Catherine Roldan joined the school faculty in 2014 as a first-grade teacher, and has taught in the grades program since. She served as faculty chair from 2018 to 2022.
Catherine was born in Queens, NY and raised in Long Island, where her parents moved so that she and her sister could attend the Waldorf School of Garden City. Catherine received her Bachelor’s degree in education at the College of St John’s in Queens and received a Masters degree in Waldorf Education from Antioch University in New England. Prior to joining the Madrona School faculty, Catherine taught first grade, summer, and early childhood classes at the Waldorf School of Garden City.
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More about Ms. Catherine:
Inspiration. I always wanted to be an educator. As a teacher, you know what your students need and want to facilitate that learning experience. After exploring career options in public education, I realized that I wanted to be in a teaching environment in which I was empowered to give all that I am able.
Hobbies. I love reading, writing, and drawing. I also recently helped to start a Dungeons and Dragons group on Bainbridge Island.
A favorite moment. Waldorf students across the Pacific Northwest region convene for a multi-day festival, reflecting traditional indigenous celebrations of bounty. I see my students grow so much during the course of this event. We create a present to give, we perform, we participate in workshops with other Waldorf students from across the region. It has been one of my favorite experiences as a teacher thus far.
On Waldorf. I love the full integration of a Waldorf education, where there is art in math class and science in art class. The students have a multi-faceted experience where they’re learning botany by writing and drawing in a field journals, working outside doing observations, and even singing songs about the types of trees as well. We integrate all of these aspects in their learning to fully immerse them in different subjects — teaching the whole student.
