Meet St. Anastasia's New Principal: Judy Dunn

NEWTOWN SQUARE–Former eighth-grade teacher Judy Dunn has been sitting in the principal's chair at since August. After former Principal Brad Kohlhepp took an offer as an assistant principal for another grade school, Dunn stepped up and placed her name in the hat for principal.

Marple Newtown Patch sat down with Dunn in her new role as school principal for St. Annie's. Get to know the new head of the school from our Q&A session below.

Background: I'm a local–I grew up in the area in Havertown. I attended the Annunciation B.V.M. School. We've lived in Upper Darby for 22 years and moved to Broomall about 8-9 years ago. I received my bachelor's degree in technology and design from Philadelphia University and my master's at Neumann University.

Years in the educating field: This will be my 19th year as an educator. I was a former eighth-grade teacher at St. Anastasia's for five years. I was also the former principal at St. Gabriel's in Norwood.

Mission: Our mission at the school has always been to bring Christ to each child.

How's the change from teaching in the classroom to sitting behind the principal's desk? It's just like riding a bike, but I'm still trying to remember the names of every child. Everyone looks after each other here–we've always had that sense of community. Since I was a teacher at the school before, I kind of know what they're going through and hope that we can continue that sense of community.

New changes: When I was principal, I used to receive everything through mail. Now, we're receiving everything through email. That's the biggest change–is everything is either online or receiving everything electronically. We also have three male teachers this year, which is something new for the school. My son, Anthony Dunn, is the new eighth grade teacher. He's highly qualified, certified in English and he's doing great.

Current school-wide project: We have a stuffed bear wearing a Phillies outfit–perfect for Red October–out front that will show off a characteristic of the month. This month it's respect. One child in each class for each month will be chosen for going above and beyond representing that characteristic. Each student will be honored at monthly mass and will be added to the raffle of winning the bear. I saw the bear at a store and thought it would give the students a good incentive for this. The Student Council has also been so great–we're so proud. Each Student Council member will be taking each characteristic and read in front of mass. The children are all excited about it. We're trying to teach them how to learn and address the teachers and their peers respectfully. Again, it's about bringing that sense of community.

Personal goals: As principal, I'd like to continue to bring community to our school and to make an environment where everyone is safe to learn. I'd like to also continue my education and constantly learning about technology. Also, thinking about what I can do to make the school better with technology. We already have SMART Boards, computers and netbooks but how to enhance that education event further. It's sometimes tough with kids–you want them online but to be safe.