Tools for Success

Seminar Series for parents and educators

Our Tools for Success seminar series features Bear Creek faculty and staff speaking on a variety of parenting and academic topics. Register now for the seminars in our 2023 – 2024 Tools for Success series. To watch recordings of earlier presentations, scroll to the bottom of page.

Clock hours available to educators as noted below in the seminar descriptions when applicable.

Tools for Success
  • Middle School
  • Upper School

Spend an evening with us as we explore the top five qualities colleges want in an applicant to help students maximize their high school experiences and college potential. Dean of College and Academic Advising Katie Gomulkiewicz '13 will provide insights that will influence next steps for high school students approaching the college admission journey as well as give middle school students direction as they enter high school. Intended audience: parents with students in grades 5 through 12.

Wednesday, January 10
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Upper School's Diamond Performing Arts Center

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Katie Gomulkiewicz '13 returned to Washington in 2017 and began her next Bear Creek chapter as the Assistant Director of Admissions for Middle School and Upper School. In 2022, Katie completed her master’s thesis, “An Exploration of Standardized Psychosocial Measures Within the College Admissions Process,” and began her new role as the Dean of College and Academic Advising. Katie also previously served as the head speech coach for the Upper School forensics team and led the Speech and Rhetoric summer camp for seven years. She is passionate about higher education and cherishes the opportunity to mentor students throughout the college journey. She holds a B.S. Psychology and English from Davidson College and an M.P.S. in Higher Education Administration from Georgetown University.

Tools for Success
  • Lower School
  • Middle School
  • Preschool

Learn how your child’s personality and temperament and your parenting style impact his or her long-term growth and development. Lower School teacher Amanda Gratton will help you discover how to bring out the best in your children by appreciating and valuing the way God has made them. Audience members will leave with practical steps to apply what they learned. Join us to grow as a person and a parent! Intended audience: parents with students in preschool through grade 8 and educators (1.0 clock hours offered).

Tuesday, February 13
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Upper School's Diamond Performing Arts Center

RSVP

Amanda Gratton joined the Lower School faculty in 2020 as a kindergarten teacher. Her favorite part of teaching young students is helping them not only learn to read, but to develop a LOVE and excitement for reading! Mrs. Gratton’s heroes are her mother and father from whom she learned the importance of family, hard work, and faith in God. She enjoys spending time with her husband and young son. Together, they enjoy spending time outdoors, traveling, being active, and watching baseball. She holds a B.A. Liberal Studies from Chapman University and an M.Ed. from Pepperdine University, and she is a Ph.D. candidate at Seattle Pacific University where she is completing her doctoral dissertation on remote teaching preparedness among preservice teachers.

Watch Seminar Recordings