Welcome back to what promises to be another great year. I have been working at St. John's School since 1997. My family has been members of St. John’s Parish since 1929. My mother graduated from SJB; I am an alumna of SJB, and both my children attended SJB from kindergarten through eighth grade. I have ten years experience in the field of Early Childhood Education, seven of which was as the Educational Assistant in our Kindergarten/1st grade. I then moved into my present position.

My name is Angela Gomez and I am originally from Kansas City, KS.  I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and a minor in music from St. Mary College in Leavenworth, KS. After graduation, I moved to Portland to attend the University of Portland’s Pacific Alliance for Catholic Education (PACE) program where I lived in a community, taught third grade at Our Lady of Sorrows School in South East Portland, and took classes to receive my Master of Education Degree with a Special Education Endorsement. I have taught a combination of first through third grades and K-4 music at Our Lady of Sorrows for five years. I am currently taking classes at the University of Portland for post graduate work in administration. I have been teaching Kindergarten here at St. John the Baptist for the past 3 years.

Hello! My name is Alina Best. I was born and raised in NW Montana, one of five children in a Cuban-American family. I earned my BA in Elementary Education with a Spanish concentration at a Milligan College, a small Christian liberal arts school in East Tennessee. I come to St. John the Baptist with extensive experience in child-development, and enthusiasm for helping children become lifelong learners. I'm so thrilled to be a part of your community, and look forward to an exciting year together.

I am Mary Hoag, the second grade teacher at St. John the Baptist School. I am a graduate of Oregon State University with a B.S. in Elementary Education. I am a product of Catholic education graduating from All Saints School and St. Mary of the Valley High School (Valley Catholic). I taught second and third grades at All Saints before starting my family. I am married and have two teenage daughters- one attending Oregon State University and the other attending Central Catholic. We are members of St. Charles Parish. I look forward to getting to know the St. John’s community better.

Hi! My name is Jennifer Smith, and I am happy to be joining the St. John's community again. I recently graduated from the University of Portland with a B.A. in Elementary Education and a minor in English. At UP, I had the opporutnity to work in a variety of classrooms and left with a passion of infusing a love of learning in children. I love music and play the flute, piano, and some guitar! In my spare time, I enjoy running, cycling, singing, baking, reading, and writing. I am looking forward to an excellent school year!

Hello! My name is Ashley Roelofs (formerly Moschetti). I would like to take a moment to introduce myself. After graduating from St. Mary’s Academy I decided to make the move to San Francisco, California to attain my undergraduate degree at St. Mary’s College of California. I entered with the intention of majoring in international business, but left with the passion and drive to teach. San Francisco was a place that gave me the opportunity to develop my knowledge of different cultures, customs, and beliefs, in turn, expanding my concept of diversity. I moved back to Portland after graduating from St. Mary’s College in May of 2006 to attend the University of Portland as a graduate student in the Master of Arts in Teaching program. Graduate school was excellent preparation in becoming an elementary teacher and after student teaching fifth grade this past year, I left the University of Portland feeling confident, prepared and determined. This is my third year at St. John the Baptist and I am confident that this year will be an enjoyable, successful year where I hope to encourage a love of learning among all of my students.

I am the middle school Language Arts and Religion teacher and the sixth grade homeroom teacher. This is my fourth year teaching at Saint John the Baptist. I entered the Religious Sisters of Mercy in 1996 and made my Perpetual Profession in 2004. I earned my BA in English Literature at the University of Denver. I also earned my MA in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Denver. I have my Professional Teaching License from Colorado and an Oregon Teaching License as well. I am currently working towards a Master’s degree in Theology from Saint Charles Seminary in Philadelphia. 

I am the St. John’s middle school history and literature teacher. I am a native Oregonian who was born and raised in Portland and attended St. Cecilia’s grade school and Jesuit High School. After high school, I attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington where I received a degree in history and sociology and attained my teaching certification for secondary social studies. Before teaching at St. John the Baptist I taught middle school students for three years at Sacred Heart School in Gervais, Oregon. I enjoy running, camping, gardening, and watching college basketball. I live in Portland with my husband John.

