Faculty/Staff for 2012-2013

SUSAN L. HENDRICKS, Principal
Susan L Hendricks grew up in a military family of nine, attending eight schools before settling in Southern California as a senior in high school. Her college undergraduate and some graduate work was completed at UCSD and USB (University of California at San Diego and Berkeley.) Currently, Susan is obtaining a Masters Degree in Administration from the University of Notre Dame.

Relocating to Maui 15 years ago, she began teaching middle school. She finished her eleventh year as a classroom teacher when the opportunity to become the school administrator was offered to her.

This is her tenth year as the Sacred Hearts School Principal. There’s no place she would rather be than here, navigating the collective vision of academic excellence with the teachers, students and parents of Sacred Hearts School. She welcomes you to the 150th year of education at Sacred Hearts School. Imua!

JAN PASAMONTE, Secretary
Jan came to Maui on vacation with a girlfriend in 1977 and absolutely fell in love with this “magical place”. She went home and back to her daily life, but couldn’t get Maui off her mind. So six months later, she made the biggest decision of her life and moved to Maui from Southern California. She tells us that she has not regretted a single moment.

Jan has been a part of the Maria Lanakila and Sacred Hearts School family for 34 years. She was the Bookkeeper for the Church and School for 12 years and after a short period away, she is back as School Secretary and loving it.

She is the proud mom of Daniel, Patrick and Matthew and “Nana” to the loves of her life, Kaniala and Kanoelani. She loves just spending time with her family, whether it is salmon fishing with Patrick in Portland, OR, watching Matthew surf or cuddling with her grandkids. She says, “I know I am blessed and LIFE IS GOOD”.

VANESSA PERRY, ELC Director
Mrs. Perry was born and raised on Oahu. In 1973, she graduated from Farrington High School and started her first job as a Preschool Teacher’s Aide at the “Family Development Center” in Honolulu. She received her first certification for CDA (Children’ Development Association) in 1975 and her second certification in 2000. She has been teaching a total of 30 years. She has two children, one at Maui Community College and one at University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Vanessa has been dancing hula for 54 years and has taught hula across the country for conventions. She has choreographed several luau shows including Sheraton Maui, Hyatt Regency and the Royal Lahaina; she has also instructed hula for AECG. She continues her education in Early Childhood Development and Hawaiian Language and is Sacred Hearts School’s May Day Director.

SYDNEY THOMPSON, Pre-School Aide
Sydney was born and raised on the Island of Maui and went to school at King Kamehameha III Elementary School, Lahaina Intermediate and Lahainaluna High School. At Lahainaluna, she competed in Water Polo and was a member of the Medical Biotechnology Club. Sydney graduated from Lahainaluna High School in 2011 and attended the University of Hawaii on a full scholarship, majoring in Psychology.

She has been working at the Early Learning Center since December 2011. Sydney plans on furthering her education in Early Childhood Development and is currently working towards receiving her Child Development Associate Certification.

She tells us that she loves being a part of the Sacred Hearts School O’hana.

LUZ COLEMAN, Pre-School Aide
This is Luz’s first year with Sacred Hearts School.  She attended Southwestern Community College with a Major in Child Development.  The emphasis in her major was on working with children with special needs and families dealing with domestic violence.
Luz has been married for 24 years.  She has one “wonderful” son who is currently attending college in San Diego, California.
Please welcome Luz to our Sacred Hearts ‘Ohana.

WENDY COON, Kindergarten Teacher
Wendy graduated from Sacred Hearts School and continued her Catholic education at St. Anthony’s High School. Wendy graduated from the University of Nebraska, with a degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. She went on to receive a Masters Degree in Elementary Education, specializing in Multicultural Education, from the University of Hawaii.

This year marks her 10th year in the classroom and at Sacred Hearts School. Wendy taught First and Second grade before moving to Kindergarten. This puts her in a perfect position to work with our 1st and 2nd grade teachers to build bridges between grades so that each year, our children build upon what they have already learned and experienced. She tells us, “I love teaching Kindergarten kids!”

Wendy lives in Lahaina with her husband, Hopsing, and two girls, Kapua and Anuhea, both of whom are students at Sacred Hearts School. In her spare time, she is involved with Halau Ke’alaokamaile. Wendy also loves to spend time with her family and friends. She is very happy to be a part of the Sacred Hearts School ‘Ohana.

