Catholic Schools Week 2012
Alive in Christ, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, which encompasses eleven counties, elementary, secondary and special education programs to children of all faiths, inviting them into a personal relationship with Jesus. We provide pre-school and after-school programs plus year-round inclusionary pre-schools for children 6 weeks to 6 years, and academic and faith formation programs in safe, nurturing environments.
This year, Catholic Schools Week is being celebrated nationally from January 29-February 5. In St. Louis, every Catholic school is celebrating our almost 200-year history, our mission to educate the Catholics of the future, and our Catholic identity—Alive in Christ!
Each day this week, a feature article will appear here demonstrating who we are and why we have good reason to celebrate. Please look for us and join us in the celebration! Today we focus on our excellent teachers...
Excellence in academics begins with an excellent teacher
Excellence in academics and catechesis is the “gold standard” of a Catholic elementary, secondary or special education school that is Alive in Christ! One of the hallmarks of Catholic Schools Week events is appropriately a day dedicated to the appreciation of teachers who have accepted the “Mission to Educate” in a Catholic school.
Every teacher is worthy of our gratitude every day. Some teachers are identified each year as exemplary and have been distinguished by award programs recognizing best practices at all levels of Catholic education. They are representative of many equally excellent educators, and a role model for all to emulate.
Eleven teachers in the Archdiocese of St. Louis received the Archbishop Raymond L. Burke Teacher Recognition Award for outstanding achievement. These awards, sponsored by the Catholic Education Office, are presented to full-time educators who have taught a minimum of three years at their current school and have been nominated by their principal for their consistent use of methods and techniques considered best practice in education. Some methods considered “best practice” include using primary sources of information rather than dependence upon a textbook alone, allowing students to make choices based on their interests when studying a particular topic, providing a variety of methods of assessment, and differentiating instruction so that the needs of all students within a classroom can be met, to name just a few.
This year’s winners of this prestigious award and grant of $500 include: Constance Bachmann, Most Sacred Heart Catholic School, Eureka; Bonnie Franks, St. Clare of Assisi Catholic School, Ellisville; Lisa Hercules, St. John the Baptist Learning Center, South St. Louis; Bobbie Knopke, Immaculate Conception Catholic School, Dardenne Prairie; Kathryn McIntyre, St. Ferdinand Catholic School, Florissant; Tasha Pratt, St. Joseph Catholic School, Imperial; Michelle Shaver, St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic School, South St. Louis; Jennifer Sykora, St. Mary’s High School, South St. Louis; Emily Weber, St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic School, Concord Hill; Melissa Weldele, Trinity Catholic High School, North St. Louis County; and Elizabeth Woodley, St. Justin Martyr Catholic School, Sunset Hills.
Another community program recognizing excellence in education in the St. Louis area is the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Program. Each year only five teachers in the Archdiocese—one for every 500 full-time teachers employed in Catholic schools here—join teachers from other public and private schools to be recognized for best practice instructional methods with an engraved Tiffany crystal apple at a special ceremony in the fall. This year’s Emerson awardees include: Sarah Doggendorf, Sts. Joachim and Ann Catholic School, St. Charles; Kathleen Reid, St. Ann Catholic School, Normandy; Sr. Celine Schumacher, SSND, Notre Dame High School, South St. Louis; Lisa Slama, St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic School, South St. Louis; and Elizabeth Woodley, St. Justin Martyr Catholic School, Sunset Hills.
Congratulations and thanks to all teachers in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis! You deserve our gratitude and recognition. Thank you for all you do to make our schools truly Alive in Christ!