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| Meet Our Staff |
| Nagammai Bhaskar
(Teacher Assistant)
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Mrs. Bhaskar has
been at St. James as a parent for five
years with her two daughters, Shanthi,
age 7, and Preethi, age 5. Prior
to staying home to raise her children,
Mrs. Bhaskar was a software engineer,
holding a bachelors degree in
Electrical and Electronics Engineering
for Thiagaraja College of Engineering
in India. We got to know her
very well as a parent volunteer and
substitute and she was a favorite
amongst the kids and teachers when she
volunteered to lead library time and
share stories with our students.
Mrs. Bhaskar loves to cook, especially
Indian food, and loves to spend time
with her family reading and doing
endless hours of crafts! She has
enjoyed her time home raising her
girls, but is enjoying her second year
as part of the St. James staff too! She
loves to try out science
experiments with the future scientists
in Pre-K Plus! Her kind and
caring manner, love of reading and
science, and great sense of humor make
Mrs. Bhaskar an excellent addition to
our staff! |
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Amy Burke (Toddler Talk Teacher)
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Mrs. Burke (or Miss Amy
according to our youngest students)
has been a St. James parent for over 3
years and has served as our PTO
president for the last two years.
. Her oldest daughter is a St.
James alum and her second daughter is
currently attending the
preschool. Mrs. Burke attended
Philadelphia University where she
earned a BS in Marketing. She
worked in marketing for 5 years before
opting to stay home and raise her
children full-time. She enjoys
painting furniture, walking, and
spending time with her daughters and
family. Currently Mrs. Burke
teaches our toddler talk classes on
Fridays where her great energy, sweet
smile, and her kind words of
encouragement help our youngest
students have a wonderful first school
experience!
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| Charlene Breindel (Pre-K Teacher)
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Mrs. Breindel lives in the Downingtown area with her husband
Ralph, and her son, Jesse who is in
a freshman at Penn State University. Her daughter Nikki is a
Penn State grad with a degree in Industrial Engineering. Mrs. Breindel joined the staff of St. James Preschool
five years ago after working as a long-term kindergarten substitute at St. Joseph’s. She holds
a Associate Degree from Penn State University with an emphasis on Early
Childhood Education as well as an
Associate Degree in Business from
DuBois Business College. She enjoys
walking, shopping, reading, watching
movies, and visiting the beach and
Disney! Mrs. Breindel teaches our
3 day AM and PM Pre-K programs this
year . Mrs.
Breindel has always been active in her children’s education and activities and,
as they are getting older, she is happy to be able to continue to work with our
youngsters here at St. James. She
finds every day to be a new, fun
experience and loves the children's
excitement to be at school and learn
new things. Mrs. Breindel's creative ideas and love of learning and
children make her a very valuable member of our staff. |
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| Cathy Cutting
(Toddler Talk Teacher)
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Mrs. Cutting (or
Miss Cathy as her Toddler Talk
students call her) has been at St.
James for over three years. She has
two daughters, ages 7 and 4 years old,
both graduates of St. James Mommy and
Me programs, one currently a preschool
student at St. James. Mrs. Cutting holds
a Bachelor's Degree in Business
Management from Wesley College. She enjoyed attending Mommy and Me
classes at St. James with each of her
daughters and as the program grew it
became clear that she would be an
excellent teacher for the class.
Mrs. Cutting's outgoing nature, warm
and friendly disposition, and
nurturing manner make her a wonderful
first teacher for our youngest
students. You'll never catch her
without a smile on her face! |
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| Suzanne Diodato
(Co-Director)
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Mrs. Diodato has been at St. James Preschool for
7 years,
starting as a Pre-K teacher (and a parent of a student) and then taking on the
position of co-director in 2006.
Mrs. Diodato has
three beautiful daughters. She holds
a B.S.
in Elementary Education from East Stroudsburg University. She’s been teaching
for 18 years and loves the new adventure every day with the children. She feels
that each day is a fun and exciting experience for herself and the whole class.
