Among the excited group of teachers is Melissa Gorman, a recently hired fourth grade teacher at the North Street Elementary School.

Raised in Boxborough, Gor­man’s passion for teaching was not uncovered until her college years. During her freshman year of college, a practicum in a second grade classroom led her away from previous plans of becoming a speech and language pathologist and drew her towards becoming a teacher.

“I loved helping my mentor teacher coach students in wri­ting,” she remembered. “From that point on, I knew I wanted to be an elementary teacher.”

Graduating from Juniata College in Pennsylvania with an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and Spanish, she later attended Boston College, and obtained her Master’s Degree in Cur­riculum and Instruction.

Now entering her sixth year of teaching, Gorman has gained much teaching experience before she as­sumes her position at the North Street School. Follow­ing her college graduation, she moved to Auburn, Ala­bama, where she taught at Dean Road Elementary for two years. She then moved back to Massachusetts and taught within the Newton school system for three years at the Jackson School.

Of her five previous years of teaching, she has spent three of them teaching the fourth grade, and one year apiece teaching the first and third grades. As a student teacher, she also taught the fifth grade.

In her spare time, Gorman enjoys a variety of activities of both athletic and artistic nature. She played field hockey in both high school and college, and she continues to play for a Boston-based adult league. Also, she is an avid runner, formerly running competitively. Her other hobbies include ceramics and reading.

When considering her goals for her classroom, Gorman hopes to become well integrated within the Tewksbury Public Schools Community by forming close relationships with not only her students and their families, but other faculty members, as well.

“I have heard so many positive comments about the Tewksbury community in gen­eral,” she stated. “So in my first year, I really hope to get to know the students, families, and faculty members in this great school system.”

Looking towards the up­coming academic year, Gor­man wishes for her future students to know they will always have the chance to be unique and creative in her classroom. She also noted that above all, kindness and compassion towards others will always be valued.

“I think that at the end of the day, the most important thing in life is to be kind to one another, and I work hard to foster a safe and caring environment in my classroom,” she stated. “I want my students to feel welcome, comfortable, and valued as soon as they walk through my door each and every day.”