Come March 3 Lakeview High School will be saying farewell, for the year, to English teacher Laura Wood. For the second school year in a row, Wood will be off for maternity leave until the end of the school year. Lakeview Senior Ray Turner says, “It’s the end of an era, I’ve had Mrs. Wood for four years and I’m gonna miss her.”

Wood will not be back until the students have sounded their joyous cries that mark the beginning of summer, on teacher record day. Although she will be on leave, Wood hopes to visit Lakeview with her new baby daughter Charlotte to keep an eye on her students.

When asked about her departure Wood said, “People keep asking me if I’m excited to leave. The truth is I’m sad to go away because I view all my students as my babies and I don’t want to leave them.” Thankfully for next year’s students Lakeview will be welcoming Wood back the upcoming school year.

To fill the void of Wood, Lakeview will be welcoming a new member to its community for the next three months, Kate Merolla. Merolla is a native to the area who graduated from Howland High School and obtained her teaching degree at Youngstown State University.

Merolla’s favorite color is blue, her favorite food is ice cream and, obviously, her favorite subject is English.While this is Merolla’s first teaching job, she is very excited for the opportunity. Merolla is very attached to the area and hopes to teach around here in the future and Lakeview is happy to have her for the rest of the year.