Over the new year, the Juniata Valley School District hired a new part-time Spanish teacher, Nathan Weick. He was hired over the school’s Christmas break and replaced the temporary Spanish teacher, Felipe Rimmer. During his short time teaching at the school, he has mentioned that he has “gotten to know my students and created a relationship with each class.” After spending 3-4 months studying abroad in Spain and Mexico, Weick graduated Juniata College with a degree in Spanish Education.

Throughout the school day, the new Spanish teacher teaches only four classes in grades 9-10. Spanish 1, a 9th-grade class in second and fourth period, and Spanish 2, a 10th-grade class in third period. Gabby Scott, a 9th-grade student in his period 2 class, has described his classes as “a new way of learning Spanish, and I like that we don’t have a lot of homework, but just enough to remember the material.”

Now that the transition between teachers is complete, Weick has shared his ambitions for the future of JV’s Spanish program. He mentioned how he wants to “have Spanish III and IV classes beyond the current Spanish I and II classes that are offered. Overall, I plan to help increase student exposure to the Spanish-speaking culture after understanding the basics in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.” While he has only been in his position for less than a month, Weick has shown himself to be optimistic and determined to improve the School’s Spanish education.

Even though Nathan Weick has only been an educator at JVHS for just under a month, he has already left a lasting impact on not only the involved students but the entire Spanish program.