Faculty & Staff Bio's
Kindergarten - Phyllis Collins
Phyllis Collins's parents moved into their St. Ignatius Parish home when she was just one year old. Her heart and home have been with the school and parish her whole life. She attended St. Ignatius Grade School, St. Mary’s Academy, and then entered the Sisters of the Holy Names at Marylhurst. After teaching 1st grade at Cathedral for several years, she moved over to St. Ignatius School in 1977. It’s been her joy and privilege to teach 1st, 2nd, and Kindergarten children her many years here. Her husband, Mike, is a biology specialist at Vernier software and Technology. Their son, Brian, attends Jesuit High School. They feel that God has been very good to them!
Kindergarten - Kathy Rogers
Kathy Rogers grew up in a small town outside Chicago, Illinois. She received my RN form St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing in Evanston, Illinois. She is married and has five children and two grandchildren. Her husband, Brian is a physician at OHSU. They moved from Buffalo, New York to Portland in 2001. Their two youngest children, John and Henry, attended St. Ignatius School and we are members of St. Ignatius Parish.
She feels that she has the best job in the world. She gets to enjoy children ages five and six. This is the most exciting time in their lives for learning. To watch these little ones learn alphabet sounds, put them together and suddenly read is amazing! Their foundation for future learning (whether it be math, reading, social studies, science, or religion) is formulated in the kindergarten experience. Kathy feels especially fortunate to be working with Phyllis. She is an excellent mentor.
Her past work experience includes volunteer library and classroom aid for grades one through four in Buffalo, New York. This is her third as Kindergarten aid at St. Ignatius School.
Second Grade - Kathy Downing
This is Kathy Downing’s fourth year as the second grade teacher at St. Ignatius School. She is one of seven members of the Hasibar family who graduated from St. Ignatius. She went on to high school at LaSalle in Milwaukie, and then to Concordia University where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education in 2002. In 2006, she received her Masters of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University. Kathy feels lucky to be a part of the St. Ignatius community.
Sixth Grade - Joel Turvey
Joel Turvey is the sixth grade homeroom teacher. She also teaches seventh and eighth grade language arts. She has taught at St. Ignatius since 1999. She received her B.A. in history from Rice University in Texas and her M.A.T. in English from Stanford. She taught in Houston for three years and in Beaverton for eleven years. She also substituted throughout the Archdiocese before coming to St. Ignatius. What she most enjoys about teaching is helping kids to become excited about learning. In her spare time she enjoys reading, aerobics, walking, hiking, and spending time with her family.
Eighth Grade - Kathy Plass
Our eighth grade teacher and assistant principal is Mrs. Kathy Plass. She has been teaching at St. Ignatius since 1974. She has always taught in our sixth, seventh and eighth grades in religion and social Studies. Over the last thirteen years, Mrs. Plass has had an eighth grade homeroom and has taught social studies, religion and math in our departmentalized junior high program. In addition, Mrs. Plass spends part of her day as assistant principal, where one of her primary duties is to work closely with the St. Ignatius Parents’ Association.
Mrs. Plass is a graduate of the University of Portland where she majored in history, French and education. She also received her master’s degree in education from the University of Portland, as well as course work at Lewis and Clark College and Portland State University. Mrs. Plass’ husband of thirty-three years is a middle school math teacher, currently teaching at the St. Andrew Nativity School. They are the parents of three daughters; the youngest is a junior at Gonzaga University. Mrs. Plass and her family are long-time St. Ignatius parishioners.
More coming soon...