Special
Marissa Bagala is shown with a Pre-K 3 class at St. Mary’s Nativity.
Marissa Bagala thankful for years at St. Mary’s as she heads to Sts. Leo-Seton in Lafayette Story by Janet Marcel ~ Photo by Lawrence Chatagnier Marissa Bagala, who has been serving as principal of St. Mary’s Nativity School in Raceland since the 2005-2006 school year, will be leaving her position at the end of this school year. Bagala, a Houma native and graduate of Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma, earned a bachelor of science in vocational home economics education from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, and a master’s degree, plus 30 hours in curriculum and instruction, from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux. She also has Catholic School Leadership certification from LMU in New Orleans. She previously served as a kindergarten teacher at St. Bernadette Elementary and Maria Immacolata Elementary Schools in Houma, Lockport Lower Elementary School and Larose Lower Elementary School; as a fourth grade teacher at Larose Middle School; as a Pre-K4 teacher at Holy Savior 22 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • May 2022
Catholic School in Lockport and Cut Off Elementary School; and as assistant principal at Lockport Lower Elementary School. She has a 26 year old son, Tristan, who is currently attending Harvard in Boston, MA. When asked about what influenced her to become an educator, she says, “One of my earliest memories was of my father reading to me and my sister, and teaching us how to read, and also teaching us about our faith. Religion was a very big part of our lives.” Witnessing the love and dedication the Dominican Sisters at St. Bernadette Catholic School had for their students and having them sharing their faith with her and the rest of the students also had a lasting impact on her. Her older sister, Geralyn, who Bagala says was the perfect example of a Pre-K teacher, also impacted her decision. “Just seeing the dedication she had for teaching
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