Faculty & Staff

"Looking forward to new and wonderful beginnings, may Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother continue to bless and guide us always."

Mrs. Wilson was born and raised in Romania where she received classical music training as a flutist and choral singer. She immigrated to America in 1986 as a political refugee with her mother and sister, joining her father who had escaped three years earlier. Living in the United States is a dream come true and a daily joy and blessing. Over the years, Mrs. Wilson enjoyed going to school and learning constantly. She is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle University, and National University in San Diego, California. She also completed her French Language and Literature studies at the University of Washington.

Mrs. Wilson served at Holy Family Parish School for fourteen years, first as a homeroom teacher, and then as Vice-Principal and music specialist. She also greatly cherished serving at Holy Family Parish as Pastoral Assistant for Music for five years.

Mrs. Wilson's husband, Brian Wilson, is a native Mercer Islander and MIHS graduate, class of ‘82. The Wilsons have lived in West Seattle’s Belvidere area ever since they were married, more than 22 years ago, in a house that has been in the family for over 70 years. Their marriage was blessed with one daughter, Julia Maria. Julia attends Kennedy Catholic High School and loves reading, writing, science and being part of the Kennedy HS Color Guard.

Mrs. Wilson enjoys volunteering as a cantor for Masses at Holy Family Parish and Mt. St. Vincent in West Seattle.

 

Mrs. North is the St. Monica School Marketing, Events and Communication Director.  She has been part of the St. Monica staff since 2006, managing several roles such as Auction Coordinator, Parish Events, Bulletin, Calendaring, Communication and Evangelization.

Mrs. North's history and commitment to this community goes way back.  She and her husband Kevin were married at St. Monica over 24 years ago and they have 3 daughters who were baptized here and attended St. Monica School. Her 15 years as a parent at St. Monica Parish School were some of the best memories ever and her closest friends today are from those days.

She is thrilled to continue contributing to the vibrant future of our school and supporting the parents and staff through all the efforts that come from the office.

Mrs. Carton has been the Administrative Assistant/Office manager at St. Monica Parish School for 19 years.

Mrs. Carton was raised in Bellevue and graduated from Bellevue High School.  She completed courses in accounting and business at both Bellevue Community and Everett College.  Prior to St. Monica Parish School she worked 20+ years in the life insurance industry.   Mrs. Carton holds several certifications in the insurance industry.  She also dappled in the travel industry.

She and husband Ken have been married for 26 years.  They have one daughter and are foster parents for her sister's 3 children.  They quickly went from a family of three to six overnight.  They are also very big advocates for adoption and foster care.  Mrs. Carton is one of seven children who were all adopted by her wonderful parents. And, Ruth is the proud Grandmother of Baby Andrew.

Working at St. Monica Parish School has been an honor and pleasure.  She has had the opportunity of working with many outstanding staff members throughout the years.  Mrs. Carton truly loves all the parents and students, past and present.

Stephanie T. Creswell, MA, LMHC, CMHS, NBCC -Child / Adolescent Psychotherapist and School Counselor offers support and counseling on all issues relating to child/adolescent and parenting.  Her specialties include mental illness, relational issues, parent coaching, learning differences, conflict resolution and academic coaching.

Mrs. Creswell is available by appointment on Tuesdays throughout the school year.  She is also available for outside counseling appointments.

 

 

Miss Tedesco has been a lead preschool and kindergarten teacher for five years, but her first experiences helping in a classroom were when she was nine years old. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with a Minor in Education from The King's College in New York City, and is currently finishing her Masters in Elementary and Special Education from the University of New Hampshire. 

Miss Tedesco is an avid sports fan who loves spending time with her family and volunteering at St. Mary's food bank.

 

Mrs. Dumont is excited to be teaching at St. Monica Parish School.

