GATEWAY Department Newsletter September 2023

Welcome to GATEWAY

We are excited for another year to work with students, families, and staff!  Each month the GATEWAY department will share a newsletter to keep you informed.  

What is GATEWAY?

GATEWAY is an acronym which stands for “Gifted And Talented Education With All Youth''.  Our mission is to support all students through talent development and to identify, challenge, and encourage academically advanced and creative learners.  Visit our GATEWAY website for parent, student, and staff pages.  There you will find more information for grades K-12. 

Gateway Staff 

Kari Morse 

Ms. Morse is the Director of Teaching and Learning PreK-5 and GATEWAY K-12.  She has worked in Barnstable for 25+ years in various roles; classroom teacher, Title 1 Reading Teacher, GATEWAY Teacher, and GATEWAY Director. 

Deana Pulsifer 

Mrs. Pulsifer is the Administrative Assistant for the Gateway Department and the Office of Teaching & Learning.  This is her 13th year working for Barnstable in this role.  Prior to working in the school, she volunteered in the Children’s Room at the Centerville Public Library and in her daughter’s classrooms after moving to Centerville in 2005.  

Lynn Tabor

Hello Barnstable Community! Mrs. Tabor is an elementary GATEWAY teacher.  She will be working at West Villages & Hyannis West this year.  She taught in Barnstable as a classroom teacher for many years, and is excited to be a part of the GATEWAY team.  Mrs. Tabor’s own four children attend Barnstable Public Schools & have greatly benefited from the enriching experiences provided by GATEWAY.  She is looking forward to working with students this year! 

Ellen Zontini

Mrs. Zontini is an elementary GATEWAY teacher. She is excited to be starting her seventh year with Barnstable Public Schools. When she is not teaching, she can be found spending time with her two daughters enjoying the outdoors.  Whether it's fishing, crabbing, hiking, kayaking, or managing a bird sanctuary, they enjoy Cape Cod all year round. During the school week, she will travel between three elementary schools: Centerville Elementary, Barnstable Community Innovation School, and BWB.  Her favorite part of being a GATEWAY Specialist is getting to know the students and their learning styles in order to provide enriching and challenging learning experiences.

Anna Rezendes

Ms. Rezendes is the ELA and FPS GATEWAY Teacher at Barnstable United Elementary. This is her second year at BUES. She previously taught middle and high school students and has loved being able to strengthen students' reading, writing, and problem solving skills at the 4th and 5th grade level. She enjoys reading, writing, painting, spending time in nature, and all things creative. She is looking forward to a great school year teaching GATEWAY ELA and Future Problem Solving!

Leisa Marks

Mrs. Marks is the 4th and 5th Grade GATEWAY Specialist for Math and STEM. She lives in Marstons Mills with her husband. She has two adult, married children and four beautiful grandchildren. Mrs. Marks loves to golf, sail, cook, read, spend time with her family, and loves to be outside. This is her 31st year teaching. She spent most of those years teaching 5th grade, but did teach Title 1 Math for 3 years. Eight years ago Mrs. Marks switched jobs to teach Math and STEM GATEWAY to 4th and 5th graders. Mrs. Marks loves teaching math and STEM. Math has always been a passion of hers, and she loves how excited her students are when they find solutions to challenging problems. She also enjoys watching how engaged her students are during STEM class as they find creative solutions to problems. She is looking forward to a fun year of math challenges with the students and can’t wait to see their creations and solutions to our STEM challenges. It’s going to be a fun year of learning.

Debra Contrino

Mrs. Debra Contrino is a GATEWAY teacher at Barnstable Intermediate School. She teaches Advanced ELA and Future Problem Solving to students in Grades 6 and 7, and also coaches our Barnstable High School Future Problem Solvers in Grades 8-12. She was formerly a high school ELA teacher, and this is her 13th year teaching GATEWAY at BIS. Mrs. Contrino is the busy mom of four young adult children, and her youngest daughter is presently a Senior at Barnstable High. She enjoys reading, yoga, traveling, rooting for our Barnstable Red Hawks teams, and all of our New England sports teams!   

**TBD - 6th and 7th Grade GATEWAY Specialist for Math and STEM**

Christy Salley

Mrs. Salley is the Future Problem Solving Scenario Writing Coach for grades 10-12.   

Jennifer Holland

Mrs. Jennifer Holland is a co-coach of the Mock Trial team at BHS, along with Mr. Bruce Colwell.

Bruce Cowell

Mr. Cowell is a history teacher at Barnstable High School.  He is  the co-coach of the Mock Trial team along with Mrs. Holland.