Office of
Catholic Schools
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Father, Creator of all, thank You for summer!
Thank you for the warmth of the sun and the increased daylight.
Thank You for the beauty I see all around me
and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy Your creation.
Thank You for the increased time I have to be with my friends and family,
and for the more casual pace of the summer season.
Draw me closer to You this summer.
Teach me how I can pray
no matter where I am or what I am doing.
Warm my soul with the awareness of Your presence
and light my path with Your Word and Counsel.
As I enjoy Your creation, create in me
a pure heart and a hunger and a thirst for You.
Amen.
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Diocesan offices will be closed on Thursday, July 4 and Friday, July 5 in observance of Independence Day.
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We will not have a Catholic School Update on July 12
. The next update will be July 26. Happy July.
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Special Thanks
to Lisa Francl for her dedicated support to our office, Catholic schools and international students. Lisa has taken a position working with the UW System in Manitowoc. Her last day with us is today.
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Change President and Principal Meeting
with Bishop Ricken
August 14, 2019
8 am - 12 pm
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Due to a meeting that came up for Bishop with the USCCB, he has rescheduled the August 21st meeting to August 14. Apologies for any inconvenience.
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Choice Update
s
At a recent DPI training, comments were made that schools that use boilerplate forms for parents to request to opt their student out of state testing was not allowed. This was concerning since there is no such prohibition in state statute or administrative rule. Wisconsin School Choice asked the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) to inquire about it.
WILL recently received confirmation from the DPI legal department that whatever was shared at DPI’s budget training about schools not using a prepared form for parents to opt out of testing is
not correct
. In other words, whoever said that was in error, or stating their personal opinion. There is nothing preventing a school from having a form letter available for parents to complete if they desire to opt out of the state tests.
Nonetheless, DPI does have the authority to change the way they handle testing opt-outs for purposes of the report card. Test participation rates were once factored into the report card score, but DPI stopped doing so in 2016. Page 7 of DPI’s
Report Card FAQ
explains that federal ESSA guidelines require test participation rates be reported, but Choice schools are only subject the state guidelines. DPI could choose at any time to reinstate a penalty for opt outs in the report card calculation.
UPCOMING CHOICE AND SNSP DATES
June 30
- Choice Schools must prepare their annual budget for the 2019-20 school year by June 30. The budget does not have to be submitted to DPI. This requirement does not apply to new schools that provided a budget to the DPI by May 1, 2019.
- This date also marks the end of the 2018-19 fiscal year for purposes of the 2018-19 financial audit that is due to the DPI by October 15.
July 1
August 1
- Accreditation verification must be submitted by an authorized member of the accrediting agency.
August 15
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Accreditation Teams Members Needed for 2019-2020
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We are looking for team members for St. Anthony School in Oconto Falls October 21-23. If you or a teacher are able to be on a team for those days, please email
Jschueller@gbdioc.org
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MAP Windows Change
In order to have more accurate Diocesan-wide data, the Fall MAP window will be open September 9-October 4. Please plan your schedule to complete the assessment in this timeframe.
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Prayer Books 2019-2020 Order Form
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Click here
to order Children's Daily Prayer and Daily Prayer books by
August 2, 2019
. No additional order will be placed after this date.
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Please be aware of the notices on the sign in page. The week of July 1 was slated on the Diocesan calendar as the Powerschool rollover week.
End of year Roll-over is July 1st.
Please note the log-in screen and do not log-in during the Roll-over.
We are upgrading to
PowerSchool 19 after the roll-over on July 2nd
. PowerSchool will be unavailable during the upgrade. Becky will be updating the PowerSchool Log-in screen to let staff know when it is ok to log back in.
As in years past, all e-mail notifications from PowerSchool have been turned off for the summer,They will be be turned back on mid August, please let Becky know if you have any questions about PowerSchool emails.
Thank you to all who helped with your “End of year clean up.” At this time there are no errors that will stop the roll-over from taking place. All students have a next school year and all schools have created the 19-20 school year.
However, this does not mean that all students are going to the correct next_school year, so please be sure the students that are leaving have a next school year of the Diocesan Holding school. You DO NOT need to transfer student out of your school prior to the roll over.
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Rycor-Point of Sale and Fee Assessment Program
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We have investigated a product for Point of Sale and Fee Assessment. This product, Rycor is a partner with PowerSchool. If you would like more information, please contact Becky Krahn,
bkrahn@gbdioc.org
and the Rycor rep., Steve Rutledge,
steve.rutledge@rycor.net
RYCOR can consolidate several applications/resources into one platform.
- Forms - Home Language, Social Communication, Transportation, etc.
- Email & Text sign up
- Online store - uniform purchase and other merchandise
- Fee Management
- Donations
- Registration
- Parking Permits
- Tuition with payment plans
- Course fees
- Online/onsite payments
- Athletic registration and forms
- and more
Please be aware that those of you that use or are switching to E-Catholic it will also have access to the same services.
