By ANNA PAREL, MAGGIE THORNSBERRY and KAITLYN NEEL, Gazebo Staff Writers
Stratford has six new upper school teachers this year. Ann Dromsky and Susan Lolis join the English department. Anastasia Fink is the new art teacher. Jessica Jaquith has been “added” to the math department. Phil Nicodemo is the newest member of the science department. And Scott Shubitz is in his first year teaching at Stratford in the history department.
Mrs. Ann Dromsky is a new upper school English teacher. She has taught previously in elementary school, middle school, and college. Dromsky earned her B.A. in Elementary Education from Saint Mary’s College in California and her Master’s and Ph.D. in Reading Education from the University of Maryland.
Dromsky’s daughter, Carolynn, is a junior at Stratford. They commute from Kathleen, Ga., in Houston County. Dromsky loves cheering for her daughter, who plays goalie on the girls soccer team.
Dromsky has been a Navy wife for 24 years and moved nine times. She met her husband when she was studying abroad in Italy for a year. She is originally from Ohio.
Ms. Anastasia Fink joins the art department from Asheville, N.C. She earned her B.A from Simmons College in Boston in graphic design and her Masters in Art Education from Georgia State University.
She has been teaching art for 17 years. She has previously taught at Asheville (N.C.) High School and Druid Hills High School in Atlanta.
Her favorite art medium is 3D and clay. In a recent art project, she had Stratford students draw beanie babies. Anastasia enjoys Macon, mainly from being away from the crazy Asheville traffic, even though she loved Asheville’s “humongous art scene and many hippies.”
She believes art should be in a school’s curriculum because it “teaches creative problem solving and enhances other academics.”
Mrs. Jessica Jaquith is the new Algebra teacher, but she isn’t new to the Stratford community. She has three children who attend Stratford — Banks, Carson and Lauren.
“We love Macon. We love Stratford, the people at Stratford, the community,’’ she said. “We are just involved, and it’s nice getting to see people in and out of school doing different activities with my kids and their families. They overlap between my students and what we do outside of school … So it’s fun seeing students I know in and out of school.’’
When Mrs. Jaquith was younger, she wanted to become a teacher. Before moving to Macon, she taught high school math at Ringgold High School in North Georgia for seven years. After several years of teaching, she became a stay-at-home mother to care for her children.
Mrs. Susan Lolis is mother, wife, and high school English teacher. Mrs. Lolis has two daughters Zoe and Georgia, who are in first and fourth grade. Her husband, Dr. Tom Lolis, teaches freshman English at Stratford. This is his second year.
Mrs. Lolis substituted last year Before Stratford, she taught at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and taught English, composition, and creative writing at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla.
She took five years off to take care of her young daughters.
Mrs. Lolis said she likes Macon. She describes it as “between a small and big city” feel. She appreciates the “strong sense of community” of Stratford.
When Mrs. Lolis is not teaching she enjoys yoga, baking, and running.
Mr. Phil Nicodemo is the new freshman Biology and Science of Food teacher. He was born in New Jersey and lived there for 22 years. He received his degree in Ecology and Evolution from Rutgers University. From New Jersey he moved to Ohio where he got his first masters in Biology and Anatomy from the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Nicodemo then moved to New York. He got his Masters in Anatomical Science at Stony Brook University.
Mr. Nicodemo said he has always enjoyed teaching, especially when it comes to educating about invertebrates. He loves getting to know “the students and their strengths.’’ Mr. Nicodemo’s favorite part of Stratford are the small classes, the friendly staff, and the well-behaved students.
He admitted he was a little nervous when he took the job. He was tasked with developing the new Science of Food class this summer. He wants to work with the cafeteria to find the amount of calories in the entrees and label them, so the students know what is in the food they are eating.
He said he loves how Macon has everything you need, just a little more spread out. He finds the calm pace of the South “refreshing.” Outside of school, Mr. Nicodemo he enjoys antiquing, guitar, and camping.
Dr. Scott Shubitz is the new college prep U.S. History and AP U.S. History teacher. History has always been his passion, and he essentially wanted to be a historian.
He was a history instructor at Florida State University prior to coming to Stratford. He is married to middle school teacher Tiffany Hensley, who teaches seventh-grade English.
He said one of his favorite parts of his new job is interacting with students and class discussions. Later this school year, he has a book chapter and article coming out. The article is on a group called the New York Liberal Club, a group of intellectuals in New York in the late 1860s and early 1870s. The article sheds light on the character of liberalism during the decades following the Civil War. The book chapter is on the history of liberalism in 19th century America and how historians have interpreted it.
Shubitz said he likes the slower, steady rhythm of Macon.
“It is slower and that is sort of what we like because we were coming from a national area and that’s way too congested,” he said. “There is just too much going on there.’’
