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Dear GSLS Community,
I hope this message finds you well and enjoying the summer break. As we prepare for the upcoming school year, I wanted to take a moment to share some important staff and programmatic changes that will be taking place at GSLS.
Our school is blessed to have highly professional teachers at all levels, some of whom have the expertise to teach varying grades/subjects due to their skill sets, subject-area specialties, and credentialing. These changes are part of our ongoing efforts to better serve our students and families.
While we as a school are excited for these new changes, we understand that transitions can bring both excitement and uncertainty, and we are committed to ensuring that these changes are as seamless as possible. Our priority remains the same; providing a safe, supportive, and enriching learning environment for all our students.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly at scott.root@gslsnovato.org.
We value your partnership and look forward to a successful school year ahead.
Respectfully,
Scott Root / GSLS Head of School
Assistant Head of School: Joanne Walsh has moved into her position as the Assistant Head of School as of July 1st. Joanne comes to GSLS with a wealth of experience and expertise, and will make a great addition to our team at GSLS. Since 2021, Joanne Walsh has served as Associate Head of School at the Peninsula School in Menlo Park. Prior to working at Peninsula, Joanne served in San Francisco, leading Woodside International School as Head of School for two years and at The Laurel School for 17. At Laurel, she taught K-8, and grew as a leader, eventually founding the science department, and serving as Director of Innovation for two years and Head of Middle School for five years. Educated in the UK, Joanne earned her B.A. in English at Loughborough University and her Post Graduate Certificate of Education at Sheffield Hallam University. Joanne has lived in Novato with her family for the last 24 years. Joanne is looking forward to learning more about the GSLS community, building collaborative, inclusive teams and working to enhance the student experience.
Admissions: Carrie Criswell will be taking on the role of Admissions & Marketing. Carrie has been at Good Shepherd as a parent and board member for the past 9 years and has been working in the office for the last 2 years. She is excited to share all the exciting programs and events that are happening at GSLS with our greater community
Preschool
We would like to give a warm welcome to Carlyn Black, who will be joining our amazing Preschool team. Carlyn comes to GSLS with nearly 20 years of teaching experience at all levels of Preschool and with a background in Child and Adolescent Development. We are excited to welcome Carlyn and we know she will make an excellent addition to our team.
Elementary School
Spanish: Welcome to our new Spanish Teacher/Spanish Program Coordinator Belen Ham! Mrs. Ham is a current GSLS parent and brings with her a wealth of experience both teaching and developing curriculum. She earned her bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis in Bilingual Education (English & Spanish) from Universidad Internacional de las Americas, Costa Rica and a Master’s in Early Childhood Education in 2013 from San Francisco State University. Mrs. Ham has been teaching language for 8 years and served as a curriculum coordinator/program director at a Spanish Immersion school for 2 years. In addition to teaching the elementary Spanish program, Mrs. Ham will be developing and coordinating our Middle School Spanish program. This will ensure continuity and progression for our students from Kindergarten through 8th grade. Mrs. Ham is looking forward to creating a new and dynamic Spanish program for our students.
2nd Grade: Mrs. Dana Wieser will be returning to GSLS as the new 2nd grade aide. Mrs. Wieser taught kindergarten at GSLS for 24 years, and after a year away, we are so happy to announce her return. She brings so much experience and care to the classroom–and Mrs. Vaccaro is so excited to have her as a partner!
5th Grade: We welcome Molly Flanagan to 5th grade! Mrs. Flanagan has been at GSLS for 6 years, most recently co-teaching 2nd grade with Lisa Vaccaro. Tara Gibson will remain as the aide, and they are ready to kick-off an amazing year in 5th grade! Mrs. Flanagan is looking forward to working with 5th graders on all the grade specific projects, including student council and all of the exciting field trips.
Band: Our new band teacher will have big shoes to fill, and we can confidently say that James Harman has Terry Pasquale-Hill’s stamp of approval! James comes to GSLS with many years of experience, both as a teacher and a working musician. James has led the Rock Band program at San Marin for the last 10 years, and prior to that he taught Rock Band at MSA for 10 years and at Tamalpais High in Mill Valley for 7 years. James has appeared on soundtracks for movies and TV shows, been a Music Director for musicals, taught private lessons for the last 18 years and can be seen performing locally with his band. James plans to take our music program to the next level–we will be sharing more about his plans later in the summer.
Middle School
Science: Mrs. Morbitz will not be returning to GSLS next year. We thank her for her 2 years of service and all she has done for our Middle School science program. We are excited to announce that Mrs. Vanessa Gibson will be taking over our Middle School science program. Mrs. Gibson will be starting her 8th year with Good Shepherd, having taught both 4th and 5th grades, and is thrilled to carry our science program forward. With a curriculum that is inquiry based, interactive, will allow for both digital and print opportunities to learn and show knowledge, and meets Next Generation Science Standards, her students will be challenged and engaged. Mrs. Gibson is looking forward not only to preparing her students for high school, but to providing opportunities for her students to uncover their inner scientist and to grow to love science as much as she does.
Spanish: We welcome Mr. Marlon Morales as our new Middle School Spanish teacher! Mr. Morales has been with GSLS for 10 years as a parent and as an administrator for 7 years. Mr. Morales has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in History and an emphasis in Spanish language courses from Santa Clara University. During his tenure at GSLS he has served as Marketing/Admissions director and has taught PE, Chess, Strategic Games, and after school enrichment classes. Mr. Morales will be working closely with Belen Ham implementing the Spanish program at the Middle School. Mr. Morales is very excited to incorporate his love of teaching into our Middle School Spanish program. Growing up in Guatemala and immigrating to the United States knowing only Spanish, he knows first hand that learning a second language can be intimidating. He learned that language can be fun and meaningful when made personal for the student. He intends to utilize meaningful concepts, curriculum, and interactions to personalize the learning for every student. He looks forward to incorporating his love of teaching and moving our Spanish program forward.
Band: As outlined above, James Harman will also be taking on the Middle School band. James has some great ideas to enhance our program–more details to come!
Religion: We welcome Reverend Sam Alexander who will be teaching Religion at the Middle School. Rev. Sam Alexander is Pastor of Rockville Presbyterian Fellowship in Fairfield, CA. He is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, B.A., and Union Seminary in Virginia, M.Div. Sam has served congregations in Maryland and in the San Francisco Bay area. He served as Adjunct Instructor in Homiletics at San Francisco Theological Seminary from 2002 to 2021. He and his wife, Barbara, live in their “empty nest” in Fairfax, CA. Pastor Sam is looking forward to joining the GSLS family!
Office: Beth Morin will be the new Office Manager at our Middle School. Ms. Morin has been at GSLS as a parent of two girls and substitute teacher for the past five years. During that time, she substitute taught in Preschool, Elementary and Middle School levels, and also worked as a 1st Grade Teacher’s Aid, PE Teacher for grades K-3, and Yard Staff. Ms. Morin has an undergraduate degree in history and a masters degree in health education and nutrition. Ms. Morin is ready to bring her positive energy, multitasking abilities and strong sense of the GSLS community to this position.
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