Fr. McCartan Memorial School in Marceline: small but mighty
New principal, multigenerational community committed to pursuing faith, excellence
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A dapper cleric, sporting the regal robes of a highest-ranking monsignor, gazes down from a framed photo near the entrance to Fr. McCartan Memorial School in Marceline.
His eyes are smiling.
“I plan to have us celebrate who Fr. McCartan was in our community and his goal of providing a solid Catholic and academic education continues,” said Lisa Sensenich, the school’s new principal.
Herself a former student of Fr. McCartan School and a proud parent of a student there, Mrs. Sensenich returned as principal this year after teaching for 28 years in a local public school.
“I plan to be here a long time, leading our staff in providing our students with the best education,” she said.
Students arrived on Aug. 18 for their first day back from summer vacation.
They were delighted to find their familiar surroundings looking better than ever, with freshly painted walls and shimmering new floors.
“There’s some real excitement about the building,” said Charles Krumpelman, a Fr. McCartan School graduate and school advisory board member, who with his wife now sends his own children there.
“The overall appearance is better, much more inviting,” he said.
Members of the Knights of Columbus, parents of students and other active parishioners helped get the improvements done in time for the first school bell.
“It takes a community,” said Mr. Krumpelman. “I’m excited to see the renewed interest.”
“It really is about working together,” said Mrs. Sensenich. “It’s not just a school. It’s OUR school!”
Another beginning
Hugs and congratulations were exchanged among parents and children as the first day got under way at Fr. McCartan, one of 36 Catholic elementary schools and three Catholic high schools in the Jefferson City diocese.
A few lips quivered, a few eyes glistened, but no one cried.
It was mostly smiles, hugs and heart-felt choruses of “welcome back.”
“I think there’s a sense of peace when you have a positive environment,” said Mrs. Sensenich. “Everybody in our small town is connected somehow. Either our parents are friends, or we’re somehow related to each other.”
She said that while some families in the school go back several generations, the students and their parents are “super” about welcoming new people to the community.
Several students spoke candidly about what they like about going to Fr. McCartan.
“It’s a very fun school,” said fourth-grader Brooks Berger. “The teachers are very nice. You don’t feel overstimulated by having so many kids here. It’s just a really nice school.”
Sixth-grader Evie Reigelsberger said her favorite part is “getting taught about God.”
“Because he’s the one who created us,” she said. “He created the whole world!”
“So we can go to heaven!” eighth-grader Richard Allen added.
“I like that they teach us that God loves everybody and that we still have time to repent and get to heaven,” said eighth-grader Piffy Burch. “They also teach us how to love others. Because Jesus has a place for us in heaven. In the Bible, he says he has many rooms for us in his Father’s house.”
She’s convinced that mercy will reign in every one of those rooms.
“We all make mistakes, but that won’t define us in his eyes,” she stated. “And that doesn’t define us in our own eyes, either.”
Fourth-grader Aivley Cupp said she likes the uniforms she and her classmates wear.
“Everybody gets to dress the same and nobody gets bullied about what they’re wearing,” she said. “I like that everybody can match every day.”
Fifth-grader Ryker Core agreed.
“I like the people, and I like wearing this stuff,” he said. “It’s easier to get ready in the mornings.”
Ryker said he was feeling a combination of missing his summer freedom and being excited to be back at school.
His goal is to expand his limits and “beat what I did last year.”
Linda Finch, now in her fourth year teaching second and third grades at Fr. McCartan, joined in the chorus.
“I like that we can openly praise God,” she said.
Souls for Christ
Mrs. Sensenich keeps a photo of herself standing outside the school as a kindergartner.
“This morning when my son and I got here, I said, ‘Okay, you’re going to take another one of these pictures in front of that same statue!’” she said. “There I am, full circle.”
With 40 children in preschool through eighth grade, Fr. McCartan isn’t the largest, fastest-growing nor wealthiest Catholic school in the diocese.
But its students are proving that they don’t need throngs of classmates to learn.
“We’re small but mighty!” said Velvet Dorrell, a retired educator, current school cook, Fr. McCartan graduate and mother of five fellow graduates.
Mrs. Sensenich’s resolve is clear: “Help us grow from very good to great.”
