St. Bernadette Parish

MISS NANCY LYON (Kindergarten):  Miss Lyon lives in Avon, but grew up in Rocky River.  She attended Magnificat High School and John Carroll University.  After college, Miss Lyon went to Cleveland State University and obtained two Masters Degrees in Curriculum & Instruction and School Counseling.  This is Miss Lyon’s ninth year as a teacher – second year teaching the kindergarteners at St. Bernadette School.  “The children at St. Bernadette are a pleasure to teach,” says Miss Lyon.  “They are always willing to learn and help others, which always reminds me how fortunate I am to teach at such a great school.”

MRS. ANN HEALEY (Kindergarten):  Mrs. Healey has been teaching the kindergartners at St. Bernadette School for two years.  Prior to that, she taught at Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Cleveland for three years. Mrs. Healey received a B.A. from John Carroll University in 1982.  She then worked as a corporate sales manager for a major downtown hotel.  In 2002, Mrs. Healey spent a year in graduate school to become a teacher.  She took 50 credit hours and student taught full time in 11 months.  In May of 2003, she received her Master of Education degree and became a licensed teacher.  Mrs. Healey and her husband Tom (who is a theology teacher at St. Ignatius High School) have been married over 25 years.  They have two children Kevin and Mary Kate.  Mrs. Healey states that she enjoys teaching at St. Bernadette School because the families value education and she feels she is able to take the children very far with the help of their parents.  “I am very grateful to teach and be a part of such a wonderful school community.  The support I have received during my son’s lengthy and on-going illness is nothing short of heavenly.”  

MRS. DEBBIE CHINCHAR (Grade 1):  Mrs. Chinchar has been a primary grade teacher at St. Bernadette School for 32 years.  She began her career here in 1976 after graduating from the College of Mt. St. Joseph.  Mrs. Chinchar met her husband Mark at the school and the two were married in 1979.  They live in Westlake.  Mrs. Chinchar states, “I really enjoy teaching at St. Bernadette because I love being able to share my Catholic faith every day.  First grade is my favorite grade to teach because the children are very enthusiastic and make every day fun.”  Mrs. Chinchar shares that she is now enjoying having former students’ children in her class.  She finds it very gratifying to see that graduates of St. Bernadette School have such a high regard for the Catholic education they received and they are now choosing to send their own children to school here.

 
MRS. EILEEN FOSTER (Grade 1):  Mrs. Foster graduated of Magnificat High School and then attended the University of Kentucky.  She is married and has one daughter Kelly who graduated from St. Bernadette School.  Mrs. Foster states, “I have enjoyed teaching all of my students in Room 6 for the past 33 years at St. Bernadette School.”

MRS. ELIZABETH HAJDUK (Grade 2):  Mrs. Hajduk has been teaching second grade at St. Bernadette for two years.  She is a graduate from Magnificat High School and Baldwin Wallace College.  Mrs. Hajduk has been teaching for 10 years.  She previously taught at St. Adalbert in Berea.  She took two years off to have her two beautiful children Hannah and James.  Mrs. Hajduk and her husband Jim have been married for 11 years and will be moving to Columbia Station in the Spring.  Mrs. Hajduk states, “St. Bernadette School is a wonderful place to work.  The students and their families have been very welcoming to me.”  

 
MRS. KATHY LONG (Grade 2):  Mrs. Long has been teaching second grade students at St. Bernadette School for six years.  Previous to that, she taught second grade for four years at St. Adalbert in Berea.  She loves teaching the second graders because she enjoys teaching the children about Jesus and especially because they make their First Reconciliation and First Communion in second grade.  Mrs. Long is happy to be a part of their lives for those sacraments.  Mrs. Long has three grown children and lives in Rocky River where her husband is a councilman.  Her husband is currently studying to be a deacon for the Diocese of Cleveland and she has been attending classes at the seminary with him and finds them quite interesting.  Mrs. Long received her B.A. and a Master of Education degree from John Carroll University. 

MRS. CHRISTINE KOBA (Grade 3):  Mrs. Koba graduated from the oldest, Catholic women’s college in the United States, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Terre Haute, Indiana.  She received her B.A. in Elementary Education.  Mrs. Koba has been a teacher for 35 years – 33 of them at St. Bernadette School’s Room 3.  Mrs. Koba states, “A perfect combination of students, parents and colleagues have made teaching at St. Bernadette School a very rewarding experience.”  She and her husband Jim have been residents of Rocky River since 1973.

