Kolbecast

AMDG.  The people who serve as Kolbe Academy administration and faculty are a dedicated, highly-skilled group of Catholics committed to the pursuit of holiness, which for them includes serving Kolbe families as advisors, instructors, and sounding boards. They also serve each other in a spirit of collegiality as fellow pilgrims on the path to heaven.

In today’s episode Bonnie converses with Ashley Massey, an academic advisor and one of the deans of students, and Kim Crawford, a beloved instructor and department chair. They canvass the ways they approach building community and relationship across the miles to meet the needs we all have for connection. They also consider the concept and importance of families living as “domestic churches.”

Episodes that might be helpful:

• Ep 54 Pro Omnibus Contendit with Deana Muth

Kim Crawford can also be heard on Episode 50: Cast Party and Episode 52: Through a Catholic Lens. She appears on this Facebook Live about Kolbe’s AP courses. Ashley Massey leads this Facebook Friday session on grade reporting. 

For effortless episode delivery, subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app.  

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 we asked Kolbe students which of their teachers they’d most like to hear on the Kolbecast, Melissa Johnson was high on their list. Melissa joins us today to talk about what life looks like for her teaching middle and high school English while raising eight children. With equal parts humor and candor, she describes her background, her experience with the many personalities present in a large family, and her openness to embracing lively chaos of the day to day. 

Melissa references Holly Pierlot’s A Mother’s Rule of Life, also available on FORMED.org. Jordan draws upon some advice related by three Kolbe students in Episode 22: Imagine Being Homeschooled given to them by another beloved Kolbe teacher.

For effortless episode delivery, subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app.   

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. Professor, teacher, and all-around wise person Dr. Carl Hasler is our featured guest today, along with our dear friend and Kolbe teacher Therese Prudlo. Together, they and Bonnie discuss the little moments that take us through life and the necessity of being open to God’s grace in them. Dr. Hasler shares his background from working in a record store and telling his parents he wanted to study philosophy to his experience with international adoption. He also describes how his conversion story involved encounters with Catholic thinkers and the young woman who would become Mrs. Dr. Hasler. The group brings things home with a discussion of Kolbe’s new philosophy course, the differences in definition between the word “liberal” as it is used in the current liberal/conservative political dichotomy compared to how it is used in the liberal arts, and the power of music. 

Among several other courses, Dr. Hasler teaches the live online version of Kolbe’s new philosophy course. He references Josef Pieper’s Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power, Great Dialogues of Plato, and Frederick Copleston’s nine-volume A History of Philosophy. 

Therese Prudlo first joined the Kolbecast in Episode 15: Asparagus Moments. She can also be heard on Episode 36: Embrace the Fifth Day and Episode 37: Take a Moment as well as on Episode 50: Backstage (Cast Party).  

For effortless episode delivery, subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app.   

Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us

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

AMDG.  

Holy Heroes founders Ken and Kerri Davison—themselves the parents of a Kolbe homeschooling family —join Bonnie and Jordan on this special episode of the Kolbecast released on the Blessed Virgin Mary’s birthday, September 8. The Davisons share wisdom on homeschooling while running a family business as well as on fostering strong, devout commitment to the sacraments and the saints. They discuss how homeschooling parents have discretion to plan their weeks and lives based on what their families need rather than on what a school demands, and they encourage liturgical living through celebrations of baptismal days, confirmation days, and name days as well as birthdays. They also have insight into the passive and active listening involved in video and audio entertainment, how important early formation is for children, and the challenge and joy of doing hard things. Finally, the Davisons share how homeschooling makes it easier to incorporate children into the running of the home since children can gain a greater appreciation of what really needs to be done throughout the day and can live lives that have far more dimensions than just schoolwork. To see the array of Holy Heroes offerings, check out https://holyheroes.com/. 

For effortless episode delivery, subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player.   

