Mrs. Plourde 

Meet Mrs. Plourde, the new Interim Assistant Principal at Watertown High School, filling in for Mr. Hogrefe this year. Before working at the WHS she worked as a 2nd grade teacher at John Trumbull Primary School for 9 years and then as the Watertown School District Curriculum Specialist. Her passion for teaching comes from her love of working with people of all ages and helping them become the best they can be. As a new administrator, Plourde hopes to build strong relationships with the students where everyone feels welcome and a part of the WHS community. An advantage she has as being our new administrator is, “working with students who I’ve known since 2nd grade, and working with students who are preparing for the adult world as they get ready to leave the highschool.” Plourde has adjusted to the new high school environment nicely, as the staff, family, and students have been “very welcoming and kind.” When Mrs. Plourde is not in the school, she loves to spend time with her daughter, Olivia, as she watches her grow up! Overall, WHS is super excited to have this new addition to the school community! 

Mr. Kepics 

Meet the new Culinary Arts teacher, Mr Kepics, who has been teaching Culinary Arts for 18 years! Being the new Consumer Sciences teacher, Kepics hopes that he is, “able to bring the community together through food and to share [his]passion for cooking and baking.” He loves being able to share the experience of cooking and eating with people, which is what inspired him to become a Culinary teacher. He feels very welcomed in the WHS community and has had a “great transition” into the new school. He is excited to share his passion within the foods and baking classes, and can’t wait to see what the year will bring! When he is cooking, he loves to grill and when he is baking, he prefers making cookies and breads, and is excited to make some similar treats in the baking classes! Overall, WHS is excited to have this new addition to the school community! 

Ms. Hinton 

Meet Ms. Hinton, the new health and PE teacher at Watertown High School. This is Ms. Hinton’s first year of teaching, as she just graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University this past May. Before graduating, she had opportunities to student teach at Griswold Elementary school, Tolland Middle School, Ram High School, and EO Smith High School. During highschool, Ms. Hinton says “my track and field coaches guided me into the direction of becoming a health teacher.” Sports have also always had a major influence in her life and were another reason why she wanted to become a health and PE teacher. Ms. Hinton hopes to build connections with students and believes it is important for students to have the, “life long skills” learned from health class. 

Hinton has had to make quite the adjustment from college to teaching, since she “has to create a lesson plan for the entire year.” The 80 minute class length has also taken some time to get used to, as well as learning her way around the school. But, the teachers, students and principles’ have been super helpful with this transition. Her favorite part about teaching health and PE are the interactions, conversations, and connections she hears and makes with the students. Ms. Hinton states that the, “Students never fail to brighten up my day and put a smile on my face!” Overall, WHS is excited to have this new addition to the school community!