Ms. Heidi Dugal has returned to our school as our Principal for her second year.

She served as Principal for Savoy Elementary two years ago, after she had taught here for many years. Heidi also teaches computer classes in the mornings.

Some of her other activities are reading, gardening and baking. We sure love those goodies!

Mrs. Stephanie Pare is in her fourth year as our Special Education Teacher/Title I Instructor. Stephanie is originally from the Town of Florida and attended Gabriel Abbott Memorial as she grew up.

She has worked as a Special Education teacher in the past for the North Adams School system and has her Masters Degree in Special Education.

Ms.Serah Byrne is our Speech and Language Pathologist.

Ms. Melissa Annear is back for a third year teaching Pre-K.  Ms. Annear previously worked at the Hawlemont School. She student taught here at the Gabriel Abbott Memorial School under long time kindergarten teacher Judy Embry and did a wonderful job.

Stephanie Burdick is the full time aide in the classroom. She is working in her third year at the school and is very excited about the opportunity of interacting and helping to teach the PreK students.  

Ms. Sonia McWhirt is teaching her fourth year in Kindergarten.  She originally came to our school as an aide in the classroom and then taught Pre-K for two years.  Students and staff appreciate her unique warm and caring attitude. 

Ms. McWhirt prides herself on the individual attention each student receives.  Parents are always welcome to spend time in the classroom and participate in class activities.  

Mrs. Puppolo has taught at our school for over 16 years.  Her teaching abilities and experience is highly regarded at the school and in the community.  Mrs. Puppolo works hard to communicate with parents and keep them informed about the progress their children are making. 

She helps to organize Grandparent’s Day and also has many activities in her class that parents are invited to attend.
 

Mrs. Chesbro is a highly organized and highly respected teacher.  Before teaching third grade, she taught pre-school at our school.  She is very aware of state standards and works very hard to keep parents informed of their child’s progress.

  She has been published in Creative Classroom Magazine and Carson Delosa Teacher Resource books and is part of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers 2005.  Students really enjoy her classroom.

She is also our Vice-Principal this year.

Mrs. Austin has been teaching here since the fall of 2001.  When asked about how she feels about our school, Lori said, “This is my first teaching position and I absolutely love it!  I believe teaching is one of the most important professions one can choose because each day you have the future in your hands.” 

 She is a graduate of Smith College where she was an Ada Comstock Scholar.  During her little precious free time, she loves to read, garden, paint, and travel.  Mrs. Austin is known for her “hands on” approach to education and her students love the environment of her classroom.

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Mr. Xavier Tondeur is in his third year here and in his 1st year as the 5th grade homebase teacher. He will team teach with Mr. LaViola, teaching English Language Arts & Social Studies to the 5th & 6th grades.

 He hails from Amherst, MA and came to our school with great references as being athletic, artistic, and involved with his students both during and after school.

 Last year he participated in the basketball and soccer after school programs, and this yrar he is teaching robotics.

Mr. Cosmo LaViola team teaches as the 6th^th  grade home base teacher.  Mr. LaViola will  teach 5^th and 6^th grade Math  and 5th &  6th grade Science. 

He has a bachelor's degree in Biology and a Masters in Education.  He has taught high school Bilogy, Forensics, Algebra & Analytical Math. He lives in Savoy.

His many interests include skiing, soccer, gardening, music and graphic design.

Ms.Lindsay St. Pierre is  the 7th ^th grade home base teacher.  Ms. St. Pierre team teaches with the 8th ^th grade home base teacher and will be teaching Science and 7th^th grade Social Studies.  She holds a Bachelors of Science degree from Simons College , majoring in Environmental Science and a minor in Public and Social Policy.  She attained her Masters degree this year.

Ms. St. Pierre has previously worked with the education department at the New England Aquarium and has also taught for Nature’s Classroom.  Other interests include hiking, yoga, dance, camping, and other outdoor activities. She piloted the after school soccer team, began the Solar Sprint Program, and started the Garden Project that also included summer school classes.

Mrs. Diane Sprague is team teaching with the 7th grade homebase teacher.  She teaches 7th & 8th grade English and Social Studies. She is also a member of the Teacher's Association.

Additionally, she takes care of the 8th grade graduation activities and chairs the Teacher Assistance Team meetings.

Students enjoy her easy disposiotion and she is a highly regarded member of our staff.

Our Nursing Leader is Ms. Laura Martelle (pictured left).  She is at our school 3 days every two weeks.  When Laura cannot be here, Mrs. Nancy Roy (right) is here to administer medication, provide evaluations, and to take care of our students.

.  We are lucky to have a grant that allows us full time nursing coverage.

Mrs. Jane Thoresen is often refered to as the "hub" of our school. Schools do not function well unless they have a capable organized secretary that can multi-task all of the time and we are fortunate to have one of the best

. If you ever need to know the anwer to a question or where something is in a hurry, just ask Jane. She loves the kids and it shows.

Custodial Staff

Mr. Larry Thoresen is our Building Maintenance Supervisor. He works full time and takes care of the entire building and grounds.

 Whenever he is not available, you'll find Mr. Phil Fosser stepping in and doing a great job. These are two valuable guys.

Mrs Traci Luczynski (left) has returned  for her second year as the Cafeteria Manager. She is working with her aide, Jennifer Rice, to form a dynamic team in the kitchen. Mrs. Luczynski has previously worked in the kitchen at our school and has received her food service license.

 Mrs. Rice has joined us for her second year and has a very energetic personality. We are looking forward to trying this year's menu.

Other Para-Professionals/Tutors/Aides

We are also fortunate to have several full and part-time classroom aides who really love working with kids, and also have a way of getting the students to work to their highest abilities.

We really appreciate the work that Mr. Joe Mondia who works in Kindergarten (left), and (below),  Melanie Medon,  Elizabeth Hubby and Chris Howard do each day to help our students learn.

Mrs. Melanie Medon primarily works with the 7th grade.
 She is a hometown girl who previously worked at the Brien Center.

Ms. Elizabeth Hubby primarily works with the 8th grade.
 Liz comes to us from Stamford, and has a daughter, Bella, who attends our Preschool, and her mom is the Florida town administrator.

Ms. Chris Howard primarily works with the 6th grade. Chris likes sports and coaches Junior Varsity softball at Drury.