Mount Carmel School is all set to launch the 2018-2109 school year with a set of new opportunities, including new teachers, new courses, and new programs.
While work has been ongoing throughout the summer to prepare for the new year, preparations ramped up with this past week’s professional development sessions. Led by vice principal Barbara Merfalen, the sessions focused on classroom management, analysis of student achievement data from the last school year, and enhancements to the school’s student information management system.
During the professional development, Merfalen said, “Ongoing training is so important in this profession, where we have to keep abreast of current research in learning and behavior, and apply that to the classroom.” She added, “If we want what works best for our students, we need to commit ourselves to professional growth.”
The professional development sessions also gave the faculty a chance to welcome new teachers, including Kimberly Tudela who will teach 3rd grade, Tasia Sablan who will be a kindergarten teacher aide, and Sarah Johnson who will teach high school English.
Johnson, who holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from American University and is pursuing a PhD in Writing and Rhetoric from George Mason University, will teach Freshmen and Senior Composition, as well as a new course, Creative Writing . The course will be a first for the school with two sections open to high school students.
In addition to Creative Writing, the school will offer another new course, Introduction to Media Communications, which will be taught by school president Galvin Deleon Guerrero. The course will introduce students to various aspects of media communication, including journalism, public relations, marketing, strategic social media, web design, graphic design for publication, and videography.
Other than new teachers and new courses, the school will also launch a number of new programs for the school year. The school’s information management system has been enhanced to include new human resource processes, such as digital time sheets. As reported recently, the school will also open the new year with 548 solar panels, which were installed as part of the school’s 2017-2020 Strategic Master Plan.
This all comes as the the school recently announced the re-opening of the $200 discount on registration fees until August 17. The discount was re-opened in order to help families that were affected by immigration and economic setbacks, which were alleviated by the passage of the CNMI Workforce Act and the lifting of austerity measures.
The school will also continue family discounts for families that enroll more than one child. Families with two children can avail of a $600 discount for the second child, families with three children can avail of a $1,000 discount for the third child, and families with four children can avail of a $1,500 discount for the fourth child.
The first day of classes for school year 2018-2019 will be on Thursday, August 9. To learn more about enrolling at Mount Carmel School for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year, call 234-6184 or visit www.mountcarmelsaipan.com.
