Administration
Administrative Staff
This is my 29th year working in Catholic Schools and my 9th year here at SPX. I really enjoy seeing the children’s happy faces. My home life involves my husband, two daughters and their husbands my grandson Stewart and yellow lab, Danny Bouy. My family is also very active in the Maryland State Council Knights of Columbus and has been for 30 years.
Joni Perret MacDonald grew up in Bowie and went to St. Pius X as a child with her 7 siblings. Together they represent the classes of '73, '74, '75, '78, '80, '82, and '87. Her favorite memory at St. Pius was going to baseball game with the Safety Patrols and watching the Washington Senators play the Baltimore Orioles. Her mother, Joan Perret, also taught Art at St. Pius for almost 20 years.
I have obtained a BA in Sociology from UMBC and I have my masters degree in School Counseling from Loyola University MD. I am also a Nationally Certified Counselor. I provide individual and group counseling to students at our school and I teach lessons on personal, social, academic, and career development.
I graduated with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Widener University and commissioned into the US Army as a 2LT. I served four years as nurse on Active Duty and promoted to Captain before transitioning to the Army Reserves. After years serving children in the hospital, I took the exam to certify as a Pediatric Nurse. I worked at Eleanor Roosevelt High school for 3 years and it made my transition to working at St. Pius X seamless.
Faculty
This is my 15th year at St. Pius X, with a total of 20 years of teaching experience. I created and implemented the Pre-K program which is currently in its 9th year. For the 2014/2015 school year, I was chosen to represent St. Pius as the Golden Apple nominee for the Archdiocese of Washington and named Teacher of the Year at SPX.
I was born and raised in Bowie and have been here to most of my life. I began teaching at St. Pius X with the start of the kindergarten program and am now in my 17th year. Working with kindergarten students is very special. I love to be able to teach children how to read and share with them all about our faith in Jesus.
I have been teaching for 20 years - 16 at St. Pius and 4 in Baltimore City. I am a Maryland native but have lived all over the world and US until moving back to Maryland in 1985. I have 2 awesome kids who are/were St. Pius students. I attended UMCP and earned a BS in Education. My heart, however, lies with LSU! Geaux Tigers!
I have been teaching in the ADW Catholic Schools my entire adult life. This is my twenty-first year teaching third grade at St. Pius X. I hold an M.A. in counseling psychology, and was chosen as the Bowie Teacher of Excellence from St. Pius in 2015. I live in Bowie with her family and am a parishioner at Ascension Catholic Church.
I joke that even when I'm not at St. Pius, I'm still here since I am one of the leaders of the high school ministry and in the 5 pm church choir. When I'm in the classroom, I'm constantly having fun and laughing at the crazy and awesome things that my students say and do. Outside of school, I enjoy hanging out with my sisters, brother, and cousins.
I attended St. Pius X for elementary school as a child and knew that one day I wanted to come back and teach at this school as an adult. My goal, as a teacher, is to foster a classroom environment rooted in Gospel values. I look forward to seeing the unique learning experiences each one of my 4th graders achieves every single day!
I am a Golden Apple Archdiocese of Washington teacher of the year 2016. I have been teaching Religion here at St. Pius X Regional School for 18 years and have over 25 years experience in education. My classroom is a place where children are welcomed and where the Scripture and the Christian faith is shared and valued. An ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue is fostered and explored within the context of our Catholic Christian Faith.
I have been teaching at SPX for 3 years now and I have been teaching in ADW for four years. I have my Bachelors of Science in Geosciences from Eckerd College and my Masters of Arts in Teaching for Secondary Earth/Space Science. I was awarded STEM Educator of the Year for 2017 and have been running the Science Fair program from two years now.
Social Studies is my passion! I have been teaching for 20years as a second career. My education at the University of Maryland (BA, government, BA, languages) and Bowie State University (MA teaching) as well as my government work have enriched my background to share with my students. I uniquely treasure the opportunity to teach at St. Pius as I am an alumna, my 5 adult children attended the school and now my grandson is a student here!