“I feel my role as principal here is to continue the work of Fr. McCartan,” she said. “He saw a need for a Catholic school in this area, so he built one.”
She wants to lead the staff in proving a one-of-a-kind educational experience for students, “not only in academics but nurturing their Catholic values, as well.”
“I want to work beside our leadership teams to build financial stability, enhance our presence in the community, increase our student population and help parents with guidance they value in raising their children,” she said.
She believes the purpose of a Catholic school is to guide students to be the best they can be through an education that provides emotional, physical, academic and spiritual excellence.
“Our staff not only guides our students to find success in their academics but empowers our students to grow strong in their faith through serving others and proclaiming the Gospel as they live fully in this life, so that they may live fully in heaven,” she said.
That means helping them cultivate a personal relationship with God and put into practice the greatest commandment of all: loving and serving God and others.
“We tell parents that we’ve got small class sizes, so we can meet their children’s needs,” Mrs. Sensenich stated.
“And we teach Christian values,” she continued. “We can incorporate God into everything we do throughout the day. We can talk about him more freely, and their friends can do the same.”
Generational impact
Mrs. Sensenich recently found and hung up a framed photo of the school’s namesake, a priest from Ireland who was pastor of St. Bonaventure Parish for almost 30 years, beginning in 1932.
He personally visited and taught in the parish elementary and high school and was instrumental in building the current grade school in 1957.
“The reason they named the school after him,” said Jesse Jobson, father of two children at Fr. McCartan, “is that it cost $125,000 to build the original part of the building in 1957. He donated $105,000 of that.”
Mr. Jobson’s grandfather, Jerry Kelly, is also a Fr. McCartan alum.
“On Fridays, Fr. McCartan would come to the old St. Bonaventure School,” recalled Mr. Kelly, who graduated in 1953, before the current structure was built. “And he would ask a question about our religion. And if you got the answer right, you got a piece of candy.”
Fr. McCartan also coached the school’s middle-school football team, the Fighting Shamrocks, which remained undefeated throughout his time as coach.
Mr. Kelly’s dad, Vincent, went to the old St. Bonaventure School in the 1920s.
Mr. Kelly’s wife, Pat, was the school secretary from 1977-2019, and his mother was the school cook for many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Kelly’s daughter, Marie Jobson, graduated in 1977 and this year brings to Fr. McCartan 31 years of experience teaching preschool.
Mr. Jobson is her son, who graduated in 2000. Mr. Jobson’s wife, Katherine, became Catholic and taught at Fr. McCartan for three years before they were married.
She previously dated a man who broke up with her to enter the seminary.
“Katherine passed away four years ago after fighting a brain tumor for a couple years,” said Mr. Jobson. “This school has been very involved in helping get the kids to and from school, and filling in some of the gaps from not having a mother.”
Mr. Jobson is the second widower in his family to send his children to Fr. McCartan, “the first being my great-great-grandpa sending my great-grandpa Vincent and his sister Regina,” he said.
The Jobsons’ two children are at the school now, bringing the family legacy to five generations.
“There used to be a lot of big families,” Mr. Kelly noted. “And when it came time for kids to go to school, this is where they came. That was understood. You belonged to the Church, you came to school here. That’s the way the faith was at that time.”
Having served on the parish pastoral council and school advisory board and coached the basketball team for several years, Mr. Kelly is pleased that his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are beneficiaries of Fr. McCartan School.
“They do a great job of educating our kids,” he said. “Most of the people you talk to, they say when they come over to the high school from here, you can easily pick out the kids who come from here.”
He added that quite a few high school valedictorians and salutatorians at Marceline and Brookfield high schools are Fr. McCartan graduates.
“So, yes, there’s a very good education here,” he said. “And if you really want your children to have the same values as you do, this is the place to go. They’re going to learn their religion and they’re going to know your values.”
“Solid belief”
Mike and Charles Krumpelman were among eight siblings who attended Fr. McCartan School.
They both believe it has helped them become the husbands, fathers and community members God wants them to be.
Charles recalled being able to confidently put his life on the line while serving in the U.S. Navy Seabees in Afghanistan.
“When I was in the service, I believed in the mission, but I also believe in where I would go if something happened to me,” he said. “If you have that belief, you can accomplish anything.”
