August 2006

Dear Students and Parents,

Welcome to the Grymonpré / Harrigan team!  We are looking forward to sharing an exciting, enriching, and growth-filled year.  We hope this letter will answer some of the questions you have about the upcoming year.

 Who will be my teachers?

Kate Harrigan - Humanities:  Entering my 2^nd year at McAuliffe, I am really looking forward to meeting you in a couple of weeks!  You will learn much more about me at Meet the Teacher’s Night and once we begin working together, but here’s a quick bio for you.  I grew up in Rhode Island, graduated from Haverford College, spent 5 years working in the business world in San Francisco, received my Master’s degree from Harvard University School of Education, and here I am! Whew, I’ve been busy. This summer I got married and we adopted an 8 week-old puppy, named Remy. When I’m not in school, I am   watching the Red Sox, experimenting in the kitchen, or reading the latest young adult novel!

 Kris Grymonpré – Science/Math:  After graduating in Chemical Engineering from MIT, I immediately began teaching Math and Science at McAuliffe Regional, pioneering the 7^th grade curriculum.  Now entering my 4^th year with the school, I’m looking forward to improving on 7^th grade traditions (like dropping pumpkins out the window) while creating some new ones in addition.  This summer, I completed a 6-week course with the American Museum of Natural History to solidify my knowledge of Earth Science.  After completing the course, I feel energized to kick off the new school year with some amazing rock-hunting!

 We will also be working with Lauren Kreble and Becca Rich, who will provide special education support in our classrooms and in the Learning Center.

 What will we be doing this year? 

In Humanities, we will be reading and writing a wide variety of materials.  Some of the wonderful books we will be reading include Afterlife by Gary Soto, a novel that explores the unique experience of a teenager in California who is confronting major-life changes  ; The Odyssey by Homer, a classic Greek adventure epic;  and The Giver by Lois Lowry, a book that explores life in a seemingly perfect society. We will also be exploring the lives of the ancient people who inhabited the world long before us, from the first people who ever roamed the earth, to those who lived in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

In Science, we will focus on three main units:  Earth Science, Evolution, and Physics.  We have already begun planning lots of exciting fieldwork and hands-on activities.  We will start the year with Earth Science, looking at several local (and not-so-local) rock formations and what they tell us about how the Earth works.  When we study evolution, we will study it through how it affects our lives today, with bacterial resistance creating super-bacteria.  Finally, we will end our year studying Physics, when we will design and construct our own marble mazes to learn about Newton’s Laws and the different forms of energy.

Your math teacher will describe our math program in a separate letter once school begins. 

What do I need to begin the year successfully?

Please turn this paper over to find a checklist that you can bring with you to go shopping.  Math supplies will be explained during the first week of class. You will also find a wish list of items that we would love to have in our classroom if you would like to make a donation.  In addition, please fill out the enclosed student information sheet and either mail it in or return it to us on Meet the Teacher’s Night.

When will I find out more about this year?

Please come join us Thursday, August 24 at 6:00 P.M. at the school for Meet the Teacher’s Night.  We are greatly looking forward to meeting you!  If you have any questions, we will be able to answer them then.

Sincerely,