every fresh year there’s always a new supply of eager teachers to fill the void. Mr. Wang, Mr. Derosa, Mr. St. George, Dr. Jordan, Ms. Stiman, Mrs. Healey, Ms. Maddaloni, Ms. Gay, and Ms. Zinno are all new to the BHS community. But, Mr. Jewett, our interim principal, is a familiar face playing a new role here at BHS.

Upstairs in the English wing, you will find Mr. Wang who replaced our beloved Mr. Geason. Before venturing here to BHS, he worked as an 8th and 9th grade English teacher in Philadelphia. Here at BHS, he teaches English I and II. Mr. Wang was drawn to Brookfield because the school is similar to his previous one, and the town reminds him of the town in which he grew up. He also likes Brookfield for that reason, and thinks the teachers and students are very nice. In his free time, Mr. Wang enjoys listening to music, running, playing basketball, and being a “normal human.”

On the other side of the school you will find Mr. DeRosa who has had plenty of experience with athletics, coaching several varsity and junior varsity sports at three different schools across New York. Mr. DeRosa was very pleased to have been offered the Athletic Coordinator position at BHS, since he lives in Danbury. He said that “it is really nice to have a 12 minute commute as opposed to the 1hr and 10 minute one [he] used to have.” As Athletic Coordinator, he is very excited to continue the great tradition of excellence at Brookfield High. In his free time, Mr. DeRosa enjoys spending time with his family and going out to dinner. He is also an avid movie fan, and loves watching movies, whether it be in the theater, or on his Apple TV at home. He always tries to find time to watch sports as well.

Down the hall is Mr. St George who has taken over for the beloved Mr. Friend as director and teacher of band. Before coming to BHS, he taught for 14 years as “the instrumental music director for grades 7-12 in Region 16, serving Prospect and Beacon Falls.” Mr. St George was drawn to BHS because it provided him with a new opportunity to build up a promising program, and, he lives close to BHS! Mr. St George teaches a plethora of classes, including Digital Music, Guitar, Music Appreciation, Concert Band, Music Theory, Jazz Ensemble and Marching Band. He is happy to be here because the students and faculty are kind and respectful. When he isn’t teaching or directing the marching band, or any other form of band for that matter, Mr. St George is spending time with his wife and two boys.

BHS welcomes a new doctor to the faculty this year. Even though Dr. Jordan was a long term substitute for a few years, this is his first year as a full time teacher. Prior to teaching at BHS, Dr. Jordan spent 18 years in banking, where he lived in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore before working in New York. He knows the Brookfield School system well because he lives in town and he student taught here for Mr. Hill last year for a semester. He teaches Statistics and Algebra. In his busy free time, he listens to music, cooks, works on classic cars, watches the Green Bay Packers and New York Rangers, and mixes sound for several local bands.

The Math Department also welcomes Ms. Maddaloni. This is her first year teaching, as she recently graduated from the five year masters in Education program at Quinnipiac University. At BHS, Ms. Maddaloni teaches Algebra and Geometry. She was drawn to BHS because of the incredibly supportive and down-to-earth staff. She is so thankful to have chosen this school because the other math teachers already treat her as a friend.

Down the hall from the Math classrooms, you will find Mrs. Stiman, BHS’ newest Life Skills and Work Study teacher in the Special Education Department. Entering her 7th year as a teacher, Ms. Stiman has worked at the Brooklyn Prospect Charter School in Brooklyn, NY and the Futures School in Hartford, CT. Ms. Stiman came to Brookfield because her fiance works closeby, that’s when Brookfield High School came into the picture. She says that BHS feels like home; she has a great gut feeling about her career here. Even though it’s early on in her time here, Ms. Stiman loves BHS, and says “I have never been in such a friendly and welcoming school!” In her spare time, Ms. Stiman enjoys hanging out with her dog Riley. She and her fiance Zach enjoy hiking and camping, especially in the nice weather.

The BHS Science Department welcomes Mrs. Healey, a new Biology and Chemistry teacher. Prior to coming to BHS, Mrs. Healey worked for three years at Ansonia High School, where she taught General Science, Chemistry and Biology. She was drawn to BHS due to its strong academic reputation. Mrs. Healey thinks that both the staff, and students, are very nice. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dogs, going to the gym, and being a volunteer EMT, which she says takes up most of her time outside of school. The Foreign Language and Physical Education Departments also welcome the new faces of Ms. Gay and Ms. Zinno, respectively.

While his face might be quite familiar, Mr Jewett takes on a leadership role as the interim principal this year. He has been at BHS for four years as the chair of the math department and teacher of Algebra and Geometry, but now has big shoes to fill as the new leader of our school.

Welcome to our community newbies; we hope you love BHS as much as we do!

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons