St. Nicholas Academy
Meet the Staff
Carmen Saemmer
Carmen Saemmer
Aggeliki Sitaras
Aggeliki Sitaras
Miss Aggeliki has been with SNA for 5 years. She is a teacher in our Preschool 2-year-old class and our Greek teacher. The kids love when she comes in to do her lessons and 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 ask her. What a memory she has! Miss Aggeliki became Mrs. Aggeliki last summer at her beautiful wedding in Chios, Greece!
Mayda Rivera
Mayda Rivera
Mrs. Mayda has been working at the Academy since 2013! She is one of the lead teachers in the 2-year-old classroom and an assistant before that. Mrs. Mayda was born and raised in Bethlehem. She has 2 boys and is married to her high school sweetheart. She loves teaching and interacting with her students while helping them navigate new friendships and classrooms.
Melissa White
Melissa White
Miss Melissa is the lead teacher for the 3-year-old class. She has been at the academy since 2016. She received her associate’s degree from 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 Petrides
Presvytera Stephanie has been teaching religion at the Academy since 2018, and this year will be a lead teacher in Preschool 2’s two days a week, and assisting in various other classes the rest of the time. She loves seeing her students’ smiling faces every morning and enjoys watching how much they are learning, changing, and developing from the beginning to the end of the school year. She loves working with little ones since her boys are getting so big. Her three boys are all graduates of the Academy and are currently in 7th, 4th, and 2nd grade. She is grateful to be teaching religion as well because she loves finding creative ways to help her students understand and engage in their faith and the life of the church. It also allows her to get to know the children in all of the classes. In her free time, Presvytera Stephanie can be found at the field watching her boys play sports, in the kitchen trying out a new recipe, or out running around the beautiful Lehigh Valley.
Elise Quintana
Elise Quintana
Deb Peters
Deb Peters
Mrs. Peters has been a part of St. Nicholas Academy since 2001, 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 carers 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
Aggeliki Gentis
Mrs. Gentis has been a part of the St. Nicholas Academy since 2011. 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 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 kid’s 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
Jenna Katsaros
Miss 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 than when a parent tells her their child talks about something new they learned in school.
Colleen Camasta
Colleen Camasta
Jess Suarez
Jess Saurez
Tiffany Pail
Tiffany Pail
Asa Whitall
Asa Whitall
Miss Asa joined St. Nicholas Academy in September of 2022. She was then new to Bethlehem and PA, coming here after many years in NYC and Southampton, NY although originally she is from Sweden. Miss Asa got her M.A. in Educational Theatre from NYU. After some years teaching, she returned to education as an Assistant. She spent many years as a stay-at-home mom caring for her 3 children. In her free time Miss Asa cares for her family’s many pets. She enjoys reading and studying language on Duolingo. Her time at St. Nicholas has brought much joy into her life.
Jamilex Colon
Madeleine Heitzenrater
Madeleine Heitzenrater
Fr. Nicholas Palis
Fr. Nicholas Palis
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 was married on Sunday, September 27, 1987, and has 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 saint’s lives and encouraging the children to learn from their examples.
Fr. Alexandros Petrides
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 was married in 2010 and has 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 Kotsatos
Despina, or Miss Deb, as the kids call her, is the Parish Secretary. She is always happy to see the kids and offers them kind words. She is often the first face you see when you enter the school and is always 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
Abe Sabbagh
Mr. Abe is the custodian at the church and school and is always ready to lend a hand. He pops into 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!
Issac
Isaac
Mr. Isaac is excited to join the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral family this year as Lay Assistant & Youth. Born and raised in Lancaster, PA, Mr. Isaac is not a stranger to the Lehigh Valley, having spent many weekends here over the past years to chant at our Cathedral when he was studying at St. Tikhon’s Seminary near Scranton, PA. You can most likely find him upstairs working in his shared office with Fr. Alexandros, or in the Church at the chant stand. He derives much joy from the joy of children and looks forward to building relationships with St. Nicholas Academy students and teachers over the coming years as he comes down each morning to lead prayers and tell a silly joke!
Michele
Michele
Miss Michele joined St. Nicholas Academy in 2023 as an assistant teacher. She is married to her husband Jermey and has 5 children and 2 granddaughters. When she is not working at the Academy she is going to her children’s sports tournaments and other activities, or spending time with her granddaughters.
