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Grades 5-8 are years with many changes and important milestones. Students experience sudden growth spurts, and emotional maturity has to play catch-up with physical maturity. During grades 5-8 students begin to understand different points of view and friendships take on greater importance. Feelings are often expressed more in posture, tone of voice and body language than they were in earlier years.
Ron Byers
Ron Byers instructs sixth-grade World history, covering everything from Ancient Egypt to the Roman Republic and much, much more. He covers seventh-grade U. S. History on the years from 1492-1877, from the arrival of the colonists to the Post-Civil War Era. He teaches eighth-grade U.S. History on the years from 1877-2008, from the development of Industrial America to contemporary times.
Ron hopes that when students leave his classes they can see the world from a much larger perspective and excited to learn even more about history in the years to come.
Craig Barçal
Craig Barçal teaches one section of seventh- and both sections of sixth-grade English and Language Arts. He works to ensure that all students perform grade-level work.
For Craig, the best part of teaching is when the students are clearly engaged. He focuses on being in fun and respectful relationships with students and feels working here is working on the right side of history.
Chris Heinemann
Chris Heinemann is the fifth-grade Language Arts and Social Studies instructor. He wants students to enjoy reading rather than feel it is something they have to do. He works to enable students to express themselves effectively through their writing and speech.
Chris emphasizes the value of being informed and asking the “how” and “why” in his Social Studies classes. He likes to keep up on current events during this time by watching CNN10 Student News.
He says he feels a sense of purpose working with the faculty and students here. “It feels a lot like the purpose I have being a member of the South Dakota Air National Guard, one big team focused on a common goal.”
Dan Stevens
Dan Stevens instructs sixth- seventh- and eighth-grade students in Science. He feels privileged to watch students grow and change intellectually over the three-year period. For Dan, students are learning Science when they are able to apply it to the real world.
Like so many other teachers at the school, he understands the importance of building relationships. Seeking to mold students into individuals who will flourish in society, he tries to model proper interaction with others to the students.
Kent Lein
Kent Lein teaches seventh- and eighth-grade Math with the goal of preparing students to be productive members of society. Mastery at Math means a student can teach another student the concepts. Kent strives to help students connect math concepts to their lives because this engages them and helps them better understand the material. In fact, he says that is the best part of being a Math teacher.
Lori Ness
When Lori Ness first came to St. Joseph’s Indian School, she thought she wanted to leave teaching behind, and she enjoyed her new role as a houseparent. But when her position as sixth- and seventh-grade Math teacher opened up, she had a change of heart. She returned to the classroom to experience the joy of seeing students light up when they know what they are doing. She feels children have mastered a math concept when they can achieve 80% or better, and the way she gets them there is by building relationships with them.
Nancy LeBeau
You will find Nancy LeBeau helping seventh- and eighth-grade students to master English and Language Arts, a combination of reading, writing and grammar. Nancy works to build student confidence so they learn to tap their own creativity and persistence to achieve goals. Like many of St. Joseph’s Indian School’s teachers, she loves the “Aha!” moments. Echoing our mission statement – mind, body, heart and spirit – she enjoys watching students grow academically, physically, socially and spiritually. She builds her relationships with students on trust and being there when they need her.
In addition to incorporating Native American culture into her lessons, she teaches a culture class once a week.
Brock Sundall
Brock Sundall is the fifth-grade Math and Science teacher. Mastery in his classroom is when one student is able to teach another the concepts they have learned.
Like many of our teachers that you meet, Brock’s favorite moment is when a student “gets it.” He strives to make learning relevant to students and says, “Students generally don’t care what you know, until they know you care.”