The Creative Arts Department
Ms. Gotanco
Ms. Gotanco is our new Music teacher and director. She loves to spend her free time watching movies, television shows, or playing video games. It was hard for her to choose, but she decided that some of her favorite video games are Borderlands 2, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, every game in the Kirby franchisee, and many more! Her favorite moment as a teacher is when students finally understand a concept and have that “light bulb” moment. She recalls a memory from her old school when her students would teach songs that they had learned to younger students. That spooky song made its way around school, and soon became her “I made a difference” moment. Welcome Ms. Gotanco!
Mrs. Rosen
Mrs. Rosen is the new photography teacher at Oak Knoll. She has been teaching for 17 years and her favorite things about Oak Knoll are the kind students and faculty, along with the wonderful facilities. She is very motivated by all the inspiring photographers who came before her and their work. Welcome Mrs. Rosen!
Mrs. Bodollo
Ms. Bodollo is the new theater teacher! She has taught public speaking, music, and acting. Last year, she worked at East Carolina University, where she taught theater education for new drama teachers. She decided to become a teacher because she enjoys sharing her knowledge of the arts and gets students excited about the arts. She wants to help students learn how wonderful the arts are and strives to teach them as much as she can about the arts. She mentions that the best piece of advice she ever received is that you can always raise the bar for yourself. She believes that you should never sit where you started, you can always improve, learn more, and be more creative. This year, she is directing Dramatica’s performance of The Mystery of the Stolen Treasure and Cards on the Table. They are performing two back-to-back shows at the end of October. Welcome Mrs. Bodollo!
The World Language Department
Dr. Kapteyn
Dr. Kapteyn is joining the World Language Department as a new Latin teacher. She would love to visit Thailand in the future to admire its beauty and charm. A fun fact about Dr. Kapteyn is that she loves to make quilts in her free time, and lives a peaceful life with no pets. Welcome Dr. Kapteyn!
The History Department
Ms. Nealon
Ms. Nealon is our new History teacher. If she could only eat one food for the rest of her life, she would eat her comfort food- grilled cheese sandwiches! Ms. Nealon originally studied Physical Therapy in college, but also minored in Diplomacy. After college, she did a little bit of soul searching. Eventually, she decided to become a teacher because of her family. She is the eldest of seven, so she grew up around many kids, which kindled her love for teaching. Ms. Nealon has not only mastered teaching high school, as she has also taught elementary and middle school. As an elementary school teacher, she taught science, math, language arts, etc. Welcome Ms. Nealon!
The Mathematics Department
Ms. Wu
Ms. Wu is our new Math teacher at Oak Knoll. Her favorite activity to do in the fall is to pick apples. If time travel were possible, she would travel to Korea in the year 2010 because she used to listen to a lot of K-Pop. Her favorite K-Pop bands include SHINee, BIGBANG, and Super Junior. Last but certainly not least, Ms. Wu’s favorite part about being a teacher is seeing her students succeed. Welcome Ms. Wu!
The College Counseling Department
Mrs. Hyland
Mrs. Hyland is the new college counselor. So far, her favorite part about Oak Knoll is how welcoming the community is. She loves the enthusiasm and the energy from the students and it has made her transition to Oak Knoll very easy. She has traveled across the world, including London, Shanghai, Dublin, and Abu Dhabi. Her favorite place she has traveled to was Shanghai, because she got a great sense of the culture there. Her best piece of advice to give to students is to stay true to themselves in the college search process and they will be able to find the perfect fit for them. Welcome Mrs. Hyland!
The Theology Department
Mrs. Gutkowski
Mrs. Gutkowski is the new theology teacher. For the past two years, she has held many different positions, including working as a religious education teacher, substitute teacher, middle school science and mathematics teacher, high school theology teacher, and presenter at academic conferences. She is most inspired by teachers and professors and her favorite moments as a teacher are when her students are able to make connections and use what they have learned in new ways. Mrs. Gutkowski decided to become a teacher because she wanted to share her love for learning. Her love for God and faith led her to becoming a theology teacher after she started out teaching science and math. She is very excited that her work as a theology teacher led her to Oak Knoll. Welcome Mrs. Gutkowski!