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HS art studio painting

MS Music performance on stage

MS Girl with garlic at farm

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Specialists

HS art studio painting
MS Music performance on stage
MS Girl with garlic at farm

Middle school students choose from arts elec­tives in drama, fine art, music, and creative writing and partic­i­pate weekly in phys­i­cal educa­tion, human devel­op­ment, and farm class. Students also select their quar­terly elec­tives, choos­ing from offer­ings such as Japan­ese, film appre­ci­a­tion, strate­gic games, and quiet study, taught by the middle school core faculty.

Faculty Anderson Jack

Jack Ander­son

Jack teaches phys­i­cal educa­tion to the preschool, elemen­tary school, and middle school. Jack has a B.S. in Kine­si­ol­ogy Phys­i­cal Educa­tion Teacher Educa­tion from the Univer­sity of La Verne, and an M.S. in Kine­si­ol­ogy Curricu­lum and Instruc­tion from Cal Poly Pomona. Jack enjoys teach­ing P.E. because it allows him to work with students of all ages and lets him see them grow and develop from year to year. He feels that P.E. is a great time to not only teach students about motor skills, but inter­per­sonal skills as well. (Email)

Faculty Blackwell Garrett

Garrett Black­well

Garrett is the middle and high school music teacher. He received his B.A. from Colorado College, where his focuses included music theory and ethno­mu­si­col­ogy. He also played in the college’s blue­grass ensem­ble, through which he enjoyed oppor­tu­ni­ties to perform around the country, and he is excited to bring a blue­grass program to Waverly for the very first time! For the past several years, Garrett served as the Music Direc­tor at School of Rock Pasadena, where he deter­mined the school’s musical curricu­lum and worked with students of all ages and ability levels on a variety of instru­ments. In addi­tion to helping students explore their artis­tic inter­ests and achieve musical profi­ciency, Garrett focuses on helping his students become cultur­ally compe­tent, compas­sion­ate crit­i­cal thinkers, and he is excited to be a part of a commu­nity that also nour­ishes those traits.

MS Lisa Groening 2021

Lisa Groen­ing

Lisa teaches English and creative writing in the middle school. Lisa has a B.A. in English liter­a­ture from Lewis & Clark College. She has taught high school and middle school English and creative writing and has also worked in admin­is­tra­tion at Waverly. When it comes to support­ing her students, Lisa says, ​“I get to know my students well, and I pay atten­tion to the things that light them up and the things that bog them down. I try to keep a balance between those points so the student feels capable and nudged.” Lisa’s daugh­ter, Katie, grad­u­ated with the Waverly class of 2010. (Email)

Kevin Farm Bio

Kevin Murawski

Kevin is Waverly’s envi­ron­men­tal studies and outdoor educa­tion teacher. Kevin grad­u­ated from Otis Art Insti­tute of Parsons School of Design with a degree in fine arts and worked profes­sion­ally as an artist for over 20 years. While illus­trat­ing 14 books for young readers and working as a designer on many children’s programs, Kevin began to find his passion for connect­ing with kids. A life­long learner and self-proclaimed natu­ral­ist, Kevin has always had a deep appre­ci­a­tion for our envi­ron­ment and under­stand­ing our connec­tion to it. With count­less excur­sions into the field with students and dozens of overnight school camping trips over the years, Kevin brings a wealth of expe­ri­ence and knowl­edge to our program. After 13 years of teach­ing in the class­room, Kevin is thrilled to be working outside with students getting dirty, observ­ing closely, looking deeply, reflect­ing, wonder­ing, having fun, and contin­u­ally growing. (Email)

Faculty Sherwood Alyssa

Alyssa Sher­wood

Alyssa teaches art in the middle and high schools. Alyssa has a B.F.A. in paint­ing and sculp­ture from Syra­cuse Univer­sity School of Visual and Perform­ing Arts and an M.F.A. in anima­tion from the Univer­sity of South­ern Cali­for­nia School of Cine­matic Arts. Alyssa’s animated films have screened and won awards at festi­vals in the U.S. and inter­na­tion­ally. Prior to coming to Waverly, Alyssa taught video art, drawing and paint­ing, and photog­ra­phy for almost eight years at Harvard-Westlake’s Middle and Upper Schools. (Email)

Faculty Walsh Sydney

Sydney Walsh

Sydney teaches drama in the middle and high schools. Syd grad­u­ated from Williams College with a B.A. in theatre and English. An expe­ri­enced actor, direc­tor, and educa­tor, Syd says, ​“I am constantly inspired by the group work ethic I see and feel in every class at Waverly. Students are inter­ested in creativ­ity and kind­ness, and they work from a place of loving support for each other’s creative processes.” Syd’s son, Harry ​‘19, grad­u­ated from Waverly. (Email)