Juggling seniors with their senioritis and stressed out juniors with their SATs is no small task. But this is the everyday for Mr. Benedict, a new teacher to CB South.

This year, look for Mr. Benedict around the halls and in the classroom teaching English 12, English 12 Honors and SAT Vocab Prep. Even though this is his first year teaching at South, as well as in Central Bucks School District, this is not his first year teaching. After graduating from Penn State University, he taught tenth grade English for a year and half at Radnor High School.

Mr. Benedic said one of his favorite things about being a teacher is “building relationships with [his] students.” He also likes seeing his students challenge their own thinking and see things in a new way.

A memorable moment of this occurred when he had his students discussing “would you rather” events about a book they were reading. When the students split up into opposite sides based on which side of the argument they supported, there were 22 students on one side of the room and only one on the other.

By the end of the discussion, that one student had persuaded all but one of his competitors to join his side of the argument. Mr. Benedict said, “It was really fun to watch the students consider the other side of the argument and then change their approach.” He remembered it being “quite humorous to watch the lone remaining student try to convince his teammates to return to their original side of the room.”

Over the summer, Mr. Benedict did a lot of traveling. He spent a week in Bethany Beach with his family and a week in the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. But he said the best part of his summer was his trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While in Jackson Hole, he spent a week riding horses, fly fishing, and relaxing with his family. However, the most adventurous activity he participated in on his vacation was the Jackson Hole Rodeo. His event was called “Grab the Bull by the Horns,” and one can quickly imagine what that entailed. This event “involved wrestling a steer to the ground and untying a lasso from its horns.”

Growing up a small, rural town in central Pennsylvania, moving to this area has been a real change for Mr. Benedict.  “My hometown only had two traffic lights, so moving to the greater Philadelphia areas has been quite an adjustment,” he said.

But moving to this area was not the only thing that has been an adjustment. The most surprising aspect of moving his teaching career to South is the size of the school. He’s still learning his way around and has “gotten lost a few more times than [he] would like to admit.”

However daunting at times, Mr. Benedict said he really likes South so far and has really loved getting to know his students, saying, “They’ve all been great so far.”

In his free time, he really likes just being able to relax and watch a TV series, a movie, or a football game. “Football was the first love of my life,” he said, and he admits that he could watch football all weekend. He misses his playing days, but still really enjoys watching games on TV.

Mr. Benedict grew up a diehard Pittsburgh sports fan, and quickly realized that “people don’t seem to like that very much around here.” Being a Pittsburgh fan, it’s also obvious why his favorite color combination is black and gold.

Looking ahead to the future, Mr. Benedict is most excited about “getting to know the students and staff,” as well as “learning what it means to be a Titan.”