Fr. Michael Owen graduated from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL, with a double major in Philosophy and Religious Studies. After graduation, he attended seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL. He received his Masters in Divinity and Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology, and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 23, 2009.
Fr. Mike wants nothing more than to lead others towards a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. Whether it's through teaching a religion class, playing pick-up basketball, or doing one of his voice impersonations, his goal is to let the kids know that God loves them and that faith can be fun.
Pat Kelly
Principal
Pat Kelly graduated from St. Norbert College
with a BA in history and education. He then went
on to receive his MA in Educational
Administration from Dominican University. Mr.
Kelly has taught theology and history at St.
Benedict High School where he became the
Theology Department Chair and Assistant
Principal. Mr. Kelly continued on to St. Rita
High School as the Assistant Principal and
Computer Science Chair where he developed and
implemented new curriculum.
Mr. Kelly is a married father of two wonderful
daughters, Caitlin and Anna and wife, Laura.
Both children attend St. John Brebeuf School
Dan Gargano
Assistant Principal and Curriculum/Integration Teacher
Dan Gargano graduated from DePaul University majoring in Secondary Education with a concentration in English and Literature. He continued his education at Concordia University receiving his Masters in School Leadership and Administration. Mr. Gargano comes from a family of educators and is a life-long learner. Being a Chicago Cubs fan, he has a positive attitude and can show unwavering support under the best and worst conditions.
Joanne Blumenshine
Preschool and Kindergarten
Mrs. Blumenshine has been a teacher for 37 years
- the last 16 at SMOW. She says her favorite thing about teaching kindergarten is, "I love watching the kids' faces when they understand a new concept." Mrs. Blumenshine and her husband have three grown sons
- one of whom is a teacher. The kids will enjoy hearing stories about her adorable dog, Louie.
Kathy Hoffman
Preschool and Kindergarten Aide
Mrs. Hoffmann loves working with Mrs. Blumenshine as a part-time aide. She enjoys the children's enthusiasm and loves to color and draw with them. Mrs. Hoffman has two children, a son and a daughter, who are SMOW students.
Laura Klaw
Preschool and Kindergarten Aide
Mrs. Klaw graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in education. She loves working with the kids because they are smart, sweet and funny. She has two children, a son and a daughter, who attend St. Cornelius School. Mrs. Klaw has a lot of fun working with Mrs. Blumenshine, Mrs. Hoffman, and most of all, the great kids who always make her smile.
Kathy Kendrick
Kindergarten
Mrs. Kendrick has been a teacher for 32 years. She has taught other grades but enjoys kindergarten the most because "I love to see the smiles on the children's faces when they arrive in the morning, and they're happy to be here." Mrs. Kendrick especially likes teaching in a Catholic school because of the freedom to talk about religion during the school day. Mrs. Kendrick and her husband have four children and three grandchildren. The students will learn early in the year that her favorite treat is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups right from the freezer!
Kathy Borkowski
Kindergarten Aide
Mrs. Borkowski has been a teacher's aide for 13 years and has been working with Mrs. Kendrick in the kindergarten room for eight years. She loves to laugh and says her favorite part of teaching kindergarten is experiencing the kids' energy and excitement. She has three sons, all of whom attended Notre Dame High School, two have finished college and the youngest is at Southern Illinois University. One of her hobbies is to grow her own gourds and carve them into beautiful sculptures.
Carolyn Dittrich
First Grade
Mrs. Dittrich has been teaching first grade at SMOW for 18 years. She enjoys the way her students are so excited and enthusiastic about everything they do, and the progress they make in just one year is truly amazing. She finds the moments when a child genuinely helps a friend are the best. Mrs. Dittrich likes teaching at SMOW because she has the opportunity to incorporate Christian values throughout the curriculum, and she feels fortunate to be a part of a community that comes together to support one another.
Kathy Collins
First Grade Aide
Mrs. Collins has been helping the St. Mary's first graders for the last five years. Her favorite thing about working at SMOW is being with the kids! She especially loves teaching reading and working with small groups of students to help them master new concepts.
Rosemary Robak
First Grade
Mrs. Robak has been teaching at the primary level for over 15 years. She received a dual bachelor's degree in both early childhood education and elementary education from Northeastern Illinois University. Mrs. Robak loves SMOW because of its "warm, caring students and supportive community of families." Students in first grade can look forward to sharing special times in morning meetings, becoming great storywriters and readers, learning about interesting animals like penguins and butterflies, performing in the Christmas play, and making great friends.
Barb O'Brien
First Grade Aide
Mrs. O'Brien has been helping first graders learn at SMOW for the past 13 years. She spends most of her time working with small groups of students to improve their reading skills. Mrs. O'Brien loves spending time with the children because they always make her laugh!
Sue Fichter
Second Grade
Mrs. Fichter has 30 years of elementary teaching experience, 17 of those at SMOW. In her class, students can look forward to putting things into song to help them remember; by the end of the year they can even name all the Presidents of the United States in the order in which they served! Mrs. Fichter's favorite thing about teaching second grade is preparing students for their First Communion, and she loves the spirit of caring and helpfulness at St. Mary of the Woods.