SARA KANEMITSU, Kindergarten Aide
Sara was born and raised on the Island of Maui and grew up in Lahaina. She is the mother of 3 wonderful children; she is an alumnus of Sacred Hearts School and a local parishioner of Maria Lanakila Church. Sara graduated from Lahainaluna High School and attended Maui Community College where she pursued studies in Early Childhood Education.

This is Sara’s first year working at Sacred Hearts School as the Kindergarten Aide. Sara worked for the Department of Education for 7 years; 4 years as a Parent Community Networking Center Facilitator at Princess Nahi’ena’ena Elementary School and 2 years as a Primary School Adjustment Project Home-School Liaison and Co-Facilitator at King Kamehameha III School. She also worked for the Department of Recreation’s “Summer Pals” Program in Lahaina as a Co-Site Coordinator and spent a year working as a Teacher’s Assistant at the MEO Lahaina Head Start Program.

Sara has worked as a volunteer at Maria Lanikila Church for a total of 3 years as a TPC Instructor working with grades K, 7 and 8. She also worked for about 10 years in her family-owned childcare home based center.

DANA KIRBY, 1st Grade Teacher
Dana was born in South Florida and attended Catholic School from Kindergarten through 12th grade. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelors of Science Degree and then received a Masters Degree in Elementary Education.

Dana has a total of 10 years teaching experience. She taught 4th grade for 3 years in her home state, before moving to Maui. She is in her 6th year at Sacred Hearts School teaching First grade. Dana feels she has found her calling as a 1st grade teacher and feels truly blessed to be at a Catholic School where her roots are.

Dana lives in Lahaina with her husband, Scott and son, Tyler, who is a student at Sacred Hearts School.

TONATA LOLESIO, 2nd Grade Teacher
Tonata was born in the Kingdom of Tonga and moved to Hawaii with her parents at the age of 5. She began her education at King Kamehameha III and graduated from Lahainaluna High School. Tonata is the first in her family to go on to college. She received an Associates Degree from Maui Community College, a Bachelors of Arts in English and a minor in Speech from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, then went on to receive her Masters in Elementary Education.

She is in her 11th year teaching the Second grade students at Sacred Hearts School. Her greatest joy at Sacred Hearts, is instilling in her students an appreciation of learning.

Tonata lives in Lahaina with her husband and her son, Benjamin, who is a student at Sacred Hearts School. She is involved with the Tongan and Maria Lanakila Youth Groups and is the Director of Religious Education.

KATIE TURSI LEE, 3rd Grade Teacher
Katie Tursi Lee was born in Des Moines, Iowa where she attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade. She continued her education at Iowa State University where she received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Special Education and Reading. She looks forward to continuing her education throughout her teaching career. This will be Katie's sixth year at Sacred Hearts School. She taught Fourth grade for four years and was most recently the After-School teacher for a year. Katie is excited to teach Third grade. Katie loves the community and support of Sacred Hearts and looks forward to her new venture in the Third grade. Katie lives in Kahana with her husband Chul and daughter Mia.

SUSIE SLEAR, 4th Grade Teacher
Susan moved to Maui July 2010 and will began teaching 4th grade again after teaching four years of Fourth grade in San Antonio, Texas. She moved here with her husband, James and two daughters, Kristine and Katie. Katie, a Sacred Hearts School 8th grader, rides with her mom from Wailuku. Kristine attends college in New York. Susan grew up on Long Island, New York. She graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1998. She has taught in Virginia, Ohio, Texas and the Republic of Korea. This is her 14th year teaching.

TAI BAIRD, 5th Grade Teacher
Tai graduated from Saint Mary’s College Notre Dame with a Bachelors Degree. She received her Teacher Credential from Colorado College. Tai majored in Humanities/Humanistic Studies and has a degree in Elementary Education.

Tai tells us that she is so happy to be teaching at Sacred Hearts Elementary School and is even more thrilled to be teaching Fifth grade at our school.

Tai has been teaching for two years here in Hawaii. Last year, she taught First grade on the Island of Lanai. Before moving to Hawaii, she taught in Colorado.

When Tai is not at school, she is either running, surfing, swimming, working out, stand up paddling, rollerblading and loves being around animals. She loves watching the University of Notre Dame football games! She also enjoys being with her family.

Tai is planning to earn her Master’s Degree in Education. She tells us, “While I love teaching, I also love to be a student!”

