The new school year is up and running, and with it comes the comfort of familiar faces along with the excitement of some new ones. This year, Providence welcomes five new teachers to our community, all of whom are uniquely qualified for their positions.
Meagan McPhetridge brings the vigor or youth coupled with an understanding of the frame of kindergarteners, who we all know need a lot of love and direction. She recently graduated from Hillsdale College with a B.A. in physical education (very important in keeping up with kindergarteners) with minors in classical education and French. If you have met Meagan and know her character, you know the Providence little ones are in good hands. They might even learn a little French along with those beloved phonograms.
Andrew Weiseth has broken the gender barrier of the grammar school by putting on his captain’s hat and signing on to lead our fifth graders in their Year of Exploration and American history. Prior to teaching at Providence, Andrew served in several children’s ministry programs as well as project managing at a design firm in Seattle. He has also been active in Young Life, but now pastors –along with his wife, Amber—a different kind of young life group: his own four children. Andrew takes teaching seriously, but infuses learning with fun, so if you get a chance, stop by and say hello to Andrew—our first male grammar classroom teacher.
New to the secondary this year are Stephen Angliss (history and Bible), Kari Ceaicovschi (9/10 Latin), and Christy Wu (Earth Science and Biology). After dating for three years, Stephen decided to ask his girlfriend Kimmie to marry him on the first day of teacher work week. First day attendance was optional; apparently securing the girl of his dreams was not. (Who doesn’t love a little romance in the school blog?) Stephen is a natural with the students and they are going to love his humor, his passion for the Lord, and his interest in the great outdoors. He will no doubt be a big hit at our upcoming secondary retreat!
Kari, married with two young boys, has a master’s degree in classical studies from Stanford and a Ph. D., also in the classics, from the University of Washington, so you can rest assured that she really knows her amo, amas, amat and will be taking good care of our 9/10th grade Latin students this year. She has experience teaching Latin to middle school students, and served as a substitute teacher last year at Providence. We are grateful to have her off of the sub list and onto the staff roster this year—even if her last name is really hard to spell. J
And finally, Christy Wu joins the staff as a part-time secondary science teacher. She and her husband David have two children enrolled at Providence, and she has been an avid volunteer and faithful sub at the school for many years. Christy loves the Word and has shared it freely in numerous children’s ministries at her church. She obviously loves her husband and children, and rumor has it, she also has a strong affinity for the Seahawks. Thankfully, the three loves are rightly ordered!
Once again, our trusting in God’s promise to meet the needs of Providence has paid rich dividends. We encourage you to make it a point to meet these new teachers, to make them feel welcome, and to let them get to know you. That is the blessing of Christian community, and Christian community is something we always want to encourage and enjoy at Providence.