Dear Families,
As the school year winds down, we find ourselves busy preparing for a variety of end-of-year programs, including Project Night, Carnival, a Middle School handbell concert and a series of off-island field trips. Teachers are completing assessments and preparing for conferences which begin in the next few weeks. It is a very exciting time of year!
As we near the last days of school, we are also planning for the Garden Festival and for the next school year. Christine, our incoming Head of School, and I talk each week, in order to ensure a smooth and informed transition. She is very excited about joining the Lighthouse faculty and staff, and we are very lucky to be welcoming such a thoughtful and experienced educator.
As Christine and I work together on the transition, we are assured by the fact that all of our full-time teachers are returning to Nantucket Lighthouse School next fall. MaryAnn, Meg, Tiffany and Valeria will provide continuity in our Middle School over at Nantucket Boys and Girls Club, and all of our Rugged Road teachers will be returning as well. While Linda will be joining us next year, she will be shifting gears and taking over for Julia in October when she heads out on family leave. We will certainly miss Julia, and will look forward to her return in the spring, but we are very fortunate to have such a talented educator at the helm while she is gone. Linda knows Lighthouse School and the children so well, and she can provide consistency within the curriculum.
With Linda’s move to Small School, we are currently receiving applications for the second-grade Primary position. We look forward to sharing hiring news as soon as it is available. Additionally, because of the many students we have entering Small School in the fall, we will be adding a third section of preschool. Lighthouse parent Beth Crowley, a long-time educator with a master’s degree in early childhood education, will be leading one of our two first-year Small School classes, and Alana will be leading the other. Beth brings great enthusiasm and a mélange of experience to the position. Having been a Lighthouse parent for almost a decade, she understands the school’s mission and philosophy, and with three of her own children matriculating through the school, she has firsthand knowledge of our unique curriculum and its many special traditions. We welcome Beth and Linda to our Small School, knowing they will enjoy a very collaborative partnership with Alana and Julia.
It is reassuring to have such an experienced and dedicated teaching faculty in place as we welcome our wonderful new Head of School, Christine Hanson. Joining Christine, Jean Witt will be taking over for our beloved Business Manager Tracy Murray who is moving off island at the end of this school year. We are truly grateful for all that Tracy has accomplished during her tenure, particularly related to systematizing our business procedures and preparing for the transition of two key staff members.
Jean who is a Lighthouse parent comes to us from the Nantucket Public Schools where she has served as the Director of Curriculum and Assessment for the Humanities. We are excited to welcome Jean to Nantucket Lighthouse School’s administrative team. She and Tracy will overlap for several weeks in order to ensure a smooth transition.
Please do not hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions.
Warm regards,
Emily
Emily Miller
Head of School