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.  Senior counsel with the Home School Legal Defense Association, Darren Jones, joins Bonnie today.  A litigation attorney and homeschool graduate himself, Mr. Jones helps HSLDA member families resolve legal difficulties related to homeschooling.  During the conversation, he describes four areas of HSLDA’s work: legal defense, consulting, legislative tracking, and charitable outreach. He also sheds light on how diverse state laws in the United States are regarding homeschooling, as well as how states’ written requirements and general temperature toward homeschooling may vary from each other.  Along the way, Mr. Jones shares insight into participating in local homeschool groups and dads’ involvement in the homeschooling process.  Ultimately, the conversation illustrates how HSLDA is there to help with the legal side of homeschooling so that parents can focus on the fun part: teaching the kids. For more information about HSLDA, visit http://hslda.org/. 

For guidance getting your group organized and off to a great start or to receive the handout of ways dads can be active participants in homeschooling, drop a line to Mr. Jones at [email protected]. 

From the Kolbe Welcome Packet: Kolbe Academy recommends joining the Home School Legal Defense Association.  HSLDA’s primary goal is to bring together a large number of homeschooling families so that each can have a low-cost method of obtaining quality legal defense. 

• Home School Legal Defense Association Application 

For effortless episode delivery, subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player.   

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. There’s a lot going on in a person’s middle school years, and it takes a special teacher (or several) to inspire and guide this formative period. Kolbe middle school teachers Amanda Hayes and Alexandra Pischke are two of those experts, and they join Bonnie today to share their insights. Together, they discuss the developmental stages of middle school, the combination of childhood silliness and maturing purpose they see in their students, and how they try to model good study and organizational habits for sixth through eighth graders to use at home and online.  

Episodes and other links that might be helpful  

• Kolbecast Ep 33: Show Your Work with Math Department Chair Mrs. Kelly Powers

For effortless episode delivery, subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player.   

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. High school is an epic transition, especially for Kolbe ninth graders. Current student Xavier joins Bonnie and Jordan today to share his insight on the trials and triumphs of freshman year. The group discusses the biggest changes between eighth and ninth grades, some of the time management and workload strategies Xavier has found success in, and how to tell when a teacher thinks a topic is important. The conversation also encompasses overcoming shyness in giving class presentations, participating in class, and the hijinks of the Kolbe Latin club. 

Episodes that might be helpful: 

• Ep 36 Embrace the Fifth Day and Ep 37 Take a Moment with Therese Prudlo 

• Ep 54 Pro Omnibus Contendit with Mrs. Deana Muth 

For effortless episode delivery, subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player.   

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 the Kolbe years come to an end, students have big decisions to make. With that in mind, Kolbe’s academic services director, Everett Buyarski, and Erica Treat, who works as an academic advisor at Kolbe, return to the Kolbecast to consider the big picture, the discernment process of a student’s post-Kolbe options, the complexities that accompany that process, and the particulars for crafting noteworthy college applications. 

Resources: 

Links on Kolbe.org: 

• transcript request

Additional Resources:

• Ep 38 Substance Matters 

For effortless episode delivery, subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player.   

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. Kolbe Academy Technical Assistant Lauren Hoang shares five takeaways about the technology that makes it possible for families all over the world to utilize Kolbe Academy’s materials and services. Beyond the specs and hardware, Lauren highlights how the technological dimension offers ample opportunity for growth in virtue and holiness. She has practical suggestions to help families and students set up their workspaces and get the most out of their tech tools, and she pulls back the curtain on some exciting developments and improvements to the school’s support services. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Episode 41 Backstage: Social Media with Lauren Hoang and Brigid Tebaldi 

Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player for effortless episode delivery.   

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 Faias are longtime members of the Kolbe Academy family. Their youngest child is a 2021 alumna. In this episode, Mrs. Margaret Faia shares both the long view and the detailed approach she took to educating her 14 children at home. Consider her a mentor to anyone seeking to keep God at the center of family life while tending to the temporal needs of everyone involved.  

Mrs. Faia references The Story of a Soul and The Story of a Family: The Home of St. Therese of Lisieux. 

Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player for effortless episode delivery.   

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

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