Karen Bunkenburg

Karen Bunkenburg comes to Saints Peter and Paul most recently from St. Petronille School in Glen Ellyn where she worked with students in Grades K-8 for the last three years.  She holds a B.A. in English with an education minor from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY and a M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in English from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN.  She has recently completed additional coursework on instructional methods for reading instruction, teaching English as a Second Language and methods of teaching students with diverse needs as she works toward completing her LBS1 endorsement.  Bunkenburg also worked in higher education for many years as an assistant professor, coach and advisor.

Mrs. Bunkenburg lives in Naperville with her husband, Keith, and two children.  Her son, Brady, will be a sophomore at Benet Academy in the fall and her daughter, Taylor, will be an eighth grader at Washington Junior High School.  Their family is very active in sports; Mr. Bunkenburg is the Men’s Basketball Coach at Benedictine University, Mrs. Bunkenburg is an assistant volleyball coach at BU, Brady plays basketball at Benet and Taylor plays volleyball, basketball, softball and runs track.  Additionally, they love to spend time together playing games, watching movies and traveling.  They are current members of St. Joan of Arc Parish.

Mrs. Bunkenburg is very excited to be part of the junior high team at SSPP.    Her own children went to Catholic schools for all or part of their education and she values the Catholic foundation established for them. My goal will be to challenge my students to reach beyond their limits, to actively engage them in the learning process and to continue to foster a lifelong love of reading, writing, analysis and creativity.  Given the size of the classes, I am very excited to interact one-on-one with the students daily.  This will create such a strong dynamic for instruction and a fun learning environment.”

Favorite Bible Quote

"For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

She believes we must trust that things will work out, even if we cannot see it at the time.

Teaching Philosophy

Teaching at a Catholic school is important to Mrs. Bunkenburg because she enjoys the combination of academic challenge, emotional growth and faith filled community.  Knowing students are growing intellectually while being encouraged to embrace their faith, walking the way Jesus wants each of us to walk, is especially important to her.  Her own children went to Catholic schools for all or part of their education and she values the Catholic foundation established for them. She can’t wait to get to know the Saints. Peter and Paul community as a whole and looks forward to becoming a member of the Trojan Family.