Mike, who graduated in 1987, and his wife Tina sent their four children to Fr. McCartan.
The main reason, he said, was the school’s mission to incorporate the faith into the students’ education and put what Catholics believe into practice throughout the day, every day.
“And as a side benefit, in terms of the core curriculum — math, English, science — they’re getting a quality education and a pretty demanding curriculum,” he said.
That same foundation helped him study to become an engineer and help lead his family to Christ.
“We’re all called to evangelize,” Mike stated. “And having a parish school gives you a great avenue for evangelization — a place where you can make the most difference outside of your own family.”
Charles emphasized that Fr. McCartan School would not exist and cannot continue without the support of St. Bonaventure Parish, surrounding parishes and the community at large.
“It takes the whole Church community and the surrounding community,” he said. “The more we all work together, the more good things happen.”
Walking through the hallways, he occasionally remembers the childhood days he spent there.
“But my involvement now is to make sure my kids get the best education with their Catholic faith,” he said.
Thirteen years ago, Mike served on the committee that helped gauge the feasibility of building a 3,200-square-foot addition onto the school and air-conditioning the gym/multipurpose room.
When the bids came in higher than expected, the whole parish had to pray and think about where they stood.
“We had to talk about whether this was really something God was calling us to do,” he recalled. “Was it a sign to pull back or a challenge to move forward?”
“We decided to step forward with it,” he said. “And it was paid off within two or three years.”
The brothers both said they hope their grandchildren will also go to Fr. McCartan School.
“I want them to get a great education and learn their Catholic faith and the love of Jesus,” said Charles. “If you have a solid belief, that sets you up for life.”
Food for thought
Mrs. Dorrell went to Fr. McCartan School for eight years and later sent her own five children there.
Daily prayer was a mainstay when she was a student, when her children were students, and now.
This is her fourth year preparing lunch for the students.
“I probably would have ended up teaching here if there was a position here when I got out of college,” she said. “But there wasn’t, so I taught across town for 32 years and sent my kids over here.”
Having helped prepare meals for events at the school, she retired from teaching around the time the previous cook retired.
“Everyone here is a family,” she said. “We do have extended families — cousins in the same classroom — but everyone here also works as a family. The big kids look out for the little kids, and the middle kids look out for each other.”
Sixth- through eighth-graders take turns helping set up the lunch tables, serving the food and cleaning up afterward.
“I hope they see that serving others is a good thing,” said Mrs. Dorrell. “It’s not a burden, it’s a blessing to serve others. Even if that means picking trash up off the floor. You have to do it right and you have to be proud of what you’re doing.”
Mrs. Sensenich believes that when a Catholic school does its job well, its graduates find success in academic and extracurricular activities, continue to learn and grow, keep building up their relationship with God, and become productive, conscientious citizens.
“Many of our alumni contribute to our school,” she said. “Many of them come back to our parish to serve and participate in ways that facilitate our school and parish. They continue to provide financial support and donate their time to the betterment of our facilities and students.
“They come back to raise their families in our community, choosing to send their children and grandchildren to our school,” she stated. “We’re proud to say that several of our staff members attended Fr. McCartan as children and have returned to serve our students.”
“God’s handiwork”
Jerry Kelly hopes Fr. McCartan School is around to help educate and form more generations of Linn County Catholics.
“You don’t know what you’re missing out on if you don’t send your kids here,” he said.
Piffy said she hopes to send her own children to Fr. McCartan someday.
“I hope they like it as much as I do,” she said.
Ryker asked for prayers for all the students to be safe this year.
Mike Krumpelman suggested praying for strong families and solid marriages rooted in sacrificial love.
“And then ask God, ‘What do you want me to do?’” he suggested.
Mrs. Sensenich requested prayers for Fr. McCartan School to flourish.
“Ask God to guide others to see the value in an academic education that focuses on providing values that build students to be strong in their faith and spirituality,” she said.
She also suggested praying for all the past and present staff and families of the schools, for all the good they have done.
Mrs. Dorrell asked for prayers for all of the students to love the Lord and recognize the beauty of God’s creation.
“God gave us what we see from the moment we wake up every morning,” she said. “So, to see God’s handiwork and be thankful in everything.”
