Who said you can’t come home? Messiah is certainly home for my family and we are overjoyed that the Lord has lead us back to the church where we are charter members. To be a part of the team that has been entrusted by the Lord to move the school to new levels has created much excitement in the Guenzler home and I am deeply humbled by the opportunity to serve God through this principalship.
After growing up in Affton, I attended the University of Missouri-Columbia, Southwest Missouri State University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis eventually earning two Masters degrees and a Doctorate in Education with superintendent certification. I have been blessed to teach at every grade level K-12 (and college undergraduate and graduate levels) as well as serving as a head football coach, athletic director, assistant principal, director of secondary education, and superintendent. On June 30 I retired from the public school system after 32 years and look forward to bringing my training and experience to Messiah.
My wife, Jennie, and I have been blessed with three wonderful children: Carrie, Matt and Trey. All three attended Zion–Harvester and are currently employed as a teacher, construction scheduler and rental car agent, respectively. Jennie recently retired as a Parent Educator after serving 18 years in the PAT program in Francis Howell and Festus.
During the transition that includes selling our home in Festus, Jennie and I will be renting in St. Charles County. We look forward to being with old friends and making new ones as we embark on this new challenge. The Lord has truly blessed us and we pray that Messiah provides the best opportunities for high levels of learning and Christian growth for all children.
Concordia, MO is where I grew up. I attended St. Paul’s Lutheran School where I was inspired to consider the teaching ministry. Upon graduation from Concordia, Seward in 1972, my husband Don and I had the unique experience of starting Martin Luther School in Phoenix, Arizona, where I taught kindergarten. My teaching experience continued with beginning a preschool at River Roads Lutheran School in St. Louis. After moving to St. Charles in 1985, I became preschool director at Our Savior Lutheran. I later taught preschool at the St. Charles Educational and Developmental Center and also worked with kids K-12 at the Huntington Learning Center.
In 2000, I became part of Messiah’s ministry and began teaching kindergarten. I feel very privileged that the Lord has given me the opportunity to nurture these redeemed children with His Word each day at school. I will be beginning my tenth year at Messiah.
My husband Don and I have three grown children. Melanie, son-in-law John, and grandson Camden, and Chris, daughter-in-law Brooke, and granddaughter Baylie all live in St. Charles. Our son Andrew lives in Dallas, TX.
Sewing, gardening, cooking, listening to music and singing with the Missouri Choral Society are all ways that I enjoy life!
I was born and raised in the St. Louis area, attending Salem, Affton and Lutheran High School South. I knew at any early age that I wanted to be a teacher and began teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School while I was in high school. Upon graduating from Lutheran South, I attended Concordia, Ann Arbor for two years and then finished my undergraduate education at Concordia, River Forest.
My first teaching assignment was at Our Redeemer Lutheran School in Overland, Missouri, teaching kindergarten in the morning and music in grades 1-8 in the afternoon. Since then I have taught just about everything from 2 year olds to sixth grade in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Illinois. I've served as part-time organist, children's choir director, elementary hand bell director, preschool director, primary department chairperson, girls' volleyball and softball coach, and supervised student teachers. I've also served on the Program Committee for the Missouri District Teachers' Conference.
When I returned to St. Charles I decided to work on my master's degree and obtained this degree from Lindenwood University. Since then I have received the MOCAPE Educator of Achievement Award, the Emerson Electric Excellence in Education Award, and in 2008 was named the LEA Distinguished Lutheran Early Childhood Teacher of the Year.
My husband, Jim, is an accountant and part-owner of a specialized talent payment service. We have two sons. Andy, an architect, and his wife, Jamie, are Adult Leaders for the Youth Group at Messiah. Joe, a web designer/programmer, and his wife, Jennifer, a teacher, are also members of Messiah and the parents of our grandchildren, Tim, Ben, and Alexis.
I enjoy working with the children and parents at Messiah. First graders are so eager to learn and do learn so much during the school year. I strive to create a positive Christian environment where the children feel comfortable asking questions, experimenting, and making mistakes as they learn; where children enjoy learning; and where each child can grow spiritually, mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally to his or her greatest potential as a unique child of God.
It is my honor and privilege to serve God by teaching first grade this year. I consider myself blessed to be part of this amazing team of teachers and staff here at Messiah. I believe my strengths are positive interaction with students and good communication with parents.
