BCACS Mission Statement

Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools, in partnership with parents, community and the Catholic Church, provide students with an excellent education and solid faith formation. Students will know the Faith, share the Faith, and live the Faith.

Monday, June 5, 2017

The last day of school: Ardis Vandenboss & Danielle Orton


Summer vacation is wonderful, but goodbyes are tough. Today's BCACS Blog spends time with two beloved teachers for whom the last day of school is their last day with us.

Ardis Vandenboss
St. Joseph Elementary School teacher Ardis Vandenboss wouldn’t consider her husband’s suggestion of retirement three years ago.

“Up to that point, I had never considered retirement,” Mrs. Vandenboss said. “I truly loved my teaching. Why retire?”

Mrs. Vandenboss has taught nearly every grade of elementary and middle school during her 40-year career, which includes 32 years for the BCACS. She has mentored many teachers, including current St. Joseph School principal Sara Myers.

“She has a great love of teaching, her students, and our schools,” Mrs. Myers said. “[She] has touched the lives of so many, including mine.”

“Ardis has been an inspiration, a mentor, and most of all a friend,” St. Joseph fourth-grade teacher Liz Casterline said.

“Ardis is a huge personality and a gifted asset,” St. Joseph Elementary Administrative Assistant Jeanine Winkler said. “Parents love her tightly-run ship. She provides lots of love, spread out amongst all her students.”

For the last decade, that love included commuting daily from Coldwater, where Mrs. Vandenboss and her husband bought a “ten-cent house with a million-dollar view”. Such a schedule left little time for friends, grandkids, or even having coffee on the deck.

She started considering her husband’s suggestion, which is why this year’s last day of school will truly be Mrs. Vandenboss’s last day of school.

The goodbyes have been tough, especially with her students, who she promised to visit.

“The kids are the ones who are going to be hardest to leave,” Mrs. Vandenboss said. “This group I’ve got now, not only did I have them for two years, but I’ve had a lot of their siblings. In fact, I had some of their parents.”

Mrs. Vandenboss, center, with her final fourth grade class at St. Joseph Elementary School.
 
Danielle Orton
Danielle Orton didn’t plan to stay when she took a teaching position at St. Philip High School in 2008.

Her plans changed.

“I fell in love with this environment, with these kids,” Ms. Orton said.

St. Philip teachers wear many hats, a norm Ms. Orton embraced. During her tenure, she taught English, literature, Spanish, health, creative writing, even yearbook.

“My dream job has been to teach every subject I have the ability to,” Ms. Orton said. “My dream job manifested itself at St. Philip.”

Inspired by the St. Philip counselors who continued to teach in the classroom, Ms. Orton pursued her master's degree in school counseling, which she recently completed.

“I couldn't picture a better work day than one that involved not only working with our kids in the classroom but also being able to help them dig deeper on a personal level and find their strength,” Ms. Orton said. “I'm happy to have worked at a school that embraces nurturing the mind and the soul.”

This year Ms. Orton’s plans have changed again. She will be moving to Alabama.

“Knowing what I know now about how much you can love your job, I have high expectations for my next position,” Ms. Orton said. “I can't think of anything that I won't miss. I'll miss my St. Philip family.”

The feeling is mutual.

“It’s going to be hard to replace Dani,” St. Philip principal Vicky Groat said. “She has done so much for the students over the years. She has shown so much pride and love for the school. Dani will be a great counselor because of her passion for helping and guiding our youth.”

Ms. Orton, center left, with three of her students.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Senior Spotlight: Hannah Pearl, Tim Minier, Nina Winkler, & Ian Mullis

Hannah Pearl
Hannah Pearl has her eye on the big picture.

She grew up in the Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools, entering kindergarten with her twin sister Emily. She will leave as St. Philip’s Valedictorian, entering the University of Michigan with a scholarship.

“I’m excited to go to Michigan,” Hannah said. “I’m excited to have a big environment.”

This four-year Math and Science Center student was offered scholarships from four different universities, but her mind was made up.

“I want to go into engineering and [Michigan] was the only college I applied to that had the major I wanted – industrial and operations engineering,” Hannah said.

Hannah was attracted to industrial engineering because it is “big picture engineering”.

“I like being able to make processes better,” said Hannah, who just finished an internship at Denso Manufacturing.

There will be one familiar face in Hannah’s bigger environment. Twin sister Emily is Michigan-bound as well.



Tim Minier
Tim Minier chose Alma College for a lot of reasons.

“I went up there and I liked the campus,” Tim said. “They have a decent science program and I want to study biochemistry. That was nice. And they would let me run there, so that was perfect.”

Alma more than “let” this decorated track star run there. They offered him a substantial scholarship to do so.

“That scholarship was alright,” Tim said with a smile.

This Saturday, Tim will run as a Tiger for the last time, competing with his team in the State Finals. This fall, he will run as a Scot, while pursuing his degree.

After that, the future is wide open.

“Biochemistry is pretty broad as to what you can go into,” Tim said. “Once I get my degree, I can go on to be a doctor or I could go into personal training or physical therapy.”



Nina Winkler
Basketball is Nina Winkler’s game, but when it comes to her future career, it’s all about track.

Nina wants to be a pharmacist. She laid the groundwork for that goal her senior year, dual-enrolling at Kellogg Community College, taking AP Biology, and talking to counselors.

“I looked at my track,” Nina said. “I’ve got two classes knocked down already that are on the track to pharmacy school.”

Taking those classes now instead of next year meant this honor roll student had no time for a senior internship, but the end justifies the means.

“I’m getting my pre-requisites out of the way so I can take my PCAT and hopefully get into pharmacy school,” Nina said.

Nina will continue her studies at KCC, but it won’t be all work.

“As far as I know, I’ll be playing basketball [for KCC],” Nina said. “I’m very excited about it. It will be fun.”



Ian Mullis
Ian Mullis has done a lot in the name of math and science.

“I took double math and science courses my sophomore year, AP Calculus BC at the Math and Science Center my junior year, Statistics at Kellogg Community College my senior year, and Computer Networking at the Calhoun Area Career Center,” Ian said. “I wasn’t required to take these classes; I wanted to take them.”

Why?

“I enjoy math and science because you can approach a problem many different ways but there is only one answer,” Ian said.

Ian wants to be an engineer – the kind that doesn’t have a desk.

“I want a job that allows me to design, create, and improve things,” Ian said. “I don't want to sit in an office all day. I want to work with my hands and my mind.”

A 2017 Gold Key Scholarship recipient, Ian will begin his studies at KCC.


This is the final “Senior Spotlight” for 2017. It has been an honor to get to know these young adults better. They have made us proud and we wish them best. May God lead them safely on their next adventure. ~ nlvm