Margaret Rufo has been named principal at Star of the Sea Schools in Waialae. She had been serving as interim principal following the retirement last year of principal Carola Souza, who worked at the 68-year-old school for 50 years.
Blessed Sacrament Father Frankie de Los Reyes, pastor of the Star of the Sea, last week announced Rufo’s appointment to the faculty and in a letter to parents and parishioners.
“Through her hard work this school year (as interim principal), Mrs. Rufo has proven that she is a strong leader with the relational and managerial abilities to help Star of the Sea School move forward, providing a positive environment with high expectation which will foster faith, integrity and scholarship in our students,” Father de Los Reyes wrote.
Rufo is from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, where she taught Catholic school middle school students for 13 years.
She earned a bachelor of science in nursing at the University of London, Ontario, in 1992, and practiced orthopedic nursing for two years before pursuing a career in education. She received a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s of administrative education in 1995.
Since then, she has taught in Canada and Guam. She now lives in Hawaii with her husband and two young boys.
In addition to classroom teaching, she has worked in curriculum development, school administration and professional workshop presentations.
Her teaching philosophy is to foster spiritual faith, independence, self-confidence and self-motivation in her students to succeed in a challenging world.