Summer Greetings!
We hope you are having as great a summer as we are at McGuffey. Teachers and staff have been doing all kinds of organizing, rearranging, curriculum work, and… interviewing terrific applicants for our job openings. Getting to choose from so many qualified people, many of whom we already know, is a high-quality problem. We are excited to announce the following new staff and changes in staff roles for the fall.
In the Classroom
Allison Brigden will be joining the Upper Unit team teaching English Language Arts. Allison brings more than a decade of teaching experience, working with students in Grades 4 through 12 from over one hundred different nationalities. She holds bachelors degrees in Biology and Education, which are complemented by 25 years experience in performing arts, and graduate work in Transformative Education. She holds an Ohio license in Secondary Education and plans to pursue her Montessori certification in the coming year. Through her volunteer work in the Upper Unit over the past two years, Allison has has the opportunity to get to know the students and the classroom culture well. She is looking forward to bringing her passion for Languages Arts, student-centered education, and project-based learning to developing and co-teaching the Humanities program. Allison will work half-time, teaching the Language Arts component for Grades 4/5 and 7/8. She and her husband have two children, both enrolled at McGuffey.
Matt Metzler will continue to co-teach in Lower Elementary; and in addition to his Lower Elementary duties, Matt will work with our Grade 6 students in the Upper Unit as their Language Arts teacher. Matt holds a bachelors degree in Secondary English Language Arts Education and has been itching to expand his involvement with literature and writing at McGuffey. He will co-teach Humanities with Mark Radlinksi for Grade 6 as well as coordinate with Allison in the overall Upper Unit Language Arts curriculum. This will not significantly impact Matt’s presence in the Lower Elementary classroom; Matt will be present for all but the final few minutes of Lower’s daily morning work period, and Lower students will be at recess for the majority of Matt’s time in Upper. A consistent staff member will replace Matt each day during this time.
As anticipated, Marcia McIntosh will be “retiring” to Florida at the end of this coming school year. We have already started an informal search for an Ohio licensed Secondary Mathematics teacher for the 2017-18 school year and have been in conversation with some qualified candidates.
Office/Administrative
Jennifer Riggs will be managing the office two days a week. She has an excellent background in office administration and human resources and has recently completed her Anat Baniel NeuroMovement certification for which she is establishing her practice in Oxford. Jennifer holds a bachelors degree in Business Administration. She and her family joined the McGuffey community last fall, and all three of her children will attend McGuffey this year.
Kelly Chessey Carter will be managing the office three days a week as well as working in Extended Care. Kelly is from Cincinnati and holds a bachelors degree in Art History. She has spent most of her career in retail, most recently at Half-Price Books in Colerain. Kelly and her husband are moving to Oxford from Cincinnati and are looking forward to settling into the Oxford and McGuffey communities. Kelly is Donna Carter’s daughter-in-law and we are happy to continue our connection to the Carter family.
Extended Care
Joe Gills will be taking over Early Care beginning this fall. Joe is studying Early and Middle Childhood Education at Miami University. This will be Joe’s third year with us in Extended Care. Joe also works at the Goggin Ice Center at Miami. Joe is from Liberty and has been a critical part of our Extended Day team. We are so happy to have him take over Donna Carter’s special role in the mornings with our students.
Kendall Dienno will be returning to assist in Lower Elementary several mornings a week this fall as well as in the Upper Unit several afternoons a week, and will continue to staff Extended Day. Kendall will coordinate staffing for all of Extended Care and oversee our transition to a new school year. In addition to being a critical part of Extended Day, Kendall has been one of our go-to classroom assistants and subs since completing her degree in International Studies and French at Miami University. This will be her third year working with us both in and out of the classroom. Kendall is a McGuffey Alumnus.
Maggie Wolff will be running our Primary Extended Day program that will accommodate preschool and Kindergarten students. She will also continue to provide administrative support in the office. This will be Maggie’s third year working with us part-time in a wide variety of roles in the classroom, Extended Care, and the office. Maggie recently completed her bachelors degree in Ministry Leadership with a concentration in Women’s Studies.
Ayelet Yariv will be working in Extended Day a few days each week in addition to subbing. Ayelet’s background is in costume- and graphic design and this will be her second year subbing for us. Ayelet knows our culture and all of our students well after her close work with us last year, particularly during the musical.
Fab Bohon will continue working at Extended Day on Wednesdays. This will be Fab’s sixth year of working with students at McGuffey. Fab works at Miami University’s Goggin Ice Center. Fab’s two sons both attend McGuffey.
We also expect a few of our former interns-turned-graduate-students to continue to help out with Extended Day and other childcare opportunities as their schedule allows—Olivia Chan, Kate Randall, and Kate Uible.
The staff web page has a new look and is continually being updated as we finish the process of taking and organizing staff photos. Please join us in welcoming these terrific people to McGuffey!
