Office of
Catholic Schools
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October is the Month of the Rosary and Respect Life, as well as the feasts of the Guardian Angels, St. Francis, St. Faustina, St. Luke and St. John Paul II. May we continue to know the presence and power of the Saints and Angels in our lives.
Angel of God, my guardian dear to whom God’s love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen
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Next editions of the Office of Catholic Schools Newsletter:
October 16
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Look for topics in previous editions:
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Archive of Superintendent’s emails:
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Oct. 6 PowerSchool user group (8:30-10:30)
Oct. 6 PowerSchool 101 for brand new users session 1 (1:00-3:00)
Oct. 8 Fall high school principals meeting (9:00 am-12:00 pm)
Oct. 9 Fall system /school presidents meeting (9:00 am-12:00 pm)
Oct. 12 New school administrators workshop (9:00 am-12:00 pm)
Oct. 15 Private school report DUE (DPI)
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New teacher Methods B
(FCC requirement)
all VIRTUAL 3:30-4:30
Oct. 28
Nov 18
Dec 16
Jan 20
Feb 24
March 24
April 28
May 19
We will be offering the Foundational Catechetical Course for our new teachers or any other teachers who would like to take this course.
All the sessions will be VIRTUAL 3:30-4:30. The sessions will also be recorded and will be able to be accessed through Google Classroom for those registered. Register
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NEW: Foundational Catechetical Certification (FCC) |
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With all the stress and pressure of the unknown that our teachers and administrators are under, the FCC requirement for our Catholic school administrators and teachers for this academic year (2020-2021) has been waived. Therefore, for 2020-2021 we will not require any FCC or Ongoing formation.
We would like to encourage watching the Vid Angel series on the life of Jesus called "The Chosen" Perhaps our educators could watch with colleagues or family. It is not a requirement but something we believe might be a blessing especially as we move into Advent. It has been free when watched through the app and is also available on YouTube.
Here are links to the Google and Apple app stores:
Or they may be able to try the VidAngel streaming service for a free trial period and watch it that way:
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Please be sure your data for the NCEA report is updated for students and staff in PowerSchool. We would like to run the report early next week to be sure we have the correct information to send to NCEA. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the help desk ithelpdesk@gbdioc.org with NCEA in the subject line.
- NCEA reports due Oct 1st
- Student Enrollment as of 9/18/20
- fill out demographics and NCEA data
- Staff- Make sure former staff are excluded from the report.
- Run System Reports NCEA report
- Handout for Report
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Are you looking for a way to engage your school in a conversation about race? |
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We know that initiating and leading these conversations can be intimidating, so we want to help. We are excited to announce the launch of the Open Wide Our Hearts Virtual Exhibit. This exhibit features photos of Catholics from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, alongside written narratives that document what life in the church of the Diocese of Green Bay has been like for them as a person of color. The virtual exhibit is ready-made for you to use with students, families, or staff to begin having the difficult but important conversation about issues of race. For more information, click here.
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October is Respect Life Month |
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As Catholics, we believe that every life is sacred, from the moment of conception until natural death. Every person is made in the image and likeness of God, and so each and every person has inherent dignity. Resources in English and Spanish are available at https://www.respectlife.org/2020
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October 1 – Domestic Violence Awareness Month Begins
October 4 – Respect Life Sunday
October 4 – Peter’s Pence Collection
October 12 – Indigenous People’s Day
October 18 – World Mission Sunday
October 31 – Halloween
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Safe Environment with Students - During respect life month it is a good time for teachers to do one of the lessons with students. Teachers can find the resources here. Please be sure to have them document the lesson and the students who were not present as well as how they followed up with those students and parents.
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Introducing the Assistive Technology (AT) Forward Statewide Project and Community of Practice |
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The Assistive Technology (AT) Forward Project is designed to support educators, practitioners, caregivers, and families to increase student autonomy in utilizing Assistive Technology tools to support access, engagement, and progress in virtual and distance learning. Assistive Technology Forward will provide a statewide virtual Community of Practice (CoP) to support AT in virtual and distance learning. By joining this Community of Practice, members will have the opportunity to learn from experts in the field of AT and benefit from the knowledge learned through networking with colleagues statewide. This project is available to private and public schools.
CoP members will have access to:
- A free membership to Assistive Technology Industry Association (AITA) that includes free online webinars related to Assistive Technology.
- Access to free one-to-one virtual technical assistance to support the use of AT in virtual and distance learning.
- Regular updates from the field and ability to share resources with others through a new AT CoP email list.
Register here for our first CoP meeting, where we will share more about this new statewide project.
If you’re interested in being a part of the first cohort of the New Leaders Academy, please register today! The New Leaders Academy is intended for early-career Catholic school leaders and is built around the four domains of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Elementary and Secondary Catholic Schools (NSBECS). Watch a short video to learn more about this exciting professional development opportunity.
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Several schools have asked what is the difference between FERPA and HIPPA with regards to COVID. HR provided this information:
FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program from the US Department of Education. HIPPA regulations ensure that employers have stringent privacy laws especially when working with employee health information and then, even more so if they have a certain type of health plan (which the Diocese does – because it’s a self-funded health plan).
