Lilja Elementary School
41 Bacon Street
Natick, MA 02760
(508) 647-6570
Heather L. B. Smith, Principal
Dear Lilja Families:
There are so many wonderful things that took place over the course of this school year at Lilja
School – there is so much to celebrate! Just this week, at our final faculty meeting of the school year,
we took the time to acknowledge how we’ve grown and to celebrate our accomplishments. There
were too many to list but I’ll do my best to capture just a few of them: teaching a student to read
independently, getting married, learning the virtue of patience, successfully making a move, helping
a child develop confidence in herself, and many, many more!
Throughout the course of the school year, Lilja teachers were hard at work teaching and learning
with our Lilja Lions, as well as working towards aligning our literacy and math curricula to the
Common Core State Standards, developing, administering and analyzing common district-wide
writing assessments, leading the Lilja Response to Intervention Steering Committee, forming a Lilja
Technology and Innovation Team, exploring Executive Function in Action Research Teams, and so
much more.
Before the year comes to a close, I would like to inform you about some of the changes you will see
next year.
In the Fall of 2014, Lilja will have 21 classrooms (including our ACCESS classroom). This means
that we have added a Grade 4 classroom. We will be busy over the summer, building this new
space. Our Facilities Department will also be hard at work all summer – we hope that you will
notice and be proud of the new updates to the building in the Fall!
Lilja will also have five lunches next year – one for each grade level. This should help to minimize
the amount of time it takes the children to move through the lunch line and should help us build a
calmer atmosphere in the cafeteria. We will be looking for 2 Lunchroom Monitors next year, so if
you are interested, please watch for the job posting!
Our Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Team has been hard at work and will continue
their efforts through next school year. This Spring, we successfully implemented a “mini-roll-out”
in the hallways, reinforcing our values of Respect, Responsibility, Kindness, and Engagement. The
team will continue to work towards building a school-wide plan and we will present this
information to families in the Fall. Students have been working towards earning a “Backwards
Day.” How fun!
Finally, I would also like to announce some of the changes we’re anticipating for next year. I will
continue to send out updates, as they become available.
Ms. Evans is moving with her Kindergarten students to First Grade. Ms. Evans has taught
Kindergarten at Lilja School for the past seven years. She previously taught in a first grade
classroom in Brookline Public Schools while completing her Master’s degree in Early Childhood
Education. Ms. Evans’ passion as an educator is supporting children’s holistic development through
authentic learning experiences, and she is very excited to grow with the class as it changes from
“KE” to “1E.”
Ms. Gallagher will also move into Fourth Grade. In moving to Fourth Grade, Mrs. Gallagher brings
four years of Kindergarten teaching experience at Lilja, a love of teaching writing, and a penchant
for reading and discussing literature. Mrs. Gallagher holds a B.A. in English from Union College,
spent a great deal of time leading, organizing and tutoring in the Schenectady Public Schools,
worked with children who have special needs at the New England Center for Children, and was a
mentor and group leader for STEP (a Science and Technology Entry Program) with 4th and 5th
graders in upstate New York. While completing her Master’s in Elementary Education at Lesley
University, she taught in the Boston Public Schools in a wide range of long-term substitute positions
(K-5) with students from diverse backgrounds and a wide range of needs. Mrs. Gallagher enjoyed
her experience nurturing emerging readers, writers, mathematicians and scientists in Kindergarten
and is now looking forward to working with fourth graders as they analyze complex texts and
tackle new challenges together!
In Kindergarten, we welcome Ms. Brooke Davino who is so very excited to join the Lilja
community! Ms. Davino’s background is in Early Childhood Education and Special Education; she
holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the University of New Hampshire. Ms. Davino has five
years of Kindergarten teaching experience and believes that learning should be fun and meaningful.
She strives to create a classroom environment where students enjoy learning, are excited to come
each day and feel safe to take risks and ask questions. When she’s not teaching, she likes to spend
time with her husband KC and her dog Austin!
In Kindergarten, we are also excited to welcome Ms. Lisa Cerrone who brings two years of
teaching experience with her to Lilja. Ms. Cerrone went to Tufts University where she became
interested in education and declared Child Development as her second major. Ms. Cerrone
mentioned that her fieldwork in Kindergarten at Eliot-Pearson Children’s School was the highlight
of her college career. Ms. Cerrone completed her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education at
Lesley University, with her internship at Belmont Day School in the first grade and preschool.
During the past two years, she had the pleasure of teaching second grade at Lillian M. Jacobs
Elementary in Hull, MA. She is getting married in July (so watch for a name change) and is looking
forward to coming to Kindergarten!
