As time passes by, things change. People come and go and there is a need for someone else to fill their shoes. With the positions of principal and guidance counselor needing to be filled for the 2021-2022 school year, we find ourselves welcoming Greenwood’s newest members of the administration: Mr. Wilson (High School Principal), Ms. Ellenberger (High School Guidance Counselor), and Mrs. Heiter (Middle School Guidance Counselor).
Mr. Wilson
Mr. Wilson is Greenwood High School’s new principal, filling this position after it was left open by Mrs. Dubiach last winter. Mr. Wilson grew up on a dairy farm in Eastern Tennessee. He attended the University of Tennessee majoring in English. After graduating from college he worked at a Therapeutic Wilderness Camp and went on to study special education in graduate school. He moved to Pennsylvania in 2003.
Mr. Wilson’s interests include live sports, exercise, and playing his guitar. He has many favorite books, but The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger finds itself at the top of his list. His favorite television show is 24 and his favorite movie is Good Will Hunting. Currently, his favorite musician is Eric Church and he “really like[s] the creativity he puts into the song Lynyrd Skynyrd Jones”.
Mr. Wilson is no stranger to the education profession. He has worked at Unicoi County High School in Erwin Tennessee, Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, and Shimmell School in Harrisburg. His most recent position was at Sweetwater Junior High School in Tennessee last year before coming to Greenwood.
What is your favorite part of your job?
“My favorite part of this job at Greenwood is being around students and seeing them grow and learn. I love talking to students and getting to know more about them as people.”
What are your goals for this school year?
“My goals are to get to know as much about Greenwood and its culture as possible and see what areas need attention moving forward. I also want to get to know our staff members as well as possible.”
Do you plan to be involved with your students outside of your specific job description?
“Yes, I love the vibrant part of being in a high school; attending athletic events, dances, musicals, band performances, and academic events.”
What is one thing you want the students of Greenwood to know?
“I am [at a] place in my career where I am more interested in building relationships with students and the school community than trying to achieve the next thing. That’s a good place to be. I also relish the fact that I get to wake up every day and watch young people achieve more than even they think they can. That’s a lot of fun to watch.”
Ms. Ellenberger
Ms. Ellenberger is Greenwood’s new High school Guidance counselor. She is replacing the position part left by Mrs. Davidson. While Mrs. Davidson worked with all of the students in grades 7-12, Ms. Ellenburger will be working strictly with the 9-12 grade students, giving her the opportunity to work more closely with the high school students. She has 2 children, her son is 20 and her daughter is a junior at Cumberland Valley High School.
Ms. Ellenburger loves to be outside gardening and likes to repurpose things. Her favorite television show is The Blacklist and her favorite band is JJ Grey and Mofro and their song The Sweetest thing. She loves documentaries and biographies so her favorite book is Miracle in the Making which is the story about Adam Taliaferro, a Penn State football player who became paralyzed and was able to overcome that and lead a successful life.
Prior to working at Greenwood, Ms. Ellenberger worked at Cumberland Valley Highschool for 19 years. Part of the time she worked there she even worked with Mr. Wilson!
What is your favorite part of your job?
“The fact that I get to meet some really fabulous students and have the opportunity to encourage them to do different things that they want to do. The best part of my job is being able to sit with students and talk with them whether it's because they’re having a bad day or if they're trying to decide what to do after high school or just sharing their happy moments with me.
What are your goals for this school year?
Prioritizing meeting with students and building relationships with students and staff is what my main goal is on top of just making sure that what I was hired to do is I am getting done the best that I can.
Do you plan to be involved with your students outside of your specific job description?
“Right now because I am driving 50 minutes to work it has been hard for me to try to have any time to get to any events. I want to try to get to things as much as I can outside of the school day. Right now with my daughter being in soccer, it is really hard, but yes my goal is to be a part of different things throughout the year.
What is one thing that you want the students and Greenwood to know?
“If I think of some personal adversity I went through, no matter how bad you think it is, there's always the next day where you can start over.”
Mrs. Heiter
Mrs. Heiter is Greenwood’s new middle school Guidance counselor. She is also taking over part of the position that was left by Mrs. Davidson. She will be working with the students in 6-8 grade. She and her husband Michael have been married for 22 years and they have a 13-year-old daughter. They live in Middlesex Township, Cumberland County, where they have been for 9 years.
Mrs. Heiter loves living in the country and enjoys reading, being in the sunshine, and running. Her favorite book is Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, and she added that her favorite children's book is Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton. While she says she doesn’t watch a lot of television, she enjoys watching HGTV’s Hometown and her favorite movie is Driving Miss Daisy. She expressed that she loves music, more specifically country (including artists like Eric Church, Tyler Childers, and Ashley McBride) and contemporary Christian music (including artists like We the Kingdom, Lauren Daigle, and Casting Crowns).
Prior to Greenwood, she worked at Newport and Cumberland Valley School District, but her longest position was at Everett Area School District in Bedford County for 17 years.
What is your favorite part of your job? “My favorite part of my job is the interaction with the students. I enjoy getting to know them on a personal level and making connections with them.”
What are your goals for this school year?
“My goal for the school year is to master my technology fears! And meet every 6-8th grade student 1:1.”
Do you plan to be involved with your students outside of your specific job description?
“I do plan to be involved at Greenwood outside of being the middle school counselor. I like sports, so I am eager to attend sporting events. I enjoy school plays and can’t wait to chaperone something!”
What is one thing that you want the students at Greenwood to know?
“Students of Greenwood, I have been known to talk really loud! Also, I am so happy to be here! The students here are some of the most polite, conversational, and respectful kids I have ever met.”
We are all excited to be able to get to know these three better as the school year progresses! We thank them for choosing Greenwood and wanting to be a part of our community! Mr. Wilson, Ms. Ellenberger, and Mrs. Heiter: Welcome to Greenwood!