Today’s Friday Faculty Feature highlights two of our longer-serving teachers. We bring you to our Kindergarten classroom to share about Mrs. Donegan (right) and Ms. Lily (left)!
Mrs. Donegan is our Kindergarten teacher, who started with us in 2015. Ms. Lily, the full-time Kindergarten aide, has helped with the classes for 13 years, even when there were two Kindergarten classes! They have been a Kindergarten team for the last 9 years. We are pleased to share our interview.
Mrs. Donegan: “This is my 9th year teaching Kindergarten at St. Viator. Kindergarten is the BEST grade to teach and I LOVE seeing how much academic and social emotional growth and learning that my students make from the start of Kindergarten to the end. It is very rewarding!
I attended college at Dominican University for my undergraduate degree and Northeastern Illinois University for my Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. I have been teaching for 12 years. Before working at St. Viator, I worked at a privately-owned preschool and Kindergarten and I taught in the Pre-K 3, Pre-K 4, and Kindergarten rooms for 3 years. I was also the head of the after school Kindergarten program there.”
Ms. Lily has taught at St. Viator for 13 years. Prior to working at St. Viator, she studied in Mexico to become a preschool teacher. She has been teaching for 20 years.
Mrs. Donegan again: “My favorite part of teaching is when students take the time to make something or draw something to give to me. Also, when I see students that I taught before and they come up to me in the hallway or in the lunch room just to smile, say hi, tell me something new, or give me a hug. It makes it all worth it!” Ms. Lily’s favorite part of teaching is helping kids learn.
Ms. Lily and Mrs. Donegan have been at St. Viator long enough to know this community. Ms. Lily shared, “I like that the parents are very involved in the different activities in our school. St. Viator offers a great and safe environment to our students.” Mrs. Donegan told us, “I love teaching at St. Viator because I love the tight knit atmosphere and community. I also love the faith filled environment, the teachers, and the families. I love how everyone helps each other out and supports one another.”
Both teachers shared some fun favorites. Mrs. Donegan’s favorite color is pink, and she added, “I love anything sparkly!” Her favorite food is tacos. She reported, “My favorite holiday is Christmas because I love getting time to spend with my family and watching my kids open presents on Christmas morning!”
Ms. Lily’s favorite color is navy blue - a perfect match for our school colors! Her favorite food is Mexican food. Ms. Lily also holds Christmas as her favorite holiday.
Mrs. Donegan’s birthday is February 17th. She states that her hidden talent is “cleaning and organizing,” explaining, “I am very good at organizing.” Her favorite way to start the day is with an iced latte. Ms. Lily was born on December 5th. She also enjoys coffee to start her day.
When it comes to family, Mrs. Donegan told us that [she is] the youngest of 5 siblings. “I have 3 older sisters and 1 brother. I have 6 nieces and 5 nephews so I have a big family and I have always been around children! I am married and have two little girls who attend St. Viator; Kaylee who is in second grade and Melanie who just started Pre-K 4 this year. We have a goldfish named Sparkles Gill Donegan.” Ms. Lily is also married, her husband’s name is Jim. She has a daughter, Jessica, who is also a St. Viator alumna! They do not have any pets.
In her spare time, Ms. Lily loves to take bike rides. Mrs. Donegan enjoys playing with her girls and spending as much time with her family as possible.
Shifting to their class, Mrs. Donegan told us, “The most helpful thing a parent can do for my class is to read with their child at home. This helps promote and enhance their young reading and literacy skills, getting them ready for Kindergarten.” Ms. Lily added that the most helpful thing a parent can do is to understand “how important it is to read and to practice writing with their child.”
When Mrs. Donegan looked back on her teaching career, she reflected that, “The professional accomplishment I am most proud of is establishing relationships with families of students and keeping in touch with them to hear how they are doing years later. My first class that I taught at St. Viator will be graduating this year!”
Mrs. Donegan and Ms. Lily are teachers, so of course they have favorite books. For Mrs. Donegan it’s Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes. She told us that she loves Pete the Cat books, and her favorite children’s authors are David Shannon and Eric Carle. Ms. Lily opted to share her personal choices, divulging, “I love to read biographies and mysteries.”
Both teachers have done some traveling. Ms. Lily took a trip to Italy, which was the farthest she has traveled from Chicago. For Mrs. Donegan, that was her honeymoon to Mexico.
When we asked these two about their heroes, they gave similar answers. Mrs. Donegan told us, “My heroes are my Mom and my late Father. They raised me in the Catholic faith and always helped and supported me in everything that I do. I wouldn’t be who I am today without the values that they instilled in me growing up.” Ms. Lily also shared that her Mother is her hero.
During the school day, you find Mrs. Donegan and Ms. Lily together in the Kindergarten classroom. You can also find them at school events, supporting the community. Mrs. Donegan enjoys sharing the extracurricular activities, like Trunk or Treat or Winterfest, with her girls. We imagine Ms. Lily also enjoyed extra-curricular school activities with her daughter.
Over the past nine years, Mrs. Donegan and Ms. Lily have prepared many students for 1st grade and beyond. In their classroom, students learn their foundational math skills, and how to read. Currently, they use the Phonics into Reading program and iReady math. Last year we celebrated that the entire Kindergarten class ended the year reading “at or above grade level.” (The average is 50%)! The graduating class of 2025 are posting great test scores, and we credit that to the strong foundations taught by these teachers’ 9 years ago!
In the classroom, you can tell Mrs. Donegan and Ms. Lily care for the students. Students enjoy the safe, calm classroom environment they have created. In room 109, students are supported in their successes and their challenges. We are grateful for Mrs. Donegan and Ms. Lily, and the awesome work they do with our Kindergarten students!
If you have Kindergarten questions, or questions about St. Viator Elementary School, set up a school tour! We have started our monthly Open House events, but you can also contact William Teeple at (773) 545-2173 to schedule an individual family tour.
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