Dear Upper Campus Families,
What a blessing to have a quieter summer this year with no COVID restrictions and no major construction on campus. We are all hopeful that we can have a somewhat normal year! Our facilities team have worked hard to get our campuses back to the beautiful, welcoming place that we have come to enjoy and expect. We appreciate all the time and effort they have put into our school!
Our faculty and staff have been resting this summer and refreshing themselves to be ready for a new school year. This summer we have read The Third Option - Hope for a Racially Divided Nation by Miles McPherson. We will be working through this book as a group and learning how to honor each other for our similarities rather than focusing on our differences. On the academic side, we were excited to have time to think about our curricula creatively and plan out how best to engage our students in the learning process.
I would like to introduce the new faculty and staff on the Upper Campus:
Lisa McCarthy: Has her degree in computer science from the University of Michigan. She will be teaching our 7th grade STEM classes and continuing to teach technology elective classes.
Susan Barritt: Has her bachelor's degree from Davidson College and her master’s degree in applied math from NCSU. She will be teaching upper level math including Calculus.
Lauren Reagan: Comes to us from Wilmington where she attended UNC-Wilmington and received her bachelor’s degree with a double major in Spanish and criminology. She will be teaching Spanish and health classes.
Ryan Sprague: Graduated from Cedarville University with his bachelor’s degree and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary with his master’s degree in Bible. He will be teaching Bible classes at GRACE.
Amy Herring: Has her bachelor’s degree in history with a teaching credential and her master’s in divinity from Campbell University. She will be joining us in the History Department.
Allie Toth: Has her bachelor's degree in education and special education from Grove City College. She will be joining us in the English department.
Bert Weidle: Is an engineer from NCSU with master’s degrees from NCSU and George Washington University. He has taught in Durham and Wake counties and will be teaching in our math department.
Marlene Brown: Graduated from Pitt Community College with her degree in early childhood administration. She will administer our lunch program on both campuses. She has experience running the lunch program at the Hope Community Church Preschool before coming to GRACE.
Rebecca Quick: Has her bachelor’s degree in christian outreach from Concordia University in Minneapolis-St. Paul. She has experience in varied settings and will be working with Michele Bandy as our Events Associate.
Jay Shive: Has his NCSU bachelor’s degree in sports management. He will be our Assistant Athletic Director.
Wendy Bostic: Has her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from East Carolina University. She greets you as the receptionist and the “Face of GRACE” each day.
Lauren Williams: Has her bachelor's degree in mathematics from Elizabethtown College and her master’s in mathematics from University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
Sonya Lewis: Comes to us with a wealth of accounting experience and will be working in our accounting department.
Please welcome these new employees if you see them on campus!
Teachers are preparing their classrooms for their students. They will be praying for each student by name. Thank you so much for the opportunity to partner with you to educate your children and equip them for a life that will impact their world for Jesus Christ. What an honor and a blessing it is to work with you in this endeavor.
Please be sure to mark your calendars now for the following events:
- New Student and all 7th Grade Student Orientation - Tuesday, August 16th at 11:00 am (see Newsletter)
- Meet the Teacher - Tuesday, August 16th, 3:00-6:00 pm
- First day of school (Last names A-H only) - Wednesday, August 17th - Early Release at 11:55 am
- First day of school (Last names I-O only) - Thursday, August 18th - Early Release at 11:55 am
- First day of school (Last names P-Z only) - Friday, August 19th - Early Release at 11:55 am
- First FULL day of school for everyone - Monday, August 22nd
- Back-to-School Bash and Football Game - Friday, September 9th
Summer Reading, AP Summer work and Supply Lists can be found on the GRACE website under Quicklinks.
We look forward to seeing the students on campus and trust that this year will be a good one!
Yours in Christ,
Mandy Gill