WILDCAT NEWS Prepared by Yearbook Class @ Springfield Middle School October 2017 New Staff at Springfield Here at Springfield our Wildcat family has new teachers. We thought that we should get to know the new face of our school. Included in this edition of the Wildcat News are some interviews with teachers we love. Springfield Yearbook Staff Mr. Aaron Edmundson By Samantha B. Springfield dominates everything, from music to math, we dominate, and Mr. Aaron Edmundson wanted to come back to our Wildcat family. There are many fantastic educators at Springfield and I had the honor of interviewing one of our newest recruits. He wanted to be a music instructor because his teachers inspired him, and has been teaching for three years. One of the reasons he chose Springfield was because he was a former Wildcat and wanted to be a music teacher. He has been playing the piano and singing since he was eight. Mr. Edmundson first worked at some Fayetteville schools. Core skills are what set up the foundation of the rest of our lives. I think being a music teacher reinforces core skills for school Edmundson said. When asked what his daily routine is he responded My daily routine is getting up, drinking coffee, and performing. His ultimate goal is to be a chorus director in high school. His favorite genres are gospel and pop; he loves white mocha, anything! Pictures in this issue taken by Daniela T. and Hope W. In This Issue Learn more about Mr. Spell. Who is Mrs. Parker? How long has Ms. Williams taught here? Where Coach Alphin went to college.
.Sherrima Speight By Evan C Front door at Springfield Middle Mrs. Jennifer Parker By Nora S. Ms. Parker, one of the new additions to our pride, is excited for the new year and is sliding into her spot in Wildcat country. Mrs. Parker grew up in Washington, North Carolina where she went to the public school system in the area. She graduated from Washington High then continued her education to earn a B.A. in Mass Communications at Barton College in 2003. Ms. Parker received her National Board Certification in Adolescent/Young Adult English/Language Arts in 2013 and is working on a Masters in School Administration at Barton College which she will finish in 2018. She taught English and AVID between 12 years. Now she is at our school as a step out of the classroom and a step closer to working as a principal. When she was working in the classroom she did have her favorites Well 6th graders are sweet but you can talk about more mature topics with 8th graders. Also, they are still crazy like me but I get to get them ready for high school. Her position here is as School Improvement Coach to help teachers make interesting and on grade level lessons. I enjoy working with kids, learning from Mr. Spell, and working with the smart teachers. She also admitted some difficult parts of her job I really miss being away from kids and figuring out where you need to be but I really love what I'm doing now. Springfield Middle School has some great and hard-working educators at this school. One of these educators is a seventh grade math teacher whose name is Sherrima Speight. I had the privilege to interview her this year and get to learn more about her. Ms. Speight, as a kid, enjoyed playing sports. Some of the sports she has played are softball and she also loved to cheer. When she got older, she decided to get a Bachelor's of Science in Industrial Engineering at NC State University. Since she has gotten this degree, she has found her love for teaching. She first worked at Greene County Middle School and now she works here at Springfield. She decided to take this position to be closer to home. She says her role in this school is to educate and help students do their best. She has worked at these schools for a total of 13 years. Ms. Speight s favorite things to do at Springfield are to do staff and student competitions and also dance with students. Some other interesting facts are that she has one daughter, her favorite hobby is to go shopping, and lastly, her favorite types of foods are seafood and Italian food. Now you know more of one of the seventh grade math teachers, Ms. Sherrima Speight.
Mr. Marquis Spell by Emma B. Welcome to Springfield. Mrs. Erica Johnson By Daniela T. This is my interview for the amazing Harry Potter loving teacher! Mrs. Johnson!! She is a loving and adored English and Social Studies teacher! A lot of her students think she s the best. They love her for her funny and her wild spirit! Hopefully you will learn more things about Mrs. Johnson than you already know! Mrs. Johnson lived in two different places. She told me that was born in Arcadia, Florida. She had lived there till she was 11. She also says that the summer before 6th she moved to upstate New York. She lived in a village! Yes, The Village of Greene, NY until she was 20. Those are some interesting places! Now she teaches at your school in NC. She actually attended three different colleges/universities. The first one that she attended was Morrisville State College. She said it was actually the State University of New York. Mrs. Johnson received her Associate Art degree of Liberal Arts. After she graduated from Morrisville State College she and her husband moved to NC. Since she moved to North Carolina she went to college in Mount Olive. She needed to earn her Bachelor Degree for Secondary Social Studies Education. But she need to take many classes at East Carolina University. She was not able to receive her degree due to having twins in the middle of her last semester. She returned to ECU to get certified to teach middle school. Mrs. Johnson did many activities while being at school. She was in yearbook, chorus and footlights ( which is a club to do school plays). She also participated in cheerleading, soccer, track and field, and one year of tennis. She says herself she was NOT good at tennis. And she was captain of the Cheer squad for two years. That is a lot of activities-she must have had good grades for all of those activities! Mr. Marquis Spell is Principal of Springfield Middle. Mr. Spell has come back to join us at The Field. He taught mathematics for twelve years at Springfield. He has a bachelor's degree from Francis Marion University, with his administration degree from East Carolina University. He has been in administration at Beddingfield High School, Southern Nash High School, and Nash Central Middle School. He enjoys helping students and teachers, and he encourages them to never quit and always work hard. Mr. Spell wants to continue to make the culture great because that s what builds success. He says the family environment is what stands out most to him. He likes to play baseball and watch sports during his free time. Mr. Spell has chosen the theme Don t compete Dominate this year and he chose this theme because it represents hard work and being the best in everything you do! And as always You are responsible for you, make good decisions and make good choices, if you need help please ask, and always remember at Springfield Middle We Are Wildcats! She in fact did have amazing grades! When Mrs. Johnson graduated high school she had a GPA of 3.0 which is a B average. Her first college graduation she had a GPA of 3.7! She was amazing at her school work I guess. Well, hopefully, you did learn more about Mrs. Johnson. During this interview, I learned some amazing things about her.
