Students at St. Anthony School in Oconto Falls were welcomed by a new principal this week after shifts in administrative personnel positions prompted the search for a new head. New at the helm this year is Kate Sayers, a Lena native with a background in education and family therapy.
“I feel very blessed, very fortunate and very happy to be here,” Sayers said. “I’m very excited! There are good things happening here.”
With the retirement of Religious Education Coordinator Lynn Beaumier, the St. Anthony Board of Total Catholic Education chose to restructure administrative roles and combine the duties of religious education coordinator and school principal.
“When Lynn decided to retire from the religious ed position, we wanted to use that opportunity to do a little restructuring,”said board President Tammy Moynihan said.
According to Moynihan, the board wanted to commit more hours to the principal position, previously held by Rosie Marifke, who also taught first and second grades.
“Rosie was only given a couple of hours per week toward her principal duties, and she was also teaching,” Moynihan said.
Marifke relinquished her principalship in favor of devoting her time to teaching.
“Rosie willingly went to full-time teaching; that was her first love,” Moynihan said.
Last year, St. Anthony’s adopted the Oconto Falls Area Preschool after the retirement of Betsy Voermans, who led the program for 35 years. With that addition to the St. Anthony School setting, along with 5-year-old kindergarten going to a full-day schedule, Moynihan said the board felt it was important to allocate more time to the principal position.
Sayers began her career in education and began working toward an administrative degree. During that time she shifted her interest to social work, obtaining her master’s degree and focusing on her licensure as a clinical therapist. She spent the last 20 years working as a marriage and family counselor for the Oneida Tribe of Indians in Wisconsin.
“I loved it!” she said.
Sayers said she will spend her first year at the school adapting and learning about the St. Anthony environment. She said she appreciates the help she has received from staff in her adjustment, especially that of Marifke.
“I have a wonderful staff,” she said. “They’re very experienced. The staff and Rosie have really gotten me off to a positive start.”
Fifty percent of her role will be as religious education coordinator, helping to pass the faith to children and teens in the parish who do not attend the day school. She said she will work with the religious education teachers to continue the overall development of the program, learn the process and look at new ideas.
Sayers sees spirituality as one of the benefits of a Catholic education.
“I’m very spiritual,” she said. “I think incorporating spiritual teaching into the whole education – I don’t think it can get any better than that.”
She also sees the opportunity to nurture the students more positively due to smaller class sizes and the ability to give more individual attention.
“All the teachers are dedicated to it,” she said. “We’re in a good spot. I can see a lot of wonderful opportunities for the future.”
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