Gavin VanMoer will assume administrative duties at St. Mary’s this summer
Gavin VanMoer’s journey in faith — although never-ending — has appeared to have come full circle.
The 2008 graduate of St. Mary’s School will be the new principal at his alma mater, starting with the 2026-27 school year.
“Most people who know me … my Catholic faith is the main characteristic that people use to describe me,” VanMoer said. “I’m very excited.”
As principal at SMS, VanMoer will be working closely with kids, but this is by no means foreign territory for him, as he has coached youth sports in Tracy for a number of years.
He also has been teaching Faith Formation for the last 10 years — eight of those in Tracy and the other two in Pipestone — working with and guiding second-graders through high school seniors.
He has guided students through sacramental preparation as they work toward receiving Baptism, Reconcilliation, Eucharist and Confirmation. He and his wife, Kimberly, have helped chaperone a trip to the summer Stuebenville Conference at St. Thomas for the older kids.
SMS is part of an area faith community that includes Milroy, Marshall, Cottonwood and Tracy. After Lisa Dieter stepped down from the principal position, Justin Condelli and Ashley Honetschlager were brought in to share administrative duties; the two are also part of Marshall’s rapidly-growing Holy Redeemer faith family.
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My job is to strengthen the teachers and give them encouragement.
— GAVIN VANMOER “We kind of wanted to get back to having that part time administrative role (at SMS), which was how Lisa was set up,” VanMoer said. “I will be half time administrator and half time director of religious education for our area faith community.”
VanMoer, who graduated from Tracy Area High School in 2014, is more than excited to assume his new role and is looking forward to carrying on the strong reputation that SMS has built. This fall, his daughter, Emerance, will represent the third generation of VanMoer’s family to attend the school.
“We want to put our parents and families as the primary focus of the community, and when you see our fundraising, especially the Winter Warm Up, so much of that is driven by the families that are a part of it,” VanMoer said. “My job is to strengthen the teachers and give them encouragement.”
Incorporating Christ into everything SMS does, VanMoer said, is paramount in the school’s education process. He said the beauty of that type of practice is that Christ acts as the natural connection between subjects.
“The Catholic church as a whole has such a rich history in science and mathematics and, of course, history, so it’s easy to make those connections,” VanMoer said. “It can help really bolster the education and formation of these children.”
VanMoer said he doesn’t believe in getting students to “a standard” in testing; rather, he wants them to exceed their own standard.
“Every kid starts at a different level … and this goes back to the more one-on-one classes and the smaller class sizes,” VanMoer said. “Our teachers have done an incredible and consistent job of nurturing that growth and seeing how each kid thrives and how they can increase their own knowledge and understanding.”
VanMoer and Kimberly (Trulock), have two children, Emerance, 3, and infant son Joseph. He has a degree in History Education from South Dakota State University and works for Fultz Farms. VanMoer has written two genealogy-related books and is working on his third, which is centered on his Catholic faith.
