Heritage’s New Teachers: Meet Mr. Dempsey

This year Heritage High School has gained many fantastic staff to join our friendly and educational community! One of these additions is Mr. Dempsey. Dempsey is currently teaching personal finance, economics, US history and overall many social studies subjects for every grade. He acquired his wide range of knowledge from many schools: Truman State University, University of Missouri, and Southwest Missouri State University. Through these schools Dempsey received an Associates in Business Administration, Bachelor’s in Political Science, and Master’s in Education. He began his teaching career in the 2000s, and started teaching at schools in Missouri—ranging from elementary to high school. Mr. Dempsey decided to come to Heritage because it is close to where he lives, his children’s school, and he enjoys the environment of Heritage. He says it is different from other schools he has worked at since “the schedule is based on block schedule rather than a seven period day.” This is useful because it gives him more time to focus on teaching the subjects effectively. He is really enjoying Heritage so far stating, “It’s been a really great first week.” He is glad he became a teacher because gets to watch learn and grow through his teaching and support. Mr. Dempsey is going to fit right along with the Heritage community and make a great impact at Heritage!

About the Contributors

Hailey Drafahl, Staff Writer

Hailey Drafahl is a 17-year-old senior attending Heritage High School. She is returning to the Journalism staff this year because she really enjoyed taking the class her Junior year. Hailey is excited for what this year of Journalism will bring. She enjoys taking challenging courses and is on a dual-enrollment schedule for her entire senior year so that she can obtain both high school and college credits for her classes. Hailey is the best parker at Heritage High School: she's been told by the principal three times to fix her parking; the people around her fear for their cars. Science is her favorite subject to take, as it is easy and interesting for her. She hopes to one day be a therapist for people and help with others' mental health. In her free time, she accomplishes deranged journeys with her friends. She also enjoys working her shifts at Subway: she is a wonderful sandwich artist and loves the people she works with. She lives with her mom, stepfather, older brother, and two younger sisters. She also has five animals in her house, including three dogs and two cats. She loves listening to music: her favorite artists are SZA, Doja Cat, Lana Del Rey, Megan Thee Stallion, and many more. Hailey is very excited to graduate this year and begin the steps towards her future.

Natalie Ferry, Editor-in-Chief

Natalie Ferry is the Editor of The General Journal and a junior at Heritage High School. She has been, and will continue to be, excited about working on "The Legacy" and the General Journal website. Natalie attends Dalton State College for the majority of the day but stops by Heritage in the morning to hang out with her favorite people: the Journalism Class. Other than Journalism, she enjoys being a member of the Tome Literary Society, Tea Club, Beta Club, and the Literary Team. Natalie can proudly brag that she is a State Champion in International Extemporaneous Speaking, and she hopes to do well in her Literary competitions again this year. Outside of school, she is active in her local theater, a regular at her favorite Thai place, and on constant lookout for good deals at the thrift store. Natalie cannot wait for the (rumored) new solo album from Big Thief frontperson, Adrianne Lenker, and she hopes to see Big Thief again once they are on tour. Once she graduates, Natalie hopes to finish her degree at Dalton. Although she isn’t exactly sure of what she will pursue, she is currently leaning towards a degree in Communications or English. Wherever life may take her, Natalie knows that this year will be great.