Her enthusiasm and love for the children make her a favorite among St. James
families and we all enjoy her
creativity and fun projects. In her spare time, Mrs. Diodato enjoys scrapbooking and
crafts. |
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Colleen Ellis
(2 1/2ers/Young 3s Teacher)
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Mrs. Ellis is
beginning her fifth year at St. James,
this year as our 2 1/2ers/Young 3s
teacher. We have
known her for quite some time as mom
to her alumni son and daughter and as an
active PTO member. Now that her
children are older, we are fortunate to have her on our
staff. Mrs.
Ellis hold a Bachelors Degree in Early
Childhood Education from West Chester
University and has worked
with students of varying abilities and
special needs. Her warm and
caring attitude and easygoing
personality make her a wonderful
addition to our staff. In her
spare time Mrs. Ellis enjoys reading. |
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Barbara Fults
(First Step Teacher)
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We are very fortunate to have Mrs. Fults as part of our program
here at St. James. Mrs. Fults works for First Step, part of the ARC of Chester
County, where she is an Early Intervention Specialist. She holds a BA from
Virginia Tech in Early Childhood and Elementary Education and specializes in
working with children with special needs. Mrs. Fults and her students have been
special part of our Pre-K classes for
over 14 years. Mrs. Fults enjoys spending time
with her grown son and daughter and
her two grandchildren. She also loves sailing
on the Chesapeake, walking, and
participating in her book group. |
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| Minda Goldman (Teacher Assistant)
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Mrs. Goldman has been at St. James as a teacher assistant for
11 years, mostly working with our younger children. Her patience and wonderful
manner with the children make her a special part of our staff, and someone who
is much loved by our students. Mrs. Goldman has 3
sons and a daughter-in-law. She enjoys yoga and
watching funny movies and
football. She's also a huge
Keith Urban fan! |
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| Katherine
Grandizio (Older Threes/Fours Teacher)
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Mrs. Grandizio is
starting her second year as a teacher
at St. James, though we have known her
as a St. James parent for a long
time. She has four children ages
8, 11, 13, and 16. Mrs.
Grandizio has a Bachelor of Arts as
well as her Elementary Education
Certification from The College of
Wooster. She teaches our Older Threes and Fours
Class on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays. She enjoys spending
time with her family going on nature
hikes, playing games, doing art
projects, and reading together.
Mrs. Grandizio loves learning about
different times and places in history,
especially Ancient Egypt. She
also plays field hockey in a local
league. Mrs. Grandizio loves
everything about preschool, especially
helping young children explore the
world around them. She is
rewarded by drawing them into new
learning experiences and watching them
grow. We love having her
creative spirit a part of our St.
James Family. |
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Kimberly Grenoble (Older Threes/Fours
Teacher)
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Mrs. Grenoble is
starting her second year at St. James
Preschool. She teaches the Older
Threes and Fours Class on Tuesday and
Thursday mornings. She has three
active daughters who keep her quite
busy when she is not teaching.
Mrs. Grenoble attended West Chester
University where she earned her B.S.
in Education. She spent 6 years
teaching 4th grade before staying home
to raise her children. She loves
singing songs and having fun with her
students, while helping give them a
solid foundation for their elementary
school education to come. In her
free time, Mrs. Grenoble enjoys
crafts, reading and exercise. |
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Terri Haggerty
(Teacher Assistant)
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Mrs. Haggerty is in
the midst of her third year at St.
James. She is a loving mom of
twins--a boy and a girl--age 9!