The main question HR has been receiving is “When COVID affects a school – via staff COVID+ or quarantine or student COVID+ or quarantine – how do privacy laws affect how the school communicates for the betterment of the community?”
Through HIPAA, any communication sent out must remain anonymous to the affected person. You cannot use any names when a school communicates a COVID+ or quarantine. So even if the affected individual is not part of the group health plan, schools still can’t release a name.
The interesting part is, that given the pandemic, some of the “normal” rules of employee privacy are not applicable. For example, employers who typically apply a “if you’re out for 3 or more days you need a doctor’s note to return” can deviate from that policy while the pandemic is declared. Schools can ensure the community safety if any employee is absent by requiring a doctor’s note “day 1” so that the safety of the workforce (and in this case the student population) is ensured by understanding the employee’s contagious/not contagious state upon return. Of course this deviation still has to be applied consistently during the period of the pandemic (so we don’t become discriminatory in our deviation/practice) and the information has to be handled securely, safely and not shared with anyone who is not in a “need to know” position.
For any HR related questions, please contact the HR office at 920-272-8200.
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2020 Grant Applications Now Available |
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Each year the Catholic Foundation awards grants from the Advancing the Mission Endowments in Evangelization, Leadership Development, Lifelong Catechesis and the Monica Meyer Respect Life Endowment. The Foundation also has grants available through Lumen Christi and Catholic Foundation area of interest funds.
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Continuous Learning Resources |
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Crystal Blahnik, principal at St. Bernard School, shared a document for highlighting “office hours” during continuous learning at home. If you find yourself having to go to remote learning, a process such as this could provide some documentation with the number of hours teachers were available to students (parents). If anyone has resources to share, please send them our way in order that we can continue to support one another. |
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Educational Consultant - Sr. Marcolette Madden |
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Sr. Marcolette is a passionate educator who has worked at Silver Lake College with pre-service teachers over the past years. She is available for in-services and consultation for your schools as needed. Please see the attached document with a list of her topics.
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Instructional Technology
EWITC/SITA Resources
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Please be aware that the sessions that were presented at SITA continue to be available to your district. Please pass along the link to this playlist of presentations to your teachers: |
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Check out this week's podcast, "Leadership in the Midst of Change and Adversity with Dr. Howard Fuller." This week, NCEA's Dr. Kevin Baxter interviews Dr. Howard Fuller, a longtime author, speaker, and civil rights advocate. In anticipation of Dr. Fuller's appearance at CLS 2020, this episode dives into the issues that are facing Catholic school leaders today, including distance learning, racism and a polarizing political climate. Dr. Fuller focuses his perspective on doing what's best for our students and making sure they feel loved and valued in the midst of change.
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A new study conducted by the University of Notre Dame, ACE and NCEA seeks to better understand parent perceptions and experiences with home-based learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how they made decisions about the educational choices for their children in the 2020-2021 academic year. Please let your parents with at least one child in a PreK-12 Catholic school know about the survey. If they would like to participate in the study, a link to the survey is available online. No identifying information will be collected.
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If you’re interested in being a part of the first cohort of the New Leaders Academy, please register today! The New Leaders Academy is intended for early-career Catholic school leaders and is built around the four domains of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Elementary and Secondary Catholic Schools (NSBECS). Watch a short video to learn more about this exciting professional development opportunity!
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Question: Given the pandemic and the complexities it is creating for education, must I still meet the hours of instruction requirement for students this school year? How do I count virtual or hybrid classroom instruction?
Answer: Yes, you are still required to meet the hours of instruction for this school year. For schools in the Choice program, you are still required to meet 1,050 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 1-6 and at least 1,137 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 7-12. Non-choice schools must provide at least 875 hours of instruction.
Private schools using virtual instruction (digital, analog, synchronous, asynchronous, or hybrid) or using a combination of traditional in-person instruction with virtual instruction, may count that instruction from any of these virtual models towards meeting the hours of instruction requirement, according to an email from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
Schools should count hours of instruction based on the time teachers are available to students, and based on private school estimates, the amount of time needed to accomplish daily learning objectives, the DPI said.
The DPI said it will soon be uploading examples of how to count hours of instruction here.
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Check out the new Diocese of Green Bay Vocations website.
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School Safety Deadline Reminder |
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By January 1, 2021, every school board and governing body of a private school must file the following information with the Office of School Safety [Wis. Stat. 118.07(4)(e)]:
- a copy of its School Safety Plan, including the most recent date on which the school board or governing body reviewed and approved the school safety plan;
- the date(s) of the required annual School Violence Drill(s) during the previous year, including certification that the school board or governing body reviewed a required written evaluation of the school violence drill;
- the date of the most recent school safety plan training (required under 118.07(4)(c)), and the number of attendees;
- the most recent date on which the school board or governing body consulted with a local law enforcement agency to conduct required on-site safety assessments.
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If you would like an attendance code that specifies a student is learning virtually or remotely, please follow this documentation to set it up for your school or contact Becky Krahn for assistance.