 
MISS MARY SUE ANDERS (Grade 3):  Miss Anders has been a teacher at St. Bernadette since 1993, although her history at St. Bernadette can be traced back to her Baptism.  Her parents joined a young St. Bernadette Parish in 1954 and sent all five of their children to St. Bernadette School.  After graduating from St. Bernadette, Miss Anders went on to attend Magnificat High School and Bowling Green State University.  Miss Anders loves teaching and the unique personality of each individual class.  Her favorite part of the day is the fun and laughter shared with her students.  She is a resident of Westlake.  Miss Anders is the 2007 Crystal Apple Award Winner for excellence in education.

MRS. BARBARA KNOX (Grade 4):  Mrs. Knox is a graduate of St. John College of Cleveland.  After graduation her first teaching position was as a fifth-grade teacher at St. Vincent de Paul in Cleveland.  She taught there until 1988 at which time she decided to come to St. Bernadette School and teach fourth grade.  Mrs. Knox has been teaching for the Diocese of Cleveland for 36 years.  She is very happy teaching at St. Bernadette School and states, “The children have such wonderful spirit and curiosity for learning.” Mrs. Knox did work with a few of the other teachers in the school’s first Drama Club for nine years.  She now is the co-moderator of the school’s favorite Cooking Club.  Mrs. Knox’s husband Ken is also a teacher.  He teaches eighth grade at St. Angela Merici in Fairview Park.  They have two children Matthew and Katie.  Both children graduated from St. Bernadette School.  

MRS. KATHLEEN LANG (Grade 4):  For the past 23 years, Mrs. Lang has been teaching the fourth graders at St. Bernadette School.  After receiving her B.A. in Elementary Education from Marygrove College in Detroit, Michigan, Mrs. Lang taught at St. Joseph’s School in Avon Lake for four years.  She and her husband John are residents of Westlake and have two married sons Michael and Brian, one grandson Michael and are looking forward to another grandchild this July.  Mrs. Lang states, “Each year the delightful children, the dedicated faculty and staff, and I grow through mutual respect and joy coupled with our Catholic faith.” 

   
MR. TIMOTHY STUBER (Grade 5):  Mr. Stuber teaches our fifth graders math, English and science and it is his first year teaching.  He is a recent graduate of Cleveland State University.  After high school, Mr. Stuber attended The Ohio State University and was a member of The Ohio State University Marching Band.  He remains a diehard Buckeye fan.  Mr. Stuber grew up in North Olmsted and still lives there.  Mr. Stuber says, “It has been a tremendous experience teaching the students of St. Bernadette School this year and I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to teach in such a great school.” 

MISS MARSHA COLEFF (Grade 5):  Miss Coleff is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College with degrees in both Elementary and Music Education.  She was hired as an elementary teacher at Our Lady of Good Counsel School where she spent 18 years teaching second, third and fourth graders.  Miss Coleff uses her musical abilities to direct and perform with two ethnic orchestras and cantors Masses.  This is her second year at St. Bernadette School.  She enjoys teaching her fifth graders religion, reading and social students and working with such a wonderful faculty and staff.

 
MRS. KAREN CASEY (Grade 6):  Mrs. Casey grew up in Westlake, Ohio and graduated from Magnificat High School and Ohio Dominican University.  She has taught in Illinois and Florida for over 25 years – all in Catholic Schools.  She is the mother of four daughters and grandmother of four boys and two girls.  She enjoys cooking, gardening and traveling to visit her children who reside in Toronto, Canada; Arlington Heights, Illinois; and Dublin, Ireland.  Mrs. Casey says she loves her profession and especially St. Bernadette School.  She considers this her home and a special place that nourishes her mind, heart and spirit through the children and their families.

MRS. JODY STOPIAK (Grade 6):  Mrs. Stopiak is a graduate of Capital University in Bexley, Ohio near Columbus. After graduation, she worked as a substitute for Parma City Schools. Then worked in a daycare taking care of infants and toddlers. After working in the daycare for two years, she taught sixth grade at Holy Family School in Parma for three years. Then taught for six years at St. Richard School in North Olmsted. She has two boys, Jacob who is in the sixth grade and, Joshua who is in the fifth grade. Joshua will be attending St. Bernadette School for the first time. He is very excited!! Mrs. Stopiak is also very excited and feels blessed to be part of the St.Bernadette community.

 
MRS. JILL CHRISTMYER (Grade 7):  After graduating from Lakewood High School, Mrs. Christmyer worked in a day-care center and knew immediately that she wanted to work with children.  A few years after getting married, she attended John Carroll University and graduated magna cum laude.  Mrs. Christmyer completed her student teaching at St. Ignatius High School and substituted at many of the local schools until she came to work at St. Bernadette School.  She has been a teacher in our school community for 11 years and loves it.  “St. Bernadette is like a second family to me, and the kids are such caring people.”  Mrs. Christmyer teaches seventh grade language arts, reading and vocabulary and eighth grade language arts.  She has been happily married for 22 years and lives in Avon Lake. 

