tvc.dsj.org | August 21, 2018
CATHOLIC
SCHOOLS
23
Saint John Vianney Welcomes New Principal and Vice Principal
Saint John Vianney (SJV) Catholic
School has welcomed Laura Semina-
tore as Interim Principal and Barbara
Spencer as Vice Principal for the 2018-19
school year.
Mrs. Seminatore is very familiar to
the St. John Vianney Community as her
three children school graduates.
As a parent volunteer, she enveloped
the sense of community. After being a
preschool teacher for many years, Mrs.
Seminatore joined the SJV staff in 2001
teaching kindergarten and first grade
for the next 15 years. During these
years, investing her time as a parent
and teacher, she modeled SJV’s mis-
sion, as well as, continuing her higher
education by completing the Catholic
Leadership Program and Masters of
Arts in Educational Leadership at Santa
Clara University.
In 2016, Mrs. Seminatore was hired
at Holy Family School, San Jose, as Vice
Principal before moving over to Saint
John Vianney this summer.
As the spiritual leader of St. John
Vianney Catholic School, her primary
role is to ensure that the school main-
tains its rich Catholic tradition that it
has cherished for the past 65 years,
leading SJV families on a journey to a
deeper understanding of the school’s
mission that aims to develop each stu-
dent through a harmonious blend of
his/her spiritual, moral, intellectual,
emotional and physical strengths.
Mrs. Spencer is a Bay Area native
who grew up in San Jose. She attended
Presentation High School and received
her Bachelor’s degree in Combined Sci-
ence, with a focus in Sociology and Psy-
chology at Santa Clara University. After
graduation, she began a floral business
specializing in special events. During
high school, she began dating, Mike
her neighbor. “Love thy neighbor” they
Barbara Spencer and Laura Seminatore.
took it literally. They have been married
for 37 years. During high school she be-
gan attending Holy Family Church and
was a part of the youth group. She was
in the first RCIA class, became Catho-
lic and became an active parishioner
at Holy Family, San Jose. She served
many ministries, including starting the
women’s group and being the director
of the Holy Family Women’s Retreat.
While serving on one committee, it was
decided to pursue building a Catholic
School. This was the beginning of the
Holy Family School.
In 1996, Barbara began her second
career as a teacher. She taught at Al-
maden Country School before moving
to Colorado. In Colorado, she taught in
charter schools. Her Principal encour-
aged her to return to school to get her
Masters. She graduated from Regis Uni-
versity, with a Masters in Educational
Leadership. She has taught K through
4th in private schools in California
and charter schools in Colorado. She
was awarded the Imagine Teacher of
the Year and Regional Teacher of the
Year. Mrs. Spencer has been in School
Administration for many years.
Her favorite job is serving as Vice
Principal and to serve the SJV com-
munity is an honor.
Cheers to Saint Lucy School Summer Camp
Over 60 students from grades K to
7th were able to enjoy four fun-packed
weeks of outdoor fun, crafts, movies,
on and off-site field trips, cooking,
special guests, and some good old-
fashioned summer fun at the recent
Saint Lucy School Summer Camp.
Extended Day Care Director and
PE teacher, Jane Riley, has been the
inspiration Saint Lucy School Summer
Camp for over 15 years. Her work and
enthusiasm have helped create summer
memories for many Saint Lucy School
students. Each of the four camp weeks
has a dedicated theme. Week one was
Survivor 3 where students were di-
vided into teams and spent the week in
competition. They created team flags,
tied-dye buffs and used their imagina-
tion to build amazing shelters out of
cardboard. The grass field was covered
with them! They also engaged in team
relay competitions and, of course, lots
of old-fashioned water-play.
Having “survived”, students began
week two wi