The Courier - October 2021

Page 9

Changing Faces Marsha Stenzel

Superintendent of Catholic Schools mstenzel@dowr.org

Submitted by LORI DATTA

�changes rucifixion School in La Crescent has seen several over the last few months. All the changes have

been beneficial to our wonderful school. First, two teachers retired last year, and we have two wonderful new teachers to take their place. Ms. Cali Hartsock is the new kindergarten teacher. She is from Apple Valley and did her student teaching at Crucifixion School. She graduated from Winona State University in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. She loves her role as a teacher. She enjoys teaching and guiding her young students. Her classroom is very inviting, and she always

Nina Reed (L) and Cali Hartsock (R)

Lots of Excitement at St. Felix School, Wabasha Submitted by ERIC SONNEK

he 2021-22 school year is off to a great start. St. Felix Catholic School has finished up our second week of school. The students, staff, and parents are excited for the school year. This year we welcomed 102 students through our door. Our preschool and pre-k classes are full with 14 students each. We have 13 kindergarteners, 14 first-graders, 8 second-graders, 13 third-graders, 8 fourth-graders, 8 fifth-graders, and 10 sixth-graders. It is exciting to see this many students walk through our doors. We have a wonderful staff made of Robin Moret (preschool), Sharon Stiner (para), Sue Wills (para), Susie Baab (para), Nicole Solberg (para), Sharon Busch (kindergarten), Michelle Schumacher (first grade), Laura Cooper (second grade), Carrie Williams (third grade), Maria Senkyr (fifth grade), Christine Flak (cook), LeAnn Tebay (administrative assistant), Willard Schuth (custodian), Father Glenn Frerichs (pastor) and Eric Sonnek (principal). We welcome

Maddy Long (L) and Marian Hollenbeck (R) seems to have a smile on her face. Ms. Nina Reed is the new fourth grade teacher. Ms. Reed is from Marengo, IL. She graduated from St. Mary’s University in Winona with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She fell in love with Minnesota and is happy to be teaching at Crucifixion School. She enjoys being with her students and getting to know them. Since we are departmentalized, Ms. Reed took over the teaching of English to grades 4, 5, and 6. She, along with Ms. Hartsock, is a blessing to our Crucifixion School family. Along with our two new teachers, we have two wonderful student teachers from St. Mary’s University. Ms. Marian Hollenbeck will graduate in May 2022 with a double major in elementary education and Spanish. She is from Nowthen, has two younger siblings, and would love to find a teaching position in the Anoka area. She loves learning about nature and new cultures, especially new things in Spanish. She is crazy about nail art. She is currently student teaching in third grade and hopes to teach third grade in the future. Ms. Maddy Long will graduate in December of 2021 with a degree in elementary education with a

two new teachers to our St. Felix staff: Kelley Steiner (fourth grade) and Debra Buchal (music). We also welcome an old friend back to our staff this year: Ann Wobbe. She will be teaching sixth grade this year until we are able to fill our sixth-grade position with someone permanent. As the new year begins, we have made some great updates to our school thanks to the many donors in the community. We updated the flooring in the pre-k, kindergarten, first-grade, fourth-grade, fifthgrade, and sixth-grade classrooms. The kitchen got a new warming oven thanks to the VFW donation. The school has all new LED lighting. The landscaping around the school got a makeover as well, with new plants and mulch and a new fence between the school and gym. We will be installing new blinds for all the windows in the school soon as well. Thank you to all who have supported our school as we continue to make improvements. If you want to see what is happening at St. Felix, please don't hesitate to stop by and check out the school. We had a wonderful Fall Festival Fundraiser for the school this year! We were able to raise over $100,000 for the students. We had a great day filled with kids’ games, attic treasures, bingo, chicken dinner, raffles, and a specialty auction. We had a great community event and great support from everyone! We had great donations, especially from GundersonSt. Elizabeth's Hospital in Wabasha. They donated an item (from their postponed fundraiser) to our specialty auction. St. Felix Catholic School split the amount raised from this item. The item brought in $14,000.

Catholic Schools

at Crucifixion School, La Crescent

9

social studies endorsement. She is from Andover, is the younger middle child of four. She loves Disney and peanut butter, and she has a fear of drains. Maddy would like to visit all 50 states, and she informed us that she is half-way there. She would also like to learn a new language. She is currently student teaching in fifth grade. She likes teaching the upper elementary grades. Maddy has a position waiting for her in Maplewood at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She will be teaching fourth grade. We wish both of these wonderful young women the best of luck. Crucifixion School has a partnership with the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Each year, the university provides a PE teacher for Crucifixion. The PE teacher is in a graduate program at the university. This year, one wasn’t available. We were blessed to find Mr. Jared Anderson to take the position. Mr. Anderson recently moved back to the Westby, WI, area and is an assistant coach for the Westby football team. He teaches PE on Mondays and Fridays at Crucifixion and subs for school the rest of the week. He gets along great with the students and the staff. He will be a great asset for any school that hires him. Lori Datta teaches sixth grade at Crucifixion Jared Anderson School in La Crescent.

Marsha Stenzel prepares to fulfill her end of the fundraising agreement.

We were able to have $7,000 go towards our school and $7,000 go towards our local hospital. We end our specialty auction with a fun activity. If we pooled enough money someone with a connection with the school eats a minnow. Marsha Stenzel (superintendent of Catholic schools for the DOW-R and former St. Felix principal), Maggie Sonnek (wife of the principal), the sixth-grade class, and Mr. Sonnek (principal) were the lucky participants this year. The goal was $10,000 but we brought in $11,000, which meant everyone ate a minnow. Our school would like to thank everyone who donated and helped out with our Fall Festival. Eric Sonnek is the principal of St. Felix School in Wabasha.

October 2021 w The Courier w dowr.org


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