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Faculty and Staff Patrice
Farrell, Principal This is my
12th year as principal at our Lady of the Assumption. It truly is my
home away from home. Prior to assuming this role, I taught in the
Archdiocese of Philadelphia for ten years, with most of my experience
being on the Pre-K and Kindergarten level. I have a Bachelor Degree in
Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Cabrini College and I
earned my Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from St.
Joseph's University. Suzanne LeGendre, Kindergarten Teacher They say, that those who can, do. I believe, that those who can, do more, they teach. And so, I have a degree in Early Childhood Education because I believe that the first eight years of life are the most important when it comes to learning. Everything else we can do later in life merely builds or expands on the foundation that we receive in those first eight years. I joined
the O.L.A. family nine years ago after having taught 3rd grade and
Kindergarten for several years in other schools. Here at O.L.A., I've
taught Pre-K and am now enjoying Kindergarten life again. I earned an
Early Childhood Education degree from West Chester University and have
graduate credits in Early Childhood and Elementary Science and Math. Lisa Rizzo, Pre-K Plus Teacher I am currently teaching a Pre-Kindergarten class of four and five year olds at Our Lady of the Assumption School. We challenge our students here to grow in all areas: spiritually, socially, emotionally, academically and physically. We encourage our students’ independence and attempt to build high positive self-image. If you come here to visit during school hours, I believe you'd immediately feel a sense of warmth and a deep caring and nurturing environment where each child is valued highly for all he/she has to offer. Our teachers and aides are a very dedicated and caring group of professionals whose purpose is to bring out the best in the students of Our Lady of the Assumption. Our curriculum focuses on Language Arts (identification of upper and lower case letters, formation of letters, introduction of basic sight words), Math (recognition of numbers, counting one thru twenty, eventually 50 and striving for 100 basic addition and subtraction). Our class also adds Social Studies (character building, family, homes, careers, maps and geography) and Science (simple experiments, living and non-living things health and hygiene, parts of the body, days, months and seasons). We sing daily. I believe in the beauty, positive influence and effects of a daily music curriculum in one's classroom. We sing songs for holidays, seasons, Catholic and Christian songs, hymns and many more. To see the sheer joy in each child's face and to hear the pure and happy sound of children's voices as they sing so sweetly and clearly -- sincerely is a wonder to behold, in this teacher's view. (Lucky Me!) I graduated from St. Joseph's University in the 1980's and began teaching English to middle and high school students for several years. During the early 1990's, I chose to stay home for a few years to raise my family. By the mid 90's I was ready to return to teaching and was hired to work with pre-kindergarten children of our fine school. Our Pre-K classes meet five days a week. Our Pre-K Classes meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00-11:45am and Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00 a.m.-3:00 pmEach and every day we encourage our students to be and do their best!!! We sing a little jingle to get the theme and goal across to our students: We're going to be and do the best that we can be and do each day! Our Lady of the Assumption School offers that opportunity from both teachers and for our students to be and do our best. No easy task, for either adult or child, but why not set our standards as high as possible and go for it! O.L.A.'s parish and school have always been and continue to feel like a "home away from home" to me. I am a graduate of O.L.A from the 1970's when we were an elementary school and I consider it a privilege to be teaching here now. O.L.A. was a wonderful school back in the 70's and is an equally wonderful school now. Together hand and hand, our administration, faculty, parents and students do our best to make each school year the best possible, and in my humble opinion, it's been a pretty successful venture to date! I believe in a warm and welcoming classroom environment where ideas abound and students can work to their highest capabilities. I love reading and writing and hope to inspire my students to use their imaginations in these processes. The students will use their creativity in various art projects throughout the year and focus on honing their fine motor skills. I graduated from West Chester University in May 2007. In June of 2007, I was married to my husband, TJ. TJ has family lineage to O.L.A. and because of that and some of our mutual friends, we came to this parish three years ago. I volunteer as a catechist for Level 3 PREP. TJ and I are both volunteering with the Youth Group. Outside of school and work, I enjoy sports, sewing, and playing the violin! I am the 3-day Pre-K teacher at Our Lady of the Assumption. This will be my second year here at "O.L.A." I have an undergraduate degree from Temple University and my Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Chestnut Hill College. I began teaching in 1981 and taught for a number of years before getting married and starting a family. A few years back, I began substitute teaching for Visitation B.V.M. School, Wissahickon, Perkiomen Valley and Methacton School Districts. I live in the Audubon area. I have a husband Jack, two daughters, Catherine 14 and Irina 11, and dog Mitzi. I really like working at Our Lady of the Assumption. The faculty and staff are wonderful and my students are the best! Barbara DeSalvio Swinick, Teacher – 3-year old class I joined the staff at Our Lady of the Assumption in 1994, not long after I moved to Pennsylvania. Since then I have mostly been teaching the three year olds. I really have fun with the three's, they have very creative minds and I can introduce academics while still making the experience fun. My emphasis for the three year olds is helping the child adjust to group activities and working on their "listening skills". I went to school in upstate New York focusing in Early Childhood Education and Special Education/Learning Disabilities. Few people know I minored in Dance. After teaching for a few years, I retired to raise a family. I have two children, a boy and a girl.Every year, I get a new group of three year olds and every year, I find myself very excited to be back from the summer off with a new group of anxious and interested learners. Suzanne Domenick, Aide for 3-year old class and CARES Director I have been a teacher's aide in the three
year old classes for almost 12 years. Our Lady of the
Assumption has been a huge part of my life. I grew up in
Devon, PA and attended grade school at Our Lady of the Assumption from
1966 to 1974. I then attended Archbishop Carroll High School
and graduated in 1978.
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