Mr. Pat Kalahar ~ Principal
Mr. Pat Kalahar is in his tenth year at Holy Spirit, serving as principal and 8th grade English teacher. He received his bachelor’s degree from Albion College and his master’s degree from Saint Thomas University in Miami, Florida.
Mr. Kalahar and his family are parishioners at Holy Spirit, and he is a lector at Sunday Mass. His favorite saint is Saint Francis de Sales, whose teachings have guided much of Mr. Kalahar’s faith development. He has enjoyed several retreats at Camp de Sales near his hometown of Jackson, Michigan. As far as modern catechists, Mr. Kalahar thoroughly enjoys listening to, and reading, Matthew Kelly.
In his spare time, Mr. Kalahar likes going on vacations with his family, going to the beach, exercising, trying new restaurants, and doing anything outdoors. He has been blessed to go to many awesome places in America, but it bothers him that he has never been to New York City. A little known fact about Mr. Kalahar is after high school he was torn between going to college and going to be a professional baseball umpire.
Contact Mr. Kalahar: pkalahar@hsparish.org
Mrs. Paula Ryan ~ Assistant Principal
Paula Ryan loves teaching fourth and fifth grades so much that she has been doing so here at Holy Spirit School for 35 years. Presently serves as assistant principal and is teaching 5th grade Religion. Her bachelor’s degree is from Aquinas College with majors in Religion and English, and her master’s degree is from Western Michigan University in Educational Leadership. For the past 35 years she has been a very active member of the Holy Spirit Parish Community. Mrs. Ryan and her husband Tim work on the Haiti Committee and have participated in medical missions in Seguin, Haiti. Since they want the best faith-filled education for their children, they chose Holy Spirit School for their daughters. Kelly recently graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and is working in the Grand Rapids area. Colleen graduated from Michigan State University and is working in Austin, Texas. When Mrs. Ryan is not teaching, she enjoys being up north at her cabin on the Chippewa River. She lived in Italy and loves everything Italian … the food, art, churches, faith, and the beautiful language. You might even hear her speaking Italian in the school hallways. Ciao!
Contact Mrs. Ryan: pryan@hsparish.org
Mrs. Terri Kelly ~ Administrative Assistant
Mrs.Terri Kelly is our school Administrative Assistant. This is her 11th year with Holy Spirit School. She and her husband of 33 years have 3 married children, all of whom attended Holy Spirit and West Catholic. She has one granddaughter and more on the way! She and her husband enjoy traveling, biking, skiing, and spending time with their children and granddaughter. After many years of volunteering in the parish and the school, she loves working in the school office full time, where she can enjoy the students and teachers everyday. She and her family feel truly blessed to be a part of the Holy Spirit School and Parish community.
Contact Mrs. Kelly: tkelly@hsparish.org
Mrs. Laura Russo ~ School Secretary
Mrs. Laura Russo has been working at Holy Spirit School since 1998. She started in the lunch room kitchen and has been the School Secretary now for the last seven years. Mrs. Russo and her husband, Bill,have five children who all attended Holy Spirit School, and now two of their eight grandchildren have started preschool at Holy Spirit! She enjoys reading, golfing, and spending time with family. She feels blessed and grateful to be part of this wonderful Holy Spirit community.
Contact Mrs. Russo: lrusso@hsparish.org