As Seton School in Manassas begins its 44th year, it welcomes six new staff members.

Toni Roussel, mother of a ninth-grader, will teach American literature to sophomores and grammar to the freshmen. Roussel earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Nicholls State University in Thibodeaux, La., and a master’s in English from the University of Miami. Her past teaching experience includes St. Charles Catholic High School in Louisiana, the University of Miami, Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and Hogar Immigration Services as the leader of the Advanced ESL Team.

Jill Hall joins the science department to teach biology and assist in directing the annual science fair. She has a bachelor’s in environmental science from the University of Western Washington in Bellingham, Wash. She brings 12 years of teaching experience and is eager to work with staff and students on the science fair.

Beatrice Pennefather, whose parents escaped from Castro’s Cuba, brings her bilingual skills to the Spanish Department. Pennefather, the mother of three Seton alumni and two currently enrolled students, earned her bachelor’s and master’s in education from George Mason University in Fairfax.

The mother of an eighth-grader, Leah Halisky graduated from Christendom College in Front Royal in 2001 with a bachelor’s in literature. While caring for her family, she worked as a grader for Seton Home School. This school year, she will teach reading and composition to seventh-graders.

This year, a new class is writing for publication, which will be taught by Stephanie Kammerdeiner, whose two daughters attend Seton. Kammerdeiner, who studied journalism at West Virginia University in Morgantown, also will direct production of the school newspaper, The Inquisitor.

The final new member of the staff is Monica Vincente, a recent Christendom graduate who minored in sacred music. She will direct the Mass Choir and the Chamber Choir, which focus on learning and performing sacred music.

Hall speaks for all of the new staff members when she says she is “passionate about Catholic education where Christ is at the center.”