I am a graduate of the University of Michigan and also attended Concordia College, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Before our sons were born, I taught for six years in elementary classrooms. I also served on school leadership teams as well as serving as a VBS preschool director. Working as a teacher’s aide, teaching preschool, and third grade are other jobs I performed at Messiah.
My husband, Richard, and I will be married 19 years this summer. We were blessed to witness our oldest son, Gerald, be confirmed in his faith this year and celebrated with him as he graduated from Messiah with his 8th grade class. He is entering Lutheran High as a freshman this year. Our youngest son, John, will continue to join me at Messiah each day as a seventh grader. We have been members at Messiah for nine years.
As a family we enjoy our two feline friends, Emma and Julie. Our boys keep us busy with their sports. We love visiting family in Michigan and Florida. We have lived in Missouri for ten years. This is home to us and we have become huge Cardinals and Blues fans.
I look forward to the many blessings the Lord has in store for all of us this 2009-2010 school year!
I am so thankful that God placed me at Messiah to teach, fellowship, and praise Him. This year is my 16th year of teaching at the primary level. I have taught kindergarten, first, and second grade, and love working with God’s children.
I grew up in St. Louis where I attended St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School in Des Peres, and Lutheran High School South. I graduated from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with degrees in Early Childhood, Elementary, and Special Education. I received my Master’s Degree in teaching from Lindenwood University. Teaching has always been my desire, and I especially love sharing God’s word and Gods world with young children.
My husband, Brian, and I have two children. Ellie is in the seventh grade, and Drew is in the fifth grade. They both are a blessing to our family and keep busy with sports, books, music, and friends. Brian and I keep busy working in and around the house, enjoying music, theater, sports, and spending time with our friends and family.
I look forward to the year ahead and sharing God’s Good News with the students here at Messiah!
This will be my 7th year of teaching 2nd grade and coaching volleyball at Messiah. In April, I was married to Steve Thomas. We live in St. Peters with our puppy, Bailey.
I received my Bachelor’s degree from Concordia, Seward and my Masters in Classroom Teaching from University of Missouri, St. Louis.
In my free time I enjoy outdoor activities, such as tennis, cycling, running and participating in triathlons. My husband and I also love to travel.
I have always enjoyed working with children, even when I was young. Working as a babysitter, a nanny and at the YMCA summer camp brought me to realize I wanted to be a teacher. I began teaching at Word of Life Lutheran School after graduation from Concordia College in Seward, Nebraska in 1989. At Word of Life Lutheran School, I gained experience in many levels including the 3rd through 8th grades, concentrating in math and reading. I enjoyed coaching volleyball, girl’s basketball and cheerleading. I was also an advisor for Student Council and for the Yearbook Committee.
After my two sons were born, I had the opportunity to be a stay at home mom with Joshua and Jacob while also working part-time at Timothy Lutheran Church as a Youth Minister. In 1996, God led me to St. Lucas Preschool where I taught for 4 years, and also served as the director of the Preschool Program.
My husband, Tim, is an administrator soccer coach and business education teacher at Lutheran High School North. Our oldest son, Joshua is finishing his high school experience there this year. Jacob, our youngest, is looking forward to his freshman year at Lutheran North. Both of our boys hold fond memories of their grade school experience at Messiah.
In my spare time, I enjoy reading, creating cards and scrapbook pages, playing games and just about anything I can do with my family and friends. During the summer months our family enjoys traveling across the United States. This summer we visited New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
I began teaching at Messiah nine years ago with a class of seven 2nd grade girls. I have personally witnessed God’s continual blessings through his school as I have seen it grow. I am looking forward to another wonderful year with the fantastic 4th graders.
I knew very early on that I wanted to spend my life working with children. I greatly enjoyed babysitting as a teen and volunteered every summer to teach VBS. I was raised in Hazelwood, MO attending Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Atonement Lutheran School in Florissant and Hazelwood West High School. I received my Bachelors in Education from Missouri State University completing my student teaching experience at Springfield Lutheran School. I went on to work for the Francis Howell School District from 1995 until my coming to Messiah in 2005. During my time with Francis Howell I worked with students in grades kindergarten through fifth, special education, gifted education, music, art, PE and writing. I also earned a Masters Degree from Lindenwood University during this time. During my time at Messiah I have taught fourth grade, fifth grade, PE and Music. I recently completed the colloquy, a teacher certification program for Lutheran educators who did not attend one of the Concordia universities.
