Faculty and Staff

Collaborative Leadership Team, Business MANAGER, A.P. ADMINISTRATOR

Mrs. Musleh joined St. John's Academy in 2013, where her son also attends. She has a background in Finance, with a BS in Finance and Banking and a minor in Accounting. Prior to joining St. John’s Academy, Mrs. Musleh worked in the banking industry for 15 years and in property management for 5 years. She is an avid reader and enjoys whipping up exotic Middle Eastern cuisine and desserts during her downtime.

Collaborative Leadership Team, DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, K-1
HOMEROOM TEACHER

Mrs. Philipoff began her career in education as a teacher’s assistant at Sts. Cyril and Methodius High School while studying child development at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University. She joined Binet Montessori School where she became the After-School Staff Supervisor. After a decade in education, Mrs. Philipoff took a break to study Interior Design and worked in the design industry for fifteen years. She returned to education in 2002 when she joined St. John's Academy in her present role. When school is not in session, Mrs. Philipoff can be found exploring the back roads of the West Coast with her husband.

Collaborative Leadership Team, COMMUNITY SERVICE COORDINATOR, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, ART, PHOTOGRAPHY

Mrs. Nowak became an active and veteran member of the St. John’s Academy community in 2002.  As a Bay Area native and competitive water skier, she grew up on California's lakes and waterways. She was also an NCAA soccer athlete at Arizona State University and San Francisco State University. Mrs. Nowak received her B.F.A. with an emphasis in photography from San Francisco State University.  Mrs. Nowak has worked in the photo industry, at several Bay Area's top custom commercial photo labs, for more than two decades. While working in the photo lab business, she held various key positions as a printer, video analyzer, film services supervisor, and production manager for a top custom commercial lab in San Francisco. Mrs. Nowak's work has been recognized and published in numerous magazines and publications, and she continues to create and produce high-quality photography and printing for her own successful photo business, which was begun in 1984.  As an active community volunteer, Mrs. Nowak helps plan, organize, and run various local fundraising events.  In her free time, she enjoys viewing and attending various sports events, spending time outdoors, traveling, and, most of all, riding motorcycles with her family.

Chaplin, religion Teacher

Para Professional

MIDDLE SCHOOL/HIGH SCHOOL History

Mr. Jonathan-Vladimir Howry, with degrees in history (B.A. 2014, U.C. Santa Cruz) and theology (MTS 2017, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology), teaches history, classical languages, and liberal arts electives at St. John's. He's currently completing a second master's thesis at Holy Cross, focusing on St. Photius of Constantinople as a teacher. Before joining St. John's, Mr. Howry worked as a writing tutor, did an educational internship at St. Herman's Orthodox Classical School in Boston, and served two terms as a short-term missionary in Albania. He loves languages, including French, Ancient Greek, Latin, Russian, Church Slavonic, and has a passion for encouraging research skills in his students. In his free time, he enjoys writing fiction, taking city walks, and cooking.

MIDDLE SCHOOL/HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS

Mrs. Goldshlag joined St. John’s Academy as a teacher of mathematics in 2020. Originally from Moscow, Russia, she earned her degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University Of Electronic and Radio Engineering, Moscow, Russia. At the beginning of her career, she shared her time between industry and education, and finally dedicated herself to education for almost thirty years. Mrs. Goldshlag encourages her students to develop mathematical and analytical skills. She constantly connects everyday situations and future professional interests to topics of study. She has volunteered for the Junior Achievement movement for several years. Her personal sphere of interests is in ballet, opera, and history. She also likes getting to know new people and places.

MIDDLE SCHOOL/HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH

Miss Buonocore has been teaching at St. John's Academy since 2019. She currently teaches English for grades 6-12 and is in her fifth year of teaching. Miss Buonocore attended University of California at Davis, earning a Bachelor's degree in English in 2017. Currently, Miss Buonocore is a graduate student in the Teacher Leadership Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She hopes to complete her Master's degree this summer and has been enjoying connecting the research of social and emotional learning to classical education. In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her two dogs and eating mint chocolate chip ice cream.

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE, K-6

Mrs. Kharytonova Svitlana joined St. John’s Academy in 2019. She graduated from Simferopol State University (Ukraine), where she studied English language and literature. She was qualified as a philologist, teacher, and translator. Mrs. Svitlana is awarded the title of Master of Arts in Philology. She worked as a teacher of English with different age groups. In September 2021 she also joined the Saints Cyril and Methodius Gymnasium where she works as a Teacher of Russian and History. Mrs. Svitlana enjoys travelling, reading, listening to music, and cooking.

MODERN GREEK

Mrs. Armenakis joined St. John's Academy in 2015. She graduated from San Francisco State University , where she studied Child and Adolescent Development. A child-development specialist, she has a Master Teacher Credential, and is working towards a Master's degree in Education. She is passionate about teaching Greek to children and adults, which she does at various learning institutions, including The Annunciation Cathedral in San Francisco and San Francisco State University. She also prepares students for the Greek Language Proficiency Exam administered by the Department of Education in Greece.

READING SUPPORT

Claudia is the proud grandmother of our alumn, Steven Philipoff, and a reliable volunteer of many years for SJA. She works diligently and patiently with our youngest readers to help them develop their skills.