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Livewire

The student news site of Altoona Area Junior High School

Livewire

Livewire

Retiring Teachers!

Alonna Pfahler and Lex Diehl May 27, 2025

These teachers and principal have worked so hard, and it is finally time for them to retire! If you see them in the hallways or maybe they are your teacher, take a moment to stop and congratulate them....

Sixth grade English teacher Michele Dugan posing in front of her coffee themed classroom door with her coffee in hand!

Michele Dugan

Alonna Pfahler, Reporter May 27, 2025

Sixth grade English teacher Michele Dugan has been teaching in the school district for a total of 36 years! She graduated from Penn State University in 1989 and shortly after started being a substitute...

No more Mondays! Eighth grade principal Jerry Koehle sits in his office on one of the last Mondays before the school year ends. Also it's one of his last Mondays ever as a principal!

Jerry Koehle

Alonna Pfahler, Reporter May 27, 2025

After 19 years of teaching and 16 years of being a principal, eighth grade principal Jerry Koehle is retiring once this school year ends. Koehle said one of the things he is looking forward to once...

Barb Mackereth retires after 30 years of teaching.

Barb Mackereth

Lex Diehl, Reporter May 27, 2025

Eighth grade science teacher Barb Mackereth loved the kids she taught over the years. "The kids were wonderful," said Mackereth. After retirement, Mackereth wants to travel when school is in session...

Julie Hatch retires after 31 and 1/3 years of teaching.

Julie Hatch

Lex Diehl, Reporter May 27, 2025

Sixth grade social studies teacher Julie Hatch has been a teacher for 31 and a 1/3 years,  and now she’s getting ready to move on. She says what she’ll miss most are the students and their different...

Wonderful world. The world of youth hockey is filled with excitement and joy. When kids play youth hockey, they get big goals for later in life. Seventh grade hockey player Kellan Yingling said, "I want to be in the NHL and play pro."

Getting Started in Youth Hockey

Brody Kenawell, Reporter January 16, 2025

The slap of the stick on the ice, the swish of the puck sliding through the rink, these are the sounds all too familiar to hockey players. However, no one really wonders how these players got to that spot,...

Barbara Mackereth

Barbara Mackereth

Ethan Shoeman, Reporter December 17, 2024

For 30 years, eighth grade science teacher Barbara Mackereth has been at the junior high level.  "I am very fortunate to have had the ability to work doing something I love. Teaching science to my...

Jerry Koehle

Jerry Koehle

Ethan Shoeman, Reporter December 17, 2024

Eighth grade principal Jerry Koehle has been an educator for 35 years! He first taught at Theodore Roosevelt Junior High School and Altoona Junior High School as a teacher for one year. He became a principal...

Emily Eakins

Emily Eakins

Ethan Shoeman, Reporter December 17, 2024

Sixth grade special education teacher Emily Eakins has been teaching for over 30 years! She is a great asset to the school's learning support program. She helps a lot of kids everyday get better at...

Scott Woomer

Scott Woomer

Ethan Shoeman, Reporter December 17, 2024

Sixth grade math teacher Scott Woomer has taught at four different schools during his 32 year teaching career. "I've had the opportunity to work at several schools, including Wright Elementary, Juniata...

Michelle Anderson

Michelle Anderson

Ethan Shoeman, Reporter December 17, 2024

Seventh grade learning support teacher and seventh grade student council advisor Michelle Anderson has been teaching for 31 years! Anderson started by earning a Bachelor's Degree in Special Education and...

Lori Branas

Lori Branas

Ethan Shoeman, Reporter December 17, 2024

Sixth grade science teacher Lori Branas has been teaching for 30 plus years! Her fulfilling her duty as a science teacher has helped many students succeed to reach the next level of their academic career....

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