Staff

Welcome to
St. Mary School

Staff

Barb Kirts, Preschool-3
Barb Kirts is the 3 year-old preschool teacher and also the teacher for the full-day progam at St. Mary School. She has 22 years of preschool teaching experience, and this is her third year at St. Mary's. She is a down-home farm girl, and was raised on a farm by New Berlin, IL, where her parents still reside. She was very active in her church and in 4-H, and she has three older siblings. Mrs. Kirts has been married for eight years to a wonderful husband and father, Sean, who attended St. Mary School as a boy. They are blessed with two children, Kegan (7) and Sawyer (5), who both attend school at St. Mary's. They enjoy Mattoon for its size and friendly atmosphere, and they feel St. Mary School is family-oriented to everyone. They thank our good Lord every day for the many blessings bestowed upon their family.

Jayne Genta, P-3 Assistant

Tracy Collings, Preschool-4
Tracy Collings has been teaching at St. Mary for 14 years, and this is her 7th year teaching preschool. She has three children, Cooper, Cayden, and Quincy, and a wonderful husnband, Jeff. She enjoys reading, crafts, and being with her family during her free time. Mrs. Collings loves teaching preschool because every day is an opportunity to touch a young child's mind and to encourage learning through play.

Sheena Davis, P-3 and P-4 Teaching Assistant

Sheena Davis is an afternoon preschool aide, and she also helps with the Title 1 Tutoring program. She has a daughter in 3^rd grade at St. Mary School. She enjoys reading and research, and loves playing cards with her grandparents and spending quality time with her family.

Regina Lane, P-4 Teaching Assistant
Regina Lane has been a preschool aide with St. Mary School for the past two years. She assists in the four year-old classrom in the morning, and assists in the three/four year-old classroom in the afternoons. She and her husband, Jason, have a daughter, MiKayla, who attends St. Mary School. Mrs. Lane has her A.A.S. and child care certification, and she is currently working on her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education.
Mrs. Lane's hobbies include spending time with her family, going to the movies, and swimming.

Chris Kolling, Kindergarten
Chris Kolling is known as "Miss Chris" at St. Mary School. This is her second time teaching at St. Mary's because her first years were from 1995 to 2002, teaching preschool. Then she took a six-year break before returning in 2008 to teach Kindergarten. She is married to Paul, and they live in Charleston with their two sons, Ryan (6) and Alec (3). She's so happy to be back at St. Mary School and to see so many familiar faces.

Lana Croy, 1st Grade
Lana Croy has been teaching at St. Mary School for almost five years. Prior to St. Mary's, she taught in the Mattoon Public Schools as well as in the Arthur School District. She lives in Mattoon with her husband, Jeff, and two of their three children, Ryan and Grace. Their daughter, Allie, lives in Mattoon with her husband, Sam. Lana is involved in the Immaculate Conception Parish as a Eucharistic Minister for the homebound, which she thoroughly enjoys. Most recently, she is participating in the Why Catholic groups. She has enjoyed sharing her faith with other parishioners and making new friends. She enjoys spending time with family, gardening, and bike riding. Mrs. Croy greatly enjoys teaching at St. Mary School, because not only does she get to help children learn, but she also gets to help them grow in their faith.

Ginger Douglas, 2nd Grade
This is Mrs. Douglas's second year of teaching at St. Mary School. She and her husband, Brian, have three children. Their son, Danny is 22 years-old and will graduate from EIU in December. Their daughter, Sarah Marie, is 20 years-old and is attending Lake Land College. Katie, their little "bonus baby," is five years-old and is in kindergarten at St. Mary School. They also have a dog named "Buddy," and three cats: "Boo," "Oliver," and "Bob." They have a very lively home! In her spare time, Mrs. Douglas enjoys traveling, especially to Chicago to visit her family. She is very happy and proud to be a part of St. Mary School!

Kyla Ballinger, 3rd Grade
Kyla Ballinger has taught at St. Mary School since August, 2003. Mrs. Ballinger received an Associate in Arts and Associates in Applied Science degrees at Lake Land College. She obtained her Bachelor of Science Degree in elementary education at Eastern Illinois University. At St. Mary School, Mrs. Ballinger is involved in many different activities. She coaches pep squad, helps coordinate the Talent Show and is a Risk Watch liaison. Kyla is the third grade teacher at St. Mary. Her students have an ice-cream party when they master their multiplication facts. The students also do community projects such as making cards for Gowin Parc and making Valentines for the Troops overseas. Her classroom is a wonderful learning environment where most of all the students learn about God and how much he loves them. Mrs. Ballinger lives in Mattoon with her husband, Steve, their son, and their dog. She is a volunteer at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center as is a parent peer counselor and also facilitates of a support group called Mom Squad. She loves reading, books, painting, being with her family and, of course, teaching at St. Mary School.