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Kohl Applications Open August 1
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The Herb Kohl Educational Foundation will open its application process for students, teachers and principals on August 1, 2019.
In order for teachers and principals to apply, they must be nominated first. Students, however, do not need nominations in order to apply.
By nominating a teacher or principal, you give them the opportunity to apply for the competitive Teacher Fellowship and Principal Leadership Awards equal to $6,000 per winner and $6,000 per their school.
This is a great way to honor and recognize outstanding educators and leaders in your school.
Fellow teachers, school leaders, parents, community members, and even students can nominate a teacher or principal.
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Scott Vanderloop, principal at St. Nicholas in Freedom is in the process of hiring a Spanish teacher. The person would like full time but Scott would only need 2 days a week. Is anyone looking for a Spanish teacher 3 days a week. Please contact Scott,
svanerloop@stnicholasfreedom.org
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Have You Checked out the DigiCopy Site?
Our marketing template site is now ready for testing at
http://gbdioc.dcopy.net/
! All principals received an email with their username and password. This is YOUR opportunity to see what is available, use it to create items for your school and play with all the capabilities. Because we are in the TEST mode, there will not be printing or charges incurred.
The site will go live August 5, 2019 so please spend time looking at what’s available and let us know if there is anything else you need.
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Did Your Teachers Register?
Once again there will be two options for the Discipleship II seminars for teachers and administrators this summer.
August 7 will be at St. Mary Catholic High School - Neenah
This day will feature Bishop Ricken and national speaker Katie Prejean author of
Room 24, Adventures of a New Evangelist
The focus of the day is on “Follow Jesus” helping us identify moments we’ve encountered Christ, how that changes our lives and how to bring it to our students.
August 23 will be at The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help - Champion
This day will feature Bishop Ricken and other speakers who will focus on “Follow Jesus” It will be similar to August 7, although Katie Prejean can only be with us on the 7th.
Please share this link with your staff to have them register for the day they would like to attend.
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Early Childhood Standards
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A team of early childhood educators worked over the past months on standards and benchmarks for PK 3 and PK4 and reporting to parents. They were put on the test server in May (we know...poor timing). Based on feedback a couple ‘tweaks” were made. The plan is to “go live” the beginning of August. There will be an online training on using PowerTeacher Pro on August 19, 2:00-3:00. More details on the training and follow up training video will be made available at the end of July.
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Tips to Build a Successful Advancement Program
July 17th 9:00 - 11:00
The Chancery
Whether you are new to school development or a seasoned pro - you won’t want to miss this presentation from Jim Friend at Changing Our World!
Jim will be providing information on how ANY SCHOOL can build a successful advancement program within a school and provide tips for seasoned professionals to help find new donors. Jim’s experience includes serving as the first Chief Development Officer at Faith in the Future Foundation. He provided oversight and direction for all fundraising for 17 Archdiocesan High Schools and four schools of Special Education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. By creating new resources, training programs and setting new standards, Jim led the high school system to nearly double the fundraising results over four years. Jim has been a presenter for parishes, schools, dioceses, NCEA and ICSC on development and stewardship. Please RSVP to Lori Paul at
lpaul@gbdioc.org
if you and/or members of your team plan to attend.
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Annual School Budget
We need your school budgets to the Diocese no later than
July 10, 2019
in the format sent out to all the schools. Please email them to
DGERONDALE@GBDIOC.ORG
Should you have any questions or did not receive the form please do not hesitate to give me a call at 920-272-8122. This information is extremely important as we will be providing direct feedback back to the Bishop, to all of you on best practices, areas on which you can improve your school, and long term sustainability information.
Please do not miss this deadline.
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All School Business Manager Meeting
Mandatory Attendance is Requested
Our semi annual meeting will be in Green Bay at the Curia July 25 starting at 9am - 1pm in Bona Hall Room 39. If you cannot attend please let us know as soon as possible (
DGERONDALE@GBDIOC.ORG
) This meeting is very important as we will be going over the choice audit updates, School Revenue Management, Accounting standards, Natural Gas Project, and Communication Management.
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All Schools Mass at the Shrine
Originally, the date for having a mass at the Shrine was scheduled for May 1. However, the committee has determined that date may not be as conducive to weather as a date in September 2020. Therefore, the date will be determined for September 2020 as it works with Bishop Ricken’s calendar. Take May 1 mass off your calendar.
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The New Teacher Orientation is planned for Wednesday, August 14 (9-11:30) at St. Mary High School in Neenah. Virtus training (12:30-3:30) will be available in the afternoon.
The session will be repeated on August 15 (9-11:30) at the Diocesan office, mass will be available this day as it is a Holy Day. Virtus will be (12:30-3:30) A full schedule and registration will be available in the July 26 update.
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Westerman Foundation Grants
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Over the past several years, schools in our diocese have been receiving grants for start-up projects and funds for other needs from the Westerman Foundation. Their grant deadline is July 31. If you have a project you need funded, take time to make a request.
www.thewestermanfoundation.org
Grant Guidelines
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Office of Catholic Schools
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