Introducing NEW Star Staff

I hope you are all enjoying the summer with your family and friends.  To all our Star families affected by the recent flooding, please know my prayers are with you as you work to return your homes back to wonderful and safe family environments.

As we look toward the beginning of the 2021-22 School Year, Star has been so blessed to have many new students and families join us that we have opened a few new classes.  This coming school year we will be expanding four of our grades to two classes – 3 Year Old Preschool, 4 Year Old Preschool, Kindergarten and Third Grade.  In addition, we have added a new Spanish Teacher to our staff as well as a part time math teacher to assist Mrs. Fortier with teaching math to our seventh grade students.  Due to this expansion I would like to introduce our Star families to the teachers that will be leading these classes.  I am so excited for each of these teachers to be joining our Star staff.  They all very energetic, dynamic and strong teachers who will help continue in the Star tradition of giving their students loving, academically and spiritually strong learning environments. 

I would like to introduce our new teachers to you and have asked each to share a bit about themselves so our Star families can start to get to know them.

Emily Stump - Half 3 Year Old Preschool  Mrs. Stump will be joining Mrs. Dobija in giving our youngest students fun, socially rich learning experiences.  In addition to teaching our 3 year old students, Mrs. Stump will also be working with our Young 5 students in the afternoon, teaming with Mrs. Michielutti in creating further enrichment to their students in hands-on learning based experiences.  Mrs. Stump has shared a bit about herself with us –
“My name is Emily Brenner-Stump.  I have a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and religious studies from Michigan State and a Master’s degree in education from Nazareth College of Rochester, New York. I have been teaching young learners for 15 years. My educational passions include art, literacy, and outdoor education. I live in Grosse Pointe with my husband Andrew, our children, Henry and Lucy, and our puppy, Elsie. In my free time, I love taking family trips up north, reading, and creating art.   I love bringing art into my classroom, giving my students opportunities to get their hands dirty as they learn.”

Theresa Blevins - 4 Year Old Preschool  Mrs. Blevins’ dynamic and engaging teaching philosophy will be a great addition to our PS 4 program.  I am very excited about the partnership between Mrs. Kanka and Mrs. Blevins and the strength it will continue to grow in our amazing preschool program.  Mrs. Blevins has shared a bit about herself with us –

“Hello OLSOS families! My name is Theresa Blevins. I am so looking forward to joining the team at Star and returning to my alma mater! I am originally from Grosse Pointe Woods where I attended Star, PreK-8th grade. I moved to Ohio to attend the University of Dayton where I received my degree in Early Childhood Education with a PreK Special Needs endorsement. I spent the following five years working as a Preschool Inclusion teacher before moving back home to the Pointes in 2018. Since then, I have been teaching at St. Hugo, as one of their Kindergarten Readiness teachers. I believe that children need hands-on, authentic experiences to learn best! I build my curriculum with a science focus, choosing two to three week investigations that allow the students to explore, learn and play as they construct their understanding of what is happening in the world around them. Students will engage in a variety of centers that relate to our investigation and incorporate the Early Learning Standards from all content areas. I am so excited to begin learning and growing with your children this year!”


Kim Maddalena – Kindergarten  I am very excited to have Mrs. Maddalena will be bringing her vast Kindergarten teaching experience to Star.  With Ms. Aluia having had such a wonderful and fun year with her students this past year, through her experiences and teaching strength, Mrs. Maddalena will join Ms. Aluia in creating strong and loving classrooms for our Kindergarten students. Mrs. Maddalena has shared a bit about herself with us –

“My name is Kim Maddalena and I have over 30  years of teaching experience.  The past 25 years were spent as a Kindergarten Teacher at Kerby Elementary in Grosse Pointe Public Schools.  I believe my number one role, as an educator, is to love my students! I feel it is so important to build a relationship with each child who comes into my classroom and to earn their trust and respect.  When a relationship has been built between the students and myself, they will soar academically.  Learning should be engaging and fun but it is also hard work. Learning is accomplished in kindergarten through socialization, play, and sparking creativity. It is my goal to challenge my students daily, with learning that is meaningful, engaging, and purposeful. I am thrilled to be joining such an amazing group of educators and becoming part of the Star community!”

