As we kick off a new school year, St. Pius X is excited to introduce our new teachers. Whether it’s through Campus Ministry, the arts, math, world language, or another subject these new faculty members are here to make a difference. Get to know them, hear their stories, and find out why they’ve chosen to call St. Pius home below!
Campus Ministry
Ms. Contreras
Ms. Miranda Contreras is our brand-new Campus Minister. After attending college at Texas A&M, she started teaching preschoolers at St. Jude. She decided to come to St. Pius because she “felt the Lord asking me to come in prayer,” she said, “I knew that my time at St Jude was ending, and that he had something else for me. So, I kept my options open, and the Lord provided me with this job opportunity.”
This transition from teaching to campus ministry was eased by her friendship with the also new Campus Minister, Fr. Robbie.
“I’ve known Fr. Robbie for a couple of years now, and so when I heard that he was coming here, it just started to seem like the Lord was just putting everything into the places that they needed to be in,” explained Ms. Contreras. Another faculty member that she has grown close to is Mrs. Lindsey Farrell. “She [Mrs. Farrell] was my mentor and from the get go, her heart was just so open to receive anybody she encounters. And so I just felt very loved by her.”
Her biggest pet peeve of students is not the typical raising their hand before speaking or being off task. Ms. Contreras said, “It would have to be not knowing their own worth and not knowing their own goodness. There’s a beautiful thing of being able to know that you are seen, known, and loved by Jesus, and by people around you…My heart aches for that.” Feel free to stop by Campus Ministry to get to know Ms. Contreras better!
Fr. Robbie Cotta
After working at IHM and serving as our part-time chaplain last year, Fr. Robbie was reassigned this summer to serve as our full-time chaplain. He definitely is glad he did. Fr. Robbie said, “Being back in the high school atmosphere is a blast. I love the sports, the community, all the things always going on. [Before I became the full-time chaplain], I felt really convinced that this would be a really good place for me, a place that I would really love and would really enjoy.” If Fr. Robbie was not a priest, he would likely be either a firefighter or a broadcast journalist. One of the many perks of his job is that occasionally he is asked to celebrate mass for the Falcons and other visiting NFL teams. “That is a cool little side gig,” he said.
Please go to this article for more information on Father Robbie!
Fine Arts
Mr. Bolin
Mr. Patrick Bolin came to St. Pius because he “heard that the guitar program was phenomenal, and any teacher would love to work with a phenomenal program.” During his interview process in the Spring, he had to teach a class. During this class, St. Pius stood out because “the students were super polite and respectful,” and he is “thrilled to be here.”
Before coming to St. Pius, he taught in his hometown Maine as well as Dubai and Argentina. If he was not a teacher, he would likely be a musician. “I like playing for people, making them happy, playing fun music, playing for weddings, and making good people have a good time. Everyone’s happy and having a good time,” he said.
Math
Ms. Benak
After a 26-year break from teaching, Mrs. First Benak is back and better than ever. She began her career with four years of teaching, went into sales, then took care of her two children full-time. Now that they are in college, Mrs. Benak felt pulled to return to teaching. Through her former roommate, Mr. Lancaster’s sister, Mrs. Benak got connected with St. Pius and decided to come here.
Her favorite thing about teaching is helping guide the students through something they are confused about. “Getting somebody to realize that they can do something, or when they’ve learned to do a problem that they were convinced that they cannot do [is rewarding],” she said. Mrs. Benak is excited to keep getting to know the St. Pius community. “I’m happy to be here. Everybody is super friendly and nice, and the students are kind and sweet,” she said.
Ms. Perry
Former Taekwondo teacher, Ms. Carolyn Perry, is a force to be reckoned with. After attending Georgia State University, she began teaching Math. If she was not a teacher, she would likely be a Makeup artist or Engineer. She came to St. Pius because she wanted to be in a Catholic school environment and is close with all of the teachers in the Math Department.
Ms. Spratt
Ms. Faith Spratt is beyond excited to spend her first year teaching at St. Pius. She said, “The students here are so amazing, and I am very grateful for the chance to teach here.”
If you are in her class, the best thing you can do is ask questions. “I love it when my students ask questions! It helps me to teach better and to expand the ideas from class to accommodate people’s different perspectives,” Spratt explained.