Hi! My name is Tim Chipps, and I am the middle school science and math teacher. I grew up in Eugene, and then attended Oregon State University Honors College where I earned an honors Bachelor of Science in biology with a minor in chemistry. In 2003, I moved to Portland, and worked for 5 years as a Research Assistant at the Casey Eye Instititute. I decided to become a teacher after spending the 2008-2009 school year as a special education instructional assistant, middle school youth group leader, and assistant high school baseball coach at different schools in the Portland area. I am a 2010 Masters of Arts in Teaching graduate from Concordia University, and I am thrilled to begin my teaching career with the supportive community and St. John the Baptist Catholic School.

I received my BA in Education and Social Studies from Northeastern University in Chicago, IL and began my teaching career at St. John the Evangelist Catholic School in Streamwood, IL. I completed my Master of Arts in Curriculum from National Teacher’s College. I moved to the Portland area in 1988 and worked for many years as the Title One co-coordinator for the ten Catholic Schools with Title One programs through Jostens Learning. I received my Reading Endorsement during that time. I have taught many teacher classes on the use of computers in the classroom through Portland State University and adult classes as well as teaching Technology at the elementary level. I live with my husband, Merrill and my parents Walter and Doris LeCouteur have an apartment on the lower level of our home. I am an avid reader and I love gardening.

I am very excited to be the P.E. teacher again and this year I will be teaching middle school advanced math at St. John the Baptist School. My educational background includes a BS from the University of Oregon. While at Oregon I was a member of the Softball team- ranked 11th in the nation during my four years! I was also selected to the PAC-10 All Academic team every year as well as receiving a Dean’s scholarship for academic achievement. I love to watch sports; especially the Ducks…GO, DUCKS! I recently received my MAT from Concordia University and I am endorsed to teach Physical Education, Health and Mathematics. I have been married to my wonderful husband Francois for 4 and half years and we have or 2 year old daughter, Sophie and in December will be expecting our son! I grew up in the Portland area after moving from B.C., Canada when I was in middle school. I am excited to be a part of this great community and can’t wait for the school year to start!

Sister Mary Danielle Johnson, RSM is a member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan. This is her third year at Saint John the Baptist School as a Resource Teacher and Librarian. Sister has a Masters degree in Reading Education (K-12), (M.Ed.) from the University of New Hampshire, Durham, N.H., and a Masters degree in Library and Information Science (M.L.S.) from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

I'm happy to be back at St. John the Baptist School this year. Originally from Minnesotoa, I earned my BS degee in elementary education from the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. I have taught a number of grades ranging from pre-school to middle school in Minnesota, Iowa, Washington and Oregon. I studied piano and music theory for 13 years, I've taught piano lessons for over 20 years and I've taken part in a number of piano competitions over the years. I also played trombone for 9 years and have been a member of my church's bell choir for the past 7 years. Music is definitely an important part of my life and I love sharing this passion with the great students at SJB!

My name is Mary Danna and I am the head teacher of the Pre-K class. I have been teaching at St. John's Preschool since we opened in 2001. I have a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Oregon State University. I have 14 years of teaching experinece in the catholic schools. My husband Steven and I have three children who have attended St. John the Baptist School and we have been parishioners here for 15 years. It is a joy to be apart of this close knit catholic community.

My name is Stephanie Gottsch and I am the 3yr old's preschool teacher at St. Johns. I am also the teacher's aide for the 4 yr old's class. I love being able to play a role during these two years in which the children are experiencing their first taste of school, new friends, and new "big kid" situations. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, at the University of Portland. My husband and I have four daughters, three of which attend St. Johns, and one at LaSalle. Our family has been a part of St. Johns Parish for 11 year.