By Donna Hayward, HKHS Principal.
We are off to a great start and students and teachers seem to have settled in to the business of learning already.
As we always do, our team is working to maintain strong connections with our families in order to best support our students. At our annual Open House on Thursday, September 19, 2019, parents and guardians had the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of their son or daughter, visiting each of their classes, hearing about daily routines and topics of study and getting a glimpse of the student’s experience.
I am pleased to introduce our new teachers who have joined our team this fall. We extend a warm welcome to the following professionals:
Janice Drescher (Chemistry): Janice grew up in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and attended Juniata College where she studied Chemistry. She went on to get her Masters degree at The George Washington University and began her career working at the National Science Foundation in Washington, DC. A few years later, she met her husband, Joe, moved to Connecticut and worked for Cytec Industries. Now, Janice and her husband have two active teenage sons. While volunteering at their schools, Janice was inspired to attend SCSU and become certified to teach chemistry. This spring, she completed student teaching and is excited to join the staff at HKHS this fall! Outside of the classroom, Janice enjoys swimming, golfing, walking her dogs, and cheering on her two sons in their many activities.
Tim Shore (Mathematics): Tim grew up in Durham and graduated from CCSU with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a minor in Earth Science. He taught Advanced Placement Statistics in New Haven for two years before bringing his passion for math to the HK team. This April, he and his wife welcomed their first child to the family! Tim loves animals and the outdoors, and spends his free time building, maintaining, and riding mountain bike trails. He advises students to remember that one literature pun will make you numb, but two math puns will make you even number!
Emily Milcent (Biology): Emily is from East Haddam, Connecticut- just over the bridge! She received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Eastern Connecticut State University in biology and secondary education, respectively. Upon finishing her Master’s degree, Emily and her husband, Julien, served in Peace Corps Indonesia from 2016-2018 teaching English to students grades 7-12. This past year, Emily has been serving with Americorps in New London working alongside New England Science and Sailing where she teaches marine science as well as sailing. Emily loves all outdoor activities and traveling. Nowadays you can find her training for an upcoming marathon and planning their next trip. Emily is so excited to begin her career as a biology teacher at HK!
Natali Epshtein (Spanish): Natali grew up in Israel and moved to the United States in 2000. She graduated from Northwestern Regional #7 and attended Central Connecticut State University where she majored in Spanish education with a minor in Italian. After graduating this year, she is thrilled to begin her journey as a teacher and apply the knowledge and skills she has gained from her experiences so far within New Britain, Berlin, and Newington High School. Natali speaks five languages in total and hopes to learn more in the future by traveling the world and experiencing different cultures to their fullest. A fun fact is that she has two cats: a chunky girl named Rumi and a skinny boy named Sherlock. Natali is super excited to be joining the HKHS team!
Sharon Pallatto (Special Education): Sharon is excited to be joining the HKHS team as our new Transition Coordinator. Sharon came to HES last year and worked with our 3rd and 4th graders. Before that she was teaching at The Lighthouse in Niantic, after teaching for 17 years in Cobb County, Georgia. Sharon has dual undergraduate degrees in Special Education and Psychology from Wagner College in New York, and a Masters Degree in Special Education from Southern Connecticut. Sharon lives in Chester with her husband, Chris and their four kids — Cayden, Gavin, Layla and Rylan — and two dogs, Luka and Charlie. Outside of the classroom, Sharon and Chris enjoy traveling, cooking, reading, playing games and finding new adventures with their kids.
Jess Petrus (Special Education): Jessica is joining the special education department after eleven years at the middle school. She is excited to join the HKHS family this fall and to have the opportunity to work with many former students and their families again! Jessica earned her Masters degree in Special Education from Southern Connecticut State University, her undergraduate degree from Central Connecticut State University, and is currently an Associate in training with the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. Jessica and her family live in Haddam.
Mikayla Zagata (English): Mikayla is looking forward to starting her teaching career here at HKHS and will be teaching English 9, 10, and 11. Born and raised in CT, she attended Eastern Connecticut State University where she received her Bachelor’s in English and Master’s in Secondary Education. She was able to intern and work in New Haven, Norwich, Lebanon, and Portland throughout her ECSU degrees. Jumping “across the pond” in 2017, she studied at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom and received her Master’s in English. She previously worked as a long-term substitute at Hamden High School, and this past spring, she was a long-term substitute in the HK English Department and then the building substitute for the remainder of the year. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, writing and ballroom dancing. Mikayla is thrilled to be working at HKHS!
Kasha Topa-Finberg (TV Studio): Kasha Topa-Finberg is very excited to teach Video Production at HK High School. It has always been a dream of hers to teach video production. Her passion for learning video started in high school. She grew up in Hebron and now resides in Higganum. She graduated with a Masters in Interactive Media from Quinnipiac University. Previously, she worked in Production at ESPN for ten years. Outside of the classroom, Kasha enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter.
Tanner Pedersen (Nurse): Tanner grew up in Durham, CT. He earned his Bachelors in Nursing at CCSU. He has gained valuable work experience at both the Institute of Living and at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. He recently returned from a trip to Iceland and enjoys his two cats at home.
School Beautification Project: 
One of the many wonderful things about our HK community is how much community members support our school –sometimes in seemingly small but meaningful ways. Thank you to Mrs. Val Williams for sprucing up our main entrance sign area with flowers both before graduation in June and again this fall with beautiful autumn mums. Thanks, also, to Halfinger Farms who donated the plants!
News from the Fine Arts Department:
The HK Fine Arts Department is excited to be back to school and would like to share the following information with you.
Shoreline’s Top Talent News Applications are now available for “Scholarships in the Arts 2020.” Juniors and Seniors within our 24 town region can apply for a chance to receive a $1,000 Scholarship and/or Mentorship with a professional in their field of study. There are seven categories for applications which includes Visual Arts, Acting/Musical Theater, Dance, Instrumental Music, Vocal Music, Creative Writing, and the Jeffrey Dobbs Scholarship for Excellence in Painting. Applications and more information can be found on the website: https://www.shorelinearts.org/top-talent
Upcoming dates for HK Fine Arts Events:
- Shoreline Music Festival Concert: October 10, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
- Autumn Band Concert: November 14, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
- Southern Region Festival Auditions: November 23, 2019
- Winter Choral Concert: December 12, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.
- A Christmas Carol: December 12-14, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
- Southern Region Music Festival: January 10 & 11, 2020
