As the only Catholic K-5 elementary school in the Midwest to be an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, St. Jude of the Lake Catholic School (SJLCS) in Mahtomedi provides more than just an education to its 45 students. It provides a faith-based and faith-practiced lifestyle each and every day through its various programs and distinct designations.
SJLCS began its path of giving children a Catholic education under the direction of the parish and Friar Hauer in 1951. Hauer felt the need to provide a Catholic education within a spiritual environment for all children. After a few years of fundraising and gaining support from the parishioners, SJLCS opened its doors on May 9, 1954 and has been going strong for 60 years.
The unique part about the school is that during the 2013-2014 school year, they were officially authorized as an International Baccalaureate World School and maintained their accreditation from the Minnesota Non-Public Schools Accreditation Association (MNSAA).
“Being part of bringing forward the authorization of the IB designation is something I am very proud of,” principal Cressy Epperly says. “I’m just very proud we have brought the program to the children in a faith-based environment, and I believe this has helped to communicate and make visible the expansion of our Catholic identity.”
The IB Programme is an all-encompassing system that looks at local and global issues through six transdisciplinary themes: who we are, where we are in place and time, how we express ourselves, how the world works, how we organize ourselves, and sharing the planet. Throughout the course of the students’ six years at SJLCS, teachers focus on five distinct elements related to the IB’s six themes: knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action. Every year these concepts build upon one another and help the students to learn, grow and be better prepared for the world.
But it’s not just the IB Programme that has people talking about the school. “One of the great things that we have consistently provided is a theater program,” Epperly says. “It’s a reputable program through the Ashland Theatre Production, and this year our kindergartners are working on the play Annie.”
Although the school participates in a number of activities, their acts of service make up a large portion. Epperly says that she and the staff believe they are called to do service for others, and sharing that message with students is a vital part of a Catholic education.
“We have volunteered our time at the Dorothy Day Center, Feed My Starving Children and the Coventry Assisted Living & Memory Care Center,” Epperly says. “Even our fundraising is about service to the community.”
And to top off a quality educational system, during the 2013-2014 school year, SJLCS was offered a $5,200 grant for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) to help fund their Robotics Lego curriculum, something that Epperly and the staff are also very proud of.
But if you were to walk into Rachel Gilbert’s first-grade class, you would hear that the students have a wide array of interests. Favorite subjects range from gym and recess to music and religion.
“They kind of love it all,” Epperly says. “It’s one of the reasons I love coming to work each and every day. I get to engage with the children, and they are so welcoming and resilient and eager for the next day to happen. I also thoroughly enjoy working with the teachers, and I firmly believe we all share a common theme; we are called to educate our young children and that is something we do not take lightly. Every day is not quite the same, and that’s what I enjoy.”
St. Jude of the Lake School
600 Mahtomedi Ave.
Mahtomedi
651.426.2562