We are also happy for Mrs. Jessica Brainerd who is expecting her second child! Ms. Kimberlee
Bopp will take her place through February of 2015. Ms. Bopp’s areas of professional expertise are
Early Childhood and Special education. She has worked in the Natick School system since last year
as a long term sub in First Grade, Kindergarten, and Pre-school. Prior working in Natick, she was a
lead Kindergarten teacher at a private learning center. Ms. Bopp is working with Mrs. Brainerd over
the spring and summer to ensure that the children of the new “KB” have a seamless transition!
For those of you who may not know, Ms. Curtis and Ms. Weaver have been at the Lilja and
Bennett-Hemenway Schools for quite some time. Due to enrollment growth, Ms. Curtis and Ms.
Weaver will move over to the Bennett-Hemenway School full time next year. Although we are sad
to see them go, we are also excited about the teachers who will come over from the BennettHemenway to Lilja! Next year, Ms. Martha Worthington will teach Art. Ms. Worthington is thrilled.
She was fortunate enough to study at Rhode Island School of Design and Framingham State College.
She is presently teaching Art at the Bennett-Hemenway School, works as a freelance illustrator and
has taught art to students of all ages as a faculty member at the Danforth Museum of Art. She would
like her students to be as passionate about art as she is, to become creative problem solvers who
can express themselves in unique ways and find joy in the process of making art. She particularly
loves to see students surprise and challenge themselves. Mr. Tim Roper will join Lilja are our new
Music Teacher. Before joining the faculty at Ben-Hem Elementary in 2007, Mr. Roper performed
professionally for many years in touring bands, symphony orchestras, and even a string quartet. He
grew up in Nebraska and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from the University of
Nebraska (with minors in Piano and Flute). Since moving to New England he has completed many
courses in music education and is very happy to be able to share his gift through teaching. He is
thrilled to be joining the staff at Lilja and to have the opportunity to bring music into the lives of the
wonderful students in our school.
Ms. Shelby Marscher will join us in the role of School Psychologist. Ms. Marscher holds a
Bachelor’s Degree from Wesleyan and is a School-Psychology-MA/CAGS-professional in pursuit of a
Psychology Doctorate at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. Ms. Marscher has
been working with children for over a decade in various school-based settings: two years teaching
at a private preschool, five years working at a school/residential facility for children with emotional
and behavioral disorders, and has completed a variety of practicum and internship placements in
nearby suburban towns. She always manages to end each day with a tie-dye pattern of Crayola
marker stains on her hands and fingers, a lot of great moments and smiles shared with the kids, and
a sense that she has contributed to a community focused on student growth and success!
Families that work Ms. Katie Tenney know that she will be out for one more year, spending time
with her new cherub! Ms. Mary Hawkins will work with students in the Learning Center while Ms.
Tenney finishes out her maternity leave. Ms. Hawkins is a graduate of the Lynch School of
Education at Boston College, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary
Education and a Master’s of Education degree in Moderate Special Needs. Ms. Hawkins student
taught at schools in Allston, Brookline, and Roslindale. This past year while completing her Master’s
degree, she was a special education intern at Countryside Elementary in Newton.
We are also happy for Ms. Doherty (ACCESS) who is expecting her first child! Ms. Doherty will
welcome her new child in August and is expected to be out through the months of September and
October. Ms. Karen Olen will be her Long Term Substitute. Ms. Olen has been working in the
ACCESS room for the last couple of years and we are confident that it will be a smooth transition
when Ms. Doherty returns in the late Fall.
Finally, we are very excited for Mr. Kevin Barry (in Grade 3) who will be leaving Lilja School to
pursue his career as an artist. For those of you who know Mr. Barry, you know what a talented
artist he is. Mr. Barry recently won a prestigious illustration award and we are certain that we will
see his name on books in our Lilja book bins soon! We’ve also told him that he needs to come back
as a “Resident Artist.” Ms. Jessica Bloch will be back next year as a Kindergarten Early
Intervention Provider. We are in the process of hiring a new Grade 3 teacher, as well as a teacher in
Grade 2 and will inform families once the hiring process is complete.
As you can see, we’ve been quite busy. Our hiring process in Natick is a rigorous one and teachers
who have been through it can tell you, it’s not easy! This year, we had over a hundred applicants for
teaching positions and the Elementary Principals screened 89 of these applicants. Lilja is a school
where teachers want to be!
I look forward to seeing many of you next week at Portfolio and Field Days.
Yours in Education,
Heather L. B. Smith