Meet our Staff

Faculty and Staff

Superintendent,
Fr. Raul Covarrubias

Principal,
Carina VanPelt
Mrs. VanPelt has been the principal at Holy Rosary for 6 years. Before that, she taught 2nd through 8th grades in public, private, charter, and inner city schools. At Holy Rosary School, she makes time to teach small math groups, read with children after school, and will take students or parents to Mass to help them feel more comfortable. She also loves to play 4 square, lightning, and build snowmen with the students at recess. Every Wednesday, she eats lunch with the students. Once a month she hosts a special birthday lunch for students. She hopes that all students, parents, faculty, and staff feel as though they are part of the Holy Rosary Family.

Business Manager,
Mary Lund
Mary Lund has been working at Holy Rosary School for sixteen years, but since her daughter started school here when she was three, Mary’s been around the school for 23 years! Both of her children attended Holy Rosary for their elementary education. She is the business manager and choir director for the school. Through the years she has done various jobs including lunch & recess monitor, computer teacher, music teacher, drama and art. Her degree is in Business Management, but she has a passion for technology and even more so for music. Mary has worked many jobs, but it wasn’t until she started at Holy Rosary that she truly felt that she belonged. She considers this her second home – her “school family”. She feels privileged to work here and to serve the students.

Faculty

Preschool/Pre-K Teacher, Alicia Johnson
Mrs. Johnson has 17 years of teaching experience. She enjoys attending conferences and learning about best practices in child development to incorporate into her classroom. According to Mrs. Johnson, “Everyday is a new adventure in my classroom.”

Kindergarten Teacher,
Karianne Earnest
Mrs. Earnest holds a Master of Arts Degree in teaching. She creates a caring, friendly and safe environment for all students; and, partners with families to meet the unique needs of each child. According to Mrs. Earnest, “Learning through stories, games, songs and hands-on activities makes Kindergarten fun every day.”

Kindergarten Teacher,
Kayla Martens
Mrs. Martens is from Oklahoma.
She has 3 girls & has been married for 15 years. She is currently seeking her Masters degree in School Counseling from Colorado Christian University.

1st Grade Teacher,
Sarah Atwell
Ms. Atwell has been a teacher at Holy Rosary for 4 years. She has a degree in Child Development and a Master of Arts in Teaching. On the Winter 2017 STAR early literacy test, 100% of her first grade students tested at benchmark. She loves the first graders’ excitement for learning and watching them make huge growth in their reading skills throughout the year.

2nd Grade Teacher,
Anita Garcia
Mrs. Garcia attended Holy Rosary Catholic School as a child. Her 2nd Grade has read over 541 books and 2.7 million words during the 2017-18 school year. She coordinated a school-wide coat drive. She has volunteered for our parish religious education program for over 10 years and prepares the 2nd grade for First Communion and Reconciliation. She has also served on an accreditation team.

3rd Grade Teacher,
Jillian Mock
Mrs. Mock is finishing a Masters of Education Degree in Education and Technology. She taught 1st & 2nd grade in Las Vegas, NV, before moving to Idaho Falls in 2016. As a new Idahoan, she enjoys the cold weather, especially shoveling snow! According to Mrs. Mock, "I love to learn new things and I strive to inspire such in my students."

4th Grade Teacher,
Julie Orme
Mrs. Orme has Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Studies. She has taught piano, violin, and viola since 2006. She is a native to Southeast Idaho and is excited to join the staff and students at Holy Rosary School.

5th Grade Teacher,
Kristin Kress-Weitenhagen
Mrs. Kress-Weitenhagen will be celebrating 15 years in education, with a double major in English Lit. & Art. She has taught High School English, Junior High & Elementary art, & was a graphic designer before coming to Holy Rosary. Fifth grade will experience a Harry Potter theme in which students have classroom “jobs”, earn “paychecks”, and visit our version of Gringotts & Diagon Alley.

6th Grade Teacher,
Fran Hassing
Mrs. Hassing holds a Masters Degree in Education and has 20 years of experience in education. She loves teaching through a “hands-on” approach and has experience in intervention strategies and non-traditional approaches to education.

Staff

Administrative Specialist,
Heather Geib

Office Assistant,
Vanessa Prairie

Computer Lab Teacher,
Leona Kelly
Mrs. Kelly holds a Master of Science Degree in Physiology from the University of Wyoming. She has several years of experience in technology and marketing. She currently has 2 children that attend Holy Rosary and has served as the PTO President for Holy Rosary School. As a part of HRCS, she enjoys learning more about the Catholic faith and sharing it with the students.

Music Teacher,
Barb Holman
Mrs. Holman holds a Masters Degree in Piano. She started her teaching career at University of Nebraska Wesleyan & Concordia University. Every year, she teaches each grade a different instrument. She also offers private guitar and piano lessons, after school.

Counselor,
Maya Gillespie
Mrs. Gillespie will be receiving her Counseling degree from Idaho State University. She currently coaches Volleyball at Shelly High School. One of her goals in life is to bring Animal Therapy into schools.

Faith Formation,
Deanne Slaughter
Originally from Texas, Deanne Slaughter has lived in Idaho Falls for almost 5 years and has two children that attend Holy Rosary School. She has been passionate about "owning" her Catholic faith since high school and has been active in a variety of faith development programs since then. As faith formation coordinator, her goal is to help your children better understand their faith so they can take ownership of it as well.

Art Teacher,
Marilynn Koelsch

Spanish Teacher,
Martha Pineda
Mrs. Pineda volunteered as a religious educator for the Parish for the last 4 years. She enjoys teaching children of all ages; and, she loves to travel, camp, and go hunting and fishing with her family.

Para-educator: Daycare,
Anita Allred
Mrs. Allred has been working at Holy Rosary School for 10 years. She has a granddaughter attending school here. She loves working with the children, being able to attend weekday Mass, and talk about God; and, she enjoys all the people that she works with.

Para-educator: PS/PK Aide,
Karen Duenes
Mrs. Duenes is the aide in PS/PK. She has had all 4 of her children attend Holy Rosary, and has worked at the school for 10 years. She loves all the sweet hugs and funny stories from the children. She looks forward to each and every day in the PS/PK classroom.