School experiences faculty changes
As JC prepares for the upcoming school year, several faculty members have announced they will not return for the 2016-2017 school year.
Principal Madelyn Ball will be leaving. She has worked as principal for five years and will be moving to Baltimore to be closer to her family. President Richard O’Hara will be the interim principal while the search continues. “I missed lots of moments with them because of time commitment [at JC],” Ball said.
Students will miss Ball’s role as principal because of the impact she made on faculty and students. “She always seems to greet everyone with a nice attitude and genuinely cares about JC,” sophomore Reece Falter said.
2016 JC Educator of the year, Earth Science teacher, and JV football coach Timothy Perry is retiring after working at JC for 21 years. Perry was Dean of Students for five years, and he has also coached JV lacrosse and football in the past. “I don’t know if I will coach [football] next year,” Perry said.
He does plan on spending time with his grandchildren, volunteering, and traveling in the summer. “My wife retires in a year and a half, and when she retires, we will travel more,” Perry said.
During his time at JC, Perry made an impact on many students as both a teacher and a coach. “He taught me discipline in academics and that deadlines are important. [As a football coach] he has high expectations for people and really wants to bring out the best in everybody,” junior Nick Rosaschi said.
The school will also lose a member of the English Department, Celeste Smith, who has taught at JC for 15 years.
She arrived at JC from The Catholic High School of Baltimore, an all girl’s school, and she enjoyed the co-ed atmosphere more than she thought she would. Smith wants to travel more and spend time with her grandchildren. “I think it’s time to move in a different direction,” Smith said.
Students will miss Smith and her teaching methods. “I felt like she connected with the students in class,” sophomore Ella Wilson said.
In addition to Perry and Smith, German teacher Richard Möller will not return next year. He is currently finishing his second and final year at JC.
Next year, Möller plans to be the head coach of varsity men’s soccer at Archbishop Spalding High School as well as the associate head coach of women’s soccer at Johns Hopkins University. “Since my passion is soccer, it’s what I want to spend all my time doing,” Möller said.
While Möller does want to focus on soccer in the future, he has enjoyed his time at JC. “ I loved the students. I will miss my daily encounters [with them],” he said.
“He was a really cool teacher who was always willing to help us if our grades were down,” sophomore Savannah Simmons said.
In addition to losing several teachers next year, the school will also lose Campus Minister Michelle Sullivan, who is finishing her second year at the school. Sullivan says that her heavy workload influenced her decision to leave. “I had difficulty balancing my work life here at JC and home life,” Sullivan said.
In the fall, she will be taking theology classes at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore to expand her knowledge about Catholicism. She received her master’s degree in theology from St. Mary’s in 2014. “She always had a positive energy and was always smiling,” freshman Katie Scheidhauer said.
Paige Alban is a reporter for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.