Meet Our Staff

Carmen Saemmer

Mrs. Saemmer has been a part of the academy since 2001. She taught Kindergarten at the academy for 20 years and is now the director. Through her days she has had a daughter and a son graduate from the academy. Mrs. Saemmer went to Bloomsburg University and Moravian College. She spends most of her free time running her daughter and son to their various activities like dance and baseball! Mrs. Saemmer enjoys seeing the children excited to come to school and learn. She loves watching them grow through the year!

Aggeliki Sitaras

Miss Aggeliki has been with SNA for 5 years. She is a teacher in our Preschool 2 year old class and she is our Greek teacher as well. The kids love when she comes in to do her lessons and they are very eager to learn and please her! She is also a favorite among the teachers because she knows where everything is. If we can’t find something, we just ask her. What a memory she has! Miss Aggeliki became Mrs. Aggeliki last summer at her beautiful wedding in Chios, Greece!

Mayda Rivera

Aggeliki Sitaras

Miss Mayda has been working at the Academy for 6 years! When she isn’t here helping out the 2 year old friends, she is busy with her two boys or cheering for the Dallas Cowboys! Miss Mayda loves when her students sing songs to her. She also tries to get all her students to like purple as their favorite color, too! Her former students now in the 3 and 4 year old programs still color her purple pictures to take home! In her spare time she enjoys hanging out with her family and friends and cheering on her son at football!

Melissa White

Presvytera Stephanie Petrides

Miss Melissa is the lead teacher for the 3 year old class. She has been at the academy since 2016. She received her associates degree BCCC in 2002 and her Bachelor of Science in Elementary/Special Ed from Temple University in 2006. She has been married to her husband Nate (who makes guest appearances at SNA as Officer White) and has 2 children. Luke and Liana are both SNA Alumni now attending Miller Heights Elementary school. Miss Melissa enjoys watching her students learn and grow throughout the year.

Presvytera Stephanie Petrides

Presvytera Stephanie has been teaching religion at the Academy since 2018, and this year is also the assistant teacher in the Preschool 2’s. She loves seeing her students smiling faces every morning, and enjoys watching how much they are learning, changing, and developing in their first year of preschool. SHe loves working with such little ones since her boys are getting so big. The oldest 2 are graduates of the Academy and the youngest will graduate this year. SHe is grateful to be teaching religion as well because she loves finding creative ways to help the students understand and engage in their faith and the life of the church. It also gives her the opportunity to get to know the children in all of the other classes as well. In her free time, Presvytera Stephanie loves o play sports in the yard or at the park with her boys or go for a long run.

Elise Quintana

Presvytera Stephanie Petrides

Elise Quintana

Miss Elise is in her 6th year with St. Nicholas academy and is teaching kindergarten. Miss Elise has two daughters, both of her girls are graduates of St Nicholas Academy. Did you know Miss Elise has lived in 5 different states? We are so happy she chose to stay in Pennsylvania! As a traveler of the country, Miss Elise attended the University of New Mexico. When she has a few free minutes she loves to read a good book and hopes to pass her love of reading to her students!

Deb Peters

Aggeliki Gentis

Mrs. Peters has been a part of St. Nicholas Academy for over 20 years, recently retiring as a full time teacher in 2016 and only to stay on as an assistant and substitute. Mrs. Peters went to Northampton Community College where she continues to teach summer classes at the Horizons for Youth Program. Mrs. Peters has enjoyed being a part of St. Nicholas all these years. She has taught so many siblings and watched them grow into fine young adults with families and careers of their own. Mrs. Peters recently became a grandmother and her spare time now consists of spending time with her granddaughter. She also enjoys her cabin in the Poconos, sitting by a campfire with her husband and her dog, Shiba Inu

Aggeliki Gentis

Mrs. Gentis has been a part of the St. Nicholas Academy for over 12 years. All 3 of her children have graduated from the Academy and still talk about how much they loved it there. Mrs. Gentis graduated from Moravian College with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics and a Certificate in Elementary Education. She taught the two year old class for 10 years, was the head teacher for the school age program, and now she is teaching the 4 year old class and loves it! Mrs. Gentis is also part of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox community and can be found helping at the festivals or watching her own kids Greek dance. She loves teaching Greek to her class and enjoys bringing in aspects of Greek culture into her lessons. She looks forward to seeing the next group of little ones whose minds she will brighten.

Jenna Katsaros

Aggeliki Gentis

Jenna Katsaros

Ms. Jenna Katsaros has been with the academy since 2019. She spent 2 1/2 years as an assistant to the Pre-K 4s class and now she is a teacher for the Pre-K 5’s class. Her son, Yianni, is an SNA graduate. He started when he was two and recently graduated from kindergarten this past summer. Miss Jenna and her family are life-long members of the church and community. Miss Jenna loves watching her students grow throughout the year. She loves teaching preschool and all of the exploring, learning and fun she gets to have with her students. Nothing makes Miss Jenna more excited then when a parent tells her their child talks about something new they learned in school.

Fr. Nicholas Palis

Fr. Alexandros Petrides

Since 2006, Fr. Nicholas Palis has been our beloved spiritual pastor at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and spiritual advisor to the Academy. After graduating from high school, he attended Hellenic College in Brookline, MA. After graduation, he went to Greece on vacation and ended up enrolling in the Aristotelian School of Theology at the University of Thessaloniki, from which he graduated in 1983. While in Greece, Fr. Nick was informed by Orthodox elders that it was his calling to return to America and tell people about Orthodoxy, monasticism and the saints. Fr. Nick and Pres. Irene were married on Sunday September 27, 1987 and have been blessed with five beautiful children. Father has always believed in the importance of instructing the children about their faith and loves sharing stories about the saints lives and encouraging the children to learn from their examples.

Fr. Alexandros Petrides

Fr. Alexandros Petrides joined the St. Nicholas Community in Bethlehem on June 1, 2013. He grew up in Stroudsburg, PA, and remembers visiting St. Nicholas as a youth to participate in its many ministries. After graduating from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Minor in Engineering Leadership Development, Fr. Alexey followed his call to serve Christ, and shifted his focus from water resources to "living water," placing his trust in Christ's words that "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:38) He and Pres. Stephanie were married in 2010, and have three sons. Fr. Alexey conducts weekly spiritual lessons with our students and leads our morning prayers every day. The children love when Father comes to visit, especially because he tells the best jokes!

Despina Kotsatos

Despina, or Miss Deb, as the kids call her, is the Parish Secretary. She is always happy to see the kids and offer them kind words. She is often the first face you see when you enter the school and is alway willing to help out! Miss Deb is also special to the Academy as she has a grandson who is in the 3 year old program!

Abe Sabbagh

Despina Kotsatos

Mr. Abe is the custodian at the church and school and is always ready to lend a hand. He pops in our classrooms daily to offer assistance and is ready to fix anything we ask him to. Mr. Abe is definitely a student favorite and they are always happy to see him and say hello!