Comenius Corner - Moravian Academy

Announcing: Lower School Faculty Appointments for 2019-2020

Written by Ann Mindler | Aug 15, 2019 7:26:24 PM

 

Familiar Faces in New Places

Mrs. Shea Andriko

Mrs. Andriko will be moving into the Grade 2 classroom. Last year, Shea joined the Lower School faculty in several exciting capacities including early childhood librarian, literacy coach, and classroom teacher support. Mrs. Andriko previously taught in the Fairfax County Public Schools of Virginia. At White Oaks Elementary, Mrs. Andriko taught kindergarten for five years, three of those as team leader. In that role, she trained and implemented a reading and writing Units of Study workshop model, designed differentiated work-stations through EnVision math and Fountas and Pinnell Phonics, and utilized positive classroom community strategies using Responsive Classroom methodology. A graduate of Penn State University with a B.S. in Elementary Education and Minor in Special Education.

Mrs. Sarah Harshman

Mrs. Harshman will take on the role of our early childhood librarian and elementary literacy and classroom support teacher! Mrs. Harshman previously taught second grade here at Moravian. She has a wide range of classroom experiences throughout her eighteen years of teaching. Originally from Great Britain, Mrs. Harshman received a B.A. from Canterbury Christ Church University College and an M.A.Ed. from DeSales University and celebrated her citizenship status in 2009. She is excited about the opportunity to teach slightly younger students since prior to teaching at Moravian, she taught kindergarten, first and second grades in England.

Mrs. Beth Matlock

Mrs. Matlock is moving back to fourth-grade where she taught before moving to third-grade last year.  She has a wide range of classroom experiences throughout her twenty-one-year tenure at Moravian Lower School. She has been a lead teacher in kindergarten, second grade, and fourth grade. During this time, she also chaired the mathematics committee, coached the K’Nex Challenge team and Math 24 Competition team, and was a member of the language arts, fine arts technology, and science committees. Mrs. Matlock holds a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education and M.Ed. from East Stroudsburg University.

New Faculty

Señora Veronica Guevara

Sra. Veronica Guevara arrives at Moravian to be our new Spanish Humanities teacher in the Lower and Middle School. She will create a new course of studies for the post-immersion students starting in fifth grade, be a co-leader for a fifth-grade post-immersion homeroom, and teach two sections of seventh grade Spanish. Veronica is excited to join the MA community and comes with a wealth of experience, including previous positions teaching Spanish for over 22 years at three independent schools. She is a passionate teacher with deep experience writing curriculum. At previous schools, she also served as the Middle School Innovative Mentor Teacher and planned and developed a middle school cultural exchange program. She has led numerous international student trips to Spanish-speaking countries around the world.

Ms. Emily Anglund

Ms. Emily Anglund will be joining the Lower School faculty teaching the second section of English Grade 1. A graduate of Smith College, majoring in Education and Child Study, Emily also earned her Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has over 20 years of experience teaching in independent schools, including The Cathedral School in New York and New Cannan Country School in Connecticut where she taught Grade 1 and 2, respectively.

Mr. John Whelan

Mr. John Whelan will be the assistant in the English Kindergarten class. John brings many years of experience, most recently as a kindergarten teacher at The Swain School. Before that, he taught for many years as a kindergarten teacher in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District in New Jersey. John earned his bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Hartford and his Master of Arts in School Administration from William Patterson University. John is a Mindfulness and Meditation enthusiast & enjoys sharing the practice with students.

Señora Damaris Torres

Sra. Damaris Torres will be the assistant in the Spanish Immersion Kindergarten class. Damaris has a wealth of experience working with multiple populations, most recently employed at Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Cs. Before that, she spent ten years at the Hispanic Center of the Lehigh Valley as their Senior Center Manager in South Bethlehem. She attended the Ponce Puerto Rico University and earned an associates degree in business management at Lehigh Carbon Community College. Damaris is passionate about transcending cultural differences by building common language & understanding.

Mr. Matt Laubscher

Mr. Matt Laubscher will be the new Lower and Middle School Librarian. Matt earned a Bachelor's in Elementary Education with a concentration in Social Studies from Nyack College & his Master of Library and Information Science from Rutgers University. Matt previously served as an elementary school librarian in Long Hill Township Public Schools & a high school librarian at Bound Brook High School in New Jersey. Matt enjoys basketball, reading, board games, & swimming.

Mr. Ryan Yurchick

Mr. Yurchick will serve as our part-time Grade 4 and 5 Physical Education Teacher. Ryan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education from Lock Haven University and the Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from Lehigh University. In addition to teaching Physical Education and Health, Ryan was the Assistant Track and Field Coach for throwing events at Lehigh University, and he also has a background serving as an equity coordinator at a school in Massachusetts.

Middle & Upper School Faculty Appointments for 2019-2020