ReillyO’Brien, MaeveWharton, NiamhMcGarry, AnnaKubat,IzumiHuang Fujiwara

As the school year comes to a close, it can’t go without mentioning five teachers who made Marian so special. As these teachers move on to new beginnings, it’s important to acknowledge all they have done during their time at Marian.

Fine Arts teacher Mrs. Stephanie Dickes started her journey at Marian in 2019. She had been teaching at a small school in Iowa and had heard about Marian from a college friend who was serving as the choir teacher at Marian.

Dickes will always remember Marian fondly. Not just for the traditions and opportunities, but for the students. “Seeing the ingenuity of students, and what great leaders they can be. Sometimes you want to nudge them and give them that push to do more. I think I’ll miss that ability to go deeper into that college prep discussion,” Dickes said. 

Dickes says the Class of 2024 had some particularly special students. “Their freshman year, they had three students in band, but over the years through their experiences and friendships, the band went from three to 15,” Dickes said. 

Dickes taught piano, guitar, and handbells, inspiring a lifetime love of music in her students. Dickes also helped work on the plays and musicals along with teaching private music lessons. 

Dickes’ biggest hope for the future is that she will have more kids to teach. Fine arts classes at Marian can have smaller sizes, and she is excited to get back to the bigger classroom feel. She is looking forward to teaching younger students again as well. 

Dickes accepted an offer with Omaha Public Schools and will continue to teach music at Benson High School and Monroe Middle School. 

She wants to tell Marian students to try everything that interests them and take risks. 

In the spring of 2016, Mrs. Jillian Roger was hired to teach at Marian. She was just coming off maternity leave and had been teaching several subjects at Saint Cecilia Cathedral School. She knew it was time for a new challenge and was excited to teach high school students. 

In her time at Marian, Roger has taught 11 different classes. “I would say my favorite classes I’ve taught are the ones I’m teaching right now,” Roger said. “In APUSH this year, we are doing Socratic seminars every unit. I give them an article about topics we are learning about and we talk about it. That’s been so fun and life-giving to see the progress every person had from the last one.” 

The culture that has been built here is what she will miss the most. “Just women supporting women, encouraging young women to use their voices in this society,” Roger said. “There is so much dangerous and scary stuff out there; Marian is a safe haven from that society that is so against women right now.” 

Roger is excited to take on her new position as curriculum specialist at Central High School in Omaha Public Schools. “I do the job of a department chair but I’m not also teaching in the classroom,” Roger said. Not being in a classroom is something that Roger has never done before. She is excited to see what that holds for her future. 

“I’m going to miss being in a 99% female space. It’s a very comfortable place which is one of the reasons why I wanted to look for a new job,” Roger said. “It is such an empowering and safe place for us; maybe that wasn’t necessarily helping me grow anymore.” 

Roger wants to encourage every Marian girl to believe in themselves. “We need more compassion in the world, we need people to actually write things down instead of using AI and actually look people in the eye and talk to them,” Roger said. “The world is scary right now; take the values of this school into the world, it’s going to be your protection from those forces that want to harm you.”

Just like when she arrived, Roger is ready for a new challenge. Marian will always be special for what it did for her and for what it does for every woman who walks the halls. 

Marian will miss her, but we are excited to see what she does for the next part of her journey.

Mr. John Paul Franco never expected to become a teacher. In fact, he studied engineering and business for much of his undergraduate career. However, following the trials and tribulations of college, Franco reflected on “what brought (him) joy” and discovered a greater passion for education. 

Franco ended up at Marian in what can only be described as a last-minute twist of fate following an almost certain job acceptance at Roncalli High School. Since that fateful interview in 2021, Franco has brought a passion and joy for Spanish education in every classroom into which he steps foot. Although academic success has been evident, his talents truly shine in his ability to connect students to each other.

 “I have seen the value of deliberately making time for and spending time on building relationships in the classroom,” Franco said.

Franco will be continuing his career as a Spanish teacher at Creighton Prep. Alongside his favorite Marian memories of Field Week and “dress-like-your-dad” days, Franco hopes to take with him the idea that student-to-student relationships are as important as the academic lessons themselves. Eventually, he also hopes to move away from teaching and towards “student support services.”

He hopes to leave behind two pieces of advice: to never underestimate the value of being kind to each other and to always have courage to try something new.

The Marian community is sure to miss Franco’s energy and spirit, but know that he will continue to raise up every community of which he is a part.

Ms. Caitlin Gaule is leaving Marian after nine memorable years as a Spanish teacher. “It’s been my favorite school that I have ever worked at,” Gaule said when reflecting over her near decade of Marian experience. 

Gaule started out teaching at a Winnebago school during her MAGIS program through Creighton University. Although she didn’t know teaching was what she originally wanted to do, she always knew language would be involved in her profession. 

She soon became a teacher and arrived at Marian in 2017. Gaule has taught Spanish to freshmen, juniors and seniors at various levels. 

She has also been involved in many clubs and activities, such as Paw Project and Project Welcome. “Some of the international trips I have been involved in like the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica have been my favorite. You get to see different students in the preparation process and you get to spend two weeks getting to know the students in this sometimes difficult but incredible environment. I love getting to see their reflections and their growth where faith and Spanish all come together,” Gaule said. 

However, her most favorite Marian memories “are the daily things that I can’t even predict. There are times where I am losing it in class from laughing and other times when I stand back and am so impressed with my students and their growth. Sometimes what I think might be a favorite [memory] is not but that random Tuesday when we are just having fun in class in the target language. The students are my favorite part of Marian.”

Gaule will be moving onto a new job where she will work as an education case manager at CIRA, the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement. 

She reminds students to “keep exploring the world and step outside your comfort zone. When you do that, you learn so much of yourself whether that’s in your community or in a study abroad program or taking a year off to volunteer to help people. It helps you to get outside of your little bubble and see what’s going on and understand things in the rest of the world.” 

Gaule’s teaching talent will not be forgotten. Her lively and encouraging presence helped numerous students make jumps in their Spanish and educational journeys. As she moves on, the Marian community wishes her well and gives her a grateful adiós.

Math teacher, basketball coach and Marian dad Mr. Kent Bray has been a wonderful addition to the Marian community due to his dedication. He has taught here for the past 10 years as a math teacher. 

Mr. Bray is retiring from teaching. He said his future plans include traveling and spending time with his wife. His favorite Marian memories include Field Day, Surprise Day and the England, Ireland and Scotland Trip. 

During his first year at Marian he helped lead his basketball team to spread cancer awareness on their senior night. Taking inspiration from “pink out games,” he helped lead this colorful senior night. He said it was “an opportunity for the team and fans to give back to the community.” He helped raise $450 for the American Cancer Society during this one senior night. 

His advice for future teachers and students is to “keep up with the increasing access to information and learn how to use that versus trying to keep it out of the classroom.”