Photos by Alexa Araya /
Hopatcong High School held its annual Shadow Day on Friday February 2nd. Students were given the unique opportunity to adopt the viewpoint of a teacher and assist in lesson plans and teaching. In this effort, students mirrored the shadow of Punxsutawney Phil, showcased on Groundhog Day, and “shadowed” teachers.
This long standing and amusing tradition of Pennsylvania’s famous weather predicting groundhog, has occurred annually for the past 132 years. In contrast, however, Hopatcong High School’s Shadow Day was relatively new, introduced to the district roughly 15 years ago. Despite its short history, Shadow Day is an event both staff and students look forward to.
Mrs. Mary Ellen Fata, accompanied by shadow, junior Noah Fouda, ran FIT activities in the gym. This special day allowed Mrs. Fata to spend quality time with one of her FIT leaders. Together they began working out the logistics of a special FIT video project which is said to be finished sometime next school year.
When asking gym teacher Mr. John Canzone about shadow day, he replied, ” It was a “nice experience. You not only get to know your student better, but secondly, your student gets to know you better.” Shadow, junior Camille Araya agreed, adding that she and and Mr. Canzone have grown closer.
For sophomore Gianna Kestenholz, who intends on pursuing a career within the medical field, choosing Nurse Lillian MacRae to shadow was an educational glimpse into her future. She gained hands-on experience, while Mrs. MacRae was able to provide advice on college nursing programs.
Lastly Mr. Michael Juskus added his words of wisdom, stating that shadow day is something he always enjoys. Mr. Juskus emphasized how the day really allows kids to see what a teacher’s day is truly like, rather than the snapshot of 45 minutes a student typically sees.
The school-wide student council was in charge of organizing Shadow Day, which concluded with a lovely library luncheon. February 2, 2018 marked yet another successful Shadow Day.
| Mr. Batche | Brittney Lengkong |
| Mrs. Boatman | Wiktoria Plewa |
| Mr. Campagna | Isabel Yarosz |
| Mr. Canzone | Camille Araya |
| Mrs. Carr | Deja Gutierrez |
| Mrs. Cubberly | Launa Wall |
| Mrs. Culcasi | Robin Wall |
| Mrs. Delbagno | Kaitlyn McManus |
| Mrs. DeRose | Jessica Alvarez |
| Mrs. N. Duffy | Tyler Turnage |
| Mrs. Elicott | Jen Coulman |
| Mrs. Fata | Noah Fouda |
| Mr. Fattorusso | Andrea Fattorusso |
| Mr. Ganguzza | Jessica Thompson |
| Mrs. Haggerty | Kayla O’Brien |
| Mr. Juskus | Justin McCarthy |
| Mrs. Kenny | Lily Christiana |
| Mr. Landshof | Anthony Christiana |
| Mrs. LaRosa | Alex Davis |
| Mrs. MacRae | Gianna Kestenholz |
| Mrs. Martinez | Paige Switzer |
| Mr. Mulvihill | Charlotte Whritenour |
| Mr. Oeson | Nikko Chey |
| Mr. Olsen | Ronnie Shult |
| Mr. Pierson | Liam McGuire |
| Mr. Rischaway | Anthony Marinaro |
| Mr. Segale | Kaitlyn Donnelly |
| Mr. Spukes | Dominick Solimando |
| Mrs. Wilson | Teresa Turnage |