Ms. Bethany MacNeur

"I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and lived in a great 1920s house with my mom, dad, and my maternal grandparents.  I am a true Hoosier with a love for the game of basketball and a slightly different pronunciation of words such as “wash” and “white.”  We moved to Oregon in 1990 – I was in the fifth grade – and shortly after, my parents divorced.  My mom, grandma and I lived in Aloha when I began attending Valley Catholic Middle School in seventh grade.  My transition into a Catholic school went smoothly, thanks to the great teachers I had and the friends I made.  I went on to Valley Catholic High School and graduated from there in 1998.

Growing up I always wanted to be a doctor.  I went back and forth between wanting to be a pediatrician or a geriatrician.  When it came time to look at colleges I began to think seriously about what I wanted to do with my life.  More than anything I wanted to work with kids.  Several people in my family are teachers and I realized that teaching was something that I had never even thought about.  Even though I was accepted into a pre-med program, teaching just seemed the right choice.

I attended the University of Portland and got my Bachelor of Arts in Education.  From the moment I set foot into an elementary classroom in my freshman year at UP, I knew I had made the right choice.  I am currently attending Pacific University and working on my Master’s in Education with a reading endorsement.

Music and sports have always been a big part of my life.  I have played piano since the age of five and started playing trumpet in eighth grade.  I received a scholarship my freshman year to play trumpet in college.  Growing up I played volleyball, soccer, basketball, and softball.  I have been coaching basketball for the past seven years.  I had the privilege of coaching high school basketball for several years at Valley Catholic and for the past few years I’ve enjoyed coaching CYO.

I feel so fortunate and blessed to be teaching fourth grade at St. Clare.  As a non-Catholic I always get the question of “Why do you teach in a Catholic school if you aren’t Catholic?”  Sometimes I have a hard time putting my answer into words.  Teaching in a faith-based community is so important to me and I have always felt “at home” in Catholic schools.  I guess the easy answer is to say that I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be and I’m doing what I love."

Mrs. Lynn Napoli

"I was born in Seattle, Washington, and moved to Beaverton when I was four years old.  We lived right down the street from Holy Trinity Church where we were active members throughout my childhood.  After graduating from Sunset High School, I went to Oregon State University where I graduated with a BS in Liberal Studies.  The next year I went to Warner Pacific College where I received my teaching certificate.  My first teaching position was here at St. Clare.  I taught third grade for seven years and then moved to the library where I have been for five years now.  During that time I also went back to school and received my Masters in Education from Lewis and Clark College and added a Library Media Endorsement to my license as well.

After a few years as Miss Hawley, I married my wonderful husband, Doug, and became Mrs. Napoli.  Doug is a Fire Lieutenant with Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue.  He grew up not far from St. Clare and attended St. John Fisher and Jesuit along with this three brothers.  Coincidentally, his mother went to St. Clare when she was a little girl.

Last, but certainly not least, let me tell you about my kids.  Ryan is five and just started kindergarten at Boeckman Creek in Wilsonville where we live.  He loves sports and animals.  Hunter is going to be three in a couple weeks.  He started going to St. Clare Preschool two half days this year.  Hunter loves to read books and play at the park by our house.  DJ, my stepson, is almost 12.  He is in the sixth grade at the Madeleine this year.  We enjoy spending as much time as we can with him and love to watch him play sports.  Both Ryan and Hunter want to be just like their big brother DJ!

I enjoy scrap booking, kickboxing, going to the movies and you guessed it, reading!  I feel so lucky to be doing a job I truly have a passion for.  I am so glad to be part of such a fabulous community.  The students, parents, and staff here are the best!"

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