HCCS Staff

Fr. David Cirata, dcirata@stjohndefiance.org

Rose Reinhart, principal@defianceholycross.org

I have over 20 years of experience in education; which includes teaching in El Paso Texas, Charlotte North Carolina, Antwerp Ohio, and Fort Wayne Indiana at Bishop Dwenger High School. I am an active member of Devine Mercy Parish of Paulding County where I have served in many lay ministry positions over the years. Some of the ministries I have participated in include; teaching 5th grade Religious Education for 15 years; helping with VBS, young adult groups, and youth Bible Studies leader. Currently I serve as the sacristan and decorator for the 8:30 mass at the Antwerp location of Devine Mercy and I cantor every 3rd week.

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Math Education from Defiance College and a MAT in Physics from Bowling Green State University. My teaching licenses include: Math, Chemistry, Physics and General Science. Currently I am working on my Principal’s license through Indiana Wesleyan University, which I expect to complete in the Fall of 2018.

My husband and I have been married for over 25 years and we have four children. Fortunately I was able to be a stay at home Mom for several years when they were too young to attend school. My belief in the importance of Catholic Education is evident as our children all attended Catholic grade school even while I was teaching in the public school system. Currently I reside in Antwerp, Ohio with my husband.

Renee Sampson, rsampson@defianceholycross.org

Renee serves the school as Secretary. In her roll, she also oversees bookkeeping. If you have any questions at all about your tuition payments or scholarships, please don’t hesitate to contact Mrs. Sampson. She is in the school office 8am-4pm and always available by email.

Aileen Meyer, ameyer@defianceholycross.org

It is a privilege to be a member of the Holy Cross Family. My husband Casey and I have four children and are proud to be HCCS parents. I have a BS from BGSU in Visual Communications and a Masters of Organizational Leadership from Lourdes University. I am credentialed as a Certified Fundraising Manager (CFRM) from IUPUI and I have spent my entire career helping organizations develop the necessary funds to carry out their mission. More recently, I obtained my substitute teaching license. Occasionally when I am not wearing a marketing of fundraising hat for the school, you may find me spending the day subbing for one of our wonderful teachers!

Kristen Killion, kkillion@defianceholycross.org

I was born in Delphos, Ohio and attended Delphos St. John’s from Kindergarten though 12th grade.  Catholic education has always been an important part of who I am. I went on to receive a bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from Wright State University. I received a master’s of Education from Bowling Green State University.  I continue to learn and grow any way that I can both as an educator and in my personal life.

Jodi Guilford, jguilford@defianceholycross.org

I was born in Fremont, OH and graduated from Fremont Ross High School in 1988. Then, I graduated from B.G.S.U. with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Kindergarten Certification. I am going on my twenty-second year of teaching in our catholic schools in Defiance. My last eighteen years I have been teaching our Pre-Kindergarten children who are three, four, and five years old. Teaching in our catholic schools is an extremely wonderful experience! I truly enjoy working with our young children and growing in my faith with them and their families.

My husband Eric and I married in 1994 and we have two wonderful children, Mackenzie and Evan. My husband, Eric, is an engineer at Spangler Candy Company and he has worked there for over twenty-five years.

One of my favorite quotes is, “How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most.” (Stephen R. Covey)

Theresa Rickenberg, trick@defianceholycross.org

Students at HCCS call me “Mrs. Theresa”. You will see me working in several capacities at school, working with all students. Mon/Wed/Fri, I  teach one of our two PreK 4 classes. I have been a teacher’s aide for more than 15 years, most of them served at HCCS. I spend most of my aid time assisting Mrs. Guilford with the PreK 3 class on Tuesday and Wednesdays. I am certified to teach advanced sign language, conduct student vision screenings and Aide in the Young 5’s class. I also manage the before school program at Holy Cross and occasionally you will see me in the office assisting our secretary.

I am married to my wonderful husband, Kevin and we have one grown son, Wesley. I enjoy many hobbies including photography, running, camping with family and spending time with my many nieces and nephews.

Cristal Moore, cjmoore@defianceholycross.org

I began working for Holy Cross in 2015 after teaching Pre-K for 23 years. I graduated from Lima Tech which is now Rhodes State College in Lima, Ohio. I am married and have two children. I have always loved what I do and getting to spend time with wonderful children with such fun personalities is a bonus!

Allison Flory

Students call me Miss Allison! I am a parishioner at St. John the Evangelist, Defiance and a Tinora High School graduate. I am studying Early Childhood Education at Northwest State Community College and love spending time with children! In my free time, I enjoy playing with my beagle Stella and riding my bike. Children are a gift from God and I am so happy I get to assist in their learning journey at HCCS.

Samantha Donaldson, sdon@defianceholycross.org

Samantha Donaldson is a graduate of Ayersville High School and Defiance College. Previous to teaching Kindergarten (since 2020), she taught Prekindergarten for eight years at Holy Cross Catholic School. Samantha is married to Nathan Donaldson and has three beautiful children: Emma, Owen and Oliver. Her favorite quote is “Kid, you’ll move mountains” from Dr. Seuss’ book Oh, the Places You Will Go.

Madison Keween, mkween@defianceholycross.org

Kristina Detter

I was born and raised in Defiance. I am a parishioner at St. John evangelist. I married my high school sweetheart Nick in 2008. We have three amazing children Isabella, Briella and Bryson. We are proud HCCS parents. I enjoy working with children. I love watching them grow and learn. I have been an aide for kindergarten and pre-K since 2018.

