You can, indeed, go home again and Justina Gaeta is living proof.
Gaeta, who graduated from the eighth grade at Sacred Heart Elementary School 23 years ago, has been named assistant principal at St. Mary’s. She will oversee grades K-5, which are moving from Sacred Heart on Boston Street to St. Mary’s Tremont Street campus in the fall.
“I’m looking forward to being part of the administration at St. Mary’s and almost starting from scratch, but having such a great model to work with,” said Gaeta, who has been teaching Spanish at St. Mary’s High School the last two years. “There is such a strong foundation in place.”
Prior to coming to St. Mary’s, Gaeta taught Spanish at Breed Middle School and Lynn Classical High School. A 2004 Lynn Classical graduate, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and a masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Salem State University. She earned a principal license from the Northeast Consortium for Staff Development.
As the mother of two young children – 4-year-old Christian and 2-year-old Mia – Gaeta started paying closer attention to potential opportunities for their education.
“I took some courses and got really interested in elementary education,” she said.
Christian will be in kindergarten at St. Mary’s in the fall. Gaeta also has a family connection to St. Mary’s through her husband, Chris, a 2005 graduate, and father-in-law, Charlie Gaeta, Class of 1970. That, combined with the opportunity to work in administration at a school that has as its pillars Catholic, Excellence, Integrity and Respect, made this opportunity very appealing.
“I’m really excited to help a program evolve from something that is already great into something that is even better,” she said. “The leadership team here is exceptional and I have enjoyed being in a Catholic-school environment.”
St. Mary’s is converting existing space on Tremont Street into eight classrooms for grade K-5 students starting in September. The current enrollment in those grades at Boston Street is 167.
“I’m excited to see how the space develops,” said Gaeta, the former varsity girls soccer coach at Classical.
St. Mary’s Head of School Dr. John F. Dolan said the school was fortunate to have Gaeta in position to take over for the current Boston Street principal, Kristina Relihan, who is leaving at the end of the school year.
“I have no doubt that Justina will carry on the outstanding work done by Ms. Relihan and her team,” Dolan said. “This is an exciting time for St. Mary’s and I know our elementary parents are looking forward to having their children benefit from all that our school has to offer.”