In my free time I enjoy scrapbooking, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. My husband, Wade, and I have been Messiah members since 1997. We have two sons and a daughter. Ty is in fourth grade, Jake is in third grade, and Jill is a four year old preschooler.
I have watched the changes and growth of Messiah and its day school over the past 12 years and feel incredibly blessed to be a part of this team of professional church workers. Each new school year I am filled with excitement and joy, ready to use my gifts and talents to help the students of Messiah grow closer to their Savior, Jesus Christ, who gives them the strength to work hard and reach their full academic potential.
I grew up in St. Peters, and was a member at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in O’Fallon. I was fortunate enough to attend Lutheran High School, St. Charles. After graduating from Lutheran High, I continued my education at Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. Two years into my education, I transferred to Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri where I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education.
Teaching has always been a natural choice for me. I have always strived to gain experience in all areas of education, working with children of all ages and abilities. This led me to an opportunity to work with children diagnosed with Autism. I began working on an ABA (applied behavioral analysis) team in high school and continued to work in this area until my son was born in December of 2004. As I continue my education and pursue a Master’s degree, special education continues to be my focus.
My husband Joe and I are former members of Immanuel, Wentzville and transferred to Messiah shortly after I received a teaching position here in 2003. My husband owns a web development firm here in St. Louis called Creative Anvil. We have two sons, Timothy (often referred to as Tornado Tim) who is four and Benjamin who is one. Our newest addition to our family, Alexis, arrived in early June. We love spending time as a family, playing outside, playing at the park, and playing with our two Labrador retrievers, Morgan and Sydney.
I realized that I wanted to be a teacher the summer after my freshman year of college at Valparaiso University. I had always enjoyed working with children through various jobs, and after one year of studying business/statistics I decided I had had enough and changed my major to elementary education. I now realize that it was the best decision I could have made.
I graduated in 2004 and started working at St. Philip Lutheran School in Chicago. At St. Philip I taught 5th-8th grade science and 1st-3rd grade physical education. I am very grateful for the experience I gained at St. Philip and feel that it was a huge step in the right direction for me in my career as a Lutheran School teacher.
My first experience with Messiah was through the website. I was very impressed even before seeing the school or meeting any of the people involved with the school. After coming to church and meeting some of the staff members and parents I was even more impressed and I knew Messiah would be a perfect fit.
I am now going into my 4th year of teaching here at Messiah and I am still loving every day I am here! I live in St. Charles with my wife, Jayceen, and our new son, Asher. We love Messiah and are glad that we have been blessed with such a great school and church.
I moved to O’Fallon with my parents in 1994 and became a member of Messiah in 1995. My wife, Carrie, and I have two children. Madison is going into her first year of High School at Francis Howell and Jackson will be in 3 year old pre-school.
I grew up in south St. Louis and attended Lutheran school through high school. I graduated from Holy Cross Lutheran School and Lutheran High School South. It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do in life. I was taking classes at the University of Missouri-St. Louis toward a degree in Management Information Systems, when I took the job of janitor at Messiah. Shortly thereafter, I realized my calling in life was to be a teacher. I completed my student teaching at Messiah in December of 2006 with Mrs. Carol Koenig. Student teaching was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I look forward to advancing into the next chapter of my life, teaching. Messiah is a place that has meant so much to me and I cannot wait to give something back.
I always wanted to be a Lutheran School teacher. I was greatly influenced by my father who was a Lutheran School teacher and principal for 40 years. Now I have finished my 29th year of teaching in the Lutheran Schools, teaching everything between 2nd and 8th grades.
I grew up in a small farming community in Northern Illinois. I graduated from Concordia College in River Forest, IL, in 1978 where I also met my husband, Rob. We have been married for 31 years and have served congregations in the Chicago area, Southern California, Southern Illinois, and the St. Louis area.
We have two children: Julee is 27 and works in Human Resources, and Tim is 24 and works in the fly-fishing industry. We also have a Border Collie, Jackson, an Australian Shepherd named Macey and Noah, a goofy golden Lab.
I enjoy cooking, reading, walking, and watching sports, especially the Cardinals. I especially enjoy learning more about teaching and keeping up to date on the latest educational theories, especially concerning Language Arts. I have presented workshops about teaching writing at the Missouri District Educators Conference and the Southern Illinois Teachers Conference. I have also conducted seminars about teaching writing to several area schools.
I am looking forward to the ministry opportunities and challenges of teaching at Messiah. I thank our Lord and Savior for the opportunity to be a part of Messiah’s outreach to the community!
