Faculty

I am so excited to welcome you to kindergarten! Kindergarten is an amazing year and I can’t wait to start this year with your child. I have been at St. Monica for twenty-five plus years. I attended UTSA and received my Bachelors in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. I enjoy reading, watching mysteries, baking and spending time with my family. All six of my children have attended St. Monica Catholic School. I am very excited to share my Catholic Faith with your child and proud to call St. Monica’s my home. I am very excited to start this year with our new families and to welcome back returning students and families.

I am so excited to welcome you to first grade! This school year will be my eighth year teaching first grade and my seventeenth year at St. Monica Catholic School. I attended Wayland Baptist University and received my BSIS in Elementary Education. I enjoy reading, listening to music, watching baseball, and spending time with my family, especially my dogs Judge and Josie. I am very excited to share my Catholic Faith with your student. I am very proud to call St. Monica’s my home and am very excited to share the abundant joy we have here with new families and to welcome back returning students and families.

My name is Laura Tamez and I teach 4th grade here at St. Monica School. I was born and raised in San Antonio as was my husband. We have three daughters; the oldest is married and our twins are in college. This will be my ninth year here at St. Monica’s, but I have worked for the Archdiocese of San Antonio for twenty-four years. I am a graduate of St. Gerard High School and of Our Lady of the Lake University. I believe my strong faith in God can be attributed to my parents and the fact that I attended Catholic schools from first through twelfth grade. St. Monica is a great place to be, and I am blessed to be here.

In 1988, I graduated from Plano East Senior High School in Plano, Texas. I graduated from St. Mary's University here in San Antonio in 1992 with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education with a specialization in reading. I am also certified to teach Gifted and Talented classes. I taught for the North East Independent School District from the Fall of 1993 to December of 2021, at which time I retired from the public school system. I taught third grade for two of those years, fourth grade for two of those years, and I spent the other 24 ½ years teaching fifth grade. I was pleased to join the St. Monica Catholic School Family in September of 2022. I enjoy teaching and look forward to a fun and exciting school year.

I graduated from Trinity University with a BA in History and the Humanities and an MA in Teaching. After college, I taught English-as-a-Foreign-Language in Kumamoto City, Japan and then elementary school in Southside ISD. After my first child was born, I spent fourteen years at home-- raising children (5), publishing educational materials, and teaching childbirth classes. When it was time for my oldest to start kindergarten, we found St. Monica and were instantly impressed with the warmth and professionalism of the teachers. When my youngest was in pre-k, God steered me back to the classroom myself. I currently teach integrated social studies and language arts courses in the middle school. St. Monica Catholic School has provided a strong foundation for my own children and I love being a part of this strong faith-filled community.

My approach to teaching is captured by one of my favorite sayings: “Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  Whatever is happening in the classroom, I want my students to know that I care about them, and I am committed to helping them succeed.  After I retired from the Air Force, I began teaching in Catholic schools first in California and then in San Antonio, and I have continued on that path for the past ten years.  I have a Master’s Degree in Religion from Duke University and a Master of Science Degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology.  My wife has taught in Catholic schools for more than 16 years, my two children went to Catholic schools, and I am convinced that there is no better place for students to learn.  I am excited to be a part of the spirit-filled atmosphere here at St. Monica’s.  I know we will have a great year.