Growing up the youngest of seven children in Red Wing, MN, Fr. Michael attended Wabash College in Crawfordsville, IN. Following college, he spent six years in business, which took him throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He then answered the call to priesthood, entering the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity in 1992, and was ordained in May of 1997. Fr. Michael served as the Associate Pastor at Transfiguration Catholic Church in Oakdale, MN, before coming to St. Bartholomew in April 2000. As pastor of St. Bartholomew Catholic Faith Community, Fr. Michael's duties include providing overall leadership and ministering to the church's 1,450 households and the school (preschool through sixth-grade.) "The worship life here, people's willingness to engage their faith in a deliberative and dynamic way, and a commitment to the needs of the larger community all make this parish a comfortable and welcoming place for me. I hope that all visitors and new members at St. Bartholomew will feel that same sense of welcome."

I have the best job in the world! I have been an educator for 33 years and still wake up every day, excited to get to St. Bartholomew school. There is nothing I would rather do than spend my days with teachers and young people, learning and growing together. I have a BA in elementary education and an MAeD, both from The College of St. Catherine. In 2008, I graduated with an EDS in educational administration, from The University of St. Thomas. My husband, Michael, and I have five grown sons, all with careers in education and the arts.

I was born and raised in Duluth, MN. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and Communications and a minor in Math. I am the mother of two wonderful boys who both attended school at St. Barts. In my spare time, I cantor at mass, teach voice lessons, walk, read and spend time with family and friends.

I have worked in the corporate world for over 20 years and did a lot of parent volunteering at St. Barts School before starting my position here in August of 2009. Of all the jobs which I have worked, my position at St Barts is by far the most fulfilling. It is an honor and blessing to assist and support our teachers, students and parents so that each of them can focus on their jobs.

My name is Catie Corken and I am excited to be the new preschool teacher at St. Bartholomew Catholic School. I am looking forward to working with the preschoolers during their most impressionable years and helping them develop a love for learning. Every student brings something special to the classroom, and I am excited to begin this new adventure with each of them. I graduated this past May from the College of St. Benedict with a degree in Elementary Education. I grew up in Medina and feel very blessed to be welcomed into a new Catholic community so close to home. I love working with young children and am really looking forward to the upcoming school year!

My name is Terri Lynn Parker. I was born in Brookings, south Dakota, raised in Bloomington, MN, and currently reside in Chanhassen with my husband and our three dogs. I earned my Bachelor of Arts in elementary education and psychology from the University of St. Thomas. I hold a reading license from Hamline University and a special education license from the University of St. Thomas. Presently, I am working toward my master's with an anticipated completion in the spring of 2012. With 15 years of experience, I have had the privilege of working with a variety of students and abilities - Kindergarten through eighth grade. I am very excited to be joining the St. Bart's team and look forward to getting to know the wonderful families here.

I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the College of St. Benedict and my Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of St. Thomas. I have been teaching for 23 years, and 14 of those years have been in Kindergarten. The opportunity to teach these precious children and learn from them at the same time is truly the most amazing experience. They are so full of excitement, wonder and innocence, and I can think of no better place to spend my days except with my Kinderkids. What makes it even better is the Catholic environment in which we learn and play because we have Jesus with us every day. I love it!

I always knew I wanted to teach, ever since a young age while playing school in the playroom of my house. I was raised in Minneapolis and graduated from the University of St. Catherine in Elementary Education. This is my second year at St. Bart's and my third year teaching. Last year I taught preschool, and I am very excited to be teaching kindergarten this year! I love teaching because of the excitement and smiles that the students bring to school. I enjoy teaching early education because I believe it is the true foundation for a successful education. I feel very blessed to be part of such a wonderful faith community. I look forward to year filled with fun and adventure!

I am so excited for my first year at St. Bartholomew. I graduated from the College of St. Benedict and am currently attending the College of St. Scholastica for my Masters of Teaching. What I love most about teaching is the excitement displayed by the students. The enthusiasm and wonder of young students is contagious, and I look forward to sharing my love for learning with them. I feel blessed to be welcomed into this amazing Catholic community. Having attended Catholic schools throughout my life, I am thrilled to be teaching at St. Bartholomew where I can share my faith with the students.

I grew up in Winona, Minnesota where I attended Catholic schools from preschool through twelfth grade. In 2009, I graduated from the College of St. Benedict with an Elementary Education major. Last fall I had an amazing experience volunteering in northern Uganda for three months at a rehabilitation and vocational center for former child soldiers. My favorite part about teaching is helping my students realize they can succeed at something they have been struggling with. I am very excited to join the St. Bartholomew community and look forward to the upcoming school year!

I was born in Omaha, Nebraska and grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where I attended Catholic schools from Kindergarten through high school. I have a Bachelor's degree in elementary education, specializing in communications, and a minor in music from the College of St. Benedict. For the past year, I was teaching 3rd grade in the public school district in Sioux Falls, but I got married in July and moved to Plymouth. I am so excited to be invited into the St. Bartholomew community! I love that as a teacher I get to meet a new group of uniquely incredible children each year and help them to realize their potential!

