The start of any new school year can bring excite­ment, antic­i­pa­tion, and even nerves to members of the commu­nity. Some of our faculty and staff share what they are looking forward to and are excited about.

• I’m ready to meet our K/1 students. I’m ready to listen to their stories, inspire their curiosi­ties, and see them smile! –Maria, kindergarten/​1st grade associate teacher
• We had some power­ful summer reading assign­ments at all grade levels, and I am eager to hear what my students thought and felt about the books they read. –Amy, HS English
• I am looking forward to learn­ing and laugh­ing with all my students, and my colleagues, too! –Greg, HS science
• In this, the start of my 13th year at Waverly, there’s some­thing both excit­ing and comfort­ing about enter­ing a wholly differ­ent kind of year along­side dear friends, co-workers, and fami­lies. There’s an incred­i­bly power­ful sense of shared expe­ri­ence here, the knowl­edge that some­where in the not-so-distant future we’ll be able to sit together, in commu­nity, hand in hand, knowing that we did this weird and historic thing together. Like, it’s HARD, y’all, no lie. But we’re sharing it. Settling in. Being present for what­ever comes. Such love and oppor­tu­nity here. –Meg, assis­tant to the head of school
• I am looking forward to trying out new tech­niques for in-class­room and remote teach­ing! –Jim, MS and HS music
• Now, more than ever, the collab­o­ra­tion needed for making theatre is an essen­tial gateway into deeper commu­nity. I am really looking forward to getting back to the middle school and The Raven Collab­o­ra­tive and to the ensem­ble work of discov­ery, listen­ing, and commu­ni­cat­ing. Making theatre, telling stories, is a way to dive deep and walk in someone else’s shoes. Making theatre at Waverly simply and beau­ti­fully creates pres­ence and connec­tion for our students and for our school. –Sydney, drama teacher
• The preschool team has been joyfully working to create an amazing program and space for our new arrivals! We look forward to the big day and the new school year! –Marina, preschool teacher
• I am looking forward to working in my new role along­side Jen Johnson, our learn­ing special­ist, with chil­dren from kinder­garten through 3rd grade. We will guide students while also includ­ing laugh­ter and posi­tiv­ity in each lesson. –Cheenu, ES asso­ciate support teacher
• You may be feeling scared, worried, and full of trep­i­da­tion for the begin­ning of this ​“one-of-a-kind” school year! Don’t worry, we got you! We’re about to embark on a beau­ti­ful, wonder­ful ride together! –Oonagh, kindergarten/​1st grade lead teacher
• Grace, Adriana, and Leo from the middle school will be working hard to create mean­ing­ful connec­tions over the Inter­net with all our new and return­ing students. We are looking forward to sharing our new ideas and discov­er­ies with you to make online learn­ing the best we can make it for you! –MS math, Spanish, and history
• I’m looking forward to chan­nel­ing my inner Mr. Rogers and making sure every day is a beau­ti­ful day in the Waverly neigh­bor­hood (can someone knit me a sweater?). –Sahaj, 5th/​6th associate teacher
• I feel excited, rested, and ready to start working with my students. I am looking forward to sharing so many wonder­ful cultural aspects of the Spanish language with them! –Andrés, HS Spanish
• As I prepare, I try to keep my focus on the funda­men­tals of what we know about how kids learn and what we have always prior­i­tized at Waverly. Kids learn best when they feel connected, safe, and seen. This hasn’t changed with COVID or remote learn­ing; if anything, it’s more impor­tant. Espe­cially in the first few weeks, I need to focus on build­ing school and class­room commu­nity and connect­ing with the kids, helping them feel safe in this online world of school, and to support them in build­ing confi­dence that they are under­stood as indi­vid­u­als, knowing that their strengths and chal­lenges are appre­ci­ated, that they are capable and brave, and that we’ve got each other. –Jen Johnson, learning specialist
• I am excited to loop up with my third graders and neigh­bor­ing second graders from last year. We’re looking forward to creat­ing a new commu­nity filled with song, stories, and joy! –Rebecca, 2nd/​3rd associate teacher
• I am so excited to see my students and connect with them! –Molly, 5th/​6th lead teacher
• I’m looking forward to seeing famil­iar faces, meeting new fami­lies, and creat­ing a joyful, vibrant class­room commu­nity. We’re in this together! –Rains, 2nd/​3rd lead teacher
• This summer has been a fire­hose of learn­ing for teach­ers around the country as we have prepared to support students learn­ing from home. The middle school team has met contin­u­ally through­out the summer to talk about best prac­tices for build­ing virtual school commu­ni­ties, decol­o­niz­ing our curricu­lum, learn­ing to take care of our students’ social and emotional needs during a pandemic, while also learn­ing about tech­nol­ogy apps that can make home learn­ing more inter­ac­tive and engag­ing. We’ve never worked harder! For science at a progres­sive school that empha­sizes hands-on learn­ing, the chal­lenges are espe­cially daunt­ing. I feel hopeful that through the creativ­ity, deter­mi­na­tion, and support of Waverly students and fami­lies, we will be able to build support­ive virtual commu­ni­ties, while students continue to engage in science and engi­neer­ing prac­tices at home. –Toby, MS science
• I’m excited to see old faces and meet new faces! –Megan, 4th grade associate teacher
• This summer I have been enthu­si­as­ti­cally reading and research­ing a variety of resources in prepa­ra­tion for teach­ing art online. Distance learn­ing requires creativ­ity and I hope to meet the chal­lenges, while also sharing a love of art and art making with my students in the Waverly commu­nity. Art can be an oppor­tu­nity for change and healing. –Michelle, ES art teacher
• I couldn’t be more excited to rejoin the Waverly family! With all that is going on in the world, I hope that I can do my part to create a safe place for Waverly students to land this year. Whether online or in person, I look forward to connect­ing with each and every one! –Victo­ria, kinder­garten associate teacher
• I am so excited to connect with all the fourth graders, and get started with the learn­ing and fun Megan and I are plan­ning for our class this year! –Kevin, 4th grade lead teacher
• I am looking forward to sharing in commu­nity with our students. As I prepare, I dive deep; as I learn, I feel excited. I am eager to jump into thought­ful, creative, engag­ing, and student-centered expe­ri­ences in a way that is new for us all and rooted in the foun­da­tion of our philos­o­phy and mission. I am here and I am ready, because of the kids, the faculty, staff, and admin­is­tra­tion, and because of the Waverly commu­nity. It’s so differ­ent this year, and I find comfort and strength knowing we are in it together. I am excited to hear each student’s voice and explore story­telling together as our theme. I cannot wait to be back in the class­room together, no matter the format, as we build skills and build commu­nity in so many ways. –Brit­tany, 1st/​2nd lead teacher
• This year will present brand new chal­lenges in the college admis­sions process for our seniors and I cannot wait to start the journey right there with them. –Elaine, college counselor
• I am looking forward so much to the new school year! I can’t wait to see the smiles of the return­ing 8th graders, and to get to know the new 7th graders. We have wonder­ful books lined up to read and so many new ways to use online tools to work on projects of all kinds! –Lisa, MS English
• The begin­ning of the year for Kinder­garten is an exhil­a­rat­ing time for the chil­dren, for their fami­lies, and for the teach­ers. Truth be told, I am nervous about the journey we are about to embark on for so many reasons. What I do know is that through affirm­ing diver­sity together, our class­room theme, we can build commu­nity that is forward think­ing and truly progres­sive in the spirit of Ubuntu. With that in mind, I look forward to the unfold­ing year. –Susan, kinder­garten lead teacher