Principal Message
It is an honor to introduce myself as the new principal of St. John Bosco Catholic School and to join this extraordinary school community. I thank God for leading me here and trust in His guidance throughout the year! As the school year quickly approaches, it is a joy to see the excitement of our students, families, and teachers/staff. Thank you to all for welcoming me to your community and all the warmth I have received since my arrival. It has been a fruitful two weeks as we busily continue preparing for the arrival of our students. We are honored that you have chosen to share your most precious gift, your child(ren), with us. Please be assured that I share this school community’s commitment to caring for our children each day while providing them a truly Catholic education in a world-class learning environment. We are looking forward to developing more disciples for Christ!
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8
The start of school is always filled with excitement and anticipation. In addition to my role as an educator, I am first and foremost a father and husband. Our eldest daughter arranges worldwide corporate travel, our eldest son is a civil engineer in Chicago, our youngest daughter is completing her Master’s degree in public administration in Washington D.C., with an eye on a law degree, and our youngest son is a junior majoring in finance at the University of Alabama. The best partnership that I have ever engaged in is with the love of my life, my wife of 28 years, Colleen. In addition to being my anchor and an incredible mother, she is a Kindergarten teacher providing me unique insight and keeping me grounded in education.
Allow me to offer some advice to our parent/families on how to have a successful year:
- Get back into the routine you will use throughout the school year and maintain it. Summer can be a time to unwind and relax the usual household established practices. Sleep is critical for all children (adults for that matter too). Now is the time to set and maintain your household guidelines for the usual bedtime, proper nutrition, and work/study habits. If your child is not a natural reader, now is a great time to reengage.
- Get involved in your school and your child’s life as much as possible. We always welcome parent involvement and volunteers with a variety of opportunities, regardless of your talents. Whether or not your child seems interested in you being at their events or asking about their day, believe me when I say it really matters to them. They need, and want, you to be involved in their life!
- Connect with your teacher, your child’s classmates, and their parents/families. Our teachers are here to support you and your child. Connecting with other families offers a variety of support from simply a ride to an event or a connection in the community to rely on emotionally. We are a family support network!
- Take interest in what your child does and view and read all the information that is sent to your family. This will help avoid any surprises and give us an opportunity to hear back from you as well.
- Attend Mass and pray regularly as a family. Your child(ren) are counting on you first and foremost to provide the example for life. Your child(ren) are trusting in you to demonstrate the Catholic example that God has entrusted you to provide in your vocation as a parent. They learn, not only from your words, but by the example that you offer of how a man or woman of God should behave.
- Finally, enjoy the experience with them. As a parent of four grown children, I can echo what you have likely heard before, “this time goes by too quickly”. Enjoy it!
Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” — Matthew 19:13-14
And now, some details. Attached, you will find the new calendar approved by the Board of Trustees on Wednesday evening, for the 2023-24 school year. Some changes with the calendar, and the schedule, were necessary to comply with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and National School Lunch program mandates. Others were made to allow an optimal learning environment. Of course, no calendar is ever perfect, and we attempted to minimize disruptions to families when possible.
Since the last communication from the Board, we have hired two additional staff members and moved one into a full-time role:
- Bobbie Jo Pieschek will be our Religion Teacher at the middle school. Mrs. Pieschek holds a B.A. in Education from St. Norbert College. Following college, she spent several years teaching at St. Mary Catholic School before focusing more on religious education by becoming the RE Coordinator at Corpus Christi. For the past 14 years, Mrs. Pieschek has served as the Youth Minister in the St. Louis Parish in Dyckesville. We are excited to have Mrs. Pieschek help our students develop a relationship with Christ. Each student will have the use of new bibles from St. Mary’s Press thanks to the Katherine Weber Memorial Fund.
- Hunter Evenson will be joining our team in Science and supporting specials. He holds a B.S. in Health Promotion and Health Equity from UW-Madison and is completing his American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence certificate. Mr. Evenson was a substitute last year at Sevastopol.
- Dennis Orns is moving to a full-time role. He taught part-time Physical Education, at St. John Bosco Catholic School last year. Mr. Orns has a Master’s degree in Kinesiology and Sports Management from the University of Central Missouri and a Bachelor’s degree in Education, Health and Physical Education from Northeastern State University. Mr. Orns has 21 years of experience in education.
We are working with the area schools to provide an instrumental band option for our middle school students during the day or immediately at the end. Although we have yet to find an art or music teacher, we are exploring opportunities throughout the community and with our neighboring education partners. Spanish will be taught to our middle school students through the Wisconsin Virtual Schools. This will continue to enable rising freshmen to receive advanced placement at their future high school. Finally, new for this year, we are excited to offer a drama experience for students and eagerly await the return of the school play/musical.
We look forward to seeing you all at our Sneak Peek Day/Orientation on August 28 and on the first day of school, Thursday, August 31. Feel free to bring your child to school on the first day, join us in an opening prayer, and remain for coffee and conversation with other parents, Board members, and me.
To our students, we cannot wait to see you here! It will be an exciting and fun school year as you allow the word of God to inspire you. Please know that my door is always open to you and that I am praying for you. I heartily welcome everyone back to the 2023-24 school year!
God Bless,
Michael E. Robey, Ed. D., Principal of St. John Bosco Catholic School
