Bidding a Fond and Grateful Farewell to Our Retiring Teachers

As the new school year gets underway, we extend our gratitude to our retiring St. Francis teachers. This month, we’ve asked our retiring teachers two questions regarding their experiences as educators:

1. How has being a Steward for Christ (in your giving and receiving) been reflected in your teaching career at St. Francis?

2. Share your story or something significant about teaching at St. Francis.

We are happy to now share with you some of their reflections and memories of forming our children in education and faith.

Carla Slough — retiring this year

Carla Slough

My teaching career at St. Francis and other Quincy Catholic schools has been a gift! While I was teaching and sharing my faith with my class (and faculty members at times), I was receiving so much more. Because of being immersed in this rich faith-based career, my faith has increased tremendously! Witnessing the innocence and faith of children has been a privilege. I thank God that He put this career in my path, and it never occurred to me to do anything else. I think that has been God’s way of telling me to teach, but also to teach in the Catholic School system. I felt it was my job not only to teach them, but to love them and take care of them every day. We are all a part of God’s family, and the children have been a daily reminder for me to grow in patience, understanding, compassion, and to look for Jesus in everyone. I hope I have been an example for my students to help them grow closer to Jesus.

St. Francis is home. I was baptized in this parish and grew up here. I went from kindergarten through eighth grade in this very building. I have many wonderful memories of going to school here. I am teaching in what was once my fifth-grade classroom. My favorite teacher was Inez Neuser, who I had for fourth grade. She was a wonderful, faithfilled woman who could make you feel very special and loved. I have always hoped I could convey the same feelings to my students.

Dennis, my husband, is my best friend. We have been married almost 44 years. Together, we have two grown children, Nathan and Erin. They are both married with families of their own, giving us five grandchildren. I am actually lucky enough to have taught my own children and three of my grandchildren!

Besides so many wonderful children and families, I have made some very dear friends with fellow teachers. I will have taught 36 years in the Catholic schools in Quincy at the end of this school year. What a blessing this has been for me!

It is a very bittersweet time now as I think of retiring. I’m excited to have the time to do the many things I could not do while teaching. However, it is a bit heart-wrenching to let go of a lifetime of working with God’s children and all the fun I have had teaching.

Vicky Mitchell — retired last year

For 43 years of my teaching career, being a steward for Christ was precisely the reason I chose to teach in a Catholic school. I could not imagine being in a school where prayer was not allowed, Mass was not an option, and religious activities were not a part of the curriculum. There were so many meaningful things that I experienced while teaching at St. Francis for so many years of my life. I tried to give in as many ways that I could to contribute to the children’s faith life. Having played guitar since I was 10, I found many opportunities to use my talent every year. I played all the guitar Masses for the children weekly, as well as on Holy Days of Obligation. Stations of the Cross were also much more meaningful with music. For many years, I played for the graduation Masses as well as Reconciliation services, First Communion, and occasionally Confirmation. It was so gratifying to see the kids grow from year to year as they participated in the weekly Liturgies, sang in the choir that I did for a few years, and became leaders in our school.

Teaching religion was one of the joys of my day. After I went on a Cursillo in 1992, it really lit a fire in me to share my own faith with my students. I did a special unit on the Old Testament every year called “Walk Through The Old Testament.” It used hand signs, coloring pages, and Bible stories to walk the kids through the historical books of the Bible. They loved my Bible stories. I introduced shared prayer, which they grew to love. I felt so good when a child would come in and ask me if we could pray for a special intention that morning. I so enjoyed sharing my own faith stories with them. Several children asked me to be their Confirmation sponsor over the years, which was so special.

I was part of a family at St. Francis. Before I retired, I was teaching the children of the children that I had taught, which was so gratifying. I love the school and continue to play Masses and substitute, which makes me very happy.

