Office of
Catholic Schools
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God, we pray that through the
intercessions of St. Nicholas
you will guide and protect our children.
Keep them safe from all harm
and help them grow to become
loving disciples of Jesus in your sight.
Give them strength to always mature into deeper faith in you,
and to keep alive joy in your creation.
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
—by Father David R. Engbarth, St. Nicholas Church, Aurora, Illinois
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Dates at a Glance (articles below or *in previous edition*):
- Dec 6 Camp Tek summer registration opens
- Dec. 6 Winter MAP window open until Jan. 24
- Dec 8 Green Bay Youth Conference
- Dec. 10 Administrator meeting (Chancery) see info below
- Dec. 21-Jan 1: Diocesan Offices Closed
- Dec. 31 Meemic Grant for classroom makeover DUE
- Jan. 6 New School Administrators Workshop (9:00-1:00)
- Jan. 8 DASA Executive Meeting (1:30-3:00)
- Jan. 14 PowerSchool User Group (8:30)
- Jan. 17 2020-2021 School Budgets Due
- Jan. 20 Diocese Closed for Martin Luther King Day
- Jan. 24 Winter MAP window closes
- Jan. 26 Catholic Schools Week 2020 Begins
- Jan. 28 NCEA - Many Gifts - One Nation Event as Part of Catholic Schools Week
Mark Your Calendar
September 24, 2020 - All Schools Mass for grades 3-12 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help.
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December 10 Principal Meeting
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Thank you for signing up for the meeting on Tuesday. It will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude after Mass and lunch. If you are not sure if you signed up, please contact Lisa Gruber at
lgruber@gbdioc.org
.
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Advent Music Production -
Behold the Lamb
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Come experience the joy of Advent with the 45 minute concert of Andrew Peterson's
"Behold the Lamb of God: the True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ."
Local musicians from the Fox Valley led by Nathan Vande Hey (Headmaster of St. Ignatius Catholic School in Kaukauna) perform the 12 songs that take you through the Old Testament and right into the beginning of the New Testament to prepare our hearts for the coming of our Savior.
The concert is free with a freewill offerening for an orphanage in Tanzania.
This is the 10th anniversary tour. The group will have performed 39 shows by the end of the season. Over 12000 people have seen it and they have raised over $8000 in that time.
It is a message of hope and healing.
Concert dates and times are as follows:
Dec 11 St. Katharine Drexel (St. Mary's Site) in Kaukauna at 7:00pm
Dec 18 St. Mary in Greenville at 6:30pm
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It is time to send your class roster file to your MAP administrator if you are planning on taking the Winter test. The winter assessment provides an opportunity to have a mid year benchmark for how your students are progressing. The Winter test window is open from now until January 24.
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Thanks for letting us know you were interested in customizing a page for the Many Gifts, One Nation: A Day of Giving to Catholic Schools (January 28-29, 2020)!
If you filled out our interest form this fall
here is your reminder to say the portal is NOW OPEN.
If you missed the announcement email,
click here to fill out the opt-in form today
. Don't forget—all schools that customize their giving page by December 31, 2019 are automatically entered for a chance to win a $500 gift from NCEA to jumpstart their day of giving on January 28, 2020!
Looking for inspiration for promoting the day of giving? More than $1,125,000 was raised from 6,289 donations to 424 schools in 112 dioceses in 2019. This is just one example of the strength Catholic schools hold when we work together to promote the faith-filled and academically excellent education we all have at the core of our shared mission.
Read the success stories
of the schools with outstanding return in 2019.
With appreciation,
NCEA and FACTS
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Wisconsin Adoption & Permanency Support
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In July of 2019, Wisconsin’s Post Adoption Resource Centers came together under one statewide program, Wisconsin Adoption & Permanency Support. The program is committed to providing quality support, information and education to all of Wisconsin’s adoptive and guardianship families, birth families, and adult adoptees. Our program is built on collaboration with individuals, professionals, organizations and community members throughout Wisconsin who are impacted by adoption & guardianship. Find out more information about our services at
www.wisapsp.org
. You can also contact the Green Bay office specialist, Heather Hansen, at
heather@wisapsp.org
or 920-272-8240. (Catholic Charities is part of this collaborative effort.)
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National School Choice Week 2020
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State Capitol Rally
2 E Main St, Madison, WI 53703
January 28, 2020
SCHOOL CHOICE WI and HISPANICS FOR SCHOOL CHOICE
Invite You to Celebrate with Us
National School Choice Week 2020
There is one week a year where schools and students have the opportunity to bring out the yellow scarfs and join thousands of others throughout the nation to celebrate National School Choice Week.
Wisconsin has wonderful public, charter and private schools as well as virtual and homeschooling options. We want to make 2020 a celebration for all. Every child is special and unique and the wide variety of school options that Wisconsin has to offer is a reflection of that.
National School Choice Week will be a celebration to highlight your schools, your students and capture a glimpse of the amazing things that happen in your school every day. For that reason, we ask you fill out the second section of the registration form asap as we want to give all of you an opportunity to be part of the program. Register
HERE
This invitation is open to all schools that want to be part of the celebration. It will also give you the opportunity to provide your students with a lifetime experience, to be surrounded by hundreds of students from all over the state in a beautiful building where history has and is written every day, including our celebration!
