Katie joins WMS this year from the admission office at Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is graduate of Kent School and Union College.
“Six new faculty members, including myself, joined the WMS community this summer. We recently participated in two days (and one night!) of new faculty orientation.
New faculty orientation included some meetings with the WMS administrative team. The meetings were very welcoming and informative. They provided a comprehensive overview of the workings here at WMS. We were given a preview of what it will be like to have students back on campus, what our work with them will entail, and how we’ll fit into the bigger picture of The White Mountain School community.
During our last night of orientation, all six new faculty members and Ted Teegarden, Director of Outdoor Education and Assistant Dean of Students, marched down to the pond on campus to spend the night together. There, we discussed how to guide students when we are out on Field Courses and during orientation trips, which are quickly approaching! We learned a great deal about camping as well as Ted’s favorite way to remember all the important lessons within “LNT,” or “Leave No Trace” practice. Some of the returning faculty members made their way down to the pond to share desserts by the campfire.
All six of us, including Ted, got to know one another quickly and it seems as if we have a terrific group ready to begin the 2015-2016 school year. I am certainly excited to dive right in and start this school year off with a great new group of colleagues!”
At the end of this week, new faculty join returning faculty and staff for fall in-service meetings and workshops, including program and departmental updates, discussions on school policies, teaching practice exercises, and recertification in Wilderness First Aid (WFA) and Wilderness First Responder (WFR), among other things. The anticipation is building toward the school year!
The next major event before students arrive on September 3rd is a special program for faculty with authors and educational leaders Marybeth Gasman, Ph.D. (Educating a Diverse Nation: Lessons from Minority-Serving Institutions) and Clifton Conrad, Ph.D. (Cultivating Inquiry-Driven Learners and Educating a Diverse Nation).
