Principal's Notebook
August 2022
Welcome Back!
Dear Queen of Angels Families,
I hope you have had restful, joy-filled summers, surrounded by those you love. It’s hard to believe that we are closing out the month of August and getting ready to start another school year together! We are excited to welcome old and new friends next week!
This is Queen of Angels Catholic School's 30th anniversary year! In celebration of our school’s Pearl Anniversary, we are looking forward to bringing back beloved traditions and welcoming new ones. We can't wait to come together as a QofA family to celebrate and recognize this special occasion!
Much has happened at QofA over the last few months: we’ve undergone some facility updates, received new furniture for our 5-8 classrooms and STREAM Lab, built an additional outdoor classroom space, complete with a greenhouse, with the help of very generous parent volunteers, and have welcomed new faculty and staff members to our team! The school is working closely with the Diocesan Facilities team to help us address some needed repairs within the building, including required work on our boilers and heating system. We are very appreciative of the opportunity to partner with them on bettering our space! This summer also saw the departure of two familiar faces at QofA: Mr. Jim Pepke and Mrs. Ursula Kline. I know you join me in wishing them the best as they begin new endeavors!
I am happy to share with you that enrollment for the 2022-2023 school year is at 229! We have seen tremendous growth, especially in our early learning grades. Our preschool and prekindergarten programs have now grown to 3 classrooms, as has our kindergarten! We have 2 sections of each grade, 1-4, and our middle school program is welcoming 25 students to begin the year. We are continuing to grow, both in enrollment and in programming, and I am so excited to see what wonderful learning and growing experiences this year will bring to our students!
This year as a teaching community, we will be focusing on creating welcoming, engaging learning environments through the use of evidence-based techniques on effective management and developmental awareness. To do this, our teachers took part in a 4-day training in the Responsive Classroom approach. During our training, we worked together on how to create positive and safe classrooms where teachers are responsive to the developmental stages and needs of their students while using effective strategies that help children develop the academic and social skills they need to succeed. Look for more information throughout the year about how this approach is being implemented in our classrooms!
A few friendly reminders:
· Our Meet and Greet family event will be held on Monday, August 29th from 4:30 P.M.-6:00 P.M. This is a great opportunity to meet teachers, drop off supplies, pick up necessary paperwork, and connect with old friends! The Earth, Wheel, and Fire Pizza food truck will be on campus if you’d like to purchase dinner while you visit us!
· Our first day of school is Wednesday, August 31st. We will dismiss at 11:30 A.M. Preschool (3 yr olds) and PreK (4 yr olds) families should follow the schedules sent by your teachers.
· Our Student/Family Handbook has undergone some revisions and updates. This important document provides a roadmap for a collaborative and successful relationship between families and the school. The updated version of the handbook will be on our website shortly. Please make sure that you read this document carefully before signing and sending in the acknowledgement page.
· We will be hosting a Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 29th. More details to come!
Looking forward to another year full of faith, fellowship, and growth!
Many blessings,
Ms. Filak
Let's Meet The Newest Members of Our Teaching Team!
Miss Lauren Moore
Miss Lauren Moore is joining our growing kindergarten team! Miss Moore is a graduate from Seton Hill University with degrees in both Elementary and Special Education. Lauren is currently working on receiving her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a STEM Endorsement from the University of Pittsburgh. Previously, Miss Moore was the lead teacher in a PreK classroom at The Goddard School and we are so excited that she is bringing her experience, enthusiasm, energy, and love for educating young children to QofA!
Miss Alaina Marburger
Miss Alaina Marburger is also joining us as a member of our second-grade team. Miss Marburger graduated from Duquesne University with a degree in Early Childhood Education and is working on completing her Master’s Degree in Reading, with a Reading Specialist Certificate, from Slippery Rock University. Alaina has taught in both private and public-school settings. She works hard to create a classroom where students are engaged and feel welcomed and safe. We’re looking forward to seeing all that Miss Marburger brings to our primary grades!
Mr. Douglas Hoagland
Mr. Douglas Hoagland will be joining the middle school crew this year as he steps into teaching middle school English/Language Arts and Social Studies. Mr. Hoagland has a degree in English, with dual minors in both French and European studies. Douglas is currently working to complete his Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and has almost 5 years of teaching experience in grades 7-12. Many of you met Mr. Hoagland over this past month when he guest taught 2 summer camps! Douglas has an enthusiasm for teaching that is contagious! We are very excited that he will be sharing his love for learning with our students.
Mrs. Amanda Cycak
Mrs. Amanda Cycak is not a new face at QofA; last year she taught in our Full-Day PreK classroom with Mrs. Newport. This year, she will be teaching one of our newly added 3-year-old and 4-year- old classrooms, in addition to taking over our Phys. Ed program! Amanda has a degree in Early Childhood Education and has experience in coaching youth sports. Her goal this year in P.E. is to create a positive, team-centered environment, that encourages students to never be afraid to try! We can’t wait to see all of the wonderful things Mrs. Cycak does in PS, PreK, and P.E.!
Mrs. Jennifer Wilson
Mrs. Jennifer Wilson will be joining QofA as our new 5th-8th grade Religion teacher. Some of you might know Mrs. Wilson; she is the Director of Religious Education and Youth Ministry at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton! Mrs. Wilson has a degree from Seton Hill University in Pastoral Ministry and Theology and is currently working towards a Master's Degree in Education in Innovative Instruction, also from Seton Hill. We are so happy to have Jennifer not only join our Queen of Angels family, but also to help further build the school's connection with the parishes' faith formation and youth ministry programs!
Old Friends, New Roles...
Miss Casey Fuga has transitioned to a new role at QofA. After completing her Master's Degree in Instructional Design and Technology, this year Miss Fuga will be the school’s Instructional Design and Technology Coach. In this role, Casey will be teaching Instructional Technology courses to both lower and upper school students, in addition to working with teachers on how to successfully integrate technology into lessons in developmentally appropriate ways. In Preschool-4th grades, she will be focusing on digital citizenship that includes safe online behavior, what to share and not share online, and creating strong passwords. Students will also spend time practicing digital creativity with photos and drawing tools, along with starting the basics of coding, and will begin working with Word processors to exploring fonts, text, shapes, and colors. With 4th-8th grade students, Miss Fuga will focus on specifics of digital citizenship, such as safe behavior on social media, the impact of our digital footprint, creating strong passwords, and knowing when and how to report unsafe behavior online. Students will take a deeper dive into Word processing tools, PowerPoint, and Excel spreadsheets. Students will spend time practicing coding and begin to learn coding language. Typing skills will be practiced throughout the year to gain mastery. We are excited about Miss Fuga's new role and all that she will bring to both our STREAM program and our Instructional Technology program!
Mrs. Joanne Mastalerz, our Business Manager, will now also be acting as our Athletic Director. In addition to leading our business office for the last 7 years, Joanne served on the Athletic Association board for many years while her children attended QofA. She plans to re-establish the association for the benefit of the students and the school. We are thankful to have Joanne’s experience as we work to build our school’s athletic program!