Mrs. Haggerty holds a B.S. in Biology
from Drexel University and a M.A. in
Nutrition from Immaculata
University. After staying home
to raise her children for seven years, Mrs. Haggerty
re-entered the work force as our
Pre-K assistant. She enjoys
watching her students experience and
learn new things and loves the hugs
and love they have to give! In
her free time, Mrs. Haggerty enjoying
playing frisbee with her dog, walking,
and doing yoga. Mrs. Haggerty's calm
and patient manner and nurturing
disposition make her a wonderful
addition to our staff. |
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| Claudia Kiernan (Teacher Assistant)
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Mrs. Kiernan has been at St. James for
12 years as an
assistant. It’s easy to see how much she enjoys the children. She has two
sons Brian and Jeff. Mrs. Kiernan has lots of hobbies, such as
jewelry making,
painting, camping, biking, swimming, scrapbooking, shopping, reading and travel
(just to name a few!) She loves
walking on the beach and collecting
shells and seaglass. She’s always loved children since she started babysitting
as a teen. She’d like parents to know that she’s happy to give your children
her personal attention, listening to their stories, playing and doing crafts
with them, and helping them learn. |
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| Maha
Raman
(Pre-K Teacher and Teacher Assistant)
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Mrs. Raman has been
at St. James for 4 years, but we have
known her a lot longer. Her
daughter is a St. James graduate and
while she was here, Mrs. Raman was one
of our most popular parent substitute
teachers! Mrs. Raman currently
is our Tuesday and Thursday Pre-K
teacher, and our Pre-K Assistant on
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as
well as our Pre-K Plus assistant. She holds a Master's
Degree in Computer Applications from
Alagappa Chettiar Engineering
College. In her former career,
she trained professionals with the
latest software to meet their
needs--now she is training the future
professionals with the basic skills
needed to become successful
students! She loves working with
young children and her enthusiasm and
love of learning shine through. She
especially loves science and
math. Mrs. Raman is trained in
classical Indian dance and enjoys
yoga, early morning walks, reading and
experimenting with new recipes. She is a loving mom of a
15 year old
son and a 8 year old daughter. |
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| Debra Smith
(Teacher)
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Mrs. Smith is in the midst of her
sixth year at St. James. She returned to the workforce after staying home with her four children,
twin boys,15, and 13 year old
daughter, and a 9 year old son, a St. James graduate. Mrs. Smith has a B.S. in Elementary Education from Bradley
University in Illinois. She was also a certified Lamaze instructor. She enjoys
walking, reading and most of all teaching children.
She loves attending her children's
sporting events, including ice hockey,
lacrosse, field hockey, wrestling,
football, and cross
country. Mrs. Smith is our
5 day Pre-K teacher and she also
teaches our Pre-K enrichment program,
Pre-K plus. She has a wonderful way with the children and
they just adore her. We love having her as a teacher at St. James.
Mrs. Smith loves watching her students
grasp a new concept, learn a new game,
or play nicely with their
friends...she thinks it's all great! |
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| Chitra
Soundararajan (Teacher
Assistant/Lunch Bunch Teacher)
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Mrs. Soundararajan
(or Mrs. S. as we lovingly call her)
is in the midst of her third year at
St. James, but we have known her for
many years as the parent of a St.
James alumnus. Mrs. S. has a
Masters Degree in Economics from a
university in India. She also
has completed teacher training.
She is a loving mom of two boys.
Mrs. S. re-entered the workforce after being
at home raising her two boys.
She loves working with children and
enjoys her job as an assistant and
also leading our lunch bunch
program. Mrs. S. has a wonderful
sense of humor and an extreme amount
of patience. She has tons of
love to offer our students and they
adore her. In her spare time,
Mrs. S. loves reading, music, cooking,
gardening, traveling with her family,
and playing with her children. |
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| Johanna Uggla (Co-Director)
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Mrs. Uggla has been part of St. James staff for
7 years. Prior
to that she was an active PTO president and parent of two children at the
preschool, now graduates, Samantha,
11 and Spencer, 9. She has a B.A. in History from West Chester University, and
an M.Ed. in Educational Counseling, also from
WCU. Mrs. Uggla enjoys spending
time with her children and husband, reading, exercising, and going to the
beach. She keeps busy attending her
children's various sporting events,
musical and theater performances, and
many more kid activities. She loves helping children learn to love school and working to make
their first school experience a great one. |
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