The St. Dominic community welcomes back Mrs. Joan Potthast after her second hip surgery, Mrs. Mary Kate Galvan after her maternity leave and Mrs. Joneva Beckmann after having heel surgery. All three women are here for the second semester and are ready to reconnect with their students and coworkers.

Mrs. Potthast

Mrs. Potthast underwent her second hip replacement on November 10. According to Mrs. Potthast, the bones were not “setting right” after her first hip replacement in July. So far, the second surgery has been a success and Mrs. Potthast returned to school at the start of second semester with the love and support of her family, especially her husband, behind her.

“As I’ve told many people already, my husband was wonderfully supportive and just in general so great,” said Mrs. Potthast.

Mrs. Potthast has undergone physical therapy and performs exercises at home on a regular basis. She will continue to use her black cane off and on until she feels comfortable without it.

Mrs. Potthast is very appreciative of prayers from all students and faculty members. She is excited to be back in her classroom teaching and is loving being able to enjoy her everyday life.

Mrs. Galvan

Mrs. Galvan temporarily left St. Dominic on November 6 for her maternity leave. Her family welcomed her third child, Giovani DeJesus Galvan, into the world four days later. Her son is named after soccer player, Giovani dos Santos, a striker for LA Galaxy. According to Mrs. Galvan, her husband was in love with the name as soon as they discovered the baby’s gender. One of Mrs. Galvan’s favorite aspects of her absence was being able to watch her two older children interact with their new brother.

“My two older kids who are three and two are absolutely in love with him and it’s so cute to see them pet his head,” said Mrs. Galvan.

Despite these new adventures at home, Galvan was more than ready to return to work as it is her escape from the chaos of children.

“There’s a reason why I’m a high school teacher and not a preschool teacher. So when I come to school I feel more like a professional and an adult and I’m outside of the little kid world,” said Mrs. Galvan.

Mrs. Galvan is overjoyed to be back at teaching Spanish and is over the moon about being able to “goof around” with her students again.

 Mrs. Beckmann

New math teacher Mrs. Beckmann had surgery on her right heel on December 3. With her heel bone growing over her Achilles tendon, the doctors had to shave off the bone and realign the tendon. The awkward bone growth was a result of her breaking her heel while on vacation over the summer in June. However, she has a high pain tolerance and did not realize it was broken, continuing to walk on it for the next five months.

Mrs. Beckmann rolled back into school on December 14, proudly riding her scooter. According to Mrs. Beckmann, students ask on a daily basis if they can ride her new form of transportation and exercise.

“It is a workout. I’ll tell you what, my arms and shoulders are so strong now,” said Mrs. Beckmann.

Beckmann has begun walking on and off without the scooter and is hoping to have the boot off this month. She is very happy about being back at St. Dominic teaching.

When asked what they missed most while they were gone, all three teachers immediately responded that they missed their students. The St. Dominic community can feel whole again with the return of these outgoing and inspirational women.