Letters from the Board

Dear St. Catherine’s Community,

With the start of the school year comes the promise of new beginnings, fresh hopes, and dreams, creating an infectious air of excitement! As our community embarks on this fresh start, the St. Catherine’s Montessori Board is also commencing its work for 2024-2025.

This year, the Board is composed of nine dedicated members:

• Denise Stasio (President, Head of School Support & Evaluation Committee Chair, Finance Committee)
• Angie Gubitz (Vice President, Head of School Support & Evaluation Committee)
• Sarah Scherschel (Secretary, Committee on Directors Chair)
• Lauren Wasielewski (Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair)
• Misty Matin (Advancement Committee Chair)
• Chad Mavity (Committee on Directors)
• Sam McGlone (Buildings & Grounds Committee Chair)
• Eric Rodriguez (Buildings & Grounds Committee)
• Kevin Smith (Committee on Directors, Head of School Support & Evaluation Committee)

We invite you to visit the Board pages on the new SCM website, which looks amazing! A special thank you to everyone involved in creating this beautiful reflection of our Catholic Montessori community, deeply rooted in the Dominican spirit.

This year, in addition to our regular Board responsibilities, we have three main goals:

1. Support a facilities and capacity study to meet the current and future needs of St. Catherine’s Montessori.
2. Continue to support the Head of School, faculty, and staff in implementing the Strategic Plan.
3. Assess and adjust Board committee structure and membership to achieve the goals of St. Catherine’s Montessori.

Thank you for helping us keep our important mission alive and thriving through your prayers, promotion, and financial support of St. Catherine’s Montessori. We look forward to seeing you at various community events and to all the blessings this year holds in store for us.

Gratefully,

Denise Stasio
President

1. Supporting the Implementation of the New St. Catherine’s Montessori Strategic Plan 

The Strategic Plan serves as a dynamic roadmap for our institution's future as a Catholic Montessori school rooted in the Dominican tradition. Crafted meticulously by our dedicated team, led by Lina and SCM faculty and staff, this plan ensures our adaptability in a rapidly changing world. We extend heartfelt gratitude to Lina and her team for their exceptional work in formulating and carrying out actionable plans for each strategic goal.

2. Engaging the Board of Directors in Risk Analysis and Strategic Thinking to Identify and Develop Holistic School and Board Responses 

• Denise Stasio (President, Head of School Support & Evaluation Committee Chair, Finance Committee)
• Angie Gubitz (Vice President, Head of School Support & Evaluation Committee)
• Sarah Scherschel (Secretary, Committee on Directors Chair)
• Lauren Wasielewski (Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair)
• Misty Matin (Advancement Committee Chair)
• Chad Mavity (Committee on Directors)
• Sam McGlone (Buildings & Grounds Committee Chair)
• Eric Rodriguez (Buildings & Grounds Committee)
• Kevin Smith (Committee on Directors, Head of School Support & Evaluation Committee)

1. To support the implementation of the new St. Catherine’s Montessori Strategic Plan.
2. To discuss scenarios that engage the Board of Directors in risk analysis and strategic thinking to identify and develop holistic school and Board responses.

Dear St. Catherine’s Community,

It is hard to believe that we have come so quickly to the end of another successful school year at St. Catherine’s! In September, the Board of Directors shared with you its two main goals for the 2022-2023 school year:

1. To continue to support Lina Delgado as she settles into her first year as Head of School. 2. To create the next Strategic Plan.

The Board is pleased to share that, with your community support, these goals have been met. The Board believes Lina has done an excellent job in her first year as Head of School. This year has been incredibly busy with all the pre-pandemic community events back up and running, a gala, and strategic planning. Lina joyfully joined in the work and led our community through another wonderful year. We have found her to be an excellent partner in school leadership and are excited about what is to come next year.

The Strategic Plan is almost complete. The Board extends its appreciation and gratitude to Kathy Hijazi and Chad Mavity, the Strategic Planning Committee Co-Chairs. They have done an immense amount of work in leading us in this process. We are also very grateful to the St. Catherine’s community for filling out surveys, attending focus groups, and actively participating in this process. Once finalized, the Strategic Plan will be posted to the Board page of the website. We are excited for what the future holds and the work that we will do together.

In addition to being grateful to you for helping us to meet our goals, we appreciate the many ways you support St. Catherine’s from contributing to the SCM Annual Fund to volunteering for Advancement and PSO-led events. We feel blessed to be part of the St. Catherine’s community and continuing to fulfill the mission and vision set forth by our foundresses, Sr. Edna Ann and Sr. Shirley.

We hope this summer brings you opportunities for rest and relaxation, and we look forward to seeing you in the fall. 

Sincerely, 

Ryan Patterson

• Ryan Patterson (President)
• Angie Gubitz (Vice President; Chair of Head of School Support & Evaluation Committee)
• Misty Matin (Secretary; Chair of Advancement Committee)
• Lauren Wasielewski (Treasurer; Chair of Finance Committee)
• Kathy Hijazi (Co-Chair of Strategic Planning Committee)
• Chad Mavity (Co-Chair of Strategic Planning Committee)
• Sarah Scherschel (Co-Chair of Committee on Directors; Buildings & Grounds Committee)
• Kevin Smith (Head of School Support & Evaluation Committee)
• Denise Stasio (Co-Chair of Committee on Directors)

1. To continue to support Lina Delgado as she settles into her first year as Head of School.
2. To create the next five-year Strategic Plan for 2023-2028.