I grew up in Mankato, MN where I attended Catholic schools from Kindergarten through high school. I graduated from the College of St. Benedict in 2006 with an Elementary Education degree. For the past four years, I have gained experience at Holy Trinity in South St Paul as a 2nd grade long term substitute, director of the Extended Day program, and a middle school social studies teacher. I am so excited to be teaching second grade and working with young students again. I also look forward to the upcoming year as students prepare for the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion. I feel so blessed to begin my first year with the wonderful community at St. Bartholomew.

Third grade is a time of great exploration and growth, both spiritually and intellectually. To foster that growth I try to create a culture of curiosity in the classroom. This culture allows third graders to meet the high expectations of the class and develop a love of learning. After 6 years of teaching, and 20 years in a totally different industry, I know God has blessed me with the greatest job possible . . . third grade teacher.

Before deciding to teach, I was a medical laboratory technician. After a few years in that profession, I knew I needed a change. I wanted a challenging life-long profession where I could grow, so I decided to go back to school and pursue my first love – elementary teaching. This was one of the best decisions that I have made in my life. Teaching is certainly rewarding. There are always new students, families, co-workers, and curriculum. A person could not become tired of teaching with the ever-changing nature of the profession. Teaching also offers the opportunity for continuing to learn. New techniques and new applications of the tried and true are always part of the process. I love teaching fourth graders. They still have the innocence of childhood, yet they are starting to develop the skills they will need as adults. By the end of the year, the growth that has occurred always amazes me. I have the honor of being the longest term employee at St. Bartholomew Church and School. I love being a part of this community because of the many opportunities I have been given. St. Barts is my school home.

After the good fortune of going through ten years of Catholic elementary and high school education and working in the corporate world, tutoring elementary students refueled my passion for working with children in a Catholic school. I received my elementary teaching certification at The College of St. Catherine and was a substitute before being offered a full-time teaching position at St. Bartholomew. I've taught third, fourth and now fifth grade! This is a wonderful faith community with incredible parents and students who bring their God-given talents and time to help make this a very special school.

I am very excited for my first year at St. Bartholomew's Catholic School as a 5th grade teacher! I graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato in May 2011 with my degree in Elementary Education. Last year I taught in the Saint Paul School District. I live in Champlin and am from a family of four, including myself. I attended St. Stephen's School in Anoka from kindergarten through 8th grade.

I feel so blessed to be part of such a warm and welcoming community. My favorite part about teaching is getting to know the students and being a part of their learning everyday – I love seeing those "lightbulb moments"! I have found that as I teach students, I learn from them as well. I can't wait to continue getting to know the wonderful students and families at St. Bart's. I look forward to a terrific year!

I enjoy teaching 6th graders because of their enthusiasm, love of life, and eagerness to become young adults. Being a teacher at St. Bart’s has allowed me the privilege to nurture the students to give freely of themselves by service to others. What a wonderful way to continue their spiritual growth.

I received a B.F.A. in Illustration from the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, MN and have taught art at St. Bart's since creating the art program in 2000 I enjoy working with the classroom teachers to plan art units each year that are complimentary to their curriculum. One of my favorite projects each year has been having each class create a painting on canvas for the Images of Spring auction.

In addition to teaching at St. Bart's, I lead classes for kids at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts and am a swim coach at LifeTime Fitness in Chanhassen. In my spare time, I enjoy freelance photography, landscaping, printmaking and spending time with my family.

This is my 6th year as the Physical Education Teacher at Saint Bartholomew School. I absolutely love this vocation. I cannot think of a better way to spend a day than to help influence our children in the classroom of physical education.

I am originally from Robbinsdale and recently moved to Wayzata. I am the father of my teenage daughter Sam, who I love to spend time with watching her volleyball games and perform in theatre and choir concerts. I also enjoy playing golf, going on walks and officiating youth through college athletics.

I attended Catholic Schools for my entire education and I am very honored and privileged to be an educator in our arch diocese. I am also grateful to all the parents and families who share your wonderful children with us.

“Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance!” What an exciting job I have! I am given the great opportunity to expose the students to music, theater and dance. All the students in the school from preschoolers through 6th grade have music at least once a week if not twice. I have my undergraduate degree in elementary education and my graduate degree in theatre both from Long Island University in New York. I have an enormous passion for music and the impact it can have on children. The families of St. Bartholomew truly value the arts and understand how important the arts are in a child’s education. It is a pleasure to work with the staff and children at St. Bartholomew school.

It was 1988 when I started working at St. Bartholomew school and more then ever I enjoy going to school every day and being part of children's lives and encouraging life long learning. Prior to joining St. Bartholomew School I worked in youth collections at a Carnegie Library in Wisconsin. “Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story” Quote from “The Tale of Despereaux” by Kate DiCamillo

It is inspiring to work with such a great staff and community.