She was born and raised in San Diego, California and she also stayed through her college years. Mrs. Dumont graduated from Saint Katherine College with a degree in education, emphasizing elementary education and also received her teaching certificate from the University of San Diego. Soon after she started substitute teaching at Saint James Academy, a private Catholic grade school in Solana Beach, California. In her free time, Mrs. Dumont loves to Greek dance (“Yes, I’m Greek!”), sing in the choir, and she definitely has the travel bug! She just got back from Italy and Greece and she cannot wait to go back!  She recently got married and moved up to Seattle for her husband’s job. Mrs. Dumont truly felt called by God to teach here and she is so honored to be called a teacher at St. Monica Parish school!

 

Miss Pomada loves teaching 2nd grade at St. Monica Parish School.  Although this is her eighth year at St. Monica, Catholic education has always been a part of her life.  She grew up in Catholic schools in Bothell and South Everett and went on to attend the University of Portland, earning a degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education with a major in Spanish.  After finishing her undergraduate work, she taught first grade through the PACE program at the University of Portland (Pacific Alliance for Catholic Education) at a Catholic school in Yakima, WA while earning her Masters in Education and a reading endorsement. Her study abroad experience in college began in her a love for Spain and Andalucia that she enjoys sharing with her students.

In her free time, she enjoys traveling, playing board games, and spending time with her family and friends.

Mrs. Malone is excited to be teaching her 15th year at St. Monica Parish School.

Her 20+ years of teaching has mostly been in the third and fourth grades. She earned her B.S. degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in math and science from Penn State. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of South Florida which included an endorsement for teaching students whose first language is not English.

She is an outdoorsy person who loves to hike, snorkel, and explore. When she is not out having an adventure, she is at home reading about them as she is an avid reader of young adult books. Why does she call this her dream job? She will tell you it is because she loves celebrating Mass and sharing her faith with her students.

 

Miss McDonald works as a para-educator at St. Monica School. Your children will be greeted each morning by her smiling face at drop off, be cheered and supervised during recess by her never-ending patience, helped during class with a helpful whisper…and so much more.

Mrs. Lumaco is our Kindergarten aid. A graduate of Washington State University with a BA in Education, she taught Kindergarten in the Seattle Archdiocese for six years before her daughters were born. After several years as a stay-home mom, she followed her daughters to St. Monica Parish School!

 

Troy is a graduate of Seattle University and New York Film Academy.  He's worked as a kindergarten teacher's aide, a Boys & Girls Club tutor for grades K-8, a middle school and high school basketball coach, as well as a summer camp counselor.

After returning from Los Angeles, CA where he was working in the television industry, he's extremely excited to be back in the classroom and be a part of the St. Monica community!

Miss Pottenger is honored to join the St. Monica Parish School community this year. She is a recent graduate of Concordia University-Portland, holding a Bachelor's degree in Education: English Language Arts at the Middle/High School Level. Not very many things in life excite Miss Pottenger as much as the adventure of pursuing Truth, Beauty, and Goodness with other lifelong learners, but other passions of hers include reading young adult / juvenile literature, writing poetry and fantasy stories, frequenting coffee shops, tea parlors, and movie theaters, and attending plays and concerts anytime she can. Originally hailing from rural Oregon, she also enjoys camping, horseback riding, watching a good game of football or baseball, taking long drives on beautiful backroads, and traveling to places she's never been before. As fully and in as many ways as she can, Miss Pottenger seeks to live out the exhortation of one of her favorite Saints, Catherine of Siena: "Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire!"

Mrs. Schneider is in her 31st year of teaching at St. Monica Parish School, from '74 – '80, and '92 to the present. Since returning to teaching in '92, Mrs. Schneider has been teaching science and math in the middle school and doing science enrichment with the lower grades.

Mrs. Schneider received her BA, teaching certification, and 5th year requirements from Seattle University and Seattle Pacific University/University of Washington where her focus of studies has been in science.

Mrs. Schneider enjoys cantoring at St. Louise, reading, Sudoku puzzles, hiking, and jogging on the beach at Ocean Shores.