We want to make this opportunity available to all. We understand that transportation can be a burden, please know that you will be reimbursed up to $500 dollars for your transportation expenses.
We are working on the agenda and we will confirm with you if your school has been selected to be part of the program, In the meantime, please mark your calendars and get creative!
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Choice Registration Due January 10th
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The date to have EVERYTHING submitted to DPI is January 10, 2020.
Please email or call
Lori Paul
(920) 272-8163) if you need assistance with the new process.
Also, all schools should remember there is a $400 fee that needs to be submitted with your registration by January 10, 2020.
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New Choice Administrators and Designees
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Topic: Schools New to Choice for 2019-20
Time: Dec 9, 2019 03:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada) to 4:30 p.m.
The DPI is offering a fourth installment of their virtual meeting series for the 2019-20 school year for schools new to the Choice program.
The meeting will focus on the new process for the ITP and how Choice Administrators will fill out and submit the ITP. Required materials due January 10th will also be covered. This meeting will be delivered using Zoom. The link for the December 9 meeting is below.
Ryne Franz is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 685 990 534
One tap mobile
+16468769923,,685990534# US (New York)
+16699006833,,685990534# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 685 990 534
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School Choice - Mythbuster
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Myth
: Choice schools drain resources from public schools.
School choice puts school districts in a position to compete for students, but does this mean that they drain resources from public schools and taxpayers?
FACT
: The new funding mechanisms for the statewide voucher program in the biennial budget gets us closer to a world where dollars follow the child because it is modeled after the open enrollment formula. But it also provides a “school choice bonus” to public school districts for children they might no longer educate (Esenberg, Lueken, & Szafir, 2015). While the departure of students from public schools to the statewide school choice program has the effect of lowering the total revenue for school districts,
school districts will actually have more revenue per pupil because the district can continue to count students it no longer educates for equalization aid and revenue limit purposes.
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MISSIONARY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION
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Congratulation to our National winner Teresa Iannitello, 7th grader from St. Francis of Assisi (Homeschool) in Manitowoc.
Winning artwork from 2018-2019 MCA National Christmas Artwork Contest ~ from Baltimore, Boston, Fort Worth, Green Bay, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Los Angeles, Metuchen, Miami, Paterson, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Franisco, Springfield (IL), St. Louis, Trenton and Venice ~ may be sent as free eGreetings. Follow the link below to the winning egreetings. Teresa’s is in the top row, 5th one over.
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The Diocese of Green Bay will be doing an
Administrative Appreciation Day
for parish and school secretaries/business managers to thank them for the hard work they do keeping everything running. The event will be on
April 30, 2019
at the Chancery. More details to follow but please plan now to make sure you have adequate coverage in your offices that day.
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Principal and Pastor Day - May 5, 2020
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We are in the process of planning a day for Principals and Pastors to share time together. We will have a guest speaker, Dr. Michael Boyle, Director of the Andrew M. Greeley Center for Catholic Education, School of Education- Loyola University Chicago. The Greely Center supports Catholic school leaders to become innovative and creative in ways to meet the needs of all children within the Catholic school setting. Dr. Boyle will guide us in a discussion about practices of school leaders to help ensure that “All Are Welcome” in our schools. There will be more details as the time gets closer.
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Holy Spirit Parish and School recently switched their website design and service to E-Catholic. According to Mike Zuleger “We are so thrilled with the customer support we've received so far and the ease of editing our new websites.” Check out the sites at:
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Happy New Liturgical Year - Advent Resources from World Missions
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The season of Advent is a wonderful opportunity to engage young people in their call to missionary discipleship, seeking their prayers, actions and monetary sacrifices for their brothers and sisters around the world. These free resources Advent MCA Resources are designed to love beyond the classroom, engaging families who by virtue of their baptism share in the triple mission of Christ: priest, prophet, and king.
You are my hands and feet! Please consider our World Missions Project booklet for your next Advent project or Christmas gift. Use our free donation cards to convey your message and share how your project booklet gift is changing lives around the world! Download and print them from our website:
www.catholicfoundationgb.org/projects
or contact me
cstaubin@gbdioc.org
and I will be happy to mail a hard copy to you or the recipient of your gift.
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On December 1, the Church throughout the world will begin the celebration of the season of Advent and the new Church year. Here are some resources for thoughtful planning of some of the most difficult and joyous weeks to teach.
Check out Advent in Two Minutes:
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RCL Benziger is pleased to offer you
FREE
Advent resources
to enrich the celebration of Advent in your classroom and to promote the celebration of Advent in the homes of the children and families you serve.
Explore the many Advent prayers and activities, which include:
· Ideas for Teachers and Catechists
· Prayer for the New Church Year
· Celebrating Advent at Home
· The Blessing of the Advent Wreath
· The Jesse Tree
· The O Antiphons
· Las Posadas
· Prayer for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
May Emmanuel be with you and yours as together we journey through Advent and to the joyful celebration of Christmas.
