Office of
Catholic Schools
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Emmanuel, God With Us.
Wishing you & your family the peace and joy of the Christmas season. God is with us!
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Next edition of the Office of Catholic Schools Newsletter:
January 7, 2022
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Look for topics in previous editions:
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Archive of Superintendent’s emails:
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Calendar Items
(See details in articles below)
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December 23 - Jan 2 Diocesan Offices Closed
January 1 School safety plan due to DOJ
January 3-31 Winter MAP window open
January 3 DASA Central; Teams; 1:30
January 5 DASA Executive; Zoom; 3pm
January 6 ARP EANS; Zoom; 2pm
January 10 New Administrators 9am-noon
January 10 DASA NorthNortheast; Teams 1:30pm
January 10 CHOICE Registration/Renewal Forms/Fee Due
January 11 New PowerSchool Admin training; Teams 1pm
January 11 Ahrens Grp (Math & ELA Resources; Zoom; 1pm
Janary 12 Battle of the Books meeting; Zoom; 3:30pm
January 13 DASA Southeast; Teams 1:30pm
January 17 MLK Holiday; Diocesan Offices Closed
January 18 Overview of IXL (read more below)
January 30-February 5 Catholic Schools Week
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Bishop Announces Two Changes in the Curia |
Bishop Ricken has announced two changes in the curia that affect the Office of Families & School Discipleship Formation. Effective January 10, Dr. Peter Murphy is appointed as the Associate Director of the Curia, assisting Fr. John Girotti.
Also effective January 10th, is the appointment of Todd Blahnik as the new Director of the Families & Schools of Discipleship Formation mission team. Todd will also continue to serve in his role as the Superintendent of Catholic Schools within our Diocese.
Bishop asks that we join him in supporting Peter and Todd as tey transition to these
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new roles and for all who strive to implement and advance our diocesan vision, mission, values, and goals. |
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Getting Ready for Enrollment Next Year: Tis the Season! |
What should you be doing now to prepare for next years enrollment? Here are some things you'll want to focus on between now & Catholic Schools Week.
- Update your school's collateral & website with new tuition rates
- Refresh and prepare your lead tracking application to keep notes in order
- Set target dates and numbers to strive for as a team
- Propose ideas for incentives to the principal and enrollment team
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Plan your visual wall displays that'll go up for Catholic Schools Week
- Schedule admission events such as financial aid nights, open houses, and shadow days
Remember, time management is crucial. Block off time on your calendar for critical tasks and lean on your fellow marketers, the Office of Catholic Schools staff, and volunteers for support and fresh ideas.
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IXL Overview: Save the Date
January 18; 1pm
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Some of you may be looking for curriculum support. IXL is a tool for teachers to assign diagnostic practice for students at their just right level. It is not “games” but more of online work practice. There is practice connected to math textbook content as well as video lessons for middle school math. This is a product approved for EANS funding.
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The cost is between $23 and $28 per student (this pricing is for 100 students and includes professional development). There are discounts if we would have more students across the Diocese. Please contact Jane Schueller if you have any questions or are interested in learning more. The link for the webinar will be sent out in January.
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Jason Everts on Gender-Related Issues: February 24, 2022
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You're invited!
Calling all
- Catechetical Leaders
- Youth Ministers
- School Administrators
- Principals
- Campus Ministers
- Guidance Counselors
to attend this event.
Registration will open in January.
Location: TBD
No charge to attend; partially funded by the Annual Bishops' Appeal
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Jason Evert, MA, is the author of more than 15 books, and has spoken on the topic of abstinence to millions of people on six continents. He and his wife Crystalina run the website chastity.org. Chastity Project exists to proclaim the virtue of chastity, which affirms the full value of the person, freeing them to love and be loved. |
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Jason will present two sessions (60 minutes each):
Theology of the Body What’s the meaning of sex, gender, and the human body? The truth of masculinity and femininity are being questioned like never before. Discover how your body as a man or woman reveals your identity and calling.
Called to Love When it comes to same-sex attractions, is the Church really telling some people not to love? If you experience homosexual attractions or have a loved one who does, you might struggle to accept or explain the Church’s teachings on LGBT issues. In this presentation, you’ll discover how all people can find freedom and love within the Church.
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Catholic Textbook Project
The Textbook Project's annual history essay contest begins in January 2022! As with past years, Catholic students in grades 4-12 are invited to participate, whether they are private, parochial, or homeschool students. Each grade will be given a different historical topic to explore, and topics will be announced next month. Click here to see last year’s topics and winners. It’s a good way to get an idea of what to expect and gain a valuable head start!
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USCCB
This year, the USCCB Committee for Religious Liberty, in collaboration with the Secretariat of Catholic Education and Our Sunday Visitor Institute, is hosting a religious liberty essay contest.
The competition is open to high school juniors and seniors. The essay prompt and submission information are available here. Essays are due March 11. Winners will be announced in May.
The first-place essay will be published in Our Sunday Visitor, and the author will receive a $2,000 scholarship.