Jordan Swofford
Second Grade
Miss Swofford received her BS in elementary education from Indiana University. Second grade is an exciting year for students in Miss Swofford's class. Not only do they prepare for their First Communion, they can look forward to learning about dinosaurs, fractions, cursive writing, and participating in Friday afternoon dance parties. Her favorite thing about SMOW is working in such a close-knit community.
Liz Scott
Second Grade Aide
Mrs. Scott has been working with second grade students at SMOW for almost ten years. She loves the sense of community at St. Mary's and watching the students grow and change from the first day of second grade until the last day of the school year. Mrs. Scott's favorite thing about working with the students is helping them prepare for the Christmas play.
Eileen Canavan
Third Grade
Mrs. Canavan received her BA from Rosary College and her MS from Dominican University. Before joining the staff at St. Mary's, she taught at Oak Park Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, and Mary Seat of Wisdom. Mrs. Canavan loves teaching 3rd grade at SMOW because of the children's excitement about reading. She especially loves to share the novel The Tale of Despereaux.
Cathy Davies
Third Grade
The St. Mary of the Woods School community has been lucky to have Mrs. Davies as a teacher for the past 27 years. She is a graduate of the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois earning a B.A. in English with a concentration in Education. She has taught 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades at St. Mary's. Prior to St. Mary's, she taught 3 and 4 year olds at St. Andrew Pre-school. Mrs. Davies began her career in education as a 7th and 8th grade teacher at Santa Lucia School on the near south side of Chicago.
Her mission, as a teacher, is to guide children as they learn about their faith, develop a relationship with God, respect themselves and one another, and achieve academically to become self-motivated, self-disciplined, life long learners.
Mickey Brice
Third Grade Aide
Mrs. Brice has been a teacher's aide at St. Mary of the Woods for 16 years. She works with the third grade teachers to provide small group instruction for students in reading and math. She loves to work with the children and help them understand new concepts. Each day she has the opportunity to have fun with the kids outside of the classroom as the recess monitor.
Bridget Leffingwell
Fourth Grade
Ms. Leffingwell graduated from Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN. She is a big Fighting Irish fan, despite the heartaches from the football seasons. Originally from Minneapolis, she is also a big Twins fan. Over the years, her love has extended to the Chicago teams. This is Bridget's 5th year teaching at SMOW; she looks forward to many more.
Jenny Dobrowski
Fourth Grade
Ms. Dobrowski received a BS in elementary education with endorsements in Math and English from Loyola University. She loves being a teacher at SMOW because each day is a new adventure and the students are so fun and enthusiastic. Some of the exciting activities students complete in Ms. Dobrowski's class include ecosystem dioramas, an Indian in the Cupboard thematic unit, and mad minute math competitions. When she isn't working in her classroom, Ms. Dobrowski loves to read, especially the Harry Potter series!
Gail Cristoe
Fifth Grade
Mrs. Cristoe loves teaching 5th grade Language Arts at St. Mary's. Among her favorite lessons are the Civil War and Shakespeare units because the excitement they generate with students. Mrs. Cristoe has over 15 years experience teaching at schools all over the Chicago land area, but loves SMOW because of the supportive parents who help make the school great and the fact that many alumni send their children to their alma mater because they believe in what we do.
Elizabeth Nesbitt
Fifth Grade
Mrs. Nesbitt teaches 5th grade Science, Social Studies, and Math. She loves the sense of community at SMOW, and her favorite thing about teaching is when a student finally understands a difficult concept. Mrs. Nesbitt received her BS in Education from Miami of Ohio University and also completed graduate work in special education.
Pam Batorski
Sixth Grade
Mrs. Batorski is the 6th grade Literature, Grammar, and History teacher. She graduated from Northeastern University with a double major in Education and History. She taught 5th grade at St. Mary's for 12 years and is currently teaching her 13th year in 6th grade.
Mrs. Batorski's main pastimes are reading and traveling. She has traveled extensively with trips to Egypt, China, Greece, Turkey, and Russia as her favorites. She incorporates her travel experiences in her teaching of ancient history. Her goal is to make literature and history "come alive" for her students.
Alisa Leyden
Sixth Grade
Alisa Leyden is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago majoring in Psychology and PreMed. She has 13 years of experience in the field of environmental property assessment and remediation management. Her teaching certification was obtained through the Masters in Education Program at DePaul University. She has middle school teaching endorsements in General Science, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences and has obtained certification from the Archdiocese of Chicago as a catechist.
Kathy Pierce
Seventh Grade
Mrs. Pierce's passion is encouraging her students to learn about other cultures and people different from themselves. She does this both in 8th grade religion class, which includes preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation, and in 7th grade language arts, where students learn how to write effectively, artistically, and grammatically. Mrs. Pierce attended Loyola University Chicago for two years and is a graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago, where she also earned her teaching certificate. She has accumulated over 500 CPUs in ongoing education classes. She has taught for over 25 years in Catholic schools, including over 10 at St. Mary of the Woods, taking a few years off to raise her three children.