MRS. JOAN BUTLER (Grade 7):  Mrs. Butler earned a BSE from Baldwin-Wallace College and an MA in Educational Administration from Ursuline College.  She has been a teacher for third through eighth graders in schools in Michigan and the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.  Since 1988 she has taught religion, science and health to seventh and eighth grade students at St. Bernadette School.  She is grateful for the students and their families with whom she has shared so much and who have helped her to grow in her own knowledge, faith and service to others.  Mrs. Butler lives in North Royalton with her husband. 
 
MRS. ASHLEE MENEAR (Grade 8):  Mrs. Menear teaches seventh-grade math, along with eighth-grade Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, and reading.  Mrs. Menear is a Padua Franciscan High School Alumna and graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College in May of 2007.  Her summer was very busy with graduating, getting married, and beginning her first year of teaching at St. Bernadette School.  Mrs. Menear has thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful faculty and staff, who have taken her under their wings, and the fun and unpredictable eighth-grade students, who keep her days interesting.  Mrs. Menear currently resides in Brunswick with her husband Dave and their two dogs Crickett and Kojun.  

MRS. NANCY NOGA (Grade 8):  Mrs. Nancy Noga teaches eighth-grade religion and junior‑high social studies classes at St. Bernadette School.   She has an eighth grade homeroom.  This is her second year teaching at St. Bernadette.  Mrs. Noga states that she thoroughly enjoys working with the dedicated and professional staff and administration at St. Bernadette, but it is the energy, enthusiasm and cooperative spirit of the students and their parents that make St. Bernadette really special!  Mrs. Noga looks forward to beginning her thirty-sixth year as a Catholic educator.  Catholic schools are an integral part of her life.  As she puts it, “I have been “in” Catholic schools as a student, teacher and/or parent since I was six years old!”   A graduate of St. Stephen High School and Notre Dame College of Ohio, Mrs. Noga began her teaching career at Cleveland Central Catholic High School.   She was on the staff at her home parish school, St. Thomas More in Brooklyn, and also taught at St. Luke School and Lakewood Catholic Academy.  Mrs. Noga and her husband Joe have two adult children and a large extended family. 

MRS. LISA ZOLMAN (Art):  Mrs. Zolman is a graduate of Kent State University and received her degree in Art Education.  Before coming to St. Bernadette School in 2007, she taught art enrichment classes at various pre-schools and was even a camp counselor.  Mrs. Zolman grew up in Mentor where she still lives with her husband Andy and their cat Diego.  Mrs. Zolman states, “I truly enjoy teaching art and am glad to be doing so with such dynamic and creative children!” 

MRS. GERRIE KRIEGER (Computer Education):  Mrs. Krieger teaches all of the students at St. Bernadette School (kindergarten through 8^th grade) computer literacy.  With a Master of Education degree, she is certified to teach all grades and subjects, and has even taught graduate‑level courses at Cleveland State University.  Although new to the school, she is very familiar with St. Bernadette because of her relationship with her first cousin Father Jack Krasen, a former associate at the parish.  She feels teaching computer skills to the students at St. Bernadette School is a wonderful experience.  “The children are extremely responsive and the parents are supportive.  It is an environment conducive to teaching and learning.”  Mrs. Krieger enjoys living in the Westshore area with her four-legged six‑year old.

MRS. PENNY SENT (Music Education):  Mrs. Sent is a veteran teacher with more than 30 years’ experience in classroom teaching, as well as directing choirs and teaching voice.  Her voice students have consistently received superior ratings in solo/ensemble contests and several have gone on to study music at the college of their choice.  Mrs. Sent has sung professionally in opera and oratorio and has been a frequent recitalist and church/temple soloist.  She holds a B.M. and B.M.E. from Baldwin-Wallace College and an M.A. from Case Western Reserve University.  She is a 1996-1997 Jennings Scholar.  Mrs. Sent is delighted to be at St. Bernadette School, describing her position here as a “perfect fit.”  “The students here are great fun and the staff is phenomenal!  I look forward to many happy years here!” 

MRS. NOREEN HOLLO (Physical Education):  Mrs. Hollo has been teaching physical education at St. Bernadette School for 28 years.  She and her husband Ron have been married for 37 years and all five of their children went to St. Bernadette School.   They live in Avon Lake and enjoy golfing and biking.  Mrs. Hollo said, “My favorite time at St. Bernadette’s is Field Day when we all come together as a team in celebration of the spirit of our school!” 

MRS. SANDRA BOLL (Spanish):  Mrs. Boll is our newest member of St. Bernadette School.  She lives in Sheffield Lake with her husband Kevin and they have been married for 20 years.  They have two children Brian (17 years) and Marisa (14 years).  Mrs. Boll has been teaching Spanish in Catholic schools for the past ten years and is excited to teach a new language to our students.