I graduated from Quincy College in 1978 with a double major in Physical Education and Elementary Education K-12. I taught a split 7/8 at St. Boniface my first year. I got the job at St. Francis the following year as a fifth-grade teacher and really found my niche. I enjoyed this age group so much that I stuck with that — along with some help with sixth and fourth-grade classes along the way. I had a four-year stint in the gym teaching PE, when they found out that they needed a PE teacher with an actual degree. I concluded in the fifth grade for my last five years. My children attended St. Francis and being a teacher allowed me to be with them on holidays and the entire summer. My grandson now attends. I had so much fun there and so many stories to share that I even wrote a book entitled Prisoner in Room 12: Confessions of a Catholic School Teacher (Kindle e-book) to share my experiences. Sure, there were trying days, but Jesus got me through it! It was the perfect job for me. I still have relationships with a lot of my former students who are now grown up with families of their own.

Maureen Makarewicz — retiring this year

Being a steward for Christ has been intertwined throughout my years of teaching. My faith is the center of my life and being able to share that faith with my students has been the most important part of my teaching. Faith can be shared in every subject matter and with any age group. Giving students an example of a faith life is so important. The job of teachers has become more challenging because there is so much competition with technology and social media. If you can live a good faith life and show that to the kids, you have done your job. One reward that I really treasure is seeing former students, as adults, living a faithcentered life. Seeing those former students sending their children to a Catholic school is so rewarding too. Each generation living a faith-centered life will keep our church strong.

I have taught school for 45 years and I am proud to say all 45 years have been spent at St. Francis Solanus School. I am a product of St. Francis School. My mother, my siblings, my children and now my grandsons have attended St. Francis. As far as I am concerned, St. Francis is home. I have taught from preschool to fourth grade, spending the bulk of my career teaching kindergarten. I truly believe that teaching in a Catholic school is a vocation. Being able to share my faith has been the most important part of my teaching. I have learned a lot about my faith through the eyes of my students. This has made my faith stronger. I have seen teaching change dramatically since I began in 1976. I started with chalk and a chalkboard and am ending my career with Smart Boards and iPads. Technology has made teaching so interesting. Having to teach remotely has been a challenge during the COVID situation. I am proud to say that my colleagues and I met the challenge without missing a beat. I will miss the daily interaction with the kids, but I know that St. Francis is in good hands. The tradition will continue.

Maureen Makarewicz

Barb Peters — retiring this year

Being a steward for Christ for me at St. Francis School is reflected in my everyday interactions with all of the students, staff and faculty, not just my preschoolers. From the moment I walk in the door in the morning, I greet and smile at children in the hallways on their way to class. A kind word and a big smile makes them feel welcomed and loved. They feel like a part of our school family. Teaching the children about God through learning, play, and showing love and kindness to each other on a daily basis becomes a calling, not a job. I am blessed to watch them grow in their learning and their faith through their eighth-grade years. Seeing former students come back and visit and send their children here tells me we are doing our jobs and spreading our faith.

My 26 years of teaching preschool at St. Francis have been filled with many amazing memories. I was blessed to be able to work with my dad’s brother and my uncle, Fr. Eugene Middendorf. He was a priest there for a while and together we got to share our faith with many, many students. My family has sent five generations to St. Francis School — my grandfather, dad, me, my daughter, and now my grandsons. I had the pleasure of teaching my grandsons in preschool. One has graduated from there now and one will be entering seventh grade in the fall. This is a very proud moment for me. I get to be a role model, teacher, and a stand-in parent or grandma each day. I wear many hats and have been called mom, grandma, teacher, Mrs. Peters — but my favorite title was when a little boy called me St. Peter instead of Mrs. Peters. It was so cute, heartwarming, and humbling all at the same time. There have been so many priceless memories and cute things children have said and done. I may have to write them down and reflect on them through my years ahead. I feel by teaching my students about faith, academics, and loving and caring for them each day of their preschool days that I have served my God and my school. St. Francis School is more than just a school to me. It has been my second home and I just can’t walk away. I will volunteer when needed and hopefully get to sub and stay active with all the students and the school family that I love.

Barb Peters