A Brief Bio of Mrs. Kollars

Updated September, 2007

I was born and raised in California, and I grew up living in Oakland and Walnut Creek. From the time I was in sixth grade I knew that I wanted to be a Catholic School teacher.

My love of learning was fostered by dedicated religious and lay teachers at St. Cyril’s School (Oakland, grades 1-6) and Christ the King School (Pleasant Hill grades 7-8). After eighth grade I attended Carondolet High School in Concord where I grew in faith, self confidence, and academic knowledge thanks to the tremendous dedication of some more wonderful teachers. Following high school graduation I attended Holy Names College in Oakland for two years before transferring to California State University, Sacramento, to complete my bachelor’s degree in American History. I took a break in my formal education right after college when I married, and we moved to Missouri for a year. After returning to Sacramento I completed my teaching credential program and began teaching at Presentation of the BVM School in Sacramento. My first class was a self-contained sixth grade, and I loved it. My husband and I decided to return to Missouri where we lived for the next 17 years. I have never stopped teaching, but I moved up to eighth grade homeroom for 16 of those 17 years with one year of having a seventh grade homeroom. Throughout these 17 years I taught middle school students social studies, religion, language arts (English), and literature first at St. Pius X School in Moberly, Missouri, and then at St. Joseph Catherdral School in Jefferson City, Missouri. In between teaching I found the time to return to school to earn my MA degree in education from Lincoln University in Jefferson City.

When my husband received a job offer in Portland in the late fall of 2000, I was saddended to think of leaving Missouri, but excited to return to the west coast. We moved to the Portland area in the late spring of 2001. My husband and I have truly enjoyed discoving the natural beauty of this state. From the Gorge, to the moutains, to the coast, Oregon is simply breathtaking. I have also been blessed by first finding and then being hired to teach at St. Clare School. This school and parish have very special charisms that make my job a challenging joy. As I begin my seventh year teaching and belong to St. Clare School and Parish I pray that I can be a true servant for God to the people of St. Clare.

My husband, Randy, and I recently celebrated our 27^th wedding anniversary. We spent a lot of time camping in our pop up tent camper, and we especially enjoyed the St. Clare camp trip the past two summers. Although it was quite soggy this year, we still enjoyed the community spirit and fun of this special event.

At some point you may hear your son or daughter mention something about my favorite baseball teams. I am a die hard St. Louis Cardinal fan and a devoted Oakland A’s fan. Last year I had tremendous fun as the Cardinals won the World Series. Hopefully the students also enjoyed the enthusiasm and I had for this rare event. Although it is probably not likely to happen again this year, I still enjoy supporting my teams talking with the students about their favorite sports teams and other special activities.

I believe that being a Catholic school teacher is one of my two vocations, (the other of course is being a wife) and I am passionate about teaching to the best of my ability. This year begins my 25th year as a middle school teacher in a Catholic school. The students give me inspiration every day to keep doing what I do. Thank you for the privilege of teaching your children.

Cathy Kollars