Our middle school team of teachers work collaboratively to deliver rigorous instruction to all the students. Students are educated in the doctrines and beliefs of our Catholic Faith. Teachers begin and end class with a prayer on a daily basis.
Meet our Middle School teachers:
STEAM & Religion Teacher
Mr. James Hamilton
Originally from: Hamilton, New Jersey
Bones broken as a kid: 6
Education: Harvard University – AB in Linguistics with Related Field in Japanese Linguistics
Average Number of Books read each year for the last 3 years: 112
Teaching at Saint Leo the Great: 2019 – present
Positions held: Substitute Teacher, Middle School Science Proctor, After School Care, STEAM Teacher, and Middle School Religion Teacher
Favorite Saint: St. Paul Miki
Mr. Hamilton is excited to continue to mold young minds at Saint Leo the Great Catholic School. He has held a variety of positions but is excited to be teaching 7th and 8th Grade Religion and 5th through 8th Grade STEAM classes. Getting to teach about the saints, the story of salvation history in the Bible, and how to live out one’s faith in today’s world is his dream come true! And giving kids the opportunity to exercise their imaginations, coding skills, and building ability is icing on the cake. While he likes to have fun in his class, he also understands that learning about the Catholic faith and striving to become a saint is serious business.
The driving Bible verse for him is “This is eternal life, that they know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” – John 17:3. At the end of the day, Mr. Hamilton just wants everyone to know Jesus and to have eternal life. But, when he isn’t bringing students to Eucharistic Adoration, going to Mass, or keeping the hallways safe, Mr. Hamilton likes to play board games, read (sci-fi and mysteries are his top genres right now), cook, and help other young adults grow in their faith and build community.
Wednesdays are Eucharistic Adoration days! We have an abbreviated lesson on those days, and then head to the chapel to join the parish in quiet adoration before the blessed sacrament, ending with the Divine Praises.
8th Graders and 7th Graders use the Spirit of Truth Curriculum from Sophia Institute for Teachers which incorporates classical elements like Scripture Memorization, Picture Studies, and Class Discussions. They also complete a weekly homework based on the Gospel passage for the upcoming Sunday Mass, so that they are prepared to listen and respond. The 7th Grade curriculum focuses on the Gospels and the person of Jesus Christ, and the 8th grade curriculum focuses on the Church, as well as preparation for Confirmation.
STEAM class involves a variety of projects and opportunities. 6th Grade includes a unit on coding. We do experiments and build challenges that complement the Science curriculum and utilize the Engineering Design Process. Classes also use the STEAM Maker cart that allows kids to create hydraulics, launchers, and rubber band racers.
Curriculum: Please reference the Diocese of Harrisburg website for more information on our curriculum.
Integrated Language Arts (ILA) & Religion Teacher
Director of Middle School Affairs
Dr. Joan Withum
Email: [email protected]
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA/Lancaster for 21 years
Favorite Movie: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Education: Queens College, CUNY – BS in Secondary English Education; MS in Reading Education K – 12 Immaculata University – Ed.D. in Educational Leadership
Dr. Withum began teaching Integrated Language Arts (ILA) at Saint Leo the Great School in 2022. As Director of Middle School Affairs, her duties include: partnering with teachers and families to promote a positive growth mindset in students through the tenets of our Catholic faith as outlined in the SLTG School Handbook; supporting teachers in ensuring they implement consistent classroom management protocols, especially as it relates to issues of discipline and school culture per SLTG expectations; and developing, maintaining and exemplifying consistency in the enforcement of the SLTG School Handbook rules and procedures. Through inquiry, research, presentation, and reflection, Dr. Withum works to encourage her students to learn to love the English language. She has always wanted to become a teacher to share her love of reading with her students. The greatest joy she receives from teaching is when her students can relate literature to their lives.
Words to Live By: “What would Jesus do?” This is the question that helps guide my teaching each day. Although all educators follow a professional code of ethics, the actions that a Catholic school teacher needs to demonstrate and model, are those of Jesus. He taught us, among other things, to be compassionate, loving, forgiving, prayerful and committed. Compassion is recognizing that each student has special needs that are addressed in different ways. A teacher shows love every day to students through caring and listening. Although teachers demonstrate forgiveness to others every day, a teacher in a Catholic school goes one step further by reminding students that it is okay to make mistakes because Christ knows that we are human and that we will make mistakes, yet he loves us still. In this busy life, being prayerful can be a challenge. To help students be more prayerful, teachers must be continually mindful of their prayerfulness. Teachers can model commitment through working with students to build a Christian community within the classroom, the school, the church, and society. Helping students set goals and commit to reaching those goals can be a daunting task, but as Jesus said, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Dr. Withum and her husband (also Dr. Withum), live in Mount Joy and are members of Mary Mother of the Church. They enjoy spending time with their 14 grandchildren, traveling, and volunteering at the Lancaster Liederkranz, where they help promote German culture and traditions.
Curriculum: Please reference the Diocese of Harrisburg website for more information on our curriculum.
Mathematics & Religion Teacher
Mrs. Elise Grignon
Teaching at Saint Leo the Great: 2005, 2022 – present.
Saint Leo the Great has been a home to Elise Grignon since her first day of Kindergarten. She attended Saint Leo School through 8th grade and continued on to Lancaster Catholic High School (LCHS). She attended Franciscan University and earned a degree in Middle School Education with concentrations in Math and Language Arts.
Quote: Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire! -St. Catherine of Sienna
She and her husband have 5 children who have attend(ed) LCHS, CTC, St. John Neumann, and Saint Leo School. Elise always believed in the strong importance of a Catholic education, but furthermore, she and her husband knew that it was important to surround their family with a strong, supportive community. Saint Leo the Great School is a huge part of their village.
