New Teachers

New Teachers Arrive

Laguna welcomed six new teachers to the Upper School. Check out their hopes, goals, and visions for the upcoming year.

WORDS by ADA GREEN PHOTOS by ADA GREEN and MEG FONTAINE

James Savage Introduction to Philosophy

“One thing in particular that I would like to accomplish in teaching this class is to show students just how much intrinsic value there is in studying philosophy and that it really does underpin and intertwine with all of the other academic subjects in one way or another.

For example, it has been said that philosophy is like the “queen” of the sciences as it has “given birth” to all other scientific disciplines. The world today would surely look much different if we did not ask and try to answer questions.

With that being said, philosophy embodies the spirit of inquiry into the unknown and the uncertain, and what I think any philosophy instructor wants most for their students is for them to capture that spirit and let it feed into their own curiosities about the world.”

Zack Lillie-Liberto Conceptual Physics, Honors Physics, Astronomy

“The first thing that comes to mind is I want to be successful; my success is measured by my student’s success.

I would say that you start with the small stuff. I want to make sure I get my grading done on time. I want to make sure that I communicate well with my students.

Bigger than that, I don’t want to go home every night and feel like I haven’t done well. My hope is that every night I can go home feeling good about myself and feeling good about the work I’ve done. My goal would be to pass that along to my students as well.

My hope is that they can go home every night feeling confident that they did the best they could do in my class and I was able to help them.”

Lucy Lombardi English 8, English Seminar

“My goal is for my Upper School students to really enjoy a good story—I want them to love to read! And so I’ve selected books that are engaging and relatable and that explore new concepts and genres, like our current study of magical realism in Isabel Allende’s “City of the Beasts.”

From this study and future ones, I would like my students to be able to understand what makes both a good story and a good storyteller. All this so that they can then tell their own stories—which are so very important to share—in a way so that their audience will be able to hear a clear message.

Every student’s voice matters, and being able to communicate their ideas is an important skill to have as they go out and make their own way in this world.”

Zachary Wallace Honors Stage Band, Pop & Rock Ensemble, PAF 5 & 6, Music Fundamentals Penny Pagels 9th Grade Biology, AP Biology, Introduction to Biotechnology, Forensics Adam Bairzin 6th Grade Science, 9th Grade Biology, Science Research Projects

“My goals are to work with the students on basic music skills, especially in the PAF 5 and PAF 6 classes.

I just want to get them accompanied with all the basic rhythm section instruments: bass, guitar, keyboards, and drums.

I want them all to get a chance to play all those and get their hands on them and to learn a little bit about music theory... and how all the amplifiers and instruments work.”

“My goals are pretty much the same every year, especially with my first-year science students, so my biology students.

My goal is to inspire them to wonder about the world around them.

And, hopefully, to instill that wonder in them about figuring things out and discovering their environment.”

“My goals for this year are just sort of figuring out where I fit into a new school.

I’m trying to just find a place where I can fit and figure out how my own values align with what the school is doing and the values of the students and adults here on campus so that I can figure out what I want to focus on in future years, what areas I want to grow, and what areas I want to pursue more.”

New faculty from all three divisions gather together in front of Spaulding Auditorium. Back Row: James Salvage, Adam Bairzin, Penny Pagels, Alyssa Baker, Sarah Fishman, Maud Maillard, Matt Steinhaus, Front Row: Zaire Paredes, Bryan Gin, Jannine Tuttle, Lucy Lombardi, Jueun Steinhaus, Krysta Falloon, Michelle Martinez-Mercado, and Jennifer Richards