God has opened so many doors in my life-time but none greater than the door to return to the ministry as a called teacher here at Messiah. I began my teaching career after 4 great years at Concordia, Seward, NE. Upon graduating I returned to my home area of Wentzville to await a December wedding to my wife of now 6 years Stephanie. During that year I spent my first year teaching at Wright City High School. After getting married to Steph, who was also a teacher, we took calls to teach at Faith Lutheran Jr./Sr. High School in Las Vegas, NV. During our four years there I taught Algebra, Geometry, and Pre-Calculus. Along with teaching I also coached high school football and track. I became head track coach our final two years there. While there I spent time working on my Masters in Administration which I received from Concordia in May of 2007. Wanting to be close to family we moved back to the area in July 2007 and now live in O’Fallon where I spent one year teaching at Timberland High School in the Wentzville School District. While there I taught 3 levels of Algebra and Geometry. I also served on the districts math curriculum committee. My first year at Messiah was a wonderful year filled with great students, great co-workers, and a true joy in my first year journey. I taught 6th and 7th grade math, Algebra to the 8th graders, along with my other duties as 8th grade homeroom teacher. I also helped out with Track this year. That is how God has blessed me in my teaching career to this point.
Two years into our ministry and adventure in Las Vegas we had Parker. He is now a vibrant and loving 4 year old who loves cars, the Cardinals, and games. We had our second son, Jack a few weeks into last school year. He will soon be turning one as he crawls around looking for new adventures every day. Stephanie now stays home with them as Parker prepares for Pre-School. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and fun loving sons that I hope to share with you as we get involved more at Messiah in both church and school.
Some of the extracurricular activities I enjoy are spending time playing t- ball, cars, and games with Parker, watching Jack explore his new found world, watching the Cardinals, playing golf, cooking, and spending time with my boys, and my beautiful wife.
God has brought me to Messiah through a long winding path through Missouri, to Nebraska, back to Missouri, to Nevada, and back to Missouri here at Messiah. I know God has plans for me and has used me at every stop along this journey and will continue to work through me as I share His message with my students and everyone I meet in my ministry here. To God be the Glory.
I was born and raised on a farm just outside of Napoleon, Ohio and attended St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Napoleon Township. After high school, I moved to the “big” city and attended The Ohio State University where I earned a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education.
After college I became a preschool teacher in Mansfield, Ohio. That position lead to becoming the Director of First English Lutheran Christian Day School until our first child was born. After taking 16 years off to be a full-time Mom, I returned to Messiah Lutheran Preschool last year to teach three year olds. It was an interesting year transitioning back into the working world, even on a part time basis, but it was also very rewarding! I love spending time with children who think you are smart and wonderful and are full of hugs, especially when I now have teenagers of my own!
While at Ohio State I met my husband, Tim, and we will be married 21 years in September. Tim has been with Monsanto since 1989 and we have moved many times, eventually ending up in the St. Louis area, twice! We were blessed to find Messiah Lutheran Church and School the first time we lived here and were thrilled to return in 2007. God has blessed us with four children. Madison and Harrison are both graduates of Messiah, and will be a senior and sophomore at Timberland High School this year. Kennedy and Grant are excited to be returning to Messiah to attend fifth and third grade.
Because our children are involved with theatre, soccer, gymnastics, soccer, baseball, and more soccer, we don't have a lot of spare time! In those rare moments we enjoy spending time with family and friends. And of course we love cheering for all Buckeye sports!
I am so excited to be able to serve God by teaching at Messiah! This is a great school and I am thankful to be a part of a dedicated team of teachers and staff.
I grew up in St. Louis where I attended Christ Community Lutheran School and Lutheran High School South. It was in the eighth grade when I knew that I wanted to become a teacher. It is a great profession to be able to work with children and share Jesus’ love with them.
I attended Concordia College in River Forest, Illinois and have a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. I have taught for eleven years and have enjoyed working with a variety of ages. Children are such a miracle from God and it is so much fun to watch them grow and develop into the special people that He created them to be.
I met my husband, Chuck, in college. He is one of the pastor’s at Messiah. We love our church and are thrilled that Messiah’s church and school ministry is a united one, centered in living to know and share the love of Jesus Christ.
Chuck and I have been blessed with five children: Janie (8th grade), Shelby (6th grade), Kate (3rd
grade), Grace (1st grade), and Will (3 year Preschool.)
