OUR STAFF
The heart of St. Mary's is our dedicated team of educators and staff who faithfully serve our students each day. Though small in number, they bring years of experience, unwavering compassion, and a genuine love for every child. Together, they create a welcoming, faith-filled environment where students are known, encouraged, and inspired to grow.
Scroll to meet our wonderful teachers below.
The heart of St. Mary's is our dedicated team of educators and staff who faithfully serve our students each day.
Though small in number, they bring years of experience, unwavering compassion, and a genuine love for every child.
Together, they create a welcoming, faith-filled environment where students are known, encouraged, and inspired to grow.
Scroll to meet our wonderful teachers below.
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FATHER PAUL COLLING
Fr. Paul Colling has been a priest for 39 years for the Diocese of Grand Island. This is his 2nd year as the pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Ord, and Sacred Heart, Burwell. Fr. Paul has a B.S. in Elementary Education and a Masters of Theology. Before entering into seminary, he taught at Cody Elementary, Public School, for two years. He seems to have a natural ability to related to our students, as seen at when he gives his weekly homilies on Fridays during the school year; he brings the scripture to their level.
Fr. Paul enjoys being the pastor of two thriving and vibrant parishes. The people attend masses so well. The congregations have such a great mix of all ages but there seems to be an abundant number of children.
Fr. Paul has been the Kearney Dean for 20 years that is he is the bishop’s representative for this area and assist the priests of this deanery; thus, he is a consulter for the diocese and sits on the bishop’s priest council or Presbyterial council. He serves the bishop as the co-director of On-going Formation of Priests. He enjoys praying and listening to spiritual music as well as music of the 70’s & 80”. He enjoys playing golf, reading, watching movies, and visiting with family and friends. He is avid traveler; leading many pilgrimages to Italy, Irland, Poland, and Isreal.
OLPH PRIEST
KATHLEEN HOLM
Mrs. Holm teaches kindergarten at SMS and this year will be her 12th year at St. Mary's School. She is grateful to be part of such a caring, faith-filled school community. Throughout her teaching career, she has had the opportunity to teach in Ansley, Grand Island, and Lincoln, with each experience helping shape her passion for education.
While she loves teaching, Mrs. Holm considers her most rewarding role to be staying home to raise her and her husband Ed's three daughters. That experience continues to influence the love, patience, and care she brings to her classroom each day. Outside of school, Mrs. Holm enjoys spending time with family and friends, golfing, and cheering on the Chanticleers, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Creighton Bluejays.
KINDERGARTEN TEACHER
JOLYNN CAMERON
Mrs. Cameron teaches first and second grade at SMS, but states Religion is her favorite subject to teach. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota.
JoLynn and her husband, Kelly, ranch near Amelia, Nebraska, and have four children: Katie, a nurse who now homeschools; Laura, who holds a master’s degree in graphic design; Jason, a veterinarian; and Debra, an assistant with Nebraska Extension.
JoLynn feels blessed to be part of SMS because she loves the people she works with and believes the students are truly extraordinary.
1st & 2nd grAdE teacher
ANN HEIL
Mrs. Heil teaches third and fourth grade. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with a Science minor from Kearney State College. She has taught every grade from first, third, fourth to fifth grade, even serving as Head Teacher for two years. Her favorite subject to teach is math, but her favorite part of the school day is reading aloud to her students.
Ann's husband, Roger, farms, and their daughters, Holly and Hanna, work as an animal nutritionist and a speech-language pathologist. Outside of school, she enjoys yoga, reading, Husker volleyball and working part-time at the Ord Township Library.
Fun facts: She taught both of her daughters in third and fourth grade, and she names all her classroom plants!
3rd & 4th grade teacher
Angela Woslager
Mrs. Woslager earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Wayne State College. She began her teaching career at a Class 1 school near Burwell, where she spent 10 years teaching students in kindergarten through sixth grade. In 2002, she joined St. Mary’s, where she has taught fifth and sixth grades for the past 24 years. She became Head Teacher in 2021. Her favorite subjects to teach are math, science, and reading, but her students also know her for the jokes and playful tricks she brings into the classroom.
Mrs. Woslager lives on a ranch in Greeley County, where she and her husband raised their three children alongside cattle and horses. Outside the classroom, she enjoys reading, growing flowers, and spending time with her grandchildren. Her favorite holiday is Christmas.
5th & 6th greade teacher + HEAD TEACHER
KAY KNAPP
Kay Knapp is the computer teacher at St. Mary’s School and has been an educator for 39 years. She earned her degree in secondary business education from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and began her career teaching business courses and coaching in Palmer and Dorchester. After moving to Ord, Kay taught part-time at Ord High School before joining St. Mary’s to develop the school’s computer curriculum.
Kay has truly enjoyed teaching the students at St. Mary’s. She especially appreciates being able to pray with her students and incorporate biblical truths and Bible verses into her curriculum.
Kay and her husband, Jay, have three sons who graduated from Ord High School. They farm and ranch in Valley County and are grateful to be part of the Ord community.
COMPUTER TEACHER
LISA BENTON
Mrs. Benton grew up in Arcadia, Nebraska, and graduated from Arcadia High School in 1989. She attended Hastings College, where she played volleyball. She married her husband, Harold, in 1991 and spent 19 years as a military spouse supporting his career as a KC-135 pilot. They have two children, Harrison and Megan, who both attended St. Mary’s Catholic School.
Mrs. Benton began working at St. Mary’s as a part-time para in 2011 and became the school secretary in 2015. She enjoys getting to know the students and families who come through the doors and is grateful for the opportunity to serve the St. Mary’s community.
Outside of school, she enjoys gardening, caring for her houseplants, walking, spending time in nature and being with family and friends.
SCHOOL SECRETARY
KARI SCHEIDELER
Mrs. Scheideler teaches music at St. Mary’s School, where she enjoys learning new songs with her students and singing with them at Mass. Her favorite instruments are the ukulele, recorder, and handbells. She also provides math and reading intervention for first- and second-grade students and supports St. Mary’s Title students.
Outside of school, Mrs. Scheideler enjoys gardening, collecting new plants, and spending time with her barn cats. She also loves traveling to concerts and Husker games with her husband, Paul.
POSITION GOES HERE
VALERIE MASIN
Valerie Masin is the PE teacher and librarian at St. Mary's. She lives with her husband 5 miles from Ord on the family farm. She has three adult children and one grandchild. She has a wide variety of teaching experience with a wide variety of ages.
Valerie owns and operates Books and Nooks in downtown Ord which serves the community as a bookstore and a place where students can receive one-on-one learning experiences. She is an active member of St. John’s Lutheran Church where you will often find her teaching young people about Jesus.
She is very happy to be part of the St. Mary’s team.
PE TEACHER / LIBRARIAN
Jaclyn McClanahan
Jackie earned her Bachelors of Nursing at UNMC in Omaha in 2012. She has worked in many different nursing specialties, but School Nursing has been her favorite by far. She has been St Marys school nurse for eight years. Her favorite part of school nursing is watching them grow from shy kindergartners to confident 6th graders - and how excited they get every spring when they find out how much they grew over school year!
Jackie moved to Ord in 2016 with her husband and 2 children. They now have four, ranging from a preschooler to a freshman, and she spends her time running them from one activity to another. On the rare quiet night at home, you can find her with a crochet hook trying to learn a new stitch or working on a puzzle - either jigsaw or Sudoko.
