Faculty and Staff

Hello!  My name is Fr. Louie Floeder and I’m very excited to serve this community of St. Dominic.

I grew up in Shoreview, MN as the second of ten kids.  After graduating from Mounds View High School in 2011 I immediately joined the St. John Vianney College Seminary.  I had such a great time at SJV growing up, discerning my vocation, and creating lifelong friendships.  It was during these four years that my vocation was confirmed.  Then, I had 4 years at the St. Paul Seminary in order to learn theology and grow in pastoral charity.  Since being ordained in 2019, I’ve had several wonderful assignments.  I’ve had the privilege to serve the people of St. Stephen’s in Anoka for two years as well as the people of Divine Mercy in Faribault and St. Michael’s in Kenyon for one.  After that, I worked part time at St. Dominic in Northfield as a bilingual aid and I also served part time in Vocations Work.

Now that I’m full-time here in Northfield I’m so grateful to God!  He is the giver of all good things.  I can’t wait to see what good things are in store for St. Dominic!  God bless you all.  🙂

Greetings!  My name is Shawn Dudley, and I am absolutely honored and thrilled to join the St. Dominic School staff. After being a teacher and principal in both Catholic and public schools for 38 years, I am beyond lucky to have the opportunity to return home… to St. Dominic School where I was a student through 8th grade and a 6th grade/Music teacher in the late 1980’s. 

I grew up in Northfield on a farm, where I live now, just northeast of Northfield in Waterford Township. I have been a lifelong member of St. Dominic parish and have been playing piano, guitar or singing at Masses since 5th grade, when I learned to play guitar at St. Dominic School. My parents, John and Pat Dudley, having attended Catholic schools themselves, were proud supporters of St. Dominic School. In fact, my dad attended St. Dominic School when it was Rosary School.  I have four brothers, Mike, Brian, Dan and JB,  all of whom attended St. Dominic School through 8th grade.  

My husband Joe and I enjoy the outdoors, sports, four-wheeling, music (we love seeing Collin Raye in concert!) and living the country life.

Hello! My name is Claudia Bauer, and I am the Administrative/Marketing Assistant. I will be the first person you see when you walk into the building. Before starting at St. Dominic School, I was the Latino Outreach Coordinator at the Archdiocese of St. Paul, Minneapolis.  My husband and I are parishioners of St. Dominic Church and have extensive knowledge of our parish and school community. I look forward to connecting with our families, especially our Latino families!

I am originally from Mexico. My husband, Kyle, and  I have three children (#4 on the way) and we live in Northfield.  In my free time, I love to spend time with my family going fishing, taking walks, and making home-cooked meals.

Hello! My name is Jamie Larson and I am the new Preschool teacher at St. Dominic School. I started my early childhood teaching journey by obtaining a degree in Psychology from Bemidji State University. I had grand plans to be a high school guidance counselor but had the great pleasure to help out in my son’s Early Head Start classroom. Working with younger children became a passion, and I earned a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from Concordia-St. Paul in 2015.

I have been teaching young children for almost ten years, and I am excited to become a part of the St. Dominic family. My children attended St. Dominic School for the first time last year, and it was such a blessing for our family. As a child, I attended St. Peter and Paul’s Catholic School in Mankato, MN, was involved in the youth group at St. John the Baptist and served as an usher for the church. I look forward to reconnecting to my strong Catholic roots and tying my love of teaching to my faith.

I currently live in Dundas with my husband Alex, who can be classified as a “Townie.” We have two children, Matthias and Natasha. In my free time, I enjoy reading and writing a wide range of novels and clinging to my inner child by playing video games.

Greetings St. Dominic families! I am very excited to teach this year in the Pre-K classroom. This will be my fourth year as a part of the St. Dominic’s staff. My family and I live out near Circle Lake, and I have three children and a wonderful, supportive husband. Jim and I have been married for 28 years. My two girls attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison and my son is a Junior at Northfield High School. I have had the pleasure of teaching 4 and 5 year olds in a public school setting, as well as in a faith based church school and loved each and every connection I made with my students and their families. This year will mark my 12th year of being in the classroom. I look forward to reconnecting with the St. Dominic preschooler who I spent time with last year and meeting all my new friends and families in Pre-Kindergarten. It is going to be an awesome year learning and growing together!

