Meet the SCCA Team

South City Catholic Academy is very excited to announce the faculty for 2017-2018 school year. Meet the whole team!

Mrs. Pat Mongan

Mrs. Pat Mongan, Instructional Support Specialist

Hi! I am Pat Mongan and I have been a primary teacher for the past forty years for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.  I have taught at Sacred Heart in Florissant, Holy Family Catholic School, and I am presently the first grade teacher at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School.  I have also been involved in the CSI and STEM science programs.  Maybe I even taught some of you!  I grew up in South St. Louis and attended Sts. Mary and Joseph Grade School, Notre Dame High School, and Notre Dame College.  I have been married for 33 years.  We have two children, a son and a daughter, who are 27 year old twins.

Mr. Ilya Litvin

Mr. Ilya Litvin, Band Director

Ilya Litvin was accepted as Band Director at SCCA.  He feels blessed to be a part of this wonderful team.  He is excited to build and develop a band, to give the children exciting educational opportunities, and to help them make friends.

Ilya Litvin is currently a Band Director at Our Lady of Sorrows School and Assistant Band Director at St. Joseph School in St. Charles. He is also a trumpet teacher at the Webster University Community Music School and brass instruments instructor at Band Instruments Service Company in St. Charles, Mo.  He was also a professor of trumpet at St. Charles Community College from 1999 to 2011.

Mrs. Barb Ryan

Mrs. Barb Ryan, 8th homeroom

Hello, my name is Barb Ryan, the 8th grade homeroom teacher at South City Catholic Academy. I will be the Language Arts teacher for middle school; in addition, I will teach 8th grade Religion, which includes Confirmation preparation. For seventeen years I had the privilege of teaching at Our Lady of Sorrows School. I taught 4th, 6th and 7th grades as a homeroom teacher, coordinated the Language Arts program in grades 5-8, and prepared 7th graders for Confirmation.

Ms. Chrissy Ahlvers

Ms. Chrissy Ahlvers, 7th homeroom

Hello,

My name is Chrissy Ahlvers. I am a social studies and language arts teacher, and a lifelong Catholic. The goal in my classroom is to make history come alive for my students and create a deeper understanding of other cultures and ideas. In my class we will focus on student-centered learning, critical thinking development, and inquiry based research, so the students are able to explore the world around them in a meaningful and engaging way, while developing their voice as writers and presenters. 

Ms. Elizabeth Ruzika

Ms. Elizabeth Ruzicka, 5th grade

My name is Miss Elizabeth Ruzicka and I am excited to be part of the South City Catholic Academy team!  I grew up in St. Louis, where I attended Seven Holy Founders Catholic School and Rosati-Kain High School. In 2015, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Truman State University. I continued my Education at Truman and earned a Masters of Art in Elementary Education in 2016. I completed a student teaching internship in the Lindbergh School District (5th grade) then went on to long-term substitute teach at St. Margret Mary Alacoque (3rd grade).

Ms. Nancy Schwiess

Ms. Nancy Schweiss, 4th grade

Hello.  My name is Nancy Schweiss.  I will be the 4th grade teacher at South City Catholic Academy.  I am excited and pleased to be part of this groundbreaking endeavor. 

I have lived in St. Louis most of my life.  I am single and reside in Affton.   I grew up in a large family, 6 sisters and 3 brothers.  My parents raised us with good Catholic values.  In my time, away from school, I like to hike, read, and of course cheer on our local teams… Cardinals and Blues. 

Mrs. Cathy Zitko

Mrs. Cathy Zitko, 3rd grade

My name is Cathy Zitko.  I have been in the education field for 21 years. I began my teaching career at Martha Rounds Academy for Children teaching preschool.  I then spent two years as the 1st grade teacher at St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Crestwood, MO.  I have been a teacher at St. Joan of Arc for 17 years and have taught kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, Computer, 5th/6th Language Arts, and 6th/7th Social Studies.

Mrs. Karen Mason

Mrs. Karen Mason, 2nd grade

My name is Karen Mason, and I am looking forward to teaching second grade at South City Catholic Academy.  I have taught second grade at St. Joan of Arc since 2002.  I have served as the school coordinator for the Bellarmine Speech League, as well as a speech coach and judge.  I have also moderated the Mini Vinnies, a service club affiliated with the St. Vincent de Paul Society. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Hendrickson

Mrs. Elizabeth Hendrickson, 1st grade

I am Elizabeth Hendrickson and I am excited to be the first grade teacher at South City Catholic Academy! I am originally from Springfield, IL. I received my undergraduate degree from Indiana University in 2007.  My husband, Adam, and I have been married for five years and have two dogs, Sampson and George. We currently live in Kirkwood 

Mr. Dan Vizer

Mr. Dan Vizer, Music

My name is Daniel Vizer, and I am the Music Teacher at South City Catholic Academy.  
I have been teaching piano lessons for 46 years, since I was 13.  I was thirteen when I started playing the pipe organ and directing a choir for my home parish in Illinois.  I was blessed with the very best of music teachers from the very beginning.  I’m so proud to have earned both my bachelor and master’s degrees in piano performance at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.  During my years there, I studied with the world-famous pianist, Ruth Slenczynska, who is a former student of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Nadia Boulanger, Josef Hoffmann, and Alfred Cortot.