By Dr. David Sorkin, St. Hubert Catholic School Principal
An African proverb says that it takes a village to raise a child, and St. Hubert Catholic School is quite the village with many people raising the students. Most are familiar with the teachers that help educate our students, including the classroom teachers and specialists in Music, Art, Spanish, Health, Library, and the Digital Learning Lab. But you might not know the extent to which students at St. Hubert are supported to maximize their potential.
Academically, St. Hubert Catholic School is blessed to have four resource teachers for grades K-5. Resource teachers are specialists trained to support high-achieving students and students that are under-performing. Mrs. Lane Bendzick and Ms. Abby Rolf support students in Math and English Language Arts (ELA), while Mrs. Christie Simatic serves as a reading specialist. Mrs. Angie Ross supports high-achieving students through our St. Hubert’s Intentional Nurturing of Exceptionality (SHINE) program. To support the social and emotional needs of our students, St. Hubert has two counselors on staff: Mrs. Lauren Ferrera and Mrs. Paige Lepak. Together with the classroom teachers, the resource team works to design and implement interventions to serve the students at St. Hubert.
K-5 Math, Language Arts, and Reading
Ms. Rolf supports students in grades K-3, Mrs. Bendzick works with students in grades four and five, and Mrs. Simatic works with students in grades K-5. Using NWEA results, Fountas & Pinnell assessments, unit tests, teacher observations, and other assessments, the resource team works with a number of students each week that have been identified as needing additional support or enrichment opportunities. Working in small groups or one-on-one, the resource specialists work to present the curriculum in different ways to help the students make connections. Walk by and you will see students playing math games, doing different reading activities, using manipulatives, or any other number of activities to strengthen their academic skills. Additionally, the teachers can help students with organization and study skills, or catching up after being gone for an extended absence.
Mrs. Bendzick has been teaching at St. Hubert for over 25 years. Her own children attended St. Hubert in the 1990s, and it was in witnessing their education and emotional and spiritual growth that she felt the call to teach here. Ms. Rolf graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with degrees in both elementary education and special education. It is her firm belief that all have the ability to learn, and she loves to see a student’s “lightbulb experience” after working on a certain skill for a period of time. Mrs. Simatic has been teaching at St. Hubert for over 20 years and earned her masters from the University of St. Thomas. The importance of reading and early intervention is what drives Mrs. Simatic to help each student find success.
SHINE Program with Mrs. Ross
The SHINE Program was started in 2014 to better meet the needs of our high-ability learners in grades 2-5. St. Hubert recognized that high-ability learners process information in unique ways, and that they benefit from being grouped with like-minded individuals in order to strengthen their academic experience. The focus of SHINE is offering programming and interdisciplinary curriculum that differs significantly in its degree of complexity, process, and products to challenge and motivate gifted students to become successful, independent learners. There is a strong focus on “learning how to learn,” being a risk-taker, trying multiple strategies, and becoming reflective in our learning process. For instance, students are challenged to ask themselves “Why does this method work?”, “How can we do this a different way?”, and “What did I learn from reading this/writing this/solving this math problem?”
Grade-level project highlights include the following:
Second graders create “book billboards” and lead book talks that connect the text to personal and world knowledge, as well as to other texts.
Third graders become a Minecraft City Manager practicing estimation and perimeter/area skills by designing a new city.
Fourth graders evaluate non-fiction texts and research a person of interest followed by a presentation of their information through a Wax Museum.
Fifth graders use a project-based learning approach to design a food truck. They must research marketing tactics, and implement finance and business techniques to practice math skills of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals.
These varied approaches challenge students to go deeper with their learning and apply their skills to real-world problems. Mrs. Ross began teaching at St. Hubert in 2006. She spent three years teaching fifth and sixth grade, five years teaching third grade, and the last six years as the SHINE coordinator. She received her Master of Arts Degree in the area of Gifted, Creative, and Talented Education from the University of St. Thomas in 2010. She loves challenging students’ potential and then being able to celebrate their “A-HA!” moments. Students who enter her classroom can expect to be invited into a supportive, welcoming environment where taking chances is celebrated.
Counseling
In addition to the various academic supports available to students at St. Hubert, it is critical that their social and emotional needs are supported. To aid in this, Mrs. Lepak and Mrs. Ferrera provide counseling support to students.
Mrs. Lepak works with students in seventh and eighth grade while Mrs. Ferrera works with students in grades kindergarten through six. Together, they provide support for students’ academic, social/emotional, and career goals/challenges. They provide individual and small group counseling, as well as classroom guidance lessons that help students with goal setting, friendship concerns, decision making, and transitioning to high school. They work to help students manage feelings that are impacting their learning, such as stress, anxiety, anger, grief, and loss.
Beyond the students, Mrs. Lepak and Mrs. Ferrera work with teachers and administration in helping students uncover their gifts, respect themselves and others, build resiliency, and develop valuable skills for the future.
Mrs. Lepak and Mrs. Ferrera both have their master’s degree in counseling, and love being a part of the St. Hubert community. Mrs. Lepak attended St. Cloud State University and enjoys helping students see the best in themselves while building their personal skills toolbox and supporting students to achieve their goals. Mrs. Ferrera is a California transplant and received her masters from Capella University. She enjoys helping students develop strategies and goals to find success.
Together, they encourage all of the students at St. Hubert to strive to be their best selves. The one constant of support at St. Hubert is that it is ever-changing. We understand that students learn and grow at different times, so it is imperative that our support programs are fluid as well. Consequently, it is not uncommon to see students working with any one of our resource teachers or counselors. And while they may work with them one week, those students might be with their primary classroom teachers the next. The key though is that all of these individuals and programs are a part of the village that is St. Hubert Catholic School. A village intent on helping students reach their potential.