Notre Dame Catholic School is proud to announce the hiring of the following teachers for the 2015-2016 academic year:
Lindsay Jurczak has taught at St. Mary’s of the Lake in New Buffalo, Michigan. In her three years as a first grade teacher, Lindsey lead a team of teachers through a curriculum overhaul. Originally, from New Carlisle, IN, she has two younger brothers and a younger sister. Lindsey studied at Indiana University and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education in 2012. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, and staying active through running. Lindsey will teach 2nd grade at Notre Dame.
Natasha Magnuson will be starting her tenth year of teaching and will be the early Preschool teacher Notre Dame. Born and raised in LaPorte, Natasha attended the University of the Incarnate Word and Texas A & M in San Antonio, Texas. She returned to the area shortly after graduation and started her career in teaching. Natasha is married to Matt Magnuson and they have three children. She loves being part of the incredible growth that each student experiences and looks forward to getting started on a great school year.
Katie Wall is a recent graduate of School of the Art Institute of Chicago with an MFA. Her art work contains a wide range of media and an inter-disciplinary approach to both teaching and art making. With ten years of teaching experience she is ready to dive into creative space with the students of Notre Dame and pick up right where Mr. Shelton left off.
Angela Ruiz has been teaching and tutoring Spanish in the community since 2002. She volunteered at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in La Porte for 3 years as an English teacher for native Spanish and Polish speaking community members. She received her certificate of completion from the Spanish/English Medical Interpreters course offered from IU Health in La Porte in 2012 and is a current member of NIMIA (Northern Indiana Medical Interpreters Association). She has been involved in the church life since 1995 at Sacred Heart in La Porte through the ministry of catechism and working at the Polish Festival for over 10 years. For the past 5 years, she has been the catechist for 5th grade at Sacred Heart in La Porte and last year, she completed her first year as the 3rd grade catechist preparing our Diocese youth to receive the sacrament of the Eucharist. She studied and obtained her Bachelor in Liberal Arts with a focus in Organizational Leadership and Spanish from Purdue University in 2007 and continued to pursue the Transition to Teaching degree at Indiana Wesleyan University. She completed her student teaching with the program at Notre Dame in the Spring of 2015. She looks forward to continuing her teaching career with Notre Dame in the fall of 2015.
In addition to the new hires, Notre Dame is sad (although happy for her) to announce the retirement of longtime Diocesan employee, angel award winner, and 5th grade teacher, Carmen Macuga.