Common Sense

Harry PotterThe End of an Era

Friday, October 05, 2007 By Jessica Pollack

Many new faces are being spotted at Wootton, as the Counseling Department and the Career Center have added new members to their family. Some students have faced the challenge of adjusting to a new guidance counselor, but most students seem to be doing well with the change. “It’s nice to get to know someone new and someone else who can help you throughout high school,” junior Stephanie Helwig said. “I am looking forward to getting to know my counselor,” junior Stephie Weiss said. This year, the new guidance counselors are Dr. Jay Bass and Ms. Kristine Yim, and the new College and Career Information Coordinator is Lynda Hitchcock. The new members of the Wootton staff hope to be great additions to the Wootton community. Dr. Jay Bass, who has replaced Mr. Will Ramsey as the new Head of Guidance and Resource Counselor, comes from Chantilly High School in Virginia where he was the Director of Student Services, a position similar to his current one. “The Wootton students are very high achieving,” said Bass. He is looking forward to learning about how things work at Wootton and he believes that the students who were given new counselors are adjusting well. The other new counselor at Wootton is Ms. Kristine Yim, who comes to Wootton from Francis Scott Key Middle School in Frederick, Maryland. Yim used to be a teacher, but now works as a counselor. Yim said that she enjoys the friendly atmosphere at Wootton. “I’m impressed with the intellectual abilities of Wootton students,” Yim said. Yim is also excited to learn about the college process. In addition, due to Ms. Nancy Rossini’s valuable computer skills, her position has changed and she is being replaced as CIW Guidance Counselor by Ms. Yelena Gershengorn, who previously worked at Pyle Middle School in Bethesda. Mrs. Lynda Hitchcock is the new College and Career Information Coordinator and can be found in the Career Center. She comes to Wootton from Rockville High School, where she worked in Special Education and Transition. “The kids are very eager at Wootton and the staff is nice as well,” said Hitchcock. She plans to counsel students, set up college visits, and help students with career information. “I want the kids to feel welcome, ask questions, and get the information they want.” As the coordinator, Hitchcock is responsible for coordinating the visits that college representatives make to the Career Center. The beginning of the school year is filled with these visits, which creates a demanding schedule for Hitchcock. Said senior Debbie Chen, “If I was unsure about a school, the college visits [would] help me decide.”