New Additions

When you enjoy working in a school, it is difficult to watch people leave.  You know that a great school is made, in part, by the delicate balance of personalities and giftedness of the people who work there.  When that school is a Christian school, however, it is a bit easier because you can trust that God has the best plans for both the good of the school and the good of the people who have left.  That's why it is always so interesting to incorporate the new people into the roles vacated by those who left.  (Note:  I have intentionally not said "those who replaced" those who left because no one is replaced.  Their role is filled, but the person who fills it is usually very different and puts a different mark on the job.)

This year, we have some new people that have come in and become part of the GRACE community as though they were always here.

Our new head of school, Mr. Bradley, has brought a positive presence that fills the room.  He understands the challenges of teaching, but he doesn't focus on them.  He keeps his eye, and by extension, our eyes on the bigger picture.  He keeps us thinking about the mission and vision of the school.  He focuses our discussions on gratitude, even giving us all thank you notes to send to someone in our lives.

Our new math teacher, Buddha Nepal, has big shoes to fill.  He is coming into a job held by his beloved predecessor for fourteen years.  He couldn't be more different than she is.  She is calm and quiet; he is excited about everything.  She is still in our family, and he is becoming a brother.

The English department just keeps growing, and I am super excited about our new 8th grade English teacher, Kellie Petty.  I knew her last year as the mom of one of my students, and she was my favorite parent-teacher conference of the year.  She and I will be working closely together on some projects and papers and the 8th-grade cross-curricular blogs.   She is so fun, and I am psyched to work with her.

As GRACE has grown, we have lost some great people.  We've also gained and lost some electrons (science-y people will get it) over the years.  I'm excited about the future as we move forward with these new additions to our community and grateful for those who stay in touch after they have moved on to other places.