Conway Springs principal says her job is to teach about Jesus Christ

Melissa Winter didn’t have to move too far when she transitioned from teacher to principal, just a few rooms down the hall.

Her first Catholic school job was as a fifth-grade teacher at St. Joseph Catholic School in Conway Springs. That was in 2005.

“I just fell in love with Catholic schools and their mission,” she said. “And when I decided to become an administrator, I knew the diocese was where I was going to land. I never in a million years thought it would be at St. Joseph.”

She said the transition at the school was easy because of the excellent staff. ‘They welcomed me and showed me grace and helped me along the way.”

Why a Catholic school?

Winter said that the curricula at public and Catholic schools are the same. “What sets Catholic schools apart is embedded in that curriculum: a mission. That mission is to get kids to heaven. And so, along with parents – parents being the number one educator of their children – we can help you with your job as a parent, and that’s to get your child to heaven. Everyone becomes better Catholics in that way.”

She said she tells parents that their children will make their faith stronger and in turn, parents will make their children’s faith stronger. “We take that mission very seriously.”

The traditions associated with Catholic schools make an impression on students, she said.

“Our alumni will come back and talk about how they remember putting on a Christmas play or how they remember dressing up as saints on All Saints Day. And we can say that we still do those,” she said.

“We still teach the core of our faith through those traditions and we can relate to our community and our parish in that way. They become involved in our school and they want to make sure that we stay here.”

Winter said she plans to nurture that tradition in the future. “That support, our parish support, our community support, our parental support is phenomenal. I am excited because I’m starting to see the next generation come in. I can’t think of St. Joseph Catholic Church without St. Joseph Catholic School and I don’t think that will change for many generations.”