Welcome New Faculty and Staff!

Saint James School is excited to welcome the following faculty and staff to SJS for the upcoming school year:

Ms. Sara Boyle – Middle School Teacher

Please join us in welcoming Ms. Sara Boyle to our middle school teaching team.  Ms. Boyle comes to us from Granby High School and brings a wealth of experience teaching math, English language arts, social studies, and science.  Ms. Boyle received her Master’s in Education in New York City, where she taught for five years prior to moving to Connecticut.  At Saint James School, Ms. Boyle will be teaching Grade 8 English, 7th Grade religion, and one math group in both Grades 6 & 8.  Ms. Boyle will also oversee an 8th Grade homeroom.

Mrs. Brianna Hawkins – Middle School Teacher

Also joining our teaching faculty for this upcoming school year is Mrs. Brianna Hawkins, who will be teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade science.  Mrs. Hawkins comes to us from Northwest Catholic High School where she taught several science classes.  Prior to teaching at Northwest, Mrs. Hawkins taught middle school science at St. Gabriel school in Windsor.  Mrs. Hawkins will be taking over the classes previously taught by Mrs. Oei, who will be teaching engineering at East Catholic High School in the fall.  Mrs. Hawkins will also oversee an 8th Grade homeroom.

Mrs. Stephanie Thomas – Middle School Teacher

Rounding out the new members of our middle school teaching team is Mrs. Stephanie Thomas, who will be joining us as our Middle School Math teacher for Grades 6 – 8, replacing Ms. Starnick who has also taken a teaching position at East Catholic High School starting this fall.  Mrs. Thomas comes to us from Corpus Christi school in Wethersfield and previously taught high school math in Virginia after receiving her Master’s in Education from UVA.  Of interesting note, prior to her teaching career, Mrs. Thomas spent many years as a Research Assistant for NASA.  Mrs. Thomas will oversee a 6th grade homeroom.

Extended Day Program – Mrs. Jodi Talaga

As previously announced, our Extended Day Program Director has retired after 33 years of service to Saint James School.  Taking over for her will be Mrs. Jodi Talaga, who has served our school in a variety of capacities – both as an employee and a volunteer.  Any questions regarding the before and after school care program can be directed to Mrs. Talaga at jtalaga@saintjamesschool.net.

Classroom Aide – Mrs. Duval

Taking over Mrs. Talaga’s previous position will be Mrs. Rebecca Duval who many of our families may know from her involvement with Cast Children’s Theatre here in Manchester.  Mrs. Duval also ran a home-based daycare for many years and is looking forward to assisting our teachers and students here at Saint James School.