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Committed Educators, Fostering Growth, Learning and Joy in Every Child

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Chris Nielsen

Chief Administrator
First Grade Lead Teacher - Kindergarten Co-teacher

cnielsen@stmargschool.org

Although born and raised in Montana, Utah has been home for the Nielsen family for the past 20 years and Saint Marguerite has been their parish. Mrs. Nielsen and her husband Tim have been married for 31 years and have raised three sons who love the outdoors who value morality, hard work, and service.

Mrs. Nielsen received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1989 from Montana State University in Criminal Justice & Sociology, and worked in Corrections for five years prior to becoming a stay-at-home mom. For roughly 10 years she operated her own in-home daycare, served as parish catechist and Cub Scout Den Leader, and then changed careers when she was called to the ministry of Catholic education at Saint Marguerite Catholic School. She received her Educator license through the Alternative Routes to Licensure (ARL) program and was fortunate to be a part of the birth and expansion of the elementary school.

Mrs. Nielsen has taught first grade for the past 15 years, and Kindergarten for the past two years. At the start of the 2021-22 school year, she took on an Administrative role and is currently serving in both capacities, principal and lead-teacher. She oversees the Service Club at the school and enjoys helping with Cross Country running. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, baking, and bike riding.

Her teaching philosophy is to partner with parents to help her students learn, become the best version of themselves, and to grow in their faith journey. While she thinks learning should be fun, academically she pushes her students to reach for the stars. Her greatest reward is seeing the marvelous gains made throughout the year as students strive to reach their potential.

Her favorite scripture is from Psalm 51:10: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. This verse reminds her to be thankful each day, to act lovingly, and to keep a positive attitude and outlook on life.

Coming Soon

Father Rafael Murillo-Ventura

Pastor

stmarguerite1910@gmail.com

Laura Plazola

Secretary
Lunch Program Coordinator

office@stmargschool.org

Mrs. Laura Plazola grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico and moved to a small town called Vernon, Utah in 2008. Mrs. Laura graduated from Tooele High School and went on to pursue Cosmetology through the Tooele Applied Technology College (TATC). She began working in a small restaurant called Lupita’s Tacos when she was 19 years old and then went on to serve in other restaurants. She truly loved this type of work and continued to work as server at The Brother’s Restaurant until doing all three jobs (school, serving, and being a mom & homemaker) became too much. 

Mrs. Laura and her husband Jorge live in Tooele with their son Adrial, and their newborn Jannae. They enjoy watching movies as a family and can always be found helping anybody in need.

Mrs. Laura has served as our secretary for the past fours years and is truly the central hub of our school. From answering phones, to completing necessary reports, to translating Spanish & tutoring our EL students, to serving lunch and dismissing students, Ms. Laura completes these tasks with joy, professionalism and a positive attitude,  She is an integral part of our team and we’re blessed for her outstanding service and work ethic.   

Coming Soon

Bonnie Neal

Kindergarten Lead Teacher - Preschool
Mentor Teacher

bneal@stmargschool.org

Caroline Kunimura

Teacher's Aide - Art Program

ckunimura@stmargschool.org

As a little girl, Miss Caroline always dreamed of becoming an Art teacher. In 2013, her dream came true when she was given the opportunity to begin her teaching ministry with Saint Marguerite Catholic School. A graduate of Wayne State University, located in Detroit, Michigan, she earned a degree in Fine Arts. Today, she continues to share all that she learned and her love of Art with her favorite artists – her students.

Miss Caroline implemented a complete curriculum for Preschool, Pre-K and K-8 students in addition to creating the former school logo, the Mountaineer mascot logo, and the 40th anniversary logo to celebrate Saint Marguerite Catholic School’s birthday. Miss Caroline does not just teach students to create Art from what they see, but to create Art from what they feel. She likes to give students ways to view life from a variety of perspectives, allowing students to make beautiful mistakes and showing them that Art is not about perfection. She can be heard saying, “We should always do our best,” “You can never have too much glitter in an art piece; and, “Glitter is definitely good! More glitter is better.” If you stroll through the halls of Saint Marguerite, you will see the legacy wall she established for graduates to create a Sacred Heart of Jesus before heading off to High School, and you may hear them reciting the prayer of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, “Jesus live in our hearts forever.”
She considers herself a mixed media folk artist, creating comical characters out of wood, paper, ribbons, paint, glitter – lots and lots of glitter. She loves the holidays and decorating for them. Each piece she creates is a mini, original “masterpiece” that is intended to generate a smile.

Miss Caroline and her husband live in the shadow of the Oquirrh and Stansbury Mountains with dogs, cows, goats, sheep, cats, chickens, roosters, horses and the occasional coyote grazing just past her backyard fence. She loves the season of autumn for the beautiful fall foliage, warm and spicy smells of bonfires, and the anticipation of Thanksgiving. She tries to celebrate Christmas in a small way everyday and believes we need to embrace the whole idea of two Christmases a year!

She leaves us with something to ponder – Did you know Mona Lisa does not have any eyebrows?

Mrs. Child and her husband Ben have three children who have always attended Catholic School. Her son Benji and twin daughters, Ceci and Lizi, graduated from Saint Marguerite Catholic School. Benji will complete his Senior year at Judge Memorial Catholic High School and the girls will begin their Sophomore year of college at Gonzaga University in Spokane Washington. Mrs. Child began her teaching career when her son Benji started preschool. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Utah State University, but chose to stay home to care for her children when her girls were born. She later decided to return to teaching, obtaining her teaching license through the Utah State Office of Education Alternative Routes to Licensure (ARL) program. This year, she will enter into her 16th year teaching second grade at Saint Marguerite. She is a seasoned veteran (experienced teaching a full curriculum with exceptional classroom management skills), and a tremendous asset to our school. She coordinates events, assists with fundraising, and is our technology expert & coach Her favorite subjects include Math and Religion. She especially enjoys preparing students to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.

Bethany Child

Second & Third Lead Teacher

bchild@stmargschool.org

Betsy Snider

Middle School

bsnider@stmargschool.org
Ms. Snider studied linguistics, grammar, and editing throughout college. In 2011, she moved to Manchester, United Kingdom where she received a Master’s degree in both English grammar and creative writing. While originally determined to teach linguistics at the university level, Ms. Snider accepted a temporary teaching position at Kennedy Junior High and fell in love with teaching middle school students. She enjoys working with their curiosity, blossoming personalities, and even their sometimes angsty attitudes. Having traveled the world over, living in both Asia and Europe, she feels she has found a home at Saint Marguerite. She loves the community, the school, and her students. Mrs. Snider has worked at St. Marguerite Catholic School for 3 years and has been an asset to our school. Aside from teaching, she oversees Student Council, Yearbook & Publication Club, our Speech competition, and our Christmas program. She feels richly blessed to work in such a wonderful place and we are grateful for her service and commitment.

Coming Soon

Alfredo Marquez

Custodian

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