Dear Learning Community Family,
I hope that this correspondence finds you well, and that you
are continuing to enjoy your summer. As the days quickly pass, we all become
excited and anxious for the beginning of the school year. I will hold off on
the official “welcome back” message because I don’t want you to rush what
remains of your summer. We are currently in the process of mailing out welcome packets
which contain information about your child’s teacher for the coming school
year.
Please make a note that Curriculum Night for Lower School
will be on 9-23 at 6:30 pm and Middle School Curriculum Night will be on 9-30
at 6:30 pm. PreK Curriculum Night will
be at 5:30 on 9-23.
We do have some staffing changes in teaching assignments for
the coming year. I am pleased to
announce that all of our teachers are highly qualified and certified in the
academic subjects they are teaching.
This year’s faculty is truly impressive for their tremendous skill set
and their interest in providing all our students with educational experiences
that are engaging, challenging, and meaningful.
We are thrilled to announce that Ms. Wood will join the
first grade team bringing her tremendous passion for community and her
creativity to the first grade.
Laura Callegari will join us as the 4th grade
teacher during Ms. Nardiello’s maternity leave.
Ms. Callegari holds a degree from the University of Padua in English and
French. She has an extensive career as a
translator and in international business.
She is currently pursuing her studies to become an ELL teacher.
Michelle Smith will teach kindergarten during Ms. Finn’s
(formerly Ms. Turner’s) maternity leave. Ms. Smith has served as the Assistant Teacher
in kindergarten for many years and has an in-depth understanding of our
kindergarten program. Samantha Gutierrez
will serve as the Kindergarten Assistant while Ms. Smith teaches
kindergarten.
Dana Guzman will continue to be our Math Early Intervention Specialist. She will also become the Director of our Early
Intervention Program (formerly known as the Basic Skills Program).
Sarah Westley will serve as our reading specialist and early
intervention teacher.
This year we also welcome several new members to our LCCS
family.
Aisha de Los Santos will be our third PreK teacher. Aisha is famously known as Miss A throughout
Jersey City. She previously taught at
Jersey City’s PreK program at St. Bridget’s.
She has taught many of our current students and is celebrated throughout
Jersey City for her incredible creativity and passion for early childhood
education. She will be joined in PreK by
Tiffany Fitch the Teacher Assistant in Ms. Tracy’s room. Christina McGary will become the Assistant
Teacher in Ms. Tracy’s room.
Mallory
Vessa will be our third grade teacher this year. Mallory completed her undergraduate degree at
Catholic University this past fall. Mallory student taught in Washington DC at a
school that could be the virtual mirror image of LCCS. While student
teaching Ms. Vessa conducted an extensive action research
project on differentiated instruction in reading that was incredibly rigorous
and looks much like the work we do regularly as a school. She is gracious, warm, reflective,
diligent and someone who has known from an early point in her life that she
wanted to dedicate her life to educating children and making a difference in
the world through her work.
Natahsa Tyjer will be our new 4th grade
teacher. Ms. Tyjer joins us after
teaching third grade at Maria Varisco Charter School in Newark. Natasha is from Paterson and attended the
University of Pennsylvania. During her
interview Natasha was probably one of the most passionate candidates for
constructivist education we have ever met.
When her demo lesson concluded students lined up to hug her. It will be exciting to see her work and her
classroom.
Mirtha Perez joins us as our Spanish teacher. Ms. Perez joins us from the Village School in
Waldwick. She is incredibly creative and
has an incredible passion for teaching both Spanish language and culture. This year we are increasing the amount of
Spanish our middle school students receive to four days a week. In order to make these changes Ms. Perez and Mr.
Lambert will teach both middle and lower classes. Ms. Perez will be teaching in our new Spanish
room which was formerly the computer lab.
Allyson Szcesi
will be our new special education and early intervention teacher. Ms. Szcesi attended the University of Delaware and
did most of her student teaching in schools with multiply disabled
students. She is incredibly creative and
managed to teach a demo lesson that included the use of technology, handmade
puppets, and books designed specifically for each student.
Marianne Conod will be our 7th grade ELA
teacher. Ms. Conod has a wealth of
knowledge about young adult literature and teaching writing. A committed urban educator she has taught in
Newark and Plainfield, and at the University of Pennsylvania. She has an MFA and is also a lawyer as
well. When one of the middle school
students in her demo lesson learned that she was hired for the position he
thanked us for making that selection.
Katie Goral will be our 8th grade ELA
teacher. Ms. Goral is from Wisconsin and
joins us after spending a few years teaching and tutoring in Grenada where her
husband attended medical school. She studied at the University of
Wisconsin and has a MA in reading and literacy. Ms. Goral student taught both in middle school and
high school. She is incredibly resourceful and was able to arrange to teach a
demo lesson in a school she did not work in with students she'd never met
before while a kindergarten class was meeting in the same room! She
simply exudes warmth and has an incredible sense of humor.
Please enjoy the remainder of the summer – it goes by
quickly! Spend time with your family, rest, relax, and have fun!
See you soon!
Colin Hogan
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