Note and correction: The story below missed the deadline for inclusion in the profiles of new Catholic school administrators which ran in the last issue of the Hawaii Catholic Herald. The Herald would also like to correct one of those profiles. The title for Sister Gina Senapilo, OP, at St. Catherine School, Kapaa, is “interim principal,” not “principal.”
Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas, an educator in Hawaii Catholic schools since 1984, this year comes “full-circle” in her career with a return to the school where she started teaching, St. John’s Catholic Preschool in Mililani, this time in the dual role as the school’s new director and head teacher.
She finds it a privilege to be back in the classroom, nurturing and motivating early learners and reaching out to prospective parents and the faith-based childcare sectors about Catholic schools and the Montessori philosophy. She previously worked at St. Philomena Early Learning Center as its director and assistant director.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Thomas earned her undergraduate degrees in early childhood education, psychology and her Montessori AMS teaching certification all from Chaminade University. She has completed numerous graduate level professional coursework in educational leadership with the University of San Francisco’s ICEL program, University of Dayton and at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.
She also trained many intern teachers as a supervising teacher-trainer for the Chaminade University’s early childhood program.
Her personal mission is not only to make education fun for the early learners but to help parents connect with the benefits of Montessori’s wholistic education for their children.
In her spare time, she likes to thumb through Pinterest to design and make instructional materials, spend time hiking with her family, and has taken up an interest in photography.
