Members of the faculty and administration currently are evaluating Senior Project papers, and seniors are breathing easier after having met the Nov. 21 submission deadline.

“I feel accomplished knowing that I finished a major paper,” Jamie Rushnell said. “It is an awesome feeling. The next step is to work on the actual product and to start preparing for speeches.”

Faculty members are grading the papers this week because Senior Seminar teacher Amanda Kopp resigned Nov. 26 to take a position teaching for Google-related corporation. Last year Kopp alone evaluated the papers after faculty members lost one of their two planning periods to budget cuts.

“Personally it doesn’t affect me that she is leaving,” Rushnell said. “She is a great teacher and I’m going to miss her, but I’m happy for her and her new job.”

Kopp’s departure has affected students in different ways.

“It affects me by disrupting the flow of class,” Sean Simonian said. “I don’t think anyone will be able to be as good as she was.”

Former West Shore language arts teacher Patti Gates will fill in for Kopp until the end of the semester, but the administration has not yet announced who will teach the class beyond that.

“I have heard so many things,” Rushnell said. “Some say it’s the men’s basketball assistant coach and some say it’s [middle-school social studies teacher] Jessica Hartman.”

By Tess Landis