PATTY WURST, 6th Grade Teacher
Patty was born in Honolulu and raised in Southern California. After returning to Hawaii to be with her family on Maui, she graduated from Chaminade University in Honolulu. This is her 12th year at Sacred Hearts School after teaching for eight years in the public school system. She enjoys teaching junior high school, in particular the Social Sciences. She lives Upcountry with her husband and dog.

Mrs. Wurst enjoys traveling. Her academic goals for the Social Studies program are to have even more students participate in History Day at the State and National Level, to increase geographic literacy and to take as many students as possible to Washington D.C. for the class field trip in October 2014.

BRADLEY MASON, 7th Grade Teacher
Mr. Mason was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where he lived until July 2010. The son of a high school physical education teacher, Mr. Mason grew up in a home where education and athletics were of supreme importance. His love of all things aquatic such as surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking and cliff jumping, developed during his years as a competitive swimmer and water polo player. After high school, Mr. Mason combined his two passions of traveling and music, which led to many adventures all over the globe. While travelling, Mr. Mason witnessed the beauty of nature and became very curious about how the world worked, which inspired him to become a Math and Science teacher.

Mr. Mason worked as a swimming and water polo coach while he earned a degree in Education with a specialization in Math and Science Concepts for Middle School Teaching at Northeastern Illinois University. Despite being a die-hard Chicago sports fan (especially the Cubs), he is very proud to call Maui his new and permanent home. Mr. Mason is a part of the NASA Education Network and will continue to incorporate NASA resources into the Math and Science curriculum in his second year at Sacred Hearts School. He is very excited that SHS has become part of the NASA Explorer Schools Program for the 2012-2013 School Year.

MARY ANNA WALDROP, 8th Grade Teacher
Mrs. Waldrop was born and raised on a cotton farm in New Mexico and became passionate about sailing at the age of 14. After receiving her BA in Psychology and Special Education and an MA in Reading from Whittier College, where she also taught, she spent seven years sailing throughout the Pacific on her 30’ sailboat, “Finesse”.

Mrs. Waldrop is beginning her 12th year teaching middle school Literature, English and Religion at Sacred Hearts School. She is passionate about students’ learning styles. When she’s not at school, Mrs. Waldrop facilitates labyrinth walks, hikes and travels (first choice always by sailboat). Makana, her Golden Retriever, happily greets the Sacred Hearts Ohana as she has for the last five years.

TOM POPDAN, P.E. / Computer
Coach Tom is originally from the Philadelphia area. He attended Villanova University on a swimming scholarship. There he received a B.S. in Business and Marketing. He has been a swim coach for more than 28 years coaching such teams as Temple University, University of Virginia, and Mission Bay. He successfully swam the English Channel. This is his thirteenth year teaching P.E. and Computer classes at Sacred Hearts School. He is in his 18th year coaching the Lahainaluna High School Swim Team and Lahaina Swim Club where he has won 10 state titles.

LORI ULMAN, Music / Drama
Mrs. Ulman is a native Michigander who earned her B.A. with a major in Music from Wayne State University in Detroit. She has Certificates of Completion in Drama from regional performing arts theaters as well as continuing education through seminars and workshops in Liturgical Music. Mrs. Ulman’s instructional seminars also include ministering a youth choir, instructing acting techniques and directing plays.

Her performing experiences include tours of Europe with the Detroit Archdiocesan Chorus and Cantor for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Detroit. She is presently one of the Cantors at Maria Lanakila Church and occasionally subs as Music Minister at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church. Her interests include golfing, antiques, traveling and watching the beautiful Maui sunsets with her husband of 27 years.

KEHAUNANI KA'AUWAI, Hawaiiana
Kumu Ka’auwai grew up in a Northern California town named Fremont. There is one of California’s many missions named Mission San Jose located there. She spent her summers in Honolulu with her Gramma or in Anahola, Kaua’i with her aunties and uncles. There she spent her days playing in the river and ocean and living Hawaiian culture. She graduated from Mission San Jose High School and obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and her teaching credentials from California State University in Hayward. Kristen met her husband on the swim team in college and they have two boys and two girls. The two oldest graduated from Sacred Hearts School. Kristen moved her family to Maui to enrich them in their Hawaiian culture and language, as she was enriched while spending summers in Hawai’i as a child. She shares this with her students at Sacred Hearts School.

WILMONT KAHAIALI'I, Hawaiiana

Maintenance
HOWARD LOLESIO