Greetings Lower Campus Families!
I hope you are all doing well and that you have enjoyed an amazing summer. Although it’s hard to believe that it is almost time for you all to return, I can’t wait to see you and your children and to welcome you to the 2022-23 school year!
While you have been away, many folks have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming year, but perhaps no one has been busier than our facilities team. We have six newly renovated classrooms and a brand new GRACE News Room. The floors throughout the building have been stripped and waxed, and a large portion of the building has been re-painted. We also have a brand new cross-walk at the front of our carpool lane, and we are excited to share that this will allow us to bring back the “walk up” dismissal option during afternoon carpool this year (be on the lookout for more information to come in the Amazing GRACE Back-to-School Guide that will be shared early next week). We are so grateful for our facilities team and the work they have done this summer; and, we thank you for making these renovations possible through your charitable donations to our GRACE Annual Fund!
Teachers have also been hard at work over the summer. Each of them has read The Third Option - Hope for a Racially Divided Nation, by Miles McPherson, and we will be digging deeper into the content of this book as a staff during the coming school year. Our hope is that this book will help us all to focus more on the similarities that we share, as image-bearers of Christ, than the differences that the world in which we live places so much emphasis upon. In addition, many of our teachers have taken advantage of other professional development opportunities in the form of webinars, conferences, and workshops during their time away; and, they have all been busy with the usual planning and preparation of curriculum timelines and enhancements for the upcoming school year. Regardless of how they have spent their summer, we know that they have lots of valuable learning experiences planned for your children!
Summer is always a busy time for the leadership team, and one of the most important things we do during this time is to prayerfully consider staffing. The Lord has sent us some amazing new faculty and staff members for the coming school year, and He has made a way for some returning team members to utilize their gifts and talents in new ways at GRACE. A comprehensive list of new additions and changes on our campus is provided below.
Please welcome the following new individuals to GRACE:
- Alexa Brogna - LEAP Learning Specialist
- Aubrey McCarn - LEAP Learning Specialist
- Jane Cawiezell - TK Assistant
- Kate Ormond - Kindergarten Assistant
- Maddie Thiess - First Grade Teacher
- Lee Topal - First Grade Assistant
- Jordan Vincent - First Grade Assistant
- Lindsay Miller - Second Grade Teacher
- Sherra Moffitt - Second Grade Assistant
- Michelle McPhetridge - Fourth Grade Assistant
- Rebecca Quick - Events Associate
- Marlene Brown - Hot Lunch Director
- Stacy Green - Hot Lunch Assistant
- Sonya Lewis - Finance Team Member
- Lauren Williams - Finance Team Member
- Tori Cooke - After Care Staff Member
- Victoria Edwards - After Care Staff Member
Please note the following individuals moving into new positions this year:
- Lorna Lodholz - Admissions Director
- Vickilyn Gill - Admissions Associate
- Sarah Messick - Third Grade Teacher
- Caroline Vick - Third and Sixth Grade Assistant and Before Care Coordinator
- Ashley Fielhauer - Sixth Grade Bible Teacher
- Sara Miriello - Sixth Grade History Teacher
- Karen Harrison - TK-6th Grade Spanish
- Beth Chapman - Hot Lunch Coordinator (Lower Campus)
Teachers have returned to work this week and are preparing their classes for their students. They have received their class lists and begun praying for each child by name. Thank you so much for the opportunity to partner with you in educating your children and equipping 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:
- Lower Campus Parent Orientation - Monday, August 15th, 5:00-7:00 pm
- Meet the Teacher - Tuesday, August 16th, 3:00-6:00 pm (this was originally scheduled for 4-6 pm so make note of the new time)
- First Day of School (Staggered Entry)
- Last names A-H only - Wednesday, August 17th - Early Release at 11:45 am
- Last names I-O only - Thursday, August 18th - Early Release at 11:45 am
- Last names P-Z only - Friday, August 19th - Early Release at 11:45 am
- First FULL day of school for everyone - Monday, August 22nd
- Back-to-School Bash and Football Game - Friday, September 9th
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Warmest regards and blessings,
Lynnae