Before turning to teaching, she studied Chemistry at Kennesaw State University. “ If I wasn’t teaching, I would probably take on a job within that field,” she said. Ms. Spratt and Ms. Perry have become fast friends after sharing the same classroom.
Theology
Ms. Campbell
Ms. Sierra Campbell is not just a new teacher at St. Pius but she is also brand new to teaching. However, she does have a past working with children, because she was previously a youth minister. If she was not a teacher she would “probably still [be in] youth ministry or a fun job where I could be creative,” Campbell said. Before going into youth ministry, she studied Economics at Georgia Southern University. Currently, she is working on her Master’s degree in Theology from Franciscan University. The driving factor for coming to St. Pius for Campbell was “the Catholicity and the culture of Saint Pius,” she said. Her transition into the St. Pius community was also eased because she grew up with Mr. Lawson.
Mrs. McKinnon
After attending Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, Mrs. Hayley McKinnon began teaching at St. John Newman. She did not decide to come to St. Pius on a whim. “I always knew that I have wanted to come and teach high school here… for a challenge and to go deeper with my students and talk about topics that you may not want to talk about in elementary school,” Mrs. McKinnon said. She is very excited to be expecting her first baby in January, so make sure to send congratulations if you see her in the hallway.
World Language
Ms. Kile
Ms. Maria Kile has been teaching for more than 25 years. Her favorite part about teaching is connecting with the students. “I love to interact with the students and listen to their stories, ” she said “I think the most important thing is loving their spirit. So, I’m trying to do a lot of fun things for them to fall in love with and practice [Spanish].”
She truly loves teaching and everything that comes with it. “I love preparing for classes, even on Sunday. I love to read and to research new technology, because sometimes you can only find something new yourself. And I love learning from the students.”
Mrs. Pieper
With a history teaching at McEachern and Norcross high schools, Mrs. Kari Pieper is excited to bring her talents to St. Pius. Mrs. Pieper’s husband attended St. Pius and “he’s always talked wonderfully about the school,” she said.
Her favorite part of being a teacher is forming that community and getting to know her students. “I love just talking with the students and seeing how they’re doing, hearing about their day, the sports, the activities that they’re involved in. I enjoy that, learning about everybody’s lives and what they’re up to,” she said.
Ms. Warnement
Although Ms. Sophia Warnement has wanted to be a Latin Teacher since she was 17 years old, if she had to do something else, she would have become a lawyer.
“Both my parents are lawyers. My brother’s in law school. That might have been what I did if I hadn’t found Latin,” she said. Ms. Warnement’s favorite part about teaching is watching students’ learning process. It’s a really good feeling when a student hasn’t been getting something, and then they suddenly do get it and say, ‘Oh my gosh, this makes sense to me. I get it.’ For teachers, being the person who helps facilitate and help make that spark go on in the student’s mind is really nice.” Make sure to stop by and say hello to Ms. Warnement in room 218!
Clinic
Mrs. Petersen
In the past, Mrs. Melissa Petersen has worked as a labor delivery nurse for 28 years and a women’s health nurse practitioner. After two of her children attended St. Pius, she fell in love with the community. “It was kind of a joke in my old office…[I always said] I won’t leave unless the school nurse at St. Pius is retired. And then I saw that she was retiring,” said Mrs. Petersen.
Working in a school environment is not a new idea for Mrs. Petersen. Before she decided to become a nurse she wanted to go into teaching. “When I was in college, I wanted to be a teacher, and I changed my mind to nursing. So, the idea of working with students really appeals to me, she said. ”If you ever need anything, Mrs. Peterson is happy to help in any situation!
Roar Store
Mrs. Beck
Mrs. Ingrid Beck, our newest staff member in the Roar Store, has lots of experience working with children as a previous health teacher, stay-at-home-mom, and substitute teacher. She is a mother of three daughters: one currently in college, sophomore at St. Pius Heidi Beck, and a seventh grader at Immaculate Heart of Mary.
A basketball enthusiast who has made fast friends with girls basketball coach Kyle Snipes, Mrs. Beck also coached CMLA basketball for nine years. Her love for children is evident and if she was not working at St. Pius she would still be doing something around children. “I would work with kids for sure. I would probably teach preschool,” she said. However, we are glad to have her at St. Pius and she is enjoying it too! She explained, “Everybody is so nice and I just really love being around the kids.”
