We are a parish family; we are a school family. Saint James offers a student to teacher ratio and student to sister ratio that cannot be matched. Our dedicated teachers are committed to helping our students learn and to leading them closer to Christ. We work together, we study together, we pray together, and we play together. We are truly family.
PAROCHIAL ADMINISTRATOR
FATHER JONATHAN DAVIS
Ordained in May of 2017, Father Davis has always been a friendly face around Saint James, having first been assigned here in 2018 as the Parochial Vicar. Currently, he is also assigned to St. Patrick Parish, as Pastor.
INTERIM PRINCIPAL
MS. CAROL ANDERSON
Ms. Anderson earned her degree In Elementary Education from Missouri Western. She earned her Master’s Degree in Reading from Northwest Missouri State University. She retired from the Buchanan County R-IV School District after 28 years of teaching. Ms. Anderson comes from a family of 15 children.
SECRETARY
MRS. KATELYN HELSEL
Katelyn Helsel attended the University of Central Missouri for two years. She and her husband Dusty, have four boys, Tripp, Pax, Tag, and Jett, all of whom attend Saint James School. Katelyn stayed at home raising her boys for thirteen years. Her father graduated from Saint James School, as did Katelyn and her three sisters.
Preschool
Check out our 3-year-old – 5-year-old preschool program.
Contact us to inquire about multi-day options.
LEAD PRESCHOOL TEACHER
MRS. CHRISTINA GREEN
Christina Green was the preschool aide last year and is excited to be lead preschool teacher this year. She really enjoys teaching preschool and all the adventures that come with it. She and her husband Jeff have six kids, four of whom graduated from St. James. She has two who still attend St. James, Josh in 5th grade and Emma in 1st grade.
PRESCHOOL AIDE
MRS. THERESA WALKUP
Theresa received her BA in English from MWSU and attended UTEP. She is bilingual. Her main focus areas are early childhood development language acquisition, communication and reading. She and her husband have been married 25+ years. Theresa and all three of her children are St. James alumni. She also spent 29 years in pharmacy and has 10 years in education.
Elementary
K – 5th
KINDERGARTEN
MS. BRANDY FLORES
Ms. Brandy Flores graduated from Missouri Western with a degree in Elementary Education and an emphasis in Early Childhood Education. This will be her 22nd year teaching Kindergarten in the Catholic schools. She taught at St. Patrick for six years before coming to St. James. St. Patrick is her home parish, but she LOVES it here at St. James. Ms. Flores has two amazing children in our Catholic schools. Her daughter, Olivia, is a junior at Bishop Leblond. Her son, Brooks, is an eighth grader here at St. James.
1ST GRADE
MRS. BRENDA LISTER
Mrs. Brenda Lister graduated from Missouri Western with a BS in Elementary Education and an emphasis in reading. This is her 21st year of teaching at St. James. She has three daughters and six grandchildren.
2ND GRADE
MRS. JOLEEN ABERER
Mrs. Aberer is the wife of Michael and mother of seven, who have all graduated from St. James. She has ten grandchildren (so far), the oldest are also enrolled in our school. She graduated from Missouri Western with a degree in Elementary Education in 1994. She has previously taught 1st grade and middle school Science and English as well as years of substitute teaching when needed.
3RD GRADE
MRS. RACHEL COTTER
Mrs. Rachel Cotter graduated from Central Missouri State University (now known as the University of Central Missouri) with a degree in Elementary Education and a degree in Early Childhood Education. She received her Masters in Education through Baker University. She has taught 1st grade, 2nd grade, a 2/3 combination, a 3/4 combination, 4th grade, and 6th grade in her teaching career. She and her husband, Bill, have four children: Jonah, Matthew, Hannah, and Moira. Moira is a middle schooler at Saint James.
4TH / 5TH GRADE
MRS. STEPHANIE FINDER
Ms. Finder grew up in Southwest Missouri in a family of six. She has a bachelor's degree in History from the University of Missouri and a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Benedictine College. This is her 5th year teaching Elementary. Prior to teaching, Ms. Finder was in the Army and spent several years living on the East Coast. She is enjoying teaching at St. James and getting to know the community.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
6th – 8th
MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE
MR. ROBERT RZEPKOWSKI
Robert Rzepkowski (Mr. Bob) received his BSA (Agriculture) from the University of Georgia having studied both Animal and Dairy Sciences. He received his MS from Michigan State University in Animal Husbandry. He served as a US Peace Corp Volunteer in Paraguay, South America, working at the College of Veterinary Science dairy as well as with local peasant farmers to improve animal health, livestock production, and nutrition.
MIDDLE SCHOOL THEOLOGY
MRS. JOLEEN ABERER
Mrs. Aberer is our middle school theology teacher. She is the wife of Michael and mother of seven, six of which have graduated from St. James. Her youngest, Julia, is a current seventh grader in our school. She has ten grandchildren (so far), the oldest are also enrolled in our school. She graduated from Missouri Western with a degree in elementary education in 1994. She has previously taught 1st grade and middle school Science and English as well as years of substitute teaching when needed.
MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH AND SOCIAL STUDIES
MRS. JASMINE KIMMEL
Mrs. Kimmel is excited to join St. James this school year. She has a BA from Saint Louis University, and an MLIS from Florida State University. Originally from Dallas, TX, Mrs. Kimmel is enjoying learning all about living here in the Midwest. She has 5 sons, and spends much of her free-time with her family.
RELIGION
SR. MARY MAXIMILIAN, CK
Sister Mary Maximilian is a School Sister of Christ the King from Lincoln, NE (www.cksisters.org). She wanted to be a Sister and a teacher since 2nd grade, just like her 2nd grade teacher. She entered the community in 2001 and has been teaching for 15+ years, primarily in 2nd grade. She currently teaches 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade religion here at St. James and works as a catechist in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium. She was one of the original 3 Sisters to first come to St James in 2005 when she was studying at Benedictine College and she is thrilled to be able to share the treasures of our faith with His little ones.
SPECIALS
PE, Art, Music
ART AND LIBRARY
MRS. EMILY PRENDERGAST
Mrs. Prendergast attended Northwest Missouri University for 1-1/2 years before becoming a wife and mother of five. She has taught at Saint James for 24 years. During this time, she has taught PE, technology, and has been a para in both preschool and kindergarten. The position she enjoys most is being librarian and teaching art, which she has been doing for the last several years. She enjoys reading and trying new art techniques she can share with students. She also loves her six granddaughters.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
MR. TREYTON MULL
Mr. Mull graduated from St. James and is happy to be back in our school teaching PE. He is currently studying at Missouri Western.
MUSIC
MRS. PEGGY ENGLISH
I graduated from Loretto Academy High School in El Paso TX. I’m a Vietnam Era Veteran of USAF as a Weapons Control Systems Mechanic of the F-4E. I received a Bachelors in Music Education from Tulsa University, with my Oklahoma License to teach K-8 Vocal/Instrumental Music. Years later I received an ADN/RN degree from Miami/ Dade College, Miami, FL. I have worked for many years as a classroom music teacher in public and private schools, and nursed many years in med-surg and as RN supervisor in a large nursing home/rehab center.