Some words from our new staff members...

A little bit about our new teachers & staff

Megan DeLaurentis – CH1

It has been difficult to contain my giddy excitement about my new position at St. Joseph Montessori School. I can't wait to dig into the boxes of classroom supplies and start mapping out my new classroom curriculum.

Throughout the eighties and part of the nineties, I devoted my professional life to child and family social work. I was fortunate enough to join a women's group of private practice therapists who also happened to be mothers with children attending Montessori schools. They planted the seed in me that grew into a

way of life.  In 1998, I took the plunge and became a certified Montessori teacher in a 3-6 classroom at Columbus Montessori Education Center.  One year later I became a lead teacher in the special needs classroom. This experience helped to inspire in me a passion for meeting the needs of special

needs children. These skills were fully challenged in my work at St.Vincent’s Family Center where I worked as both a social worker and classroom supervisor of 7 special needs preschool classrooms.

Recently I have been serving as an administrator and lead teacher for the final year of a small Waldorf preschool. For rest and relaxation I love to read, camp, make jewelry, write and sew. My husband and I also love raising two dogs, two cats, two love birds, one fish and a turtle.

Neil Sunga – P1

I have a B.S. in Education with majors in Mathematics and Social Science from the National University in Manila, Philippines.  I began my career in 1991, as an elementary teacher-trainee for the first year and as a full-time elementary head teacher for the next two years at Maria Montessori Foundation in the Philippines.  It was at this school that I was first exposed to Montessori principles.  I trained under the supervision and

guidance of AMI – Perugia and Bergamo, Italy Montessori Center-trained master-teachers.  I then taught both lower and upper elementary Mathematics and Cultural Studies in this institution from 1991 to 1994.

This initial exposure inspired me and I joined Operation Brotherhood Montessori Center, Inc. in 1995 and furthered my Montessori expertise by undergoing a three-year rigid training for Montessori Philosophy, Methodology and Teacher Spiritual Formation. I continued to teach both in the United States and the Philippines in the ensuing years, most recently Montessori Country Day School in Plainsboro, New Jersey as an elementary teacher. 

I am honored and delighted to be a part of St. Joseph Montessori School and look forward with great enthusiasm to sharing my Montessori expertise, meeting, working with and learning from the children, the parents and staff of St. Joseph Montessori School.

Jennifer Petric – P2

Hi! I am the new teacher in Primary 2.  However, I’m not really all that new.  I taught Primary for 8 years and Children’s House for 2 years many years ago.  Both of my daughters attended St. Joseph Montessori from Children’s House through Erdkinder.  Many of you probably know my husband from his many contributions as a drummer in school musical productions.  Jon has even performed magic shows for Children’s House students.  St. Joe’s feels like “home” to me and I’m excited to be back!

Lindsey Miller – P3

Hello!  I am very excited to be a part of St. Joseph Montessori School.  I recently received my Montessori training at Xavier University in my hometown of Cincinnati. I am happy to be back in Columbus, and look forward to working and building relationships with the parents and children of the P3 community.  In my spare time, I am an avid hiker, musician, and gardener.  I am excited to get to know each of you individually, and hope that you enjoy the rest of your summer!

Samantha Frost – Secretary/Receptionist

I graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in zoology. A love of animals led me to volunteer at a local Humane Society when I was 13.  I worked at the shelter throughout high school and college. Most recently, I served as an ABA therapist to children with autism, and greatly enjoyed spending time with the amazing kids and their families. I live in the country with many wonderful pets: cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, goats, and an adorable pig named Henry! I am excited to join the SJMS community and look forward to meeting everyone in the upcoming school year.     

Samary Cecchetti – Spanish Teacher

ˇHola! My name is Samary Cecchetti and I have the honor of being the new Spanish Teacher at St. Joseph Montessori. I am very excited and looking forward to the start of the school year and to be able to meet the students and parents of St. Joseph Montessori School! I am looking forward to teaching your children Spanish using TPR Storytelling. This is a fun and interactive way to introduce a new language or even enhance what our children already know.

My husband, Andres and I have three beautiful children; Isabella (9 yrs), Benedetta (5yrs) and Marco (2yrs). We met in the dorms our freshman year at Ohio State, dated for four years and have been married for almost 11 years. As Ohio State alumni, we are both huge fans of the Buckeyes and enjoy watching Buckeye football in the fall. I also enjoy reading, gardening, cooking and traveling to Texas to spend time with my family.

