August 15, 2022

Dear Montgomery Middle School Families,

Here we go! The 2022-2023 school year is right around the corner, and I could not be more excited for students and families to return to campus. In my first month on campus, I can not express the appreciation I have for the notes, warm welcomes, and time some of you have spent talking with me. This has been helpful with my transition, and learning the stories of what makes Montgomery an amazing place. I am confident that our new students and families will feel a similar sense of welcome from the community. We can’t wait to welcome you to Montgomery! To our returning families, we are excited to welcome you back and continue to grow and learn together.

In our work this summer, we have been imagining all the possibilities and opportunities that this year will present us. As you know, our theme for the upcoming school year is “Imagine.” My mind has been racing trying to figure out all the ins and outs of what happens at Monty, brainstorming how to build upon our great program, and thinking of ways to make the upcoming year as special and meaningful as possible for our community.

When I step back from these tasks in creating goals for the year, I imagine three simple words, concepts and questions — Access, Growth, and Community:

Access:

Access to our beautiful campus and the surrounding community. What can we achieve here? How can we use our immediate and broader community to extend our learning beyond the classroom?
Access to a group of talented, empathetic, and passionate educators. How far can we challenge ourselves, and what relationships can we build this year at Monty?
Access to a dedicated group of parents and caregivers. How can we partner with each other to achieve the goal of the MSCA: “To enhance community connections in support of a fun, accessible and inclusive school experience.”
Most importantly, access to 72 amazing middle school students who will be at the center of everything we do this year. What opportunities do we have to learn from their young and creative minds? How do we continue to strive to ignite each students’ love of learning and foster their individual talents?

Growth:

A year of continued growth in the curriculum, “design for difference” project, Innovation and Inspiration initiatives, buddy program, and with our social emotional learning programing.
A year of growth and appreciation on how to embrace and overcome challenges together.
A year of growth in reintroducing overnight trips in the spring.
Embracing the new 5th/6th and 7th/8th grades concepts to help connect our community across divisions.

Community:

A commitment of partnership with each other. Working together to provide the best education and experience possible for our students and each other.
Creating programing around student voice, agency, and leadership to build the possibilities within our community.

I am excited about what lies ahead, and can’t wait to see many of these imagined concepts and questions come to reality in the 2022-2023 school year. It will be an amazing year!

This year, we are also excited to welcome Charles Hambrick and Jessica Fields, two educators with a relentless amount of energy and passion for educating middle school students. You will have opportunities to meet and welcome them during the first few weeks of school.

Grade Level Advisors

6th Grade: Charles Hambrick, Jake Kratz, Emily Messer

7th Grade: Kim Knauer, Jay Kulkarni, Marlene Pajot-Pavlak

8th Grade: Mike Anzaldo, Jessica Fields, Jeff Ormsby, Heather Schelhorn

Teacher Assignments:

Mike Anzaldo - 7th/8th Math

Charles Hambrick - 5th/6th Math

Chris Ruck- Physical Education

Jessica Fields- 7th/8th Language Arts

Denise Kelly- 5th/6th Social Studies

Kim Knauer - 5th-8th Art

Jay Kulkarni - 7th/8th Science

Jake Kratz - 5th/6th Science

Emily Messer - 5th-8th Spanish

Kami Mulzet- 5th/6th Language Arts

Jeff Ormsby - Music 5th-8th Music

Marlene Pajot-Pavlak - 5th-8th French

Heather Schelhorn - 7th/8th Social Studies

Class Placements for Students:

You should have received the Advisee Welcome Letter from your child’s advisor. If you have not, please contact me so I can get the letter to you.
Information for class placement will be sent to families within the next couple of days via email.

News and Looking Ahead: Please review this document for updates and news for the first month of school.

As always, if you have any questions or if there is anything I can help you with, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

With Appreciation,

Allen Vandegrift

Head of Middle School