Mr. John McHugh, M.A.

Mr. McHugh earned a bachelor’s degree in Special Education from West Chester University and taught for five years in the private and public schools of Pennsylvania and New Jersey before moving to Utah in 1992. Since then, he has taught High School and Kindergarten-through-6th grade in the public school system. He has been teaching at Blessed Sacrament since 2017.

Adopted from a Catholic orphanage in West Philadelphia and a product of a K-12th grade Catholic School education, he is extremely excited to have returned to his Catholic roots. Mr. McHugh believes that each student has a specific learning style or “modality” in which he or she learns best, and tries to help his pupils discover theirs. He also believes that students can demonstrate mastery of a concept in ways that extend beyond mere pencil and paper tests. He sees teaching as a calling by God and feels honored to serve the children at Blessed Sacrament.

Mr. McHugh also holds a Master’s degree in Archaeology from BYU with a specialty in archaeoastronomy and is a licensed Utah archaeologist with extensive excavation experience throughout the Intermountain West, Syria, and Jordan. He is the supervisor of the school’s “Shovel Bums” archaeology club (5th-8th grade), who catalogue prehistoric, Native American rock art in the field for the State Historic Preservation Office and Bureau of Land Management and intermittently process artifacts and excavate. Mr. McHugh is also a Board member of the Utah Rock Art Research Association and the lead archaeologist for the Utah Cultural Astronomy Project. He has published multiple articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, and once orated a paper on Noah’s Flood at the Society of Biblical Literature Conference at Creighton University. His upcoming book, The Celestial Code of Scriptures (Monkfish Publishing), is scheduled to come out in Autumn 2021.

Mr. McHugh’s wife, Kirsten, teaches the English Literature Capstone Project at Juan Diego High School. In their free time they enjoy visiting Native American rock art sites, hiking, reading, buying books, and hosting quiet dinners with their three grown children. He and his wife live in a historic 1883 house in Salt Lake City with their adorable chunky cat, “Berenstain Bear.”

• BA, West Chester University, Special Education.
• MA, Brigham Young University, Archaeology, archaeoastronomy
• Fifth Grade teacher since 2017
• Middle School Science teacher since 2018

Uniquely Qualified:

• A permitted archaeologist
• Published in numerous peer-reviewed international scholarly journals
• On the Board of Directors at the Utah Rock Art Research Association
• Writer of The Celestial Code of Scriptures due out in Fall 2021
• Head archaeologist for the Utah Cultural Astronomy Project
• “Expert contributor” for the online archaeology magazine Ancient Origins
• Originator of the archaeology club unique to Blessed Sacrament called the “Shovel Bums”

Mr. Joseph Martin

Mr. Martin began working as a student teacher at Blessed Sacrament, in 2020 under the mentorship of Mr. McHugh and Mrs. Franco. He has also been fortunate enough to work alongside Mrs. Thompson and her Kindergartners, as well as Mrs. Crossman and her 1st graders. He feels he was also blessed with the opportunity to work in the lunchroom which enabled him to get to know all of the students at Blessed Sacrament.

From growing up in a military family Mr. Martin has lived in many states including Oregon, Missouri, Germany, Georgia, and Alaska, however he has lived in Utah for over 20 years and calls it home. He’s also had the opportunity to visit France, Italy, and Japan as well as travel all throughout the United States and Canada. Mr. Martin brings with him love of diversity and a love of all the great variety that this world has to offer.

Prior to starting his student teaching he worked as an EMT as well as a Veterinary assistant and was employed at the University of Utah Hospital in their Case Management department. Before that however, he worked for many years with adults with developmental disabilities and became an Administrative Manager for the group homes in which they lived. Working with this population, Mr. Martin loved seeing individuals overcome personal struggles to grow stronger and more independent day by day and saw firsthand the empowerment that goes along with education. It is his desire to foster a love of learning in the students he teaches that will empower them to continue to grow throughout their life.

As well, he has always had a love of history and studying Catholicism and has taught 3rd and 4th grade religious education at Blessed Sacrament Parish as well as being a sponsor for catechumens entering the Catholic Church. All four of his children have been enrolled at Blessed Sacrament since 2017 and he is excited to have the opportunity to teach Middle School Social Studies and Religion alongside Mr. McHugh and the rest of the excellent staff at Blessed Sacrament.