I am originally from the Rio Grande Valley area in South Texas, where the majority of the population is of Mexican decent and Spanish speaking. Both my mother and father were born and raised in Mexico but moved to the United States to start their family so that my brothers, sisters and I would have a better life.   I graduated from Ohio State in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies. As a young girl, I knew I wanted to be a teacher one day but after graduating from college, I was offered a position to work for the University and I just could not resist. I worked in the Office of Student Financial Aid, Office of Diversity and Inclusion and most recently in the Student Services Center. A couple of years ago, I decided to get my teaching license to specifically teach Spanish, so I went back to school and received my license one year ago.

I am very excited to start my teaching career at St. Joseph Montessori School and look forward to meeting every one of you very soon!

Cathy Johanni – Religious Education Teacher

I am so excited to become part of the St. Joseph Montessori family this year as a catechist for grades 1-8! I am really looking forward to sharing the beauty of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd with the children. As you know, CGS is the fruit of Maria Montessori’s vision to educate the potentials within the whole child --physical, intellectual, social, spiritual and moral. She, herself envisioned a specially prepared religious space, an atrium, as part of Montessori schools. In this space, the child would deepen and celebrate his or her relationship with God, strengthening bonds with the community of the faithful and being oriented to peaceful service of humankind. I am so honored to be able to use this approach to help guide children as they develop their unique religious potentials!

I look forward to growing the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at St. Joseph Montessori School. There is so much in this approach that is inviting and respectful of a variety of perspectives; I hope we can encourage more and more of the children and their families to feel welcome in our atrium, where we explore honestly and thoughtfully the beauty of God’s plan for peace and unity.

Victoria Windsor – Library and Media Specialist

I am delighted to join the St. Joseph Montessori community.  I look forward to helping the faculty, staff, students, and families make the most of the library and the resources it has to offer.

I have a B.A. in English from Elon University and a M.F.A. in creative writing from Texas State University, where I taught College Writing for two years.  A native of Cincinnati and former Columbus resident, I was happy to return to Ohio last year and enroll in Kent State University's library and information science graduate program, which I will complete in December.

In addition to working at SJMS, I will continue my work in the Center for Discovery at Columbus Metropolitan Library's main building downtown. We are fortunate to live in an area with many extraordinary library systems, and I hope to maximize the potential for collaboration and resource sharing as the school year unfolds.

I look forward to getting to know each of you and hearing your ideas on how we can improve library services for the good of the students and the school community.

Jennifer Biesecker – Afternoon Secretary

While not new to St. Joseph, I will be more regular and visible this year.  Prior to St. Joseph, I worked as a preschool aide off-and-on for 8 years.  I own my own housecleaning business and work as an American Sign Language Substitute Interpreter on occasion. For fun & money I sing in a Blues and Jazz band around town. I look forward to seeing and getting to know many more of you and your children now that I will be working 5 days a week from 3:30-6:00pm in the office. 

Alaina Olmstead, Intern – Children’s House 5

I graduated from high school a year early and started studying Music Performance (Opera) at the University of Akron in 1991.  In 1997, I moved to Columbus and was accepted into the OSU School of Music, but chose to study Ancient History and Classical Humanities instead.  I married Daniel Olmstead in 1999 and we have two children, Nicholas and Katherine.  

Seeing how wonderful the Montessori Method of education is for Nicholas, I decided to pursue Montessori education as a career.  I am enrolled at the Columbus Montessori Education Center Teacher Education Program and will complete my training in 2012.  

I love to travel and have been to Europe twice (Dan proposed during one of these trips!).  In my spare time, I read and watch movies with the kids, garden and swim in the summer, tailgate at OSU during the football season and try to keep up a yoga practice throughout the year.  Although I don't sing anymore, I have been working on a book for a few years as a creative outlet.  I'm excited for many things this school year- to see Nicholas grow as a 3rd year, to experience the wonder of learning anew through the eyes of Katie, who starts in Children’s House this year,  and to share my joy and excitement about Montessori with children, parents and anyone else willing to listen!  I have always appreciated having the chance to send my children to a Montessori school and having been further educated in Dr. Montessori's method of education, my only hope is that sometime in the future, it will be more widely accepted and cherished for the wonderful opportunities it gives children to learn and grow more fully into themselves.