Gina Napier - 3^rd Grade teacher  Mrs. Napier is a strong teacher with a love for reading.  I am looking forward to her bringing that love for reading into her classroom and giving her students an opportunity to develop their own strength and desire to reading.   Through her energy and love for teaching, Mrs. Napier’s classroom environment will be one of rich social, spiritual and academic growth.  Mrs. Napier has shared a bit about herself with us -

“Hello! My name is Gina Napier and I am so excited to be joining the Our Lady Star of the Sea family as a third grade teacher. This fall will be my 16th year in teaching. I taught 4th grade at St. Angela's Catholic School the last year they were open.  After they closed, I moved to Las Vegas and I have been teaching there the last 14 years. In Las Vegas, I taught third and fourth grade and I was a literacy strategist that provided professional development to teachers. Most recently I was my school's media specialist, teaching technology to kinder-fifth grade and running the school library.   I'm married, and my husband Andrew and I have an amazing 18th month old son named Benjamin. Our son is the reason we moved back to Michigan.  We wanted to be near family and we're very happy to be back. We drove here from Las Vegas with our toddler and two 14 year old cats. It was quite the adventure!   As a teacher, my classroom is a true community. It is a caring, positive, and challenging learning environment for all of my students. I can't wait to help my students grow and achieve their goals next year.”


Justa Puerta – Spanish teacher  Some of you may remember Mrs. Puerta – she is a former Star Spanish teacher and parent of Star graduates.  I am very excited to have Mrs. Puerta return to Star to give our Spanish program amazing energy and strength.  She brings to our Star students not only a true understanding of the Spanish language, but also rich and authentic experiences in Spanish culture that she will share with her students.  Mrs. Puerta has shared a bit about herself with us -

“My name is Justa M. Puerta. I was born, raised and educated in Madrid, Spain  where I received my Bachelor’s degree in Education. After living in Michigan for a year, I married and had two children, both of whom graduated from Our Lady Star of the Sea, then completed my Master’s degree at Marygrove University. My twenty-four years of teaching languages include four years at Star, as well as in other Michigan catholic schools and six years teaching in Spain. My love of children and teaching allows me to present the culture of Spain, complete with customs and traditions, knowing that all children are unique and must have a stimulating learning environment. My current husband, who I met teaching at Star, will also be returning to the staff and we are both very excited to begin a new chapter in our lives.”


Bob Briske – Seventh Grade Math teacher  Mr. Briske will be returning to Star and joining our Middle School teaching staff, teaching one of our seventh grade math classes.  I am looking forward to Mr. Briske bringing his love for Star back and into our seventh grade program.  His love for Star and strength in teaching will be a wonderful addition to Middle School program.  Mr. Briske has shared a bit about himself with us -

“I’m Robert Briske and I will be returning to Star of the Sea to teach middle school math after having been a second, fourth and sixth grade homeroom teacher in my some thirty year career here. Simultaneously, I worked at Wujek-Calcaterra funeral home for twenty-five years, blending two careers that serve our most vulnerable populations, children and the grieving. It has been an honor to share my gifts and talents with others and I hope to continue making a difference in the lives of your children. My wife and I recently returned from living in Spain and we hope to bring our energy and enthusiasm back into the classroom this upcoming school year.”

I would like to welcome our great new and returning teachers to Star. I am very excited for them to join our already amazing team of teachers.   As we continue to grow our Star community, I am confident the well honored academic and spiritual strength of Star will continue to grow under the care of our wonderful current and new teachers.

Enjoy the rest of this wonderful summer.  God bless all of our Star community.

Mrs. Meghan Carter - Principal