As the new year starts off, we wish to take a moment to thank those members of our community who are moving on to new adventures and welcome those who will be joining us this year.
Goings
Urvi Morrison
We are sorry to say goodbye to our fearless leader, Urvi Morrison. In a year that brought unprecedented challenges, Urvi led with innovation, professionalism, and determination. Urvi left the school at a time of growth, with summer camps at full capacity and robust enrollment heading into this year. We send heartfelt thanks to Urvi for her dedication to our school and all she gave to our students, families, and our community over the past year, and we look to build on her hard work. We wish Urvi all the best in her next role.
Kati Manning
After 34 years with WSMF, beloved German teacher Kati Manning has chosen to move onto her next endeavor. As the longest-tenured member of the faculty and staff, Kati was a familiar face to the entire community. Her contributions to the school and most notably to the lives of the students she taught will be fondly remembered. Kati plans to continue teaching German and Spanish and we are confident that her future students will be as lucky to have her as WSMF students have been. Thank you, Kati, for inspiring so many young minds in their pursuit of foreign languages!
Amanda Wiederhold
Amanda joined the school in 2017 as the Middle School Language Arts Instructor. She has since taught grade 6-8 Language Arts and established both a sequential grammar curriculum and a sequential expository writing curriculum. She has also introduced a variety of new authors into the curriculum, and established a journalism unit in the 6th grade curriculum which the students loved! Amanda is also responsible for the middle school book challenge so loved by our students! Outside of the classroom, Amanda has chaperoned numerous middle school events, including an 8th grade trip to Montauk, NY in 2018 and has also served on the hiring committee this past year. She has been a valuable and talented member of the faculty and community. We wish Amanda great joy and success as she embarks on a new journey.
Cristan Vineis
Cristan joined the school in 2016 and has been the kindergarten lead teacher for the last 5 years. She was drawn to the school for its commitment to learning in the natural world and worked to incorporate as much outdoor time as possible into the kindergarteners’ daily rhythms. While at the school, Cristan served on the Faculty Management Group for 3 years as the early childhood department chair. She also served on the Tuition Innovation Committee as a faculty liaison, the Board led Governance Committee working to rewrite the governance mandates, the Festival Life committee, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. We deeply appreciate Cristan’s commitment to our community and she will be dearly missed!
Jack Hogan
After having postponed his initial plans due to the pandemic, Jack Hogan will be taking a sabbatical during the 2021-2022 school year. Jack has been working at WSMF for 9 years, and joined the community as a parent in 2011. Many of our community members will attest that without Jack our school simply would not function, and he will be missed while he is away. During the year, Jack and his family will be traveling around the world, visiting and learning about other cultures. We wish Jack and his family a safe, informative, and inspired trip, and look forward to welcoming him back to our campus and community next Fall.
Comings
Al Masone
Al Masone will be filling the role of Facilities Manager for the 2021-2022 school year while Jack Hogan is on sabbatical. Al was previously a WSMF parent with two children enrolled in the homeschool program. Al specializes in carpentry and was previously a facilities manager for nursing and rehabilitation facilities on the North Shore. We are happy to have Al onboard this year to help with the care of our beautiful campus.
Jennie Cain
We are fortunate to have Jennie Cain joining us as our new German teacher. Jennie holds a PhD from the University of Michigan, a M.A. from Northwestern University, and a B.A. from Grinnell College. As a graduate of the Washington Waldorf School, Jennie comes to us with a great deal of experience in Waldorf education and communities. Some of the many roles that Jennie has held include Assistant English teacher (Rudolf Steiner Schule, Ismaning Germany), House Parent (Somerset School, Colfax, CA), and Substitute German teacher (Rudolf Steiner School, Ann Arbor, MI).
Cathy Nakano
We are excited to have Cathy joining our 5 Day Nursery program as an assistant teacher. Cathy has a B.A. from the University of New Orleans. After college she worked as a preschool teacher in Tokyo. She recently attended foundation year and took 82 hours of EC course work from Sound Circle in Seattle. She was also an EC substitute for 3 years at Seattle Waldorf. Cathy first experienced Waldorf education when her son attended a Waldorf inspired preschool in California. She enjoys working with children and is thankful for the opportunity to continue her education and work alongside the EC staff and community at Moraine Farm.
Alannah LeBlanc
Welcome to our new Kindergarten Lead Teacher Alannah! Alannah has worked with young children both as a caregiver and in the classroom, and as an instructional assistant in a kindergarten for children with moderate to severe Autism, and then as a Teaching Fellow in a neuro-typical kindergarten class. She has worked as a First Grade Class Teacher at a Waldorf-inspired charter school in Prescott, Arizona and as a Kindergarten teacher at the Red Earth Waldorf Kindergarten in Sedona, Arizona. Alannah completed her Foundations studies with Waldorf Teacher Education, Eugene (WTEE), and a specialization in Early Childhood with the Sound Circle Center for the Arts and Anthroposophy.
Lisa Maynard
Lisa Maynard is an AWSNA certified Waldorf Teacher, receiving her credentials from Antioch University in 2015. She also holds a MA Ed in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelors of Science in elementary education from the University of Connecticut. Sight unseen, she relocated to Arizona for a teaching position in a public school and enjoyed teaching third grade for eight years. For the last nine years Lisa has been a grades teacher in a public Waldorf school in Arizona.
Additionally, we would like to welcome the following new members of our community whose hiring had been previously announced: Mike Massicotte, Kelsey Burns, Brian Fizer, Yesiana Pizarro-Rai, and Gabby LaRiviere.