DEPARTMENT CHAIR APPOINTMENTS

Ms. Leslie Brunson (Social Studies) is very excited to be joining the Denmark High School staff as the Social Studies Department Chair. In 2007, she had the opportunity to open West Forsyth and looks forward to another chance to help establish the culture and environment of a new school. Ms. Brunson has been an educator for 27 years having begun her teaching career in South where she taught social studies on the middle school and high school level. While at WFHS, she has taught a variety of courses including: World History, Government, AP US History, AP Psychology and AP Research, worked with a number of clubs and served as the gifted coordinator. Ms. Brunson’s approach to teaching is to create an environment that is comfortable and non-threatening coupled with rigor and high expectations. She views teaching as an opportunity to nurture the whole student- helping them grow intellectually, socially and emotionally. In her spare time, she loves to read, travel, exercise, and spend time with her family.

Mrs. Shelby Cochran (Science) is a native of Forsyth County and has been teaching for eighteen years. She has both a Bachelor of Science in Biology, Secondary Education from NGCSU and a Masters of Education in Technology from Lesley University. Mrs. Cochran currently teaches Biology and Human Anatomy & Physiology at Lambert High School while also co-sponsoring the iGEM competition team. Her and her husband of nineteen years have three sons that proudly attend Forsyth County schools. Mrs. Cochran is both honored and excited to be part of welcoming Denmark High School to the outstanding community of Forsyth County Schools.

Ms. Melissa Connealy (Math) is thrilled to be joining Denmark High School for the 2018-19 school year and for her 20th year in the classroom. Ms. Connealy earned her B.S.Ed. from the and her M.Ed. from North Georgia College and State University. After teaching middle school in Gwinnett for the first few years of her career, the Gwinnett County native moved to Sioux City, IA and into a high school classroom. For the past 14 years, Ms. Connealy has taught at several middle and high schools across Forsyth County - having taught math most recently at South Forsyth High School. She is looking forward to bringing her experience as a teacher, coach, and leader to DHS as the math department chair. Ms. Connealy is excited to bring her daughter into the Denmark Family as well, as she will be a part of the first graduating class of Denmark Danes. Go Danes!

Barney Marchand (PE) has been a resident of Forsyth County since 2005. He is a Health and Physical Education teacher and has 14 years teaching experience. The last 3 years are at West Forsyth High School. In addition to teaching, he coaches football, basketball and lacrosse. He and his wife Pamela have been married for 17 years and have two children, Megan and RJ. They attend Vickery Middle School and Kelly Mill Elementary.

Lindsey Needham (Graduation Coach) is thrilled at the opportunity to open Denmark as Graduation Coach. She has been in the field of education for ten years and spent five of them as a special education teacher. Mrs. Needham passionate about motivating students and helping them find success in the classroom and preparing them for their future. She believes that the greatest responsibility of an educator and coach is to develop positive, trusting relationships with students and families. Opening Denmark will allow her to establish academic interventions and supports early- prior to having a senior class. If educational barriers are proactively addressed at the start of high school, students are more likely to walk with their class at graduation. Mrs. Needham and her husband have two energetic boys, Harper and Henry, that keep them very busy!

Mr. Jeff Olney (CTAE) comes to Denmark from South Forsyth High School where he has taught Engineering and Manufacturing classes. He brings over 20 years of teaching experience after spending 10 years in industry as an Industrial Engineer. He has been an advisor for the Technology Student Association (TSA) as well as being a coach for the Electric Car race team and VEX robotics teams.

Mrs. Stephanie Pickens (Fine Arts) is a veteran Forsyth County teacher who has spent the last ten years of her career at West Forsyth High School. As an artist and educator, Mrs. Pickens has been the sponsor of the National Art Honor Society and the photography club as well as a Visual Arts and AP Studio Art teacher for the last thirteen years. She is a nationally recognized art educator who has presented curriculum at the local and national level while collaborating with highly respected art teachers all over the country. These experiences will help her collective efforts to build the fine arts program at Denmark High School. She is excited and honored to take on the new role as department chair for Denmark High School.

Ms. Angela Satterfield (English) has been teaching English for 17 years. She taught at Dunwoody High School for ten years before joining the South Forsyth faculty in 2011, where she has served as English department chair for five years. She has taught AP English Language for 14 years, and she is currently teaching her second year of AP Capstone Seminar. Previously, she has taught students in on-level and honors ninth grade, tenth grade, and American Literature, as well as IB students. Ms. Satterfield enjoys presenting at AP teacher workshops, and she has been an AP reader for seven years. She earned a BA in English and Communication from Oglethorpe, a Master’s in English Education from Georgia State, and an Educational Specialist in Teaching and Learning from Mercer.

Mrs. Corinna Spurlock (Lead Counselor) has spent the last four years as a professional school counselor and Head Swim & Dive Coach at South Forsyth High School. During her time at SFHS, she has successfully run a comprehensive 8th-9th grade transition program, developed partnerships through the creation of a Counseling Advisory Board, and created social and emotional learning programs for staff and students. At the county level, Mrs. Spurlock is a member of the Student Support Service Leadership Team and Counseling Design Team. Corinna received her B.S. in Child and Family Development from the University of Georgia and her Masters in School Counseling from Mercer University. She resides in Sugar Hill, GA with her husband, Matthew Spurlock, and two children, Rayna (1) and Mia (12). In her spare time, she loves to exercise, cook, play board games, and vacation at the beach. At this time, Mrs. Spurlock is committed to easing the transition of students to Denmark and excited about developing a fun- loving, collaborative, and supportive culture at the new school!

Mrs. Cristina Wardrip (World Languages) joined Forsyth County in 2012 after finishing her master’s degree in Foreign Language Education from The University of Georgia. She has taught various levels of Spanish at South Forsyth High School and Lambert High School. Mrs. Wardrip has a passion for traveling and learning languages. She has lived and studied languages in four different countries, and returned to Lambert this year after spending the last few years living in the Netherlands. Together with the rest of the world languages department, she looks forward to teaching our future Danes the importance of learning a new language in order to become engaged citizens in today’s globally competitive world.

Mrs. Angie Mitchell (ESOL) has taught in Forsyth County for 8 years. She has taught students of all grade levels beginning with first grade. Most recently, for the past 3 years, she has been the ESOL Department Chair at West Forsyth High School. She has been married to Tony for 23 years and has a daughter Ansley, a freshman at UGA, and a son Luke, a sophomore at Lambert.