A new school year brings fresh schedules, often different classrooms, and for some students, new faces in the counseling office. This year, Bowie welcomed two new staff members to campus, hoping to bring fresh perspectives and extra support for students.
The Administration team gained a new staff member, Assistant Principal Octavio Angel. He is responsible for students with the last name A-CHE, oversees the social studies department, and is the AP responsible for dealing with parking concerns. Bowie’s counseling department also gained one new employee, April Loeb, who is responsible for students with the last name A-BUK.
“I remember being in middle school and having our school counselor do guidance lessons and teach students on things like how to get along with your friends,” Loeb said. “So it was back then that I decided I wanted to be a school counselor. I liked the role, and it was also really important to me to be able to help others navigate the school system.”
School counselors are responsible for helping students with course selection, making sure they’re on track to graduate, and often encouraging students to take more rigorous classes, such as advanced or AP. Additionally, counselors can be a source of support for students, and Loeb especially tries to be available for just just by listening to them when they share what’s going on in their personal lives.
“I’m often a sounding board for students to come to when they need to talk to somebody,” Loeb said. “Most of the time I’m not even giving my opinion, I’m just listening to what they have to say, and typically that is enough to where it builds that trust that they can come back to talk to me again.”
For students who previously had counselor Hunter Ruffin, they may have been surprised to see that their counselor changed to a new person this year. For senior Cameron Alsup, that had been the case; she had no idea she had a new counselor until after the school year started.
I had formed a trusting relationship with Mr.Ruffin, and so it was kind of sad to see him go,” Alsup said. “Ms. Loeb has been very welcoming, though, and she’s made sure that it feels like I’ve known her all four years.”
Loeb’s hope is that through her work at Bowie she can help encourage students to succeed and help them reach their own potential. She has noticed that students often get overwhelmed at the beginning of the year and can be really hard of themselves, and she is hopes to change that negative mindset in students.
“Students come off of summer break and they don’t remember the concepts they learned the previous year and so what I try to do is tell them that its okay that they don’t remember and they should give themselves grace,” Loeb said. “ The students, they actually encourage me too. I see the band outside the school in the mornings, before I even get there and I love seeing that, if they can be up this early, so can I.”
Part of starting at a new school is experiencing a change in traditions. For Loeb, she enjoys seeing the spirit days in action.
“I love the dress-up days and I think they’re fantastic,” Loeb said. “I like being able to see teachers and administration dressing up with the students. I also love just seeing students engaging in conversation in the courtyard or in the hallways and just talking to each other.”
For new AP Angel, he enjoys teaching and working with high schools students. He started as a middle school tutor and worked his way into high school, getting his masters and being certified as a principal along the way. He taught at Austin for five years and wanted to be able to do more, but not as a teacher, as a AP.
“This is an amazing school,” Angel said. “Growing up I went to a small private school and I wish I had the opportunity to be a part of all the programs a big public high school has to offer and so I was really fortunate to be able to join that community now at Bowie. I’m super happy here and I just want to help out students any way I can.”
Angel’s main priority is campus safety, starting with IDs. He feels that the administrative team has been more on top of checking for IDs and that it has contributed to the hallways being less hectic than before.
“My main thing is that I want kids to feel safe and secure and even though I have to sometiems deal with disciplinary issues, I still try to stay positive,” Angel said. “Even if I’m having a tough conversation with a student, I try to use it as a learning moment. I know that for students some days can be hard and so my goal here is to be a positive resource that helps out students but also keep them safe and secure.”
