Gateway staff members Daniel Shea, Catherine Bishop, Gail LaBonte, Tasha Hartley, Wendy Koivisto, Holly Whitaker, and Beth Harmon. (Photo by Brennan Foley)
HUNTINGTON – As is the custom, the Gateway Regional School Committee hosted a reception Wednesday for retiring staff members and teachers and for those that earned recognition outside of the district. The reception took place in the central courtyard at the school, with refreshments donated by committee members.
Honored were Gateway cafeteria manager Tasha Hartley, Littleville Elementary cafeteria manager Wendy Koivisto and Chester Elementary cafeteria manager Holly Whitaker for earning their Level 1 certifications from the School Nutrition Association this year.
“This certification shows their commitment to school nutrition and helps them stay current on the ever-changing school nutrition scene,” said Food Services director Wendy McCaul.
High school mathematics teacher Cheryl Wright was honored for receiving an “Unsung Hero” award from St. Michael’s College. Gateway 2016 graduate Brennan Foley nominated Wright for the award through his college’s Teacher Recognition Program, which honors the teachers who gave their students the academic skills and moral support necessary to be successful in post-secondary pursuits.
In nominating his teacher, Foley wrote, “She is always concerned about us as people and not just students. We got way more than a great education. We got a great friend,” he said.
High School chemistry and physics teacher Dan Shea was recognized as a finalist in the Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Awards. In addition to preparing Gateway students to be competitive in science at the college level, Shea provides guidance and mentors new teachers. He is also an advisor to Gateway’s “As Schools Match Wits” team. Outside of Gateway, he directs the Camp H. A. Moses Scout Reservation in Russell, and participates in leadership training for young men in scouts through NYLT.
Retiring this year is Cat Chapin Bishop, who has taught high school English at Gateway for 12 of her 13 years of teaching. Bishop also served as a newspaper and GSA advisor. Among her favorite memories, Bishop wrote: “Letting the babble of voices wash over her as four different groups of student actors all rehearse Shakespeare in her classroom – at the same time,” and “hearing the silence in the room when we read Of Mice and Men and reach the part when Lennie dies,” and “helping kids find a voice.” Bishop said she will miss her colleagues, and the kids most of all.
Also retiring is Beth Harmon, a speech and language pathologist for the past 31 years at Gateway. Beth has also worked as a hearing consultant and after school Title I reading tutor at Gateway.
“Some of my best memories are when we had Inclusion Programs in Grades 7 and 6 double room; the “Crack Pot Restaurant” run by the high school life skills students and special education teachers; the different Walk and Talk groups of students in the combined physical and language therapy group run by the PT and myself; and the opportunities of working with the same students and families from preschool all the way to high school,” Harmon wrote. She said she would miss all of the wonderful people she had been privileged to work with over the years.
Food Services staff member Gail LaBonte is also retiring after 27 years at Gateway. “I think Gail will definitely miss the students. Seeing and implementing the many changes in school nutrition over the years has made her career very interesting,” McCaul said of LaBonte.
McCaul added that she remembers when the cafeteria was being renovated, and meals were prepared in the Littleville elementary school kitchen and delivered by cart through the parking lot and work zone to the temporary cafeteria in the welding room. “Neither rain nor wind, nor sleet, nor snow kept us from delivering food to the temporary café,” McCaul said, congratulating LaBonte for her years of service.
