If you have never paid a visit to the classrooms on the mezzanine or played on the girls’ golf or basketball teams, then you may have never met Mrs. Mennemeier. Nevertheless, she has been a part of the Crusader teaching staff for 13 years. This year, however, she is taking on the new role of Dean of Students.

Mrs. Mennemeier has been working hard to revamp the rules for the student body. Although some rules, like allowing backpacks, are more popular among the students than other rules, all of the guidelines within the handbook have been set with the intention of improving our school as a whole.

“The reason that we have a dress code is so that we are, hopefully, not judged on our outside appearances, but what we do in the classroom, on the sports fields, in the drama productions, in choir and math club, instead of what we look like. So, we’re hoping that if we all look ‘uniform’, then that takes away from some of those things that don’t really matter. And hopefully we can get down to what really matters, what’s inside,” said Mrs. Mennemeier.

Mrs. Mennemeier is still settling into her new position and is learning new things about her role every day. Although a long-time staff member of St. Dominic, her current position is unlike anything she has ever done before. Her previous teaching role came with a set schedule. Now, her days have less structure and more unexpected matters to deal with.

“Things pop up that I have to attend to, whereas in the classroom, you have your plans. I do still have things that I try to accomplish during the day, but there are a lot of things that I have to stop and go take care of,” said Mrs. Mennemeier.

The lack of structure is new to Mrs. Mennemeier. However, a perk to her new role will be getting to know the students and staff members better than she was able to before.

“Now, I’m doing a lot more with clubs, so I’ll hopefully get to know a lot more kids. And I’ve also gotten to know more of the administration and teachers in a different setting,” said Mrs. Mennemeier.

While Mrs. Mennemeier has a tough role ahead of her this school year, we know that she will fill it with ease. We wish her the best of luck on her new journey as Dean of Students!