Salvete! I’m Mrs. Johnstone – I teach Language (Latin for grades 1- 8 and English for Middle School) at Our Lady of Lourdes. I grew up in Englewood, attending St. Louis Catholic Elementary School and Bishop Machebeuf High School, and graduated from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas with a major in Theology and accompanying minor in Classical Languages. When I heard about Lourdes in 2013 and came to visit the school, I fell in love with the classical program and the mission of the school. It was evident to me at the end of that short visit that within these walls children are being formed in a coherent manner that not only addresses the entirety of their persons – it calls them on to be the best human beings, the best saints they can be in every aspect of daily life. A vision this cohesive and this vibrantly lived out was something I had never encountered in any other academic setting, and I was deeply struck by a strong desire to work in a place like this. Two years later, God offered an opportunity I had not dreamed would come so quickly, and I began teaching in the Middle School, where I am able to combine my love of teaching (and learning from the students) with one of my favorite hobbies-gone-somewhat-out-of-hand: Latin. My time here has thus far been highly blessed – the students bring me joy every day with their smiles, their questions, and their natural inquisitiveness, and my colleagues call me to constantly strive to deepen my own relationship with Jesus, in order that I might be able to say that I am doing His work, not my own.
In my “free” time outside of the Lourdes classrooms, I enjoy hiking, cycling, playing with my three little nephews, studying languages, and spending time with the homeless with Christ in the City.