Cara Gallagher, Middle School English

Growing up in Shelburne, Vermont, I learned to expect good things at school. My teachers knew me well. They supported my learning and challenged my thinking. Because of their efforts, I graduated high school with a confidence that carried me across the border to St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick. As an undergraduate, I benefited from a liberal arts education that broadened my perspective and took me all the way to Central America where I spent a semester studying Spanish in Costa Rica. 

My desire to become a teacher led me to the Nativity Preparatory School of Boston, an accredited tuition-free Jesuit middle school. As a participant in Nativity’s teaching fellowship program, I was equally inspired by the principled educators I came to trust as mentors and the highly motivated young men I was proud to call my students. During my time in Boston, I gained an appreciation for faith-based education and an M.Ed from the Lynch School of Education. 

For the past four years, I have been teaching seventh grade English in the public school system.  I have worked with phenomenal teachers and extraordinary students. My best moments in the classroom take place when I am able to align my passion for the English language and my rapport with adolescents with my personal values. I am excited to join the Mater Christi community and begin the important work of teaching and learning this school year.

Mme Teresa Hawes, Middle School French

Mme Hawes completed an MA in English at the University of Michigan, and earned a PhD in French Language and Civilization in France at l’Université d’Aix-Marseille II. Certified as a K-12 French teacher in Vermont, she has taught French and Religion in a parochial school setting for thirteen of the past sixteen years. Mme Hawes is a member of Our Lady of Life Institute in the Carmelite tradition, whose members are totally consecrated to God and called to become contemplative apostles in the world.