St. Theresa Catholic Church and School are one community united in faith. Catechism classes start today in the school, and we lift in prayer these wonderful catechists who give their hearts to teaching students on Sundays.
#oneteam #encristo
The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
Luke 1:39
St. Theresa Catholic Church and School staff show up for our kids, from the car line to the cafeteria.
#missionminded #teamwork
It was a great first day!
Backpacks are packed.
Uniforms are laid out.
Alarms are set.
Because tomorrow is the first day of school!
All the emotions are so normal before a big day. Happy. Sad. Nervous. Excited.
The good news is God is with us in all the emotions, and He will be with us tomorrow.
Join me in embracing our theme for 2025-2026.
"Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God.
Believe also in me."
John 14:1
Teachers and staff received a reflection from Father Joel today and then enjoyed lunch at David's Burgers! What a providential saying in the space where we gathered today...We Build for Life. We recognize this ministry at St. Theresa Catholic School and Church is about more than just the here and now. It's really about eternity. We are ready to see our 276 sweet faces tomorrow morning!
STS community - you are the best!
83% of our families attended Meet Your Teacher today. WOW!
Thank you to the ministries and vendors who came out to share about yourselves. Thanks to the teachers for all the hard work in preparing beautiful spaces. We are blessed!
Some Sunday morning good news!
St. Theresa Catholic School has made it into the Top 5 of The 2025 Best of Best Readers' Choice Awards in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette!
Want to help make us #1?
Vote at arkansasonline/bestof2025! You may only vote for us once between now and August 27. Thank you in advance!
This weekend!
We absolutely cannot wait for y'all to check out the relocated dining room in the parish center! Please make sure to start at the parish center on Monday for meet your teacher from 2 PM to 6 PM.
Mrs. Dunn wore the wrong shoes for our table delivery today 😂 but two of our priests were ready to jump in and unload tables!
See you Monday!
Y'all, these teachers are so great!
We spent a lot of time this morning digging into everything from our emergency response plan to homework policies. But the most fun was a communication exercise to see who could build a matching LEGO creation! Teachers split up into observers, communicators and builders and Team Middle School (Boyette, Williams, French) won with the best-match creation!
We've been hinting about exciting things happening! Want more details?
Come see us at one of these meetings August 12 or 13 in the Spanish classroom!
Teachers are hard at work getting classrooms ready for our sweet students, but not before a little fun this morning!
We welcomed Nick Brown from the Office of Innovation in Education who brought is breakfast in honor of our Heart of the Community Award! And we played a game as we learned more about each other!
It's going to be a great year!
Teachers return tomorrow.
Students return August 13.
Excitement. Nervousness.
We don't know what this year will bring, but we don't have to.
Please join us in prayer in anticipation of the 25-26 school year.
Let's introduce our middle school and junior high teams!
We are excited to have 4/5/6 in a special middle school hook pod this year, led by three fabulous teachers! We welcome back Mrs. Boyette in fourth grade, Ms. Williams in fifth grade, and Mrs. French in sixth grade. These ladies will take turns teaching certain content areas to each class. Mrs. Boyette will teach language arts. Ms. Williams will teach math. Mrs. French will teach social studies and religion.
We welcome Mrs. Nanette Zobkov as our seventh grade homeroom teacher and Ms. Strojek as our eighth grade homeroom teacher! Placing 7/8 grades in their own specific junior high pod will allow us to focus on their final two years before high school in a powerful way.
#teamsts
Allow us to introduce you to our expanding elementary team!
Ms. Elizabeth Lequieu rejoins us for another year with first graders. She has a big heart for serving our kids! We have so many first graders we needed to add an additional teacher - Ms. Cari Karugireyo. Don't worry - she's happy to go by Ms. K! She has been working with youth in ministry and homeschooling for many years and is happy to come teach at St. Theresa!
Mrs. Russelle Anne Capili will be our second grade teacher as Ms. Timmerman steps into intervention. Mrs. Capili has nine years of teaching experience and has served as a campus minister as well as billiards coach in the Philippines! She also has a degree in Catholic Religious Education.
Ms. Barnes returns to third grade. Did you know she is musically talented, sharing her gift of song in her church choir?! We have so many third graders we needed another third grade teacher, and the Lord sent Mrs. Kat Porteus straight from Hawaii! She loves surfing, tennis, pickleball, golf and her dog Honey Girl!
Food service at St. Theresa will look a little different this year. We are excited to utilize the Parish Center kitchen and meeting rooms for food prep and dining space. These ladies will be making it happen!
Mrs. Ivania Tenorio will be our cafeteria manager. Mrs. Hien Tran, Mrs. Yuliana Bueno, and Mrs. Lupita Sosa will be serving as cafeteria staff. We are excited to continue to offer breakfast and lunch daily for our students!
Stay tuned for this landscaping project soon to be completed! Ismael Leyva rocks!
We LOVE to introduce our early childhood/kindergarten team!
Ms. Silvia Patlan returns as our PK3 teacher! She provides a valuable service to our students by instructing them in Spanish as well as English. Mrs. Debby Haley returns as our PK4 teacher! She just completed her 25th year teaching at STS. Ms. Lindsey Stehle and Mrs. Sally Chua return as our dynamic duo of kindergarten teachers! Ms. Stehle (pronounced Stay-lee) and Mrs. Chua work wonders, teaching students how to read, write, do math, and grow closer to the Lord.
#bestteam
St. Theresa Catholic Church and School are blessed with a strong, faithful leadership team! Allow us to introduce (or re-introduce) you to our clergy!
Father Stephen Gadberry is beginning his fourth year as pastor at St. Theresa. We are blessed with his joy, energy, and pastoral vision. We love his digs, Shorty and Murph, too!
Father John Paul Hartnedy joined us in December and is ready to experience a back-to-school season with us. We are blessed by his ministry of presence. He loves a good recess soccer game!
Father Joel Ibebuike (pronounced Eee-boo-bwee-Kay) joined us a month ago. He most recently served the diocese in Mountain Home and has extensive experience with pastoral counseling. He is excited to learn Spanish from this community!
Deacon Juan Mares starts his fourth year serving as a deacon at St. Theresa. He can be found around the parish and school most evenings. He is always ready to provide teaching and instruction in the faith!
