Mary Saint
on the hill
Mr. Todd Shafer Reflects on His Firs “I
t’s a great day to be a saint!” Walk through the halls, classrooms, and offices of our parish school and you are likely to hear this delightful exclamation. The phrase is part of a call-and-response instituted by our new St. Mary on the Hill Catholic School Principal, Mr. Todd Shafer. And thanks to Mr. Shafer’s genuine passion for K-8 education and the dedication of our talented faculty and staff, the sentiment certainly rings true. In a year when many institutions — including schools — have struggled to navigate a global pandemic, it certainly is great to be a St. Mary’s Saint! Mr. Todd Shafer began serving as our new Principal of St. Mary on the Hill Catholic School in July. When Mr. Shafer stepped into the role of Principal at St. Mary on the Hill how to reopen with COVID-19 guidelines and safety Catholic School in July, Catholic schools around the in mind. Luckily, Mr. Shafer had a wealth of diverse Diocese of Savannah were hard at work figuring out professional experience to draw on.
The “house system” at SMCS has created a friendly competition when it comes to acts of kindness and service! Here, representatives from each house help organize food received through a canned food drive for Catholic Social Services. 44
Mr. Shafer is an Augusta native. Following his graduation from Davidson High School, he studied architecture for a year at SCAD. He then returned to Augusta and studied as a chemistry major before joining the Air Force. After four years of military service, he became an Atlanta police officer for MARTA. Eventually, Mr. Shafer decided to move back to Augusta to be closer to his family. It was during his two years on the police force here that he met his wife, Tammy, a fellow officer. Not long before the couple married, Tammy decided to go back to school for a teaching degree. Her decision to pursue a career in education inspired Mr. Shafer to consider doing the same. “A couple of months after we got married, I told her I was going back to school full-time,” Mr. Shafer says. “I was tired of putting kids in jail. Seeing that I was at the end of the choices they had, I wanted to be where I could help mold and shape and transform their lives earlier on so they could make better decisions.” Mr. Shafer spent his first 12 years of teaching in the Columbia County school system. In 2014, he partnered with a colleague to found a charter school for the arts — the school would later open under the name SAIL.