I am grateful for this opportunity to work with the preschoolers and their parents and I know it will be a truly wonderful year!
I grew up in Florissant, MO where I attended Salem Lutheran School. After graduating from Lutheran High School North, I received an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Early Childhood Education and began teaching at The Child Development Center located on the campus of St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. I worked with children from birth – aged 4 and supervised college students enrolled in the Early Childhood Program. In addition to these duties I taught classes for the Continuing Educations Program, one of my favorites being “Be a Better Baby-sitter”.
After my son Zachary was born, I began working part time as a Parent Educator for the Parents As Teachers Program. Although this was very rewarding for me, I realized something was missing and found the answer when an opportunity to teach at Messiah Lutheran Preschool became available to me. I was able to work with young children and teach them about the love of Jesus. In addition to teaching preschool, I also volunteer at VBS and other church programs including mission trips.
I married my high school sweetheart, Matt. We have 3 children, 2 who attend Lutheran High and 1 who attends Messiah. Zachary is entering college in the fall, Ali is a Junior at Lutheran High, and Madison is in 8th grade at Messiah. Our favorite family activity is camping! I also enjoy walking, reading, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.
I look forward to another great year in preschool and thank God for allowing me to be part of such a great ministry here at Messiah.
I am just thrilled to get back into teaching and especially at Messiah Lutheran School.
I was born in Staunton, IL and moved to Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO shortly thereafter. I attended Grace Chapel Lutheran School and graduated from Lutheran High School North. I simply loved my teachers at Grace and felt they were excellent role models. I knew I too wanted to be a Christian role model for children and so I went on to Concordia College in River Forest, IL to pursue a degree in Elementary Education. In 1989 I received my teaching degree from R.F., met my future husband John in the school cafeteria, and accepted my first teaching call to Bishop, TX.
I taught a combination first and second grade and was Youth Minister at St .Paul Lutheran School. I then accepted a call to Zion Lutheran School in Harvester, MO as second grade teacher and cheerleading coach. I was thrilled to get back to St. Louis to be close to my family and fiancée. I taught there for five years until Jared was born. I then decided to work part time as a Parent Educator for the Parents as Teachers program in the St. Charles School District. Once our second child Julia arrived 19 months after Jared, I knew being a full-time mom was my next calling. Three and a half years later God gave us Jaclyn and our family was complete.
Watching Messiah grow and seeing its ministries touch so many families in the way my family has been touched the past 13 years, excites me. I look forward to meeting the pre-school families of the children I will be teaching.
I have lived in St. Charles all of my life. I graduated from Francis Howell High School and attended Southeast Missouri State. I have also taken classes at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley and St. Charles Community College. I have been in the Early Childhood field for over 20 years as a teacher, van driver, cook and as a Daycare Director for 2 Daycare Centers. I have taught both the 3 & 4 year old preschool classes at Messiah Lutheran School. I am starting my tenth year at Messiah and I am as excited to teach this year as I was the day I started teaching. I have been a member at Messiah since the church began. Education has always been a major priority at Messiah and I feel blessed to be a part of the plan that became reality. It is a joy to be a part of a staff that is so committed to the Lord and to the children.
Jerry and I have been married over 30 years. Our family consists of our son, Jeremy and a spoiled rotten Iris Setter, named Samson. I enjoy scrap booking, reading; watching sports of all kinds, cooking and time spent with my family and friends. I love all types of music and going to concerts and plays.
I feel blessed to be a part of the ministry at Messiah Lutheran School. I wish everyone could experience Jesus through the eyes of a child, I am thankful I get the experience everyday.
I was born in Ohio and earned my Master’s degree in Education from Ohio State University. I have been married to my husband Walt for 20 years and we moved to St. Charles about 15 years ago. We have two children, Steven and Brian, and one dog, Mo.
Both my mother and my aunt were teachers for over 20 years, so teaching is definitely in my blood! I have taught kindergarten in Ohio, art in Michigan, and sixth grade in Winfield, MO. This is my seventh year teaching art at Messiah and it has been a wonderful opportunity to be able to do something I love at a place where the staff and students are such a pleasure to work with.
When I am not chauffeuring my boys to their various sporting events, I enjoy traveling, photography, scrapbooking, and Buckeye football.
Messiah Lutheran School • 5911 South Hwy 94, Weldon Spring, Missouri 63304 • 636.329.1096 • school@messiahnetwork.org
