Kolbecast

AMDG.  For some homeschooling families, St. Paul’s adage about running the race is mostly allegorical, but for the athletically minded among us, it has a literal side too.  Today's episode features Faye Starvaggi and Anna Havens, moms of a Kolbe-graduate NCAA swimmer and a Kolbe-student competitive gymnast respectively, as well as Kolbe’s academic services director and go-to guy Everett Buyarski.  The group discusses both the philosophy and the paperwork of student athletes: from the discipline and obedience of striving for goals to the requirements for eligibility at the college level.

Mrs. Anna Havens can be heard on Kolbecast episode 81 The When and the How of Online Elementary. Check out episode 36 Embrace the Fifth Day for more about Kolbe’s four-day school week and the ways to make the most of the flexibility that plan affords.

The campus ministry at Texas A & M University comes up in this conversation. Have a listen to episode 85 Vibrant Campus Ministries for an inspiring and uplifting conversation about the good things happening there.

Recurring “cast member” Mr. Everett Buyarski lends his voice and expertise to these other Kolbecast episodes:

• 11 Truth, Wisdom, Virtue

Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].

Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org. 

AMDG.  Small business owner, Kolbe homeschooling mother, and etiquette expert Rebecca Czarniecki--known professionally as Mrs. B--joins Bonnie and Steven today to discuss the significance and dividends of manners, social graces, and interpersonal connection.  Mrs. B explains with mirth and elegance how meaningful interactions and nonverbal communication honor human dignity, provide internal development, and restore kindness bit by bit in our world.  She also touches on the realities of simultaneously homeschooling and running a small business.

Check out Mrs. B’s website and YouTube channel for more information about all her lovely offerings and a sampling of her lessons! Her book is available for purchase here.

Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].

Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.  

AMDG.  “Catholic” means universal and one of the lesser-known aspects of Kolbe's Catholic identity is its international presence and families.  Today Bonnie and Steven visit with moms from two of those international families, Ria in the Philippines and Amy in Nigeria.  They talk both big picture and day-to-day in homeschooling from another hemisphere:  the combination of studying Catholic classical roots and their own cultural roots, applying what students are learning in Kolbe courses to current events in local communities, Western/Eastern dynamics, and learn how to just be with others.  Along the way, they also touch on how attitudes to homeschooling are evolving in various countries, the fun of getting to know local saints, and the way flexibility in curriculum timing serves families in both societal seasons of the year and family seasons of life.

Amy and Ria refer to the flexibility of homeschooling when it comes to timing school to family life. Check out Kolbecast episode 36 Embrace the Fifth Day for a great discussion on this very idea.

Below is more information about the local saints discussed in this episode:

• Blessed Benedict Daswa (South Africa)

Amy shared these articles about homeschooling in Nigeria and as a family in the Foreign Service:

• Homeschooling Journeys in Africa

Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].

Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.  

AMDG. Just about anyone who has ordered books from the Kolbe bookstore has encountered the kind and resourceful Nancy Nelson. In this episode, she graces us with stories of Kolbe history, tips for savvy book ordering, and a dose of inspiration based in common sense and experience. Stick around for the entire episode for a special offer!

Check out Kolbecast episode 100 with Mrs. Dianne Muth, Nancy’s mother, for more Kolbe history.

Nancy refers to Nicole O'Connor, Kolbe Academy's Elementary Online Learning Director, who can be heard on these Kolbecast episodes:

• #14 We Don't Think Those Words Mean What You Think They Mean

For more information about Kolbe Academy’s summer 2022 and 2022-23 school year offerings, click here. 

Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].

Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.  

AMDG. The culmination of a Kolbe formation is a joyous occasion not only for students, but for their parents, instructors, and administrators who have played parts in the symphony of the scholastic experience. Recently Kolbe families, faculty, and administration from all over gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, for a graduation ceremony and celebration of the class of 2022. The ceremony featured speeches by two graduating seniors: Catherine Ma and Anna Prostejovsky; longtime Kolbe online instructor Ms. Ellen Finnigan; and Dr. Ryan Messmore, president of Magdalen College and guest on Kolbecast episode 86.

With gratitude and service as key features of their approach to what’s on the horizon, the graduating seniors reflect on their Kolbe experience, acknowledge those who have helped them reach this milestone, and look ahead with hope. Ms. Finnigan reminisces with delight on her time with the students, many of whom she has known for several years, and bids them farewell with love and laughter. Dr. Messmore sharpens the focus to what this formation is all about: the call to love and, ultimately, to become saints.

Check out Kolbe’s course catalog for summer 2022 and 2022-23 school year offerings.

Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].

Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.  