 

Mr. Briardy is in his 18th year of teaching at St. Monica School and in his 20th year of education overall. He has a Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Seattle University. Mr. Briardy is the eighth grade homeroom teacher responsible for U.S. history, ethics/religion, literature, seventh grade social studies, sixth grade social studies, and a sixth grade tech ethics class. He also heads up the Student Leadership Council and the school’s Family Program. Prior to going into education, he was a bond trader for various Wall Street firms. His interests outside of school include jazz, blues, and rockabilly; the financial markets, and horse racing. An avid reader, his current interests include behavioral economics and the “science” of decision making.

 

 

Talina Birashk has been the St. Monica PreK Program Director and lead teacher since 2010. She has a BA in human development and early childhood education from Washington State University.  While attending WSU she specialized in brain development in children ages birth to third grade and continues her education with online classes and early childhood education conferences. She has designed the St. Monica PreK program to give students time to explore their environment, collaborate with peers, practice social skills, increase independence and problem solving, and help them reach their academic potential.

Mrs. Birashk lives in North Bend with her husband, Joey, their two children and three cats. They spend their weekends with family, cheering on the WSU Cougars and Seattle Seahawks, and eating delicious food!

My name is Sarah and I will be starting in the Pre-K P5 classroom this year as the instructional aide. I was born and raised in Seattle, WA and have grown up with two younger siblings. I attended Holy Family in Seattle from K-8th grade and graduated high school from John F. Kennedy in Burien. I studied at Western Washington University and graduated from there with my BA in Early Childhood Education. I have spent the past four years teaching preschool at the Stroum Jewish Community Center here on Mercer Island. When I am not in school learning or teaching young children I enjoy spending time outdoors, attending Seattle sporting events, and most of all spending time with my big loving family and wonderful group of friends.

Evelyn Zwolski has five years of experience working in early childhood education as a teaching assistant at a Spanish immersion preschool in West Seattle. She also has two years as a lead Preschool Teacher at Holy Family Parish School in Seattle where they also had a bilingual program. Mrs. Zwolski brings her Spanish speaking background into the Pre-K classroom.

Mrs. Zwolski's family consists of her husband Cody, daughter Jaelynn, and son Caden. Her hobbies include reading, arts and crafts, going on family hikes, and doing fun projects with her children.

She loves being a preschool teacher because it gives her the opportunity to work in a fun, energizing environment where she is able to mold little minds and watch how they grow. She also appreciates being uplifted by the joy that accompanies working with young children. She feels very blessed to be able to be a part of St. Monica School and is excited to meet the new Pre-K families.

 

Troy is a graduate of Seattle University and New York Film Academy.  He's worked as a kindergarten teacher's aide, a Boys & Girls Club tutor for grades K-8, a middle school and high school basketball coach, as well as a summer camp counselor.

After returning from Los Angeles, CA where he was working in the television industry, he's extremely excited to be back in the classroom and be a part of the St. Monica community!

Ms. Milne was born and raised in Seattle and attended St. Matthew School and Bishop Blanchet High School.  She received an elementary education certification with a reading endorsement at Gonzaga University and went on to UCLA for a masters degree in education.  Caroline taught fourth grade in Seattle for eight years and is now very excited to be the reading specialist at St. Monica.  In her free time she enjoys traveling, cooking, and cheering on the Zags, Seahawks, and Mariners!

 

"Music is especially rewarding and fun to teach as it interfaces with faith, history, culture, and movement."

Mrs. Foster has been teaching music at St. Monica Parish School since 1989.  Her own three children graduated from St. Monica Parish School and now her three grandchildren are students here.

Mrs. Foster graduated from Ursuline College (Ohio) with a B.A. in Music Education and received her M.A. in Music Education from Michigan State. She loves teaching at St. Monica Parish School which feels like a home away from home.  St. Monica has been her parish for over 30 years.  Mrs. Foster enjoys spending time with her family and friends, going to concerts, reading, the outdoors, and traveling.

 

Learning another language opens the doors to communication and understanding of different perspectives of the world that surrounds us.

Senora Gómez is very excited to teach Spanish at St. Monica Parish School. She has been teaching Spanish for 10 years.  She received a B.A. in Business Administration and her teaching credential from the University of Washington. She is a native Spanish speaker from Colombia. She likes to share her background, her culture, and the language with all the children at St. Monica.

