Sharkfeed

Ever wonder what Assistant Principals do? How about the Director of School Counseling? Mrs. McDonald, Dr. Parrish, and Mrs. Handville sit down with Dr. Healey and tell their stories, what they enjoy about their job, and how they make a difference at Colgan High School.

Have you ever wondered what the assistant principals do all day? Mrs. McClellan, Mr. Cavender, and Mrs. Riddle sit down with Dr. Healey to talk about themselves, their work each day with students, and how they are not like the assistant principals you see portrayed in movies and T.V. shows.

Dr. Healey, Mr. Warkentien, Director of Theatre, and two student actors, Bella McDonald and Taylor Reiter discuss the Colgan Fall Musical - RENT - School Edition. The group discusses the process of developing the show, their amazing cast members, and why it's important for everyone to see this show.

Dr. Healey, Mrs. Yeh, and Mr. Magee preview the Arts and CFPA program happenings at Colgan High School for the 23-24 school year. The group discuss traditions, innovations, and unique opportunities for students in the Arts program including the student written, arranged, and created show for the Pride of Colgan Marching Band this season

Join Dr. Healey and Mrs. Handville as they discuss the excitement of starting a new school year, how to connect with Colgan, and the importance of attendance.

Join us on this episode as Dr. Healey describes the twists, loops, and thrills of the 2022 - 2023 school year.

It is Homecoming and Spirit Week. Join us as Mr. Watts and Dr. Healey sit down with the SCA sponsor, Corinne Daughtry, and senior SCA president, Jaela Bard, as they share their vision to build an inclusive culture at Colgan HS. 

Join us as we sit down for the story of Ms. Emily Badal. Ms. Badal is a PWCS graduate, student taught at Colgan in 2021, and is in her first year teaching. Listen to her passion for science, and how she helps students connect with science. 

Building a safe and thriving community is about balancing rules and procedures with student choice. Join us as we discuss the efforts of the Colgan leadership team to foster student autonomy and explaining the why behind the Code of Behavior policies. 

Join us as we sit down Sarah Hammersten, a teacher new to Colgan High School. Mrs. Hammersten teaches oceanography at Colgan. She shares excitement and passion for connecting science content to application in the real world. 

In this episode we learn the story of math teacher, math department chair, and varsity cheerleading coach, Michelle Bordelon. She shares her story growing up in Mississippi and how her early struggles with math drove her passion to make math meaningful for all students at Colgan HS. 

Listen to Dr. Healey and Mr. Watts share the story behind our vision statement, Preparing and Inspiring Students for their Future. 

Class of 2026 families, Embark with the Sharks is our annual event for rising 9th grader families to learn about Colgan and get connected. Join us on this week's episode as Dr. Healey shares strategies for successful 9th grade transition, and Direct of Counseling, Claire Handville, shares opportunities for families to be connected. 

Mr. Agosto sits down with another pair of international exchange students at Colgan this year. Lucciana Fornera, visiting us from Paraguay, and Hortensia Pisani, visiting from Italy, share their experiences at Colgan. Listen to them give feedback to future exchange students as well.

Colgan returns to the stage this week with the first live in-person musical in over 2 years with The Music Man. Join Dr. Healey and Mr. Watts as they have a conversation with Director of Theatre, Mr. Warkentien and two student actors, Evan Shields and Cadence Gates; together we discuss the impact school-wide events like the musical have on the culture of Colgan HS. 

Join Mr. Agosto as he speaks with two international exchange students, Giulia Agus visiting us from Italy and Sarah Hestermeyer visiting us from Germany. Hear about their experiences so far at Colgan and in the USA.

Introducing Coach Reggie Scott, the new head football coach at Colgan HS. Listen to Mr. Staples and Coach Reggie discuss community engagement and the five year plan for Colgan Football. 

Every year students sit down with counselors to choose courses for the next school year. In this episode we sit down with Dr. Healey and Mrs. Handville to discuss the positive impacts of taking at least one Advanced Placement (AP) course.

To learn more about AP courses offered at Colgan, learn more at courses.colganhs.com 

On this Shark Spotlight episode, Mrs. Handville speaks with Tony Bright, Arman Lateef, and Gabriel Ralston, juniors at Colgan, about their journey from science fair project to conference presenters.

At the quarter mark, and how do students feel about the school year. Today we sit down with Caden Colangelo in 11th grade and Marissa Tilgner in 10th grade to talk about the transition from virtual 2020 to in-person 2021, personal and academic successes, and goals to complete 2022. 