Greetings, I’m Angie Schewe and I’ve had the pleasure of working with preschoolers and kindergartners for the past 28 years in both the Faribault and Northfield School Districts. I am so pleased to be teaching kindergarten again at St Dominic’s School.

My husband and I have been married for 26 years and we have 3 adult children, Luke, Mackenzie, and Sophia. We have been members of St Dominic’s Church for all those years. I taught Faith Formation for many years and I’m looking forward to sharing the faith with young children again.

I enjoy walking, hiking, being at the lake and spending time with family, friends, and young learners. I’m so excited to be part of the St Dominic School family.

My name is Jane Jeffrey, and I am St. Dominic School’s first-grade teacher. I grew up in central Iowa and attended college at Augustana in Sioux Falls, SD and North Texas State where I majored in elementary education with an emphasis in special education. Since then, I have earned many continuing professional hours of credit at a variety of institutions in both Iowa and Minnesota. I began my teaching career in Iowa where I taught children in grades K-4 with learning disabilities, and I also taught third and second grade there.

My family then moved to Minnesota where I taught third, first, and second grade in New Prague for several years. We moved to Northfield in 2004, so I am thrilled I will now be working in the community I consider home. St. Dominic School has been a longstanding asset to Northfield, and I feel very fortunate in becoming a part of that legacy. An additional bonus for me is teaching first grade again. It is such a wonderful time in a child’s life. As a teacher, it is extremely rewarding to see young children progress so much and be excited about their learning.

My personal time is spent flower gardening and working in the yard. I like to walk and go hiking whenever possible. A good book is a joy as is a crossword puzzle or two—not too hard! I am also a member of my church choir. (And yes, I have done binge-watching on Netflix.)

I look forward to my partnership with the St. Dominic staff and families as we guide the children’s academic and spiritual growth!

Hello! My name is Judy Hefer and I am very excited to belong to the faculty and staff of St. Dominic School. My 34 years serving as a Catholic educator includes both teaching and being a principal. My recent teaching experience included teaching 5th, 6th, and 7th grades on the Standing Rock Reservation at St. Bernard Mission School, in Fort Yates, North Dakota. When I returned to Northfield, I expanded my work experience by working at Three Links Apartments as a Service Coordinator where the duties included my area of expertise – lifelong learning.

My husband and I raised our family here in Northfield over the past 25 years, and we are parishioners of St. Dominic. I think of Northfield as my home, however, I am originally from St. Louis, MO. When I have spare time I enjoy quilting and embroidery, playing cards and board games, going for walks, and traveling.

Hello, my name is Mr. Vlasak, and I am so excited to begin teaching 4th grade at St. Dominic! I am from Montgomery, MN and graduated from Montgomery-Lonsdale high school before they became Tri-City United. I recently obtained my teaching license through the teacher preparation program at Minnesota State University, where I also obtained my bachelor’s degree in History, and where I am currently pursuing my Master’s in Teaching.

This is my first foray into Catholic education, but I cannot be more excited. My faith has always been an important part of my life, and I cannot wait to help instill a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Catholic faith to my students. Moreover, I am deeply familiar with the importance of family, and as an educator, I put an emphasis on building and maintaining a relationship with all of my students. This allows for an open and safe environment for students to feel comfortable to develop and grow, and that includes me too, as I fervently believe that education never really ends.

Additionally, I have many different interests and hobbies, including spending time hunting with my bird dog Jonesy, watching football, especially the Vikings, and watching movies with the family, as I am a huge movie buff. I love all kinds of movies, but I love the oldies the most, including John Wayne, Indian Jones, and everything else. Moreover, I am an avid reader, in particular, historical fiction novels by C.S. Forester.

I look forward to meeting the students and families of St. Dominic School!

Mr. Vlasak

I graduated from Bemidji State University in 2018, where I earned my Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education. I received my undergraduate degree at Vermilion Community College in Ely, Minnesota. While living in Ely, I fell in love with the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Spending time outdoors is a true passion of mine. When I’m not at school you can also find me at Mainstream Boutique downtown Northfield, where I help empower women through fashion.

