New Staff Members

Noreen Likins, Principal

Instructional Supervisors, Gunn and District staff have spent many hours interviewing candidates for the teaching and classified staff positions we had open for the start of this school year and we are confident that we have hired the very best replacements for staff who have left us or who are on leave, and to fill the new slots created by our growing student population. We will open August 25 with about 1970 students and roughly 200 staff members, almost 140 of whom are teaching staff! Our new teachers will join an experienced staff that will help, mentor and support them as they find their feet at Gunn. We have selected the cream of the crop am looking forward to working with them all. They are:

Mathematics

• Daniel Hahn
• Amelia Lombard
• Chris Bell (who was formerly Academic Center Coordinator)

Counselor

• Monica Espinoza

Social Studies

• Warren Collier

Special Education

• Emily Dermon

Administrative Assistant/Secretaries—Main Office

• Martha Elderon (not new to Gunn but taking over the role of Principal Admin Assistant following Norma Street’s retirement)
• Lynn Glover

Academic Center Coordinator

• Alex Lira

We welcome Nora Matta, Liz Matchett and Kristina Gossard back from leave. Two other teachers who will still be on maternity leave when school opens. Long-term subs John Tyler and Peter Cheng are lined up to start the year for math teachers Daisy Renazco and Cristina Florea respectively.

Some teachers with whom you are familiar have changed their names because of marriage or for other reasons. If you see these names on your students schedules they are not new to Gunn.

• English and Journalism Kristy Garcia will now be Kristy Blackburn.
• Math teacher Stephanie Ciralli will be Stephanie Werbe
• Math teacher Rachel Haslanger will be Rachel Grunsky

Gunn's Administrative Team for the coming year is the same as last and consists of myself, the three Assistant Principals Tom Jacoubowsky, Kim Cowell, and Phil Winston, and Dean of Students, James Lubbe. At our weekly Admin meetings that deal with day-to-day operations, we are joined by Athletics Director Chris Horpel, Student Activities Director, Lisa Hall, Technology Coordinator, Lettie Weinmann and Administrative Assistant/Secretary, Martha Elderon. Each of the people listed here has specific responsibilities and in another blog post you will find a list of "Who-does-What" for 2009-2010 that should help you find the person who can best assist you if you have questions or problems.

In addition to new staff we have others in new roles for the coming year. As I indicated above, Chris Bell and Marth Elderon will be in new roles and will also have a new Instructional Supervisor, Eric Ledgerwood, on the Instructional Council. He is replacing Lettie Weinmann as IS of the Science Department. The Instructional Council, made up of the Admin team and Instructional Supervisors, is the body that meets twice a month to determine school policies and procedures, to make decisions regarding curriculum and instruction and to prepare and implement the School Plan that is developed each year in line with our WASC Goals. Instructional Supervisors guide and evaluate the teachers in their departments and represent Gunn on Departmental Steering Committees that meet at District level. They play a vital role in helping to run the school.

For more information see Who Does What at Gunn.