New and familiar faculty are back at Susquehannock for the upcoming school year.

Teachers, including long-term substitute Sheralyn Potter, English teacher Jennifer Mackensen, and new U.S. History teacher Kristen Hamilla join the staff for the school year.

With summer having passed by so quickly, preparing for the upcoming school year was challenging.

“It has been a very interesting two and a half weeks of preparing, due to the district just hiring me, but I have basic outlines ready to go for the school year,” said Hamilla, of her late acceptance of her job offer in August.

Teachers returned for inservice on Monday, August 19, to have multiple meetings, to prepare their classrooms, and to finalize their curriculum for the year.

“I have to go with the flow. It is definitely more difficult to come in as a long-term substitute in the beginning of the year,” said Potter. “I don’t know how it could affect the teacher [Katharine Wilt] for the classroom coming back in January…I can either make things easier or harder, but my job is going to be to accomplish the harder stuff and make it easier for her.” For a long-term substitute at the end of the year, the teachers plans are usually already set.

Whereas, as a long-term substitute in the beginning of the year, Potter, has to create the plans.

A few teachers took a semester off during the 2012-2013 school year for maternity

leave, such as Jennifer Mackensen.

“It’s weird coming back. I feel as if I’m a new teacher, since I was gone last year,” said

Mackensen. “But I feel as if I am back home again with all the teachers, staff, and students.”