My goal as the Enrichment Teacher is to motivate and challenge all students to maximize personal growth and meet their individual educational needs. As an interventionist, I help our Pre Kindergarten- 3rd grade students build their foundation in reading using the science of reading Groves literacy method. It is rewarding to watch them grow so much academically each year. I have recently taken on the job as St. Dominic’s in house Groves literacy coach where I lead our school literacy program and help support and certify our classroom teachers.

I feel blessed to be part of the St. Dominic School family and I look forward to another wonderful school year!

-Watching students learn to read: magic. Knowing how they got there: science!

Hello!  It is an honor to be the 4-8th Grade Enrichment Teacher at St. Dominic School! This will be my fourth year teaching here.

I am originally from New York and attended St. Peter’s Catholic school from K-8. I am the youngest of five and have three children with my husband Daniel. Prior to teaching, I was a design and product engineer for eleven years in the automotive industry.   I hold a BA in Elementary Education and recently completed my Master’s in Education from St. Mary’s University with a middle-level math endorsement.

Hello! My name is Mary Quick and I am the new Art teacher at St. Dominic School. I was born and raised in Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. I earned a BA in Comprehensive Art Education (K-12). I have taught in both Catholic schools and public schools from Kindergarten through 8th grade.

My family and I are active members of St. Dominic Church. Through St. Dominic Church our family has grown in our faith with this community by participating in mission trips, helping with Faith Formation and ministry of service by being servers, singing in Joyful Noise, Mass Coordinators, and Eucharistic ministers. The St. Dominic community has always felt like home and I am very excited to teach art education at the school!

My husband Bernard and I live in Northfield and we have two college-age daughters and one adorable Goldendoodle! I am very passionate about providing all students the opportunity to explore and share their artistic creativity. I cannot wait to meet your children.

The music of the children, their voice, their movement, and their ability to let the music take them to another place, another time, is genuinely heartfelt – so pure, simple and beautiful. As I guide and lead children in daily music lessons, I watch, listen and take from them – never forcing. I respect the capabilities of children and believe the experience of making music together enables children to grow and achieve a richer and more fulfilled life.

I am excited to begin my fourth year (back at St. Dominic) as the Music teacher! In 1991 Sister Lois hired me to teach K-5 music. I taught at St. Dominic for 7 years, growing a private piano studio while here and being very blessed with the support students and families gave to music education, the arts, and to me. After that, I taught K-12 music in South Dakota, Ohio, New Prague (MN), at Prairie Creek, and in Nerstrand. I received my B.A. degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. I have also completed many classes at Hamline University and the University of St. Thomas towards my Masters in Music Education. I am a member and member at large of the American Orff-Schulwerk Associated and Minnesota Orff, I stand by the mission of our work as music educators dedicated to the creative music and movement approach developed by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman.

I graduated from Northfield High School and Concordia College, Moorhead, where I obtained my B.A. degree in Physical and Health Education. I also played baseball all four years for Concordia College and was an Assistant Coach for the baseball team after I graduated from college.

I am looking forward to seeing the growth in skills and confidence of every student as they participate in physical education. I have enjoyed being physically active my entire life and it has shaped me into the person I am today. I hope to bring that same joy and excitement out in each student.

In my free time, I enjoy working out and spending time with friends and family. In the summer months, you will find me out on the baseball fields playing for the Northfield Knights and also coaching local high school baseball players.

Ever since I was a second-grader here at St. Dominic School I loved to cook and bake. It has always been a big passion of mine. After graduating from Northfield High School I decided to enroll in the culinary arts program at Hennepin Technical College (Eden Prairie Campus) and received my Associates Degree in Culinary Arts. Over the past 10 years, I have worked in a variety of foodservice settings and at that time I believe I have found my perfect fit.

My two biggest passions are kids and kitchens so a school cafeteria is ideal. I have many wonderful memories in this cafeteria and the school from when I went here as a child. It has shaped me into the person I am today and has left me with some of the strongest friendships a person could ask for.

I am very happy to have my son now in this school and to allow him those same opportunities. I am glad God lead me back to this school and look forward to getting to know all your children!