Elise taught at Saint Leo School for one year before becoming a full-time stay-at-home mom. In 2022 she returned to the classroom as a part-time substitute and soon became a full-time faculty member.
Elise is so excited to be in the middle school teaching math! “I absolutely LOVE teaching middle school students. The best part of any teacher’s experience is seeing that ‘light bulb moment’. In math though, it is amazing.”
Curriculum: Please reference the Diocese of Harrisburg website for more information on our curriculum.
Mathematics Teacher
Mr. Corey Paluga
Hometown: Williamsburg, Virginia
Education: M.Ed. in Educational Leadership – Lynchburg College; B.S. in Mathematics – Lynchburg College
Teaching at St. Leo the Great: 2025 – present
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Proverbs 27:17
Mr. Paluga teaches middle school math after spending 17 years as a college coach, administrator, and college consultant. While he originally planned to teach secondary math and coach middle/high school baseball, his career path led him into college athletics, with coaching stops at Lynchburg College, Stevens Institute of Technology, Elmira College, and Eastern University.
Mr. Paluga brings the same energy and enthusiasm from coaching into the classroom and is passionate about helping students see math as both accessible and meaningful. He especially enjoys sharing his love of problem-solving with middle school students and helping them build confidence in their mathematical thinking. Mr. Paluga is married to first grade teacher Bridget Paluga, and together they have three sons.
History & Religion Teacher
Mrs. Danielle Cox
Email: [email protected]
Hometown: Lancaster, PA
Education:
Franklin & Marshall College – BA in Psychology; 2003
Eastern University – MEd in Curriculum & Instruction with a Middle-Level Teaching Certification; In Progress
Teaching at Saint Leo the Great: 2016 – present
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
St. Catherine of Siena
Mrs. Cox teaches Social Studies to Middle School students. She encourages her students to experience history in order to better understand it through analysis, contextualization and research. As 6th graders, students become world explorers as they travel from continent to continent learning about the geography and cultures of different countries. In 7th and 8th grades, students become U.S. Historians as they investigate important historical events like the American Revolution, Westward Expansion, the Civil War, the Great Depression and World War 2.
As a recipient of 13 years of Catholic education, Mrs. Cox knows the value and impact it can have on a student. She attended Saint Leo the Great School and is a graduate of Lancaster Catholic High School. She lives in Lancaster with her husband and 3 children, all of whom benefit from a Catholic education. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and cheering on her children at their sporting events.
Curriculum: Please reference the Diocese of Harrisburg website for more information on our curriculum.
Integrated Language Arts (ILA) & Religion Teacher
Mr. Matt Hummer
Email: [email protected]
Hometown: Lancaster, PA
Education:
Loyola University in Maryland—B.A. English Literature
Villanova University—M.A. Classics (Latin)
West Chester University—Teacher Certification (English, Latin)
The University of the South, Sewanee—M.F.A. Creative Writing (Nonfiction)
Favorite Saints:
Many saints touch our lives. For me, Mary, Mother of God, St. Francis, St. Therese of Lisieux, Pope St. John Paul the Great, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and others stand out.
Another, who is important to me and is on the path to canonization, is Servant of God, Fr. Walter Ciszek, S.J. He is a Pennsylvania native and is buried in Wernersville, PA.
Quote by Fr. Ciszek:
“Everything that enters our life is shrouded in a certain mystery…When we are young, we don’t halt to consider seriously all that is human and divine within us…But then life, that master-teacher, opens its many doors to us and questions arise: What way to follow? Should I marry? What profession should I choose? However, these are not the most important questions…What does matter is understanding that I must choose, not what direction to take, but who I shall become. That is what we call ‘choosing a vocation’. It involves a response from within our very being, which is, in fact, an expression of what we were from the beginning”.
Triple Novena: Extraordinary Experiences, Powerful Prayer
Interests and Hobbies:
I love watching sports, especially soccer (il calcio, in Italy—go Roma!). I’m also a big fan of Villanova, Philly sports teams, and PSU. I learned how to play baseball, basketball, and soccer at St. Leo (1988 graduate). As the Romans say: mens sana in corpore sano (healthy mind in a healthy body).
I enjoy outside activities such as hikes and walks, gardening and raising bonsai, grilling, drawing landscapes, and sports.
Teaching Background:
I have taught English, Creative Writing, Composition, Latin, and History at middle school, high school, and college levels. I teach Latin and Classical History at Alvernia University as an adjunct. I’m also in a Ph.D. program in Composition and Applied Linguistics at I.U.P.
Science & Religion Teacher
Miss MaeLynne Connolly
My name is MaeLynne Connolly, and I am so excited to join the faculty and staff at St. Leo the Great School as the 2025-2026 middle school science teacher! Attending a Catholic elementary school was a crucial component in the development and strengthening of my faith. I believe that God has given each student gifts that should be nurtured and grown. I take great care in creating a safe and supportive learning environment where my students can grow academically, socially, and spiritually.
I am from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania and am a graduate of Susquehanna University. In high school, I participated in County, District, and Region Chorus and Band festivals. At Susquehanna, I enjoyed volunteering in the community at the Elijah’s Bowl Food Cupboard, Grayson View Nursing Home, and Relay for Life events.
In my free time, I like to hang out with my mom, dad, brother, and sister. I also love to sing, paint, and read. I enjoy playing the piano, trombone, and ukulele. I have two Bernedoodles: Bamboo and Maya. I love taking care of my fur babies!
I have experience teaching middle school science within the Diocese of Harrisburg. While teaching at St. John Neumann Catholic School, I was awarded four Living our Mission awards for my hard work and dedication to student success. I love teaching the scientific method and working with students on their science fair projects.