Mrs. Danusia Honeycutt By Kristine R. Springfield Middle School has a new band teacher for the 2017-2018 school year. Once I heard there was a position for me I had to take it! states Mrs. Honeycutt. She has enjoyed all the positive vibes at our school, including our very positive, encouraging, kind, hardworking, independent, creative and joyful children. She is very honored to be a part of a child s musical journey because music has changed her life forever. During her free time, she enjoys to drink hot tea, run, bike, and swim.. She believes that music develops all areas of the brain physically, emotionally, educationally, while participating. My favorite type of music is the kind of music that honors God and glory. Mrs. Honeycutt is very dedicated to her job and to her students. She had to admit I was so excited to start working here because this is the best school in the county! Mrs. Honeycutt has taught our students how to be more confident and positive. Springfield Middle School is more than expected! Now this year the Springfield Middle School band is ready to dominate and not compete. Wildcat Pride Lynn Williams By Hope W. Ms. Williams was a playful child who loved to play outside all day. When she got older she began to tutor other children. This became a great love to her and it made a path for her teaching career. She is an ECU pirate who decided to go to this college because it was one of the best schools of education in the state and because it was closer to home. She got her masters in education and her Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in elementary education. She began her Wildcat journey in 1989 when she got a job as a teacher. She has now been a Wildcat for 28 years. She has enjoyed the students and constant parental support she receives from each of the Wildcat parents. In her spare time she likes to watch Netflix and enjoys spending time with her dog, Lily. Her favorite foods are spaghetti, pizza, steak and country ham. Her daily motto s are You never stop learning and Always keep an open mind, you never know what people have been through.
Jade Fatzaun By Hope W. Jade Fatzaun is a seventh grade ELA teacher here at Springfield Middle. She has taught at community colleges, elementary, middle, and high schools. Her favorite part about teaching is to be able to watch the students grasp a concept and feel a sense of accomplishment. This year she hopes to be able to impact her students by helping them to think critically, to read intentionally, and to enjoy learning. In her spare time she enjoys reading, taking walks, watching movies, and hanging out with family. Her favorite things to watch are The Office and Steel Magnolias. Her favorite book to read is The Shack. So far she loves the administration, the staff, the students, and the sense of community here at Springfield middle. Her Quotes to teach by are Always do your very best, treat others the way you want to be treated, and know that your value isn't based on what you do." Sports Mural Ms.Donajkowski By Mariflor A. Ms. D is a hardworking Wildcat, she tries to make her learning fun. Last year math was one of the toughest subjects for most of the students, and now it s one of their best grades because of her teaching style. Her class has brought us closer to math. Guess what Wildcats? We have a new Math teacher in 8th grade her name is Julia Donajkowski,we call her Ms.D for short. Ms. D wanted to become a teacher because she likes to be with kids all day. This year is her 5th year teaching. She loves to show her school spirit. She shows it by attending sporting events. Ms. D. student taught in inner city Cleveland. Her favorite color is blue. She enjoys running and hiking, her favorite subject is science. She describes herself as athletic, energetic, hardworking and loyal. Her favorite sports are soccer and basketball. She LOVES tacos. Mother Teresa inspires her. She was named after her grandma s sister on her dad s side. Her three weaknesses as a teacher are waking up early, turning in graded work and Mr. Spell says she plays too much at staff meetings, but she is work on that. A fun fact that Ms. D told us is that in the Polish language they don t pronounce their J s, so you would say ulia instead of Julia.
Mrs. Katherine Alphin By Jane C. Wildcat Health/PE teacher and Coach, Mrs. Katherine Alphin is a Mount Olive graduate. She is a fascinating person and is a greatly liked teacher here at Springfield. Sure there are a lot of activities to do in a University, but Mrs. Alphin played softball, and served as an ambassador for the University. She was a member of the gospel choir and got involved in many events they offered. Her favorite subjects in school were PE, Science, and Spanish. She also attended Barton College to complete her degree in school physical education. She has traveled to many places. Here are a few places she has visited because everyone must have a break once in while; Israel, Florida, Atlanta, Texas, and Mexico. When not at school, she is active in her church and spends time with her family. Coaching and teaching students at Springfield is a great joy to Mrs. Alphin. Contact Us Springfield Middle School 5551 Wiggins Mill Road Lucama, NC 27851 Springfield Middle School WE ARE WILDCATS Mrs. Henry By Jordan P. I went to meet with Springfield Middle School Art Teacher, Mrs. Kristie Henry. I asked the simple question what do her students learn from her class? Her response was, Students learn how to create original art with a variety of different materials. Students may have an opportunity to build/construct, paint, print, and draw their creative ideas. It can be very rewarding to take an idea and make it into something you can visually see!. Then I asked some personal questions. Why did you choose Art over any other subject. I choose to focus on a career in art because I enjoyed creating and constructing. I enjoy the challenge of finding the visual solution to ideas. More than that, I have a passion for sharing these skills with others around me. I like to see students stand back and smile with pride because they created something that is original to them. Art takes time and effort but can be a true expression of who you are. stated Mrs. Henry. And the final question was a big one, when I asked why did she choose to work at Springfield Middle. It is well known in Wilson County that Springfield Middle School is an amazing community of staff, students, and parents that work together and support one another. I wanted to be a part of a team that celebrates the successes of each other. The art students at Springfield Middle School are so creative and it is apparent that they take great pride in their work. I am so proud to be a part of the creative culture of this school. She responded with all of these answers. It made it clear that Springfield has a brilliant art teacher.