I have been a Catholic educator for more than twenty years, serving in a variety of positions including math teacher, learning specialist, high school counselor, preschool teacher, and coach. I grew up in Massachusetts with four brothers and two sisters. I am a mother of twin sons, who are both teachers, and a daughter who is in her first year of college. My husband is retired from a lifetime career as the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the National Capital Area. I am once again a student, finishing my last two classes for my Masters in Special Education from The Catholic University of America. In my free time I run, read fiction, and travel to New England where my family owns an apple orchard.
I have taught PE at St. Pius for twenty two years. I teach preK thru 5th grades. I love what I do. Most kids love PE and I get to be outside on beautiful days. I am the Coordinator for the Patrol Squad and the Equipment crew. I enjoy being active and try to live a healthy lifestyle. I teach water exercise classes all year long. I walk my dogs, ride my bike and do yoga. I have two adult children, a son and a daughter. Both of my children went thru St. Pius for 8 years and now have successful careers. I love my friends and co-workers....it is a great place to work.
After teaching technology-based courses for nine years at Elizabeth Seton High School, I found myself returning to my alma mater this year to continue educating students in computer operations and digital citizenship. I graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in Electronic Media, Arts and Communication. As a mother of two, I am looking forward to growing in my spiritual life alongside my children. I am especially excited for my oldest to begin kindergarten in the 2018-2019 school year.
This is my 33rd year of teaching in the Archdiocese of Washington and my 10th year at SPX. 1998 Advisory Committee on Education Educator’s Award from the City of Greenbelt. 2002-2003 JASON Project From Shore to Sea Teacher Argonaut - traveled on expedition to study the California Channel Islands. 2003-2004 NASA Goddard Remote Sensing Earth Science Teacher Program (RSESTeP) teacher – completed a remote sensing field mission with students monitoring the diverse ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay. 2006 Knights of Columbus Maryland State Council Catholic Teacher of the Year. 2005-2006 Archdiocese of Washington Catholic Schools Office Teacher of the Year
In Music classes, we spend a lot of time learning the songs for mass -- not just the melodies, but also what the lyrics mean. Our masses are wonderful and powerful because the children understand and own the music they sing. When not working on the music for mass, we run the gamut of musical tasks in various classes: we study music history, we play Orff instruments, we square dance, we do musical plays, we play music games, we sing some more ... the Music Room is rarely quiet and is never dull.
I've always had a passion for the library. As a young girl, I created a library of my own books, complete with pockets and sign out library cards. Any friends who borrowed books had to "check them out" with me. But my love of books didn't start until I was much older. My parents and sisters were never readers, but after marrying into a family of avid readers and having children who love to read, I finally found the genres that sparked me- realistic fiction and historical fiction. That was the key! Find YOUR reading spark!
After studying at the University of Madrid in Spain, completing my language studies at JMU, and working for an NGO helping to save the rainforests of Latin America, I found my ultimate calling as a Spanish teacher. I am in my 6th year at St. Pius X helping to open up the exciting door toward learning a second language. While exploring thematic units with the 1st - 5th graders, a cultural infusion is presented about the various Spanish-speaking countries that are being studied.
I started at St. Pius in 2004 as a small group teacher for Kindergarten "on the hill" at
Sacred Heart. After five years in Kindergarten, Mrs. Bryant and I moved to the main campus and created the Pre-K program. I was honored to have been nominated as Paraprofessional of the Year for the City of Bowie.
mschwartzmeyer@stpiusbowie.org
I'm a native of Buffalo, New York (Go Bills!) but moved to Maryland in 1979. In 1987, I became part of the St. Pius School community when my oldest child enrolled in first grade. In 1995, I joined the staff and have spent the past 22 years as a Third Grade classroom teacher and small group teacher. I'm the proud Gigi of six grandchildren.