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MISSIONARY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION (MCA)
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New grade specific lesson plans for Advent.
Advent prayer services
for the classroom and for families. Missionary witnesses and saints for December. These are all part of the newly designed Resources Page for MCA for the Advent Season. More resources will be added in the coming weeks, along with Spanish translations of the current offerings. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy St. Aubin, World Mission Director at
cstaubin@gbdioc.org
or 920-272-8192.
Click on the link
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DPI Report Cards for 2018-2019
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Even if your school does not participate in the Forward Exam Testing for Choice, it is still recommended that you include a link on your school website to the DPI Report Card. Go to
Click on PRIVATE SCHOOLS in the far right.
A drop down listing of all private schools that participated in Choice for 2018-2019 will be listed. You can find your school and download the PDF for your website. Since most of our schools do not do the Forward Testing, the bulk of your information will be NA. That is fine as we do our own testing through MAPS.
(
You may want to add a note of explanation, such as:
This is a link to the DPI Report Card. As a Choice school, we receive the report card. For most schools, data regarding Forward testing is NA considering we do not have enough students to report accurately. Instead, our students participate in the MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) assessment, which the state does not report
.
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2020 WCRIS Leadership Conference
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WCRIS Leadership Conference - March 6, 2020 at Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee. If you are interested in going and would like to save $20 by registering with a group, please let
Jane Schueller
or
Lisa Gruber
know by January 8.
You can now get a reduced-priced Early-bird ticket of $175 a person or $155 for a group of three or more, a savings of $20 over the regular price.
Your ticket will get you access to breakfast, lunch, snacks, and timely content, such as:
- The Keynote speaker, Dr. Lori Desautel, who will speak about the application of neuroscience on the effects of trauma and learning
- A luncheon talk by a private school principal, Chad Dirkse, on navigating your school’s mission with challenges from an ever-changing student population, and shifting cultural values
- Workshops led by experts in areas of leadership, school data, legal issues, special education, and marketing
- A marketplace of businesses with products and services to help your school save time and money
- Networking time with other private school leaders from across the state
- And more!
- Hurry now and claim your ticket before the savings are gone!
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Fifth Graders are invited to the Manitowoc County Civil War Round Table School Day event!
Click for details:
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March for Life 2020
Trip Full; Wait List Formed
ALL spots are currently FILLED for the March for Life. Please apply to be on the 2020 trip wait-list. You will be contacted IF a spot becomes available. If you aren't contacted by January 11th, no spots have become available.
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Flexible Tuition Program Is Here
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This year, we are piloting a new initiative to help parents understand tuition based on the Cost of Education. While this can sometimes be a confusing discussion, we created a video that schools can use to explain the concept. Check it out!
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The Diocese has updated the School Finder function on its website. This simple, streamlined & mobile responsive tool will elevate the experience of site users - especially those looking for core school information.
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December 10, 2019:
All Choice schools must report 2019-20 Third Friday in September Enrollment in WISEdata. All schools that participated in the Choice program in the 2018-19 school year must also complete 2018-19 Attendance reporting and Completion/Exit and Dropout reporting in WISEdata.
December 15, 2019:
All Choice schools must submit to the DPI the September 2019 Enrollment Audit and the Fiscal and Internal Control Practices Report from its auditor.
The signed reports can be scanned and emailed as a pdf document to dpichoiceauditreports@dpi.wi.gov or mailed to the DPI.
If you
HAVE NOT
been scheduled by your auditor for this review and report, please notify Dean Gerondale immediately.
Please make sure you are actively checking the portals provided by your auditor. This is where all data is sent and/or requested. Failure to timely respond to the requests can cause a delay in your audit.
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Mission: Healthy Kids, a partnership of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Kohl’s Cares, is offering 25 Healthy School Grants for this school year. Each grant is $2000. These grants focus on helping schools to make policy, systems and environmental changes in the area of nutrition, physical activity and mindfulness. The application period is open until December 13th. To learn more and apply click
HERE.
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Just a reminder that if you need to use the IT help desk, submit a request on-line at
gbhelpdesk@gbdioc.org
. The tickets are tracked and a report given to Deacon Conrad, IT Director, each week on what issues schools and parishes are having. If you email a staff person, Deacon Conrad will not see that and cannot track frequency of issues.
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Meemic Foundation Grant - PK-5
We're giving away
12 Complete Classrooms®
from Lakeshore valued up to $10,000 each! From design to installation, winners will work with design experts from Lakeshore to create a customized classroom to meet the needs of PreK-5 grade teachers.
·
Apply for yourself or nominate a colleague.
·
Super easy - no application to complete.
·
Entries must be received by
December 31, 2019
.
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Haven't Had Enough Yet?
There's More!
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NCEA webinars cover trending and need-to-know topics relevant to your career in Catholic education. All participants will receive the recorded webinar and presentation files for reference and inclusion among other professional learning resources.
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And more . . .
Click on icon below to read the latest issue of
Catholic School Matters
Newsletter from NCEA and Dr. Tim Uhl.
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Office of Catholic Schools
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