Jody Good, jgood@defianceholycross.org

I enjoy watching my first graders learn new skills and become great leaders. I attended Bowling Green State University and earned a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education. I am certified to teach kindergarten to eighth grade. I have taught for 27 years. I love to read and help young readers become great readers. I think children are one of the greatest gift we can receive. Each one is unique and special. It is our job to teach them about academics and to be great leaders.

Jackie Westfall, jwestfall@defianceholycross.org

Mrs. Westfall has been married to her husband, Dan, for 32 years. She lives in Liberty Center and has three grown daughters and three grandchildren with another on the way in October. Mrs. Westfall graduated from Lourdes University and has taught for ten years. She substitute taught and worked at Christ the King in Toledo, and most recently St. Augustine School in Napoleon, grades 3 through 8.  Mrs. Westfall has a passion for teaching and is looking forward to working with staff, students, and families at HCCS, and preparing the 2nd graders for making their First Holy Communion. Great things happen when God mixes with us!

Dawn Rohn, drohn@defianceholycross.org

I was born in Tennessee and graduated from Ayersville High School and Defiance College with a BS degree in Education and a Minor in Science. I’ve been married for over 30 years to Don and have 4 Children. I have over 17 years of teaching and my area of expertise is Life Science.

Hobbies- Horse training and riding (own 2 horses and a pony), foster and train puppies for service dog training, reading, traveling, running, to name a few!

Favorite quote- The road that runs behind you is another road you’re gonna have to go back down someday.

Teaching quote- Science is a verb, not a noun. That is pretty much how I teach- by doing as well as reading the material. We don’t talk about metamorphosis of butterflies, I bring in a monarch egg and we watch and measure the caterpillar as it grows. We get out the Hot Wheels cars and tracks when talking about force and motion. Math manipulatives are used often to further understand the concept.
I guarantee any child and parent that I will do everything in my power to be sure the students learn to the best of their ability with positive, yet defined expectations for behavior and effort. Every student becomes “my” child and I keep them in my heart at all times!

Paula DeCola, pdecola@defianceholycross.org

I grew up in a family of seven people and we lived in Sherwood, Ohio.  I graduated from Fairview High School and attended Defiance College, where I received my degree in Elementary Education.  I was then hired at St. Mary’s Catholic School, and spent the next twenty-one years teaching classes in grades three, four, five, and six.  I taught four years at Defiance Catholic School before we became Holy Cross Catholic School.  I love the atmosphere and community feeling of working in a place where the teachings of Jesus are taught on a daily basis.  I have always been very involved in the Defiance Catholic Community, volunteering, serving on various committees, and ministering to others.

I have been married for thirty-three years, and my husband Doug, is a retired teacher and works part-time for Schaffer Funeral Home.  We have two grown daughters.  Elise is Weekend Executive Producer at WXIN/WTTV Fox 59/CBS4 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Erica lives in the Defiance area and is a teacher at the Bryan School for Autism.

In the summer I enjoy working in my flower gardens and fairy gardens.  I love singing, directing the choir for Mass at HCCS, and listening to Christian music.  Going out to dinner, collecting nativity sets, and completing word searches are also activities that I enjoy.

Teaching is my passion and I love to watch children grow from their experiences.  Every child is a leader and I am excited to assist children in exploring the potential in each of them.

Megan Tobias, mtobias@defianceholycross.org

I grew up in Wauseon, Ohio. I graduated from Wauseon High School in 2011 and attended Defiance College where I played basketball and lacrosse. I received my Bachelors degree in Middle Childhood Education: Mathematics and Social Studies. I was then hired at St. Augustine Catholic School and spent four years teaching 3rd to 8th grade Math, 5th and 6th Science and Health. While teaching at St. Augustine I coached basketball at Napoleon High School and softball at Wauseon High School. I love spending time with my friends and family, and doing anything involving sports. I’m so grateful to be apart of the Holy Cross team.

Matt Cramer, mcramer@defianceholycross.org

I was born and raised in Napoleon, OH and still live there today with my wife Jessica and son Caiden. I graduated from Defiance College in 1993 with a Bachelors in computer science, math, and a teaching certificate for computer science. Once I started working with kids I knew that is what I wanted to do. So in 1998, I graduated again from Defiance College with a Bachelors in Elementary Education. I taught for 15 years at St. Augustine in Napoleon before coming to Holy Cross Catholic school. I am starting my third year here at Holy Cross and really enjoy teaching at this school. There are many things I really enjoy, especially spending time with my family and watching Ohio State Football games. In addition, I really love animals and talking about them with the students.

Dave Jones, music@defianceholycross.org

Mr. Jones graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Music Education and has a Masters of Music Education from Eastern Kentucky University. He brings to HCCS a depth of musical teaching experience having directed many school bands in his career as well as serving as the choir director at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Antwerp for 20 years. Mr. Jones has over 40 years of performance experience with brass instruments. Currently he holds the principal baritone position in the Old Crown Brass Band of Ft. Wayne, IN.

Mr. Jones is married to his best friend and musical companion, Sally Gillette-Jones. They have two sons and they reside in Antwerp, OH.

To sharpen his saw, Mr. Jones enjoys playing golf, scrabble and word games. He is excited to share a love of music with the students and community of HCCS!