St Thomas More School

Experience

Laurel Pehanich is the new interventionist teacher at STMS. she has a long history at St Thomas More that began when she was baptized by Father Doogan. Laurel also attended and graduated from St Thomas More School. She taught in California and at STM before choosing to stay home when she had her first child. Now, 4 children and 13 years later, she is excited to return to St Thomas More School in her new role.

Passions/Interests

Outside of my St Thomas More, Laurel is a 4-H leader and cub scout volunteer. She loves pretty much any animal, except slugs, and enjoys working on her parents’ farm.

Elizabeth Glaze has been an educator for more than 20 years in both private and public school. She has worked with students from preschool through high school in Washington, Maryland, Chicago and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor’s in Education from Washington State University, and a Master’s in Education from The Catholic School of America in Washington, D.C.. She is currently a doctoral student at Seattle Pacific, in the Educational Leadership Program. When she is not working, Elizabeth enjoys cooking, traveling and scuba diving.

Jennifer King is from Seattle, WA. She went to a Christian high school in the area and later to Seattle Pacific University. She earned her B. S. degree in Social Science, Child and Family Studies from Portland State University. She earned her Master’s in Teaching from Concordia University Portland. She has taught preschool, elementary and college, as well as a supervisor for Bellevue’s Early Learning Program.

She is excited to join such a supportive team of professionals, creating and establishing a positive learning environment for the first graders at St. Thomas More School.

Experience:

Michele Gibson was born and raised in Seattle, Washington and grew up going to Catholic church. She is very excited to begin her journey teaching at St. Thomas More and becoming a part of the community.

Michele received her Bachelor’s degree in English in 1995 from the University of Washington. A few years later she married her high school sweetheart, Brad. Together they have two daughters, Hannah (20) and Riley (14). Michele volunteered at her daughters’ school and then decided to become a paraeducator where she worked for eight years. After her youngest daughter completed fifth grade she decided to pursue her Master of Arts degree in Elementary Education and English Language Learners.

Passions & Interests:

Michele loves being with her family and their dog, Mugsy (7). They enjoy beach walks and searching for agates. In her spare time, Michele also enjoys reading and listening to music.

Ale Del Rio was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. In Mexico she earned her Law degree and worked as a lawyer before deciding to pursue a career change. She worked as a substitute teacher and later in second grade at a bilingual school in Monterrey. She got married in 2012 and moved to Seattle because of her husband’s job, where she obtained her Master’s in Teaching. She is starting her tenth year at STMS and her sixth year as the third grade teacher; she was previously the Kindergarten aide. She loves going to Broadway shows and to Sounders games with her husband, her five-year-old son Cesar (a Kindergartener at STMS!) and her one-year-old twins, Alex and Mia. She feels lucky to be part of such an amazing staff!

Dave Rehberger has been a member of the St. Thomas More School community as our seventh grade teacher since 2008. Born and raised in Tacoma, Dave is a product of Catholic education from kindergarten through his undergraduate years at Gonzaga University (Go Zags!). He has been teaching in Catholic schools since graduating from GU in 2001. This has included middle school teaching experiences in St. Louis, MO, as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps; in Seattle Catholic schools; and in rural Colton, WA. He earned his Masters in Education at Washington State University (Go Cougs!). His wife Jennene is a veterinarian at Perrinville Animal Hospital, and their children Audrey and Noah are both STMS students.

Experience:

Miss Watters is happy to be a part of the STMPS community. She lived most of her life in the small town of Eatonville, Washington near Mount Rainier. In 2000, Miss Watters received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Education from Western Washington University with endorsements in both Special Education K-12 and Elementary Education K-8.

Passions & Interests:

In her free time Miss Watters loves to read, of course, as well as go to movies, play games on the computer, watch TV, and shop! What Miss Watters loves the most though is visiting family in Eatonville, getting to spend time with her nieces and nephews. In 2014, Miss Watters became a Great Aunt and now has 3 great nieces and 2 great nephews. She loves being an aunt and getting to spoil them. She also has two cats, Cricket and Bugsy.

Experience:

Laurel Pehanich is the new interventionist teacher at STMS. she has a long history at St Thomas More that began when she was baptized by Father Doogan. Laurel also attended and graduated from St Thomas More School. She taught in California and at STM before choosing to stay home when she had her first child. Now, 4 children and 13 years later, she is excited to return to St Thomas More School in her new role.

Passions & Interests:

Outside of my St Thomas More, Laurel is a 4-H leader and cub scout volunteer. She loves pretty much any animal, except slugs, and enjoys working on her parents’ farm.