Roswell Ends School Year With Student, Teacher Success

From Roswell High School: Roswell High School will hold its 69th annual commencement ceremony on its campus on Thursday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m.

Each of RHS’ 480 graduates has his or her own story of success. Here are a few story ideas about those who have taught these graduates:

Mother-Daughter Teachers: Mother Lynn Kolodziej and daughter Kristine M. Kolodziej have overlapped their teaching careers by 2 ½ years. Lynn is certified in math and is currently a special education teacher. Kristine has enjoyed having her mom as a mentor since she began teaching Geometry and Advanced Mathematical Decision Making at RHS in January 2016. Lynn retires this year after 17 ½ years at RHS, but will return as a substitute teacher. Said Kristine, “When most people talk about their work and stress load with their family, their family listens but don’t always understand. My mom not only understands everything I experience on a day-to-day basis but also appreciates and experiences it herself. I have grown so much as a teacher with her by my side.”

Teachers who are RHS alumni: RHS has several teachers on staff who are themselves RHS alumni, and they say that it’s incredible to teach in the place that inspired them to enter the teaching field. One example is Addie Omen, a 1995 RHS graduate and the Social Studies Department Chair, who said, “My experience as a student at RHS from 91-95 absolutely led me to choose a career in teaching…. Roswell HS has been an integral part of each phase of my life.”

Teacher honored at former student’s graduation: Nancy Moeller taught Jaimie Xie AP US History before Xie graduated from RHS in 2014. She has just graduated from Stanford University, and was recently presented with the Terman Award, given to the top 5% of engineering graduates in each class at Stanford. Each scholar names an influential Stanford professor and an influential pre-college instructor, and both teachers attend a luncheon. Moeller gave a short speech about Xie, and Xie shared how Moeller influenced her as a student. Xie will begin a job at Google this fall. Said Moeller, “[Xie’s] invitation came as a complete shock to me—it really shows you that you have no idea how what you do affects students.”

Dr. Robert Shaw completes first year as RHS principal: Some highlights include:

• RHS named #15 most challenging high school in Georgia by US News and World Report
• RHS Robotics Team qualified for national championships this summer in Houston
• The JROTC Team qualified for national competition in the JROTC Academic and Leadership Bowl, one of only four teams from Georgia to do so
• RHS’ National Honor Society raised $50,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, bringing the 10-year total raised to over $200,000
• RHS coaches and athletes awarded the GHSA Region 4 7A Sportsmanship Award

Image Credit: Nancy Moeller