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We will be having a Virtual All School Mass on Wednesday, February 3rd as part of Catholic Schools Week. Details to follow but we wanted to make sure everyone kept the morning of February 3rd free so we can worship together!
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CLA Nonprofit Webinar Series |
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CLA will be sponsoring a Nonprofit Webinar Series: Winning Your Donors’ Hearts, Minds and Wallets this fall with the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley, United Way Fox Cities, Nonprofit Leadership Initiative and the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Northeast WI Chapter.
The webinar series will feature special guest, Rachel Muir. The two-day series will take place on Tuesday, October 13 and Tuesday, October 20 from 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Topics for each day include:
• Day one – October 13:
o Using Technology to Deepen Donor Relationships
o I Wish I’d Thought of That
• Day two – October 20:
o How to Convert More Online Gifts
o End-of-Year Fundraising Made Easy
Registration closes Friday, October 9
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Virtual Instruction Attendance Policy |
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Audits will now require that your school have a statement regarding how you will track attendance for those students learning virtually. Here is verbiage you can add to your current attendance policy:
Virtual or blended course offerings may use nontraditional data, such as course progress, engagement, synchronous instructional time, system activity, student logs, etc. to create an equivalency that can meet the rules of traditional reporting. Teachers will continue to take daily attendance when students are in session based on their cohort assignment for each course using our Powerschool student information system.
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Discover Catholic Schools Week |
November 8 - 14 will be Discover Catholic Schools Week. This is a nationwide event promoted by NCEA. There will be a special COMPASS insert and your school can get a full color ad for $50.
Please contact Amy Kawula for more information. You can also check out the themes for each day at:
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MAP Proctor reminders
Some of you are already well underway with MAP assessments. Just a couple ideas/reminders.
We do not regard this as a “high stakes” test but a formative assessment used to guide your instruction. With this in mind:
- Don’t hesitate to break the tests up into smaller segments, especially for younger students or children who have a hard time concentrating for more than 15 minutes.
- Use the accommodations and modifications where needed.
- Use a practice test before beginning and for those who are doing it for the first time, think about using the Screening assessment as a practice.
There are many tests listed in the portal. The tests that we use are: (There are also Spanish versions if needed).
Growth: Math 2-5 CCSS 2010 V2
Growth: Math 6+ CCSS 2010 V2
Growth: Math K-2 NWEA 2017
Growth: Reading 2-5 CCSS 2010 V3
Growth: Reading 6+ CCSS 2010 V3
Growth: Reading K-2 NWEA 2017
Growth: Language 2-12 CCSS 2010 V2
Growth: Science 3-5: for use with NGSS 2013
Growth: Science 6-8: for use with NGSS 2013
Tests for Algebra and Geometry are typically for the end of the year, contact us if you were thinking of using them.
If you have started and used a different version of a test, you do not need to retest.
Retesting: Please contact our office to discuss whether a student should take a retest. A retest is not to just see if a student can get a higher score.
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Powerschool for New Users |
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If you are a new user to Powerschool or feel like you need a refresher on the basics of Powerschool, please feel free to attend Powerschool 101 training on Tuesday, October 6th from 1:00- 3:00.
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Universal Design for Learning |
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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for proactively designing learning environments and experiences – from the beginning – that enable ALL students to gain knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for learning that is needed so all students can be expert, lifelong learners. A new project, UDL Forward!, supports Wisconsin educators’ use of UDL core competencies and technology resources as a means to provide effective remote and in-person learning experiences during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The project is supported through regional CESA networks and CAST, the national technical assistance center for UDL.
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The UDL Forward! project provides four intersecting options:
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UDL Blasts - engagement with UDL fundamentals and free technology tools for putting UDL into action now;
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UDL Learning Design Coaching Labs - apply UDL to real-world learning scenarios and access technical assistance for specific student needs, particularly those who have traditionally been underserved;
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UDL Community of Practice (CoP) - learn and share what's working and troubleshoot solutions to challenges within a professional learning network; and
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A UDL Virtual Conference - weeklong; hop in 2-3 hours LIVE daily or access content 24/7.
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Private School Report Due October 15 |
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Every private school in Wisconsin (Choice or non-Choice) must complete the PI-1207 Private School Report. The report is a requirement of Wis. Stat. Sec. 115.30(3) and 118.165(1). The deadline for the submission of this form is, by state statute, October 15 of each year. To request the link to your school’s report, please create a help ticket, choosing School Directory – Enterprise from the Application dropdown. There is no user ID or password required to access this report.
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Herb Kohl Scholarship and Awards |
Teacher and principal nominations for this year’s Herb Kohl Awards are open. The nomination deadline has not yet been announced, but it will likely be in fall.
If you nominated a teacher or principal last year after the nomination deadline, their names will be advanced for this year’s competition.
Please note that only nominated individuals can access the online application.
You or your school parents can nominate a teacher or principal here:
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Integrate science in your ELA class with the Article-A-Day sets below! 🔭 🌱
ReadWorks is free for everyone because we believe in barrier-free access to reading material for ALL children—regardless of ability to pay.
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NCEA Newlsetter Link
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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