Saint Paul’s has appointed Mick Nunez, a long-time Saint Paul’s baseball coach, as its new Dean of Students, marking his first departure from the classroom and field for the 2024-25 school year.

Nunez takes over for Coach Ken Sears, who held the Dean of Students position for 23 years and was also the head football coach.

With new rules on absences, tardies, and dress codes in place this year, combined with Nunez’s enthusiasm for discipline, students are wrestling with the impact of these stricter rules on their daily lives.

Mick Nunez was excited to accept the new role but also very nervous, explaining, “This is my first year not being in the classroom or coaching.” Nunez was the head coach of the baseball team for 23 years, but Saint Paul’s obviously believed some of his strict but fair coaching habits would translate to his new role in administration.

Nunez is happy to help develop students and sculpt them into gentlemen of God.

“I accepted this role with the hope of helping the young men at Saint Paul’s grow into productive, responsible, and caring individuals by the time they graduate. I believed that, with the support of the faculty, we could make Saint Paul’s an even better place for students to develop and mature,” Nunez stated.

Under Nunez’s watch, Saint Paul’s has become stricter about enforcing the rules. Saint Paul’s students must live up to these expectations and higher standards.

Nunez believes that students are more than capable of performing easy tasks to help contribute to something bigger. “These are simple things that students can manage themselves; if you can handle the simple things, the tougher challenges become much easier,” he said.

New rule changes include permitting only 10 absences and 3 tardies per semester (excused or unexcused), as well as students having to wear vertical student IDs every day to help with identification and enhance safety.

Not all students love sporting the new IDs daily. “It’s a little weird,” stated Saint Paul’s junior Cole Walmsley. However, Walmsley did support the new car passes. “I like new car passes better because I can actually take it off when I go somewhere.”

The newly named “decorum and civility session,” aka detention, will require students to arrive at Saint Paul’s by 7 a.m. sharp, or they will receive another session.

Connor O’Quinn, a Saint Paul’s senior, does not mind these changes. “I always get to school on time and wouldn’t mind going just a bit earlier for a Decorum and Civility session.” O’Quinn has been a student of Saint Paul’s since 8th grade and has never received a detention. “Even if it was a bother to get to school early, I would not have to worry about it since it isn’t hard to avoid detentions. Just follow the rules and don’t complain.”

Students who miss a certain amount of school during the day will also be dismissed from any after-school activity. This is another attempt by the administration to prevent missed school days by students. Nunez is confident that these newly implemented rules to prevent absences and missed school days will reduce the number of missed school days by students.

These changes are leaving students with mixed emotions. Saint Paul’s junior Lane Hamaker is among them. “It’s beneficial in the context of kids who check out for doctor’s appointments and then don’t return to school even though they can; however, I do not think it is fair for kids who may get sick easily or have valid excuses and don’t have many available excused absences during the school year,” said Hamaker.

As Saint Paul’s adjusts to the new rules and Mick Nunez’s leadership, everyone is curious about how things will play out. While some students are worried about the changes, Nunez is committed to helping everyone grow and succeed, and so far, he’s done an outstanding job.

Nunez is setting the tone and improving the culture at Saint Paul’s.