Kathy Weber
Seventh Grade
Mrs. Weber has over 25 years of experience teaching at the Junior High level. She has her BA in Secondary Education (6-12) and her MA in History. Students in her class can look forward to the Revolutionary Fair, History Mystery competitions, and debates. Mrs. Weber's favorite part of being a teacher at SMOW is laughing with the kids and her fellow teachers. In her spare time, she enjoys going on vacation and playing with her grandsons.
Debbie Meres
Eighth Grade
Ms. Meres received her BA in Elementary Education with a concentration in Language Arts from Northeastern Illinois University and has been enriching the lives of SMOW students for 19 years. She loves having the opportunity to open the minds of her students to award winning literature. Students in her class can look forward to reading various inspiring novels and participating in the "Best of the Best Fair" which explores and develops their written, oral, and artistic talents. Ms. Meres says that the best part of SMOW is the how the entire community works collaboratively to benefit the students.
Ron Pischke
Eighth Grade
Ron graduated from DePaul University and received all his education, 16 years, in Catholic schools. He likes cooking and making things from wood. Education has always been his top priority.
Marlene Bremmer
Sixth-Eighth Grade Resource
For the past 17 years, Mrs. Bremmer has taught resource for 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. She draws on her vast experience of teaching Biology, Physical Science, and Computers at the high school and junior high level to enrich the science curriculum at SMOW. She is looking forward to working in the new school science lab. When asked what she likes best about working at SMOW, she states "I love seeing the kids every day, the camaraderie among the teachers, and being part of a Catholic environment". When she isn't at school, Mrs. Bremmer enjoys walking in the forest and ballroom dancing.
Carole Lutz
Music
Carole Lutz started her music education at the age of 9 and has never stopped. She received her undergraduate degree from North Park University and continued graduate studies at National Lewis University. She has been a piano teacher, organist, adult and children's choral director, primary music clinician and hand-bell choir director. She currently is a church music director in Prospect Heights, IL.
Tory Nelson
Art
Miss Nelson received her Master's in Art Education from the University of Illinois. She loves working at SMOW because of the friendly students and staff. Students in her class can look forward to creating beautiful works of art including clay fish, print-making, and painting with watercolors.
Molly Royce
Spanish
Senorita Royce received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Illinois State University. Following graduation, she volunteered in the Peace Corps and was placed in Paraguay where she assisted classroom teachers and taught health education. It was during this time that she developed a love for the culture of Paraguay and the Spanish language. Senorita Royce shares her passion for Spanish with the students at SMOW through highly interactive language classes. She is endorsed in teaching English Language Learners and Bilingual Education.
Carl Young
Physical Education
Mr. Young has over 25 years experience teaching physical education. Students in his class can look forward to the traditional activities, as well as different things like juggling, global ball, dance, and obstacle courses. Mr. Young loves to encourage students to not be afraid of trying new things. All of our SMOW students know that when Mr. Young is not at school, he can most likely be found cheering on his beloved Green Bay Packers!
Joanne Zalatoris
Library
Mrs. Zalatoris has been a teacher for many years, the last twelve at SMOW. She has taught other grades but enjoys the library because "I love to see the children's enthusiasm and love for reading, especially when they find a book they've wanted to read". Mrs. Zalatoris loves teaching at SMOW because "it's a wonderful school enriched in the traditions of our Catholic faith".
Maureen Callahan
Learning Resource
Miss Callahan received her BA from Mercyhurst College in elementary education. As the resource teacher, she works with individual and small groups of students to enhance student achievement. Her favorite part of working at SMOW is the chance to see students grow as learners.
Mary Beth Ginley
Learning Resource
Mrs. Ginley has a master's degree in learning disabilities form Northwestern University. As the middle school resource teacher, she assists students with understanding and learning the classroom curriculum. Mrs. Ginley enjoys working at SMOW because the students are always appreciative of the help they receive.
Joyce Conrad
Secretary
Mrs. Conrad has been the engine that keeps SMOW running for the last 11 years. She loves helping the students and families and being part of the SMOW community.
Joyce Sopko
Administrative Aide
Mrs. Sopko has been greeting visitors, students, and parents at SMOW for six years. Some of her many responsibilities include coordinating traffic safety, lunch and recess duty, and student attendance. She enjoys working with the students at SMOW and having the opportunity to see them as they arrive to school each day ready to learn!
Kathy Maher
Technology Coordinator
Mrs. Maher graduated from Marquette University with a degree in finance. As the technology coordinator, she is responsible for all of the technology equipment and implementation at SMOW. She has been a part of the SMOW community since her oldest son began school 15 years ago. She now has three St. Mary's graduates and one current child enrolled. Her favorite part of working at SMOW is the kind and enthusiastic students and faculty!
