Randy Frels

3/4 Preschool Teacher

rfrelssjolc.org

Hello! I feel very blessed to be a part of St. John’s school in Little Canada! I’m excited to be back teaching full time again after taking some years off to be home with my two wonderful daughters. I’m passionate about doing my part to help mold today’s youth into kind, independent, faith filled learners.

Professional background:
I graduated from Saint’ Mary’s U in Winona back in 1999 with a degree in Graphic Design and a Minor in Theology. My senior year, my Theology Minor led me to doing some team teaching in a Catholic school. I quickly realized that God was calling me to a vocation of teaching. Soon after graduating, I went back to SMU and got my Masters of Arts in Elementary Education.

I started out my teaching career by teaching ESL in Nagasaki, Japan for 3 years. Then, I moved back to MN after receiving a reading/math specialist position at St. Vincent De Paul school. After 2 years, fate brought me to a 1^st grade classroom, which led to11 happy years of teaching 1^st grade. When our first daughter was born in 2015, My wife and I decided that I would take some time off after that school year to be home with our kids. I continued to substitute when/where I was needed. After teaching Pre-K for Mrs. Cook for a few months in 2022-23, I realized how much I loved teaching pre-school. I was overjoyed when I was offered the preschool position here at St. John’s.

Educational Philosophy:

I strongly believe that kids learn best in a fun, safe, and nurturing environment. Their level of success depends on what is asked of them by their teachers. If the bar is set high, they can and will rise-up to meet it. I believe the best way to learn is by doing fun hands-on activities and I love using small group centers.