Miss Shauna Thompson is one of the many new staff members that were hired this year. I got the opportunity to interview Miss Thompson and get to know her a little better.

Miss Thompson is Aiden Holsinger’s, seventh grade student, aid. 

She started working at Freedom last year as a nurse and she enjoyed being around kids, so she tried this out and ended up loving it. 

“Do you have any hobbies?” I ask. “I draw and I paint also,” says Miss Thompson.

“What are you most looking forward to at Freedom” I ask. “I think getting to know the different students and building relationships with them,” says Miss Thompson.

Freedom is very lucky to have staff members like Miss Thompson who care so much about their students.

At Freedom, Ms. Lodovico is a registered behavior technician and she enjoys playing softball and watching reality TV. She is looking forward to kids behaving at Freedom.  Her last job was a daycare worker.  Let’s welcome her to Freedom.

This year, we had lots of new teachers and staff directors join our school. This article is about the new band director, Ms. Julia Lawrence. This is her first year working here at Freedom Middle School. However, this is not Ms. Lawrence’s first time teaching. She taught at Canon McMillan Elementary, with band and music.

 “I enjoy the area and small schools, and I like the community,” Ms. Lawrence said when explaining why she chose Freedom over other schools.  Outside of musical teaching, she enjoys hiking and crocheting. And finally, she enjoys teaching band because she likes to see her students develop a love for music. Welcome to the staff, Ms. Lawrence!

Mrs. Erin Demitras works in the office as a new attendance secretary. Along with the attendance, she helps with the excuses and tardies, and she helps document discipline. Mrs. Demitras works at Freedom because her son, Grady Demitras, goes to school in the elementary school. Before being in the office, she worked in the middle school cafeteria. Outside of school, she enjoys hiking, reading, and cooking with her son. She likes working in the office because she loves to interact with the kids. She chose the middle school because she likes the schedule and how it works for her family. So, make sure to stop in the office to say hi every once in a while.

One of the new faces you may have seen around middle school is Mrs. Tara McFadden.

Mrs. McFadden is our new speech and language pathologist. This means she works with kids that need help with their speech sounds and their language skills. Mrs. McFadden was excited 

to work at Freedom, so she can be closer to her family.  Mrs. McFadden is originally from New Brighton but was working at a pediatric clinic in Sharpsville before coming here.  She likes to walk her dog and go to the cyclebar in her free time.  She enjoys the middle school kid’s personality over elementary school students. Mrs. McFadden loves problem solving and seeing kids accomplish things that they didn’t think they could. Those are just two of the many reasons that she loves teaching speech. Welcome to Freedom, Mrs. McFadden!

Meet Miss Marissa, the school’s new nurse. She likes taking care of students here at Freedom, and she hopes to have a safe and healthy school year. She is looking forward to getting to know all of the students. Her last job was an emergency room nurse, and her first job was at Brewster’s Ice Cream serving ice cream. Petting her dog and watching movies are her hobbies. When she was younger, she took care of her dad in the hospital, and that is what inspired her to be a nurse. She has been in nursing for 4 years.

We have some new staff this year, one of them is Mrs Waters! It is spelled ‘waters’ that you drink. You may have seen her before. She works in the 7th and 8th grade. She teaches life skills and works with autistic kids. She is actually not fully new to this school, she worked in the high school for a while and moved to the middle school this year. Ms. Waters’ favorite thing about teaching is working with students and small groups. She always enjoyed working with kids, she used to be a life skills teacher and wanted to get back into it. She loves working with students and challenges everyday.

We have a new nurse, Ms. Hope Dishler. She loves reading and playing with her son. Ms. Dishler used to work as a nurse at a special education school. She has loved her time at freedom. 

Eighth grade has a new Science teacher! Mrs. Millerschoen teaches 8th grade Life Science at Freedom Area Middle School. She previously taught 7th grade Science at Aliquippa School District. She chose to teach at Freedom because of the positive culture of the school. 

When asked why she prefers working with middle school students rather than other grades, Mrs. Millerschoen said “Middle schoolers are at a unique stage where they’re beginning to develop their identities and passions, and I love being part of that journey. They’re curious, eager to learn, and often ask the most thought-provoking questions.” She has always been passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge and feels that teaching is a natural extension of that. Mrs. Millerschoen believes that in teaching science specifically, that the students are not just learning science, but developing a new mindset that will serve them in all areas of their lives.
She loves music and travels for concerts often, and also loves spending time with her two year old corgi and family. If you see Mrs. Millerschoen in the halls, don’t be afraid to say “hello!”  She is looking forward to meeting students and creating bonds with fellow teachers.