AMDG. Around our milestone episodes, we like to catch our breath, check in with each other, and share some behind the scenes lingo and lore.  Today Bonnie, Jordan, and Steven do just that. They talk about the ins and outs of podcast production: the nerves leading up to recordings, the ways we strive to make guests welcome, the surprising things that caught them off guard, the emotionally moving moments, the technology. And they talk about the context of this whole project: the gift of living in the time that we do, the challenge and hope of educating the leaders of the future, and the gift of seeing things slowly come together all in God’s time.

Other Kolbecast episodes mentioned in this episode:

• #92 Protect, Guide, Prepare, Empower with Cathy and Nicolai Lund

Jordan references Kolbe’s “three ways to educate.”

Check out Kolbe’s course catalog for summer 2022 and 2022-23 school year offerings.

Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].

Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.   

AMDG. Wisdom, humor, perseverance, encouragement…these are just a few of Kolbe co-founder Dianne Muth’s many attributes. On our centennial episode, we’re thrilled to be joined by Mrs. Muth as she shares the story of Kolbe’s founding, the big and small ways God provided and fostered Kolbe’s growth, and the formation of adults prepared to interact with and sanctify today’s world as a hallmark of Kolbe’s future. Listen to the end of the episode for a special throwback to the beginning of the revamped Kolbecast, too.

Here's more about Kolbe Academy’s History.

Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app, where you can subscribe and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].

Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.   

AMDG.  When children excel ahead of their grade level, it brings both opportunities and difficulties.  In this episode, current Kolbe parents Veronica Foreman and Joseph Caro join Bonnie, Steven, and Kolbe Academic Services Director Everett Buyarski to talk about the days and years of educating a child who might be referred to as “gifted” if enrolled in a brick-and-mortar school.  The group discusses why formation of the whole human person is crucial, the areas for growth that academic success can sometimes mask, and the beautiful flexibility of Kolbe’s course offerings where students can be challenged and enriched at whatever level they need.

For more information about Kolbe’s customizable program, visit these pages on the Kolbe Academy website:

• Why Choose Kolbe Academy?

Check out these related Kolbecast episodes:

• 52 Through a Catholic Lens with Kim Crawford

Everett mentions the Art of Problem Solving math curriculum. His previous Kolbecast episodes include

• 11 Truth, Wisdom, and Virtue

Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app, where you can subscribe and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].

Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.   

AMDG.  Last week, we heard from the deans.  This week, we visit with the metaphorical bosses upstairs: Chief Academic Officer Megan Lengyel and directors Nicole O’Connor and Tony Guzzaldo.  With both reflection on the past and excitement for the future, the group discusses their love for Kolbe’s mission, the roles of various academic officers, how teachers are selected and what formation they participate in once within the Kolbe fold, and how Kolbe has responded to the challenges any growing organization faces as it expands.  They also share a few exciting announcements about department chairs for next year as part of their goal to foster an online learning environment infused with the faith and alive with community and friendship.

Relevant Kolbecast episodes to check out:

• Episode 97 Advocates and Bridge Builders with Deans of Students Ashley Massey, Kelly Powers, and Elizabeth Hoxie

• Therese Prudlo on episodes 15 Asparagus Moments, 36 Embrace the Fifth Day, 37 Take a Moment, 64 Stricken by Ideas

Check out the online academy’s conceptual framework. For more information about career opportunities at Kolbe, click here.

To learn about or apply for financial assistance from Kolbe Academy, click here. For the 2022-23 school year, apply by May 15, 2022.

There are several ways to support Kolbe financially, including

• designating Kolbe Academy, Napa CA, as your Amazon Smilerecipient – a percentage of all your Amazon purchases will go to aid Kolbe in its mission.

Mrs. Megan Lengyel and Mrs. Nicole O’Connor have graced Kolbecast episodes 30 Guiding the Ship and 69 Temperature Check with Mr. Everett Buyarski and can be heard on Ep 50 Cast Party along with Therese Prudlo and several others.

Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app, where you can subscribe and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].

Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.   

AMDG. With growth come both opportunity and challenge. As Kolbe Academy has grown, so too have the needs of the community. Part of the way Kolbe is addressing these needs is through the appointment of deans for the elementary, middle, and high school divisions. In this episode, we visit with familiar voices Ashley Massey, Elizabeth Hoxie, and Kelly Powers to find out what they as deans do for Kolbe and how families benefit from these advocates who are working to bring the Kolbe family together.

This episode touches on Kolbe’s revamped and expanded homeroom program, which listeners can hear about in more detail on Kolbecast episode 87 Home Base.

Previous Kolbecast episodes featuring today’s guests:

• Ep 21 To Live Fully Alive with Elizabeth Hoxie

Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app, where you can subscribe and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].

Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.