In this week's episode, we sit down with Mr. Blackman, a biology teacher at Colgan High School. Mr. Blackman shares his story from his football championships at C. D. Hylton High School, to playing collegiately at UVA - Wise, to beginning his career as a restaurant manager, and the transition education as a special education and science teacher. 

Join Mrs. Handville as she speaks with Brielle Kemavor, junior, who was recognized as both district and regional volleyball player of the year. Brielle shares what volleyball and her team has meant to her, the Colgan volleyball season so far, and her goals for the future.

Carley Mayers, senior, was named as our district as this year's Field Hockey Player of the Year. Join Mrs. Handville as she talks with Carley about what this recognition, her teammates, and her time on Colgan's field hockey team has meant to her.

A quarter of the way through the year, and it is time for reflection. Join us this week, as we hear from Director of School Counseling, Claire Handville, as she shares strategies for self-reflection, and how we can set tangible goals for success personally and in the classroom. 

Join us this week for a sit down with CFPA dance teacher, Jamie Howes. Mrs. Howes tells her story from attending a performing arts high school, to studying dance at George Mason, to dancing professionally in New York, to her transition to the Center for Fine and Performing Arts teacher at Colgan High School.

In this week's episode we get the sports flash from Mr. Huckestein, the director of student activities, on the fall sports and winter sports seasons. 

Join us for this week's conversation with Mrs. Gillespie. Mrs. Gillespie is a teacher in our theatre department, and was the Class of 2021 Commencement speaker. 

Braxton Brooks, a junior at Colgan, was nominated to be a delegate at the Congress of Future Medical Leaders. Join Mrs. Handville in hearing about Braxton's experience, as well as his future plans, in this episode.

Homecoming and Spirit Week bring feelings of normalcy and nostalgia. It was 742 days ago, that Colgan celebrated an in-person homecoming and spirit week. In this week's episode Dr. Healey and Mr. Watts sit down with SCA president Richard Barkett and SCA vice president Carley Mayers. 

Richard and Carley share the why behind this week's spirit week theme, and share the honor of leading the student body back after a two year hiatus. 

In episode 2 of our teacher features, Dr. Healey sits down with Mrs. Hull a counselor at Colgan High School. 

Congratulations to Najah Ghani Perryman, a senior who committed to Talladega College for basketball. In this episode, Director of Counseling Mrs. Handville share's Najah's story, including what basketball means to her.

Twice a year families meet with teachers to "touchbase" on the student's progress. During these informal meetings, teachers share a student's progress on formatives and summatives. In episode 4, Dr. Healey shares the purpose behind standards based grading, and how formatives are the build to a summative. 

In our new one-on-one series, we sit down with a Colgan faculty member to discover their WHY in the classroom. This week, we meet with Mrs. Stephanie Brown. A biology and AP biology teacher at Colgan High School. 

Director of School Counseling, Claire Handville, shares the vision of the Shark Spotlight series. Join us each week as students share their story and together we celebrate their successes.

In episode 2, Dr. Healey and Mr. Watts share the stories behind the learning spaces around Colgan that promote creativity and connection. When Colgan opened in 2016, the campus was constructed with a vision to design spaces that prepare and inspire students. Dr. Healey shares the vision behind the learning spaces, and how he embraced the power of "yes" when staff, students, and community propose ideas.

The year 2020-21 school year is almost over. We have made it; navigating a pandemic while making the most of hybrid learning. In this episode, Dr. Healey discusses what the 2021-22 school year might look like, and answers questions related to the parent survey released the week of May 24th. 

During the past year, teachers are superheroes in the community, and last week the Colgan community showed their appreciation with an overflow of gratitude. Join the conversation with Dr. Healey as we continue our theme of growing a culture from the ground up, and learn how Colgan High School developed a positive partnership with our families. 

In addition, we discuss the social media incident involving a few of our Colgan students, and how families and the community can establish guardrails in our online life to protect our students.

Art performances are returning to Colgan High School after more than a year away from the stage. Dance, theatre, orchestra, band, chorus, piano, and music technology will end the year with in-person performances, limited seating, and streamed live on the school YouTube channel. Join the conversation as Dr. Healey describes the vision of the Center for Fine and Performing Arts at Colgan.

The 2020-2021 school year is almost complete, and are you wondering what next school year will look like? Will it be in-person 5 days a week, hybrid 4 days a week, or will virtual be an option. Join the conversation as Dr. Healey discusses the tentative plans the school division is preparing for next school year. 

After the May 5th, we will do a follow-up episode discussing the superintendent's proposed plan to the school board.