Second place will receive a $1,000 scholarship, and third place will receive a $500 scholarship.
All three winning essays will be published on the USCCB website.
Flyers that can be printed and posted to advertise the contest are attached.
We highly encourage teachers who would like to incorporate this competition into their classroom activities to choose the top five submissions from their class to send to the USCCB as entries.
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School Safety Plans Due Jan 1 |
Included in the report must be:
- a copy of the 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(s)
- 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
For more information, refer to WCRIS Current Events from December 16, 2021.
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Winter assessment is a nice way to benchmark the progress your students are making. If you are planning on the MAP winter assessment, you can let your MAP administrator know, and he/she or Jane will upload your CRF. We can use your fall file. The window is open January 3 - January 28. |
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For the past several months, the Office of Catholic Schools has been working with Niche on building awareness of our schools via social media. You may have even seen our advertisement show up in your Facebook feed. To date, we have had 139,005 people check out our site. Niche is now offering our schools a promotion so you can take control of your Niche profile and directly benefit from their marketing.
Niche Webinar
January 13, 2021
3:00 - 3:30
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Intent to Participate in Choice |
All schools that intend to continue to participate in School Choice must complete their Intent to Attend in OAS by Monday, January 10, 2022. A complete checklist can be found HERE.
In addition, schools also must pay the $275 auditor fee by January 10, 2022. It can be paid online at Department of Public Instruction (egov.com). DPI does not accept checks. Please make sure your bookkeeper and staff are aware.
Failure to complete the intent to participate or pay the auditor fee will result in the loss of being able to participate in the Choice program.
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If you have a part time school counselor who would like more time, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Greenville is in need of a 50% time person. Please contact Deb Fuller 920-202-3456.
Two schools are in need of elementary school teachers. If you know of any substitute teachers, or others, who would like full time positions, please contact Jane Schueller.
We also have two schools without a principal. If you know of anyone who would like to be a principal, please let us know. We are also willing to fill the positions with interim administrators to finish out the year.
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Save the Date: May 4, 2022
All School Rosary Event
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Because of the great feedback we received from the all school Rosary event in October, we will be holding another all school Rosary event on May 4, 2022 at 9:00am. More information will be coming but please mark your calendars now.
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Catholic Schools Week
January 30-February 5, 2022
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The DPI’s Choice Program Team will be hosting webinars covering various areas of the program.
The trainings are open to new schools to the program or schools already in the program.
Schools can prepare now by ordering a WCRIS Choice Handbook. This Handbook covers all the topics below as well as an appendix of important dates and resources. You can order a handbook here. The following trainings are at 3:30 pm:
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January 19
Choice Student Application Requirements (Residency, Income, etc) Application Process, January Count Report
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March 2
FAQ's during Open Application
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April 27
Summer School, Application Verifications, Choice Administrator Changes, School Information Update Forms, Designee/Admin Trainings
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Webinar: Curriculum Resources | Mark the Date: January 11th 1:30
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Keith from Ahrens Education will provide a webinar for anyone interested in curriculum resources in Math, Reading, Writing, Phonics etc. He is connected with several different providers, would like to know what questions you have about different curricular areas and he will talk about resources that might be beneficial. Please email your questions to Jane Schueller or Keith Ahrens
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Webinar Information:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 868 9861 1043
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Textbook Resources Review |
If you are planning a change in content resources, please contact Jane Schueller in order that schools can collaborate as needed or fill out the tab on the spreadsheet.
It would be helpful if all schools could fill out the Textbook spreadsheet to assist in knowing what schools are using.
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Battle of the Books for Catholic Schools |
A group of schools is interested in doing a Battle of the Books for our Diocese. A group of six schools has met and is working on compiling the list of books. The plan is to gear the books and questions to fifth-eighth graders. The “battle” for two teams from each school is tentatively scheduled for May 16.
The details for that day are to be determined. The planning group is going to meet again via Zoom on December 8 at 3:30. If you are interested in more information or getting involved, please contact Jane Schueller.
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Echoes & Reflections is excited to present professional learning offerings to Catholic School educators in 2021-2022—free of cost—to help their students understand the history of antisemitism, the Holocaust, and modern manifestations of prejudice, made possible by the generous support of the Eileen Ludwig Greenland Endowment.
Over the years, middle and high school teachers from our Diocese have participated in courses. They now have a course geared to upper elementary age students.
Teachers are invited to participate in one or both learning series, which include three-module online courses, with accompanying one-hour webinars. Educators will receive a $75 stipend for completion of each course + webinar. Courses are interactive, asynchronous, and released over a three-week period; estimated 6-10 hours to complete. Certificate of completion provided and option to earn graduate-level credit through the University of the Pacific.
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Curriculum review and connections: |
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Please fill out the form in order that as schools/systems are looking at reviewing curriculum resources, they might be able to collaborate with other schools/systems. You could also use this resource to connect with other schools using different resources at which you might be looking.
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Please pass this link for MAP Resources to your teachers. There is a lot of information available to them for using the data to drive instruction and do goal setting with students.
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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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