Senora Gómez enjoys traveling, hiking, and the outdoors. Her favorite pastime is to be with her family and friends sharing a good meal, good conversation, and great music and dancing.

"My favorite artists are Van Gough, Matisse, Picasso and Monet."

Mrs. Park begins her 14th year of teaching this school year, and the last ten of those years have been spent teaching Kindergarten through 8th grade as the Art Specialist at St. Monica Parish School. Prior to coming to St. Monica Parish School, she was a first and second grade elementary teacher and has taught junior high and high school students. Mrs. Park earned a double Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and Art History from the University of Toronto, Trinity College in Canada and received her graduate degree in K-8th Art Curriculum at the University of Western Ontario. She received her Professional Certification from Seattle Pacific University in 2010.

When she is not teaching, she enjoys traveling, visiting the museum, painting, reading, making jewelry, photography and spending time with her family and friends. Her passion for art makes her job joyful at St. Monica Parish School. She loves being able to see each student's creativity, imagination and talents everyday!

"My driving force and philosophy is “curriculum demands, technology supplies” and "we are teaching to their future, not our past."

Mrs. Porter is beginning her 19^th year at St. Monica Parish School.   After many years in elementary class settings in various roles, Mrs. Porter moved to educational technology in the late 80s, at McKnight Middle School, Newport High School and Islander Middle School.  She finds great pleasure working with students that are not only consumers of technology but also innovators.

When not at school, Mrs. Porter and her husband travel with a group called Let’s Start Talking – sharing conversational English throughout the world.  She also loves to walk.  Her favorite spots for walking include Alki, Twin Falls, Mercer Slough Nature Park, and both of her two favorite islands, Mercer Island and Kauai.

 

Mrs. Campbell has been teaching since 2005.  She first taught in the Highline School District, and then at Holy Family in Kirkland.  She earned her BA in History/Social Studies from Western Washington University and her Masters of Education and Professional Certification from the University of Washington.  In her spare time, Mrs. Campbell enjoys spending time with her family, reading, traveling, and watching hockey.

Margo received a BA from Washington State University. She earned her teaching certification from Seattle Pacific University.   Her first teaching experience was at St. George School in Seattle.  This is her seventh year at St. Monica where she works as an aide in the school and is Director of Extended Care.  Her favorite hobbies include;  power walking, hiking, skiing, kayaking and cooking.

Mrs. Dunbar is so excited to be teaching 5th grade at St. Monica. She received her BA in English from the University of Washington, and her teaching credential from Western Washington University. She taught various grade levels in the Edmonds School District for 13 years.

In her spare time, Mrs. Dunbar likes to travel, read, and spend time with her family. She has 4 children that keep her very busy!

 

 

This is Ms. Long’s third year teaching at St. Monica. Teaching fourth grade is a dream she has aspired to since she was 5 years old, and she’s so happy to be living her dream! Ms. Long is a product of Catholic schools herself, attending Catholic primary and high schools in Boise, Idaho. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in both English and Elementary Education from Gonzaga University in 2009, and her Master’s of Education Degree, with a concentration in English Speakers of Other Languages, in 2012. Before coming to St. Monica, Ms. Long taught 4^th and 5^th grade in Salt Lake City, Utah as part of the PACE program for 2 years, and 2 years beyond that.

Ms. Long is an avid reader, coffee enthusiast, and crafting extraordinaire. At this very moment, Ms. Long can be found in her classroom, classical music playing softly, meticulously correcting papers, and planning lessons and projects to inspire excellence. Little do her students know, but she was a teacher at Hogwarts before she came here.

Michelle Maher has been continuously involved in Catholic education for 33 years. As a student, parent, catechist, substitute, and teacher, she has a passion for the mission of Catholic schools: to provide a first class education, while making disciples of Jesus. She has experience teaching preschool to 8th grade, but is most excited about joining the St. Monica staff at the 5th grade level.

Michelle is the mother of four children, three attending St. Monica, one attending O'Dea High School. She enjoys running, hiking, cooking, and reading.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14