Let’s get to know some of the new faculty and staff!  The new staff members for this school year include Ms. Erin Reimel ’12 (Director of Alumnae Engagement), Mrs. Corace Connor ’86 (Director of Annual Giving), Ms. Massimino (Instructional Support and Counseling), Mr. Baillie (English Department), and Ms. Roberson (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program Leader).  We reached out to some of these new members of the Gwynedd community to see how they are settling in.  At first, the transition to a new school and workplace can often be challenging, even without a pandemic.  However, even with the effects of COVID-19, some did not find the change very difficult.  Ms. Roberson, the Leader of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, actually found the transition easier, since she has held jobs that are primarily “virtual” or worked from home in the past.  Here at Gwynedd, she comes into school two days per week.

After spending a few months here, the new faculty and staff members have experienced both everyday life at Gwynedd as well as some of the school’s traditional events.  Common favorite experiences include Mercy Day and programming days.  Still, the welcoming community of faculty, staff, and students is ultimately their favorite part of an average day at Gwynedd.  Gwynedd’s lunches were also well-liked, specifically the soup, chocolate chip cookies, and the recent “Chick-fil-A”-style meal.

Besides the transition, many of the new faculty are looking forward to bringing their original ideas into school this year.  With the addition of programming days, activity periods, and longer classes, there are even more opportunities to try something new, inside or outside the classroom.  Mr. Baillie, one of our English teachers, hopes to “introduce new texts to the English Department as well as a renewed focus on writing skills” over time.  Sometime in December, we can look forward to an event that Ms. Roberson is currently planning for the students, in addition to a community-wide survey later in January.  An alumnae discussion on the critically acclaimed book Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is also coming soon.  The book is a letter to Coates’s son, exploring systemic racism and the author’s experience as a black person in America.