Michelle Laue, 4th Grade

Michelle Laue has been teaching at St. Mary School for the past nine years. She began her career at St. Mary School as a 5th grade teacher and then moved up with her class to teach 6th grade. She spent two years teaching 1st grade, then moved back to the intermediate wing as the 4th grade teacher where she is beginning her 5th year. Mrs. Laue has a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education from EIU, and is currently working on her Masters Degree from the U of I, with a anticipated graduation date of December of 2010. She is also the Co-Director of the Before & After School Program, 2008-2009 Middle School Youth Coordinator for the school's parish, and currently teaches 2nd grade PSR classes. Mrs. Laue earned the Who's Who Among America's Teachers Award in 2005-2006. Mrs. Laue uses a "Classroom Economy" to teach consumerism and math to her students. Her 4th and 5th science classes enjoy incubating chicken eggs and virtual frog dissections. "Masters of Multiplication" and "Doctors of Division" are awarded to the students who master the multiplication assessment in 4th grade. Students in Mrs. Laue's classroom enjoy becoming immersed in a novel like "Frindle" or "Shiloh" as they read chapter books together aloud. Mrs. Laue also trains the students to be Altar Servers during their 4th grade year.

Mrs. Laue resides in Mattoon with her husband of 17 years, Shannon (a St. Mary alumni) and their son, Jacob, who is also a student at St. Mary School. She enjoys reading, cooking, drinking coffee with friends and family, shopping, and gardening. Mrs. Laue and her husband enjoy watching their son participate in sporting events and spending time as a family with their 2 dogs, Greta and Lars. Mrs. Laue loves her St. Mary family and welcomes parents and visitors into her classroom anytime!

Nicole Durbin, 5th Grade
Nicole Durbin is the fifth grade teacher at St. Mary School. She began her profession at St. Mary School in August of 2002. In addition to being the fifth grade teacher, she is also the Co – Director of the Before and After School Program and one of the Co – Coordinators of Religion and religion classes for St. Mary School students.
She graduated with her Bachelors in Education from Eastern Illinois University in 2000. Since then, she has received a degree in Early Childhood, a Masters in Reading, and is currently seeking an Administration Certificate.
Her husband, Danny, works in Mattoon, and they have a beautiful daughter, Lily, who attends Building Blocks Day Care. They love spending time with friends and family at the lake boating and cooking out. Mrs. Durbin enjoys being part of the St. Mary School family and working with the students and parents.

Carol Mausehund, Music
Mrs. Carol Mausehund teaches general music classes to all of the St. Mary students twice a week in grades K- 5. She is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University where she majored in Music Education. She and her husband Clint, daughter Corinne, and goldendoodle Charlotte live in Mattoon. Mrs.”M” is beginning her sixteenth year of teaching at St. Mary’s School. She also has a piano studio in her home and works as an organist and choir director in Mattoon. Her favorite things about teaching at this school are; the excitement of the children as they learn about and make music, the co-operative spirit that she feels among teachers, administration, and parents, and the freedom and encouragement to let children’s natural love of singing, acting, movement, and playing instruments be used by the students to give praise to the God who created and loves each of them.

Tony Coffey, Maintenance

Miss Catherine, The Lunch Lady

Catherine Plankey has been at St. Mary School for the past seven years. She enjoys working in the lunch room and seeing the happy faces on the students every day. She thinks it is fun to cook for children because they are so easy to please and enjoy helping serve when in the 4^th and 5^th grades. This in turn earns them an “Ice Cream Party” at the end of the school year, which is always a lot of fun! Miss Catherine lives in Mattoon along with her husband, Jim, and their two boys, David and Shawn. She enjoys spending time with her family, boating, skiing, and attending sporting events. In her spare time she likes to do gardening, crafts, and reading. She and her family are members of the Immaculate Conception Church and attend worship regularly as a family. She looks forward to her job at St. Mary School and feels fortunate to be a part of the school family!

Kristen Watson, Secretary
Kristen Watson has been working as secretary at St. Mary School since 2004. She and her husband, John, have three children and enjoy their life in the country. She is a lifelong member of Immaculate Conception Church and attended St. Mary School. She enjoys going to her children's sporting events/activities and having family time. Mrs. Watson likes helping with the school children and watching how they change as the year passes. She tries to make each school year a positive experience for the children and parents of St. Mary School.

Michele Buerster, Principal

Mrs. Buerster began her career at St. Mary School in August of 1980 as a 3^rd grade teacher. In addition to being principal and having taught 3^rd grade, she has also taught 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grades during her years at St. Mary School. She is also currently one of the Co-Coordinators of Religion and coordinate religion classes for Immaculate Conception parish students in Middle School.

She and her husband look forward to their 40^th wedding anniversary within the next year. They have three grown daughters and six grandchildren (5 boys, ages 15 to 10) and one granddaughter, Mary-Claire, born in May, 2009. In her free time, she enjoys attending her grandsons’ sporting events and school events, babysitting for Mary-Claire, and visiting with extended family and friends. Mrs. Buerster loves being a part of the St. Mary School family and working closely with students and parents.

Rev. Dennis D. Kollross, Pastor