Office of
Catholic Schools
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We thank you for educators! We pray you will strengthen them with your power, mercy and love this school year.
Give them guidance on instruction, strength to complete all the tasks and energy to joyfully interact with their students.
God, give them efficiency as they work and the grace to know when to ask for help.
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May they find times of rest and if they do not know you, make yourself known to them this school year. Amen. | |
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Next editions of the Office of Catholic Schools Newsletter:
September 2
September 16
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Look for topics in previous editions: | |
Archive of Superintendent’s emails: | |
Calendar Items
(See details in articles below)
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Aug 31: Choice Schools Preliminary Enrollment Report Due
Sept 5: Labor Day (HOLIDAY) Diocesan Offices Closed
Sept 7: MAP Fall test window opens
Sept 8: New Teacher Orientation/(teachers hired after Aug 17)/virtual
Sept 19: WRISA Accrediation Webinar
Sept 12: New School Administrators Workshop 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Sept 13: PowerSchool User Group (Virtual) 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Sept 14: School Campus Ministers and Chaplain Meeting 10:00 AM-1:00PM
Sept 16: Third Friday in September Choice Enrollment Count
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School Change
It is with sadness that we share the news of a change at Most Precious Blood, New London. Due to the difficulty in hiring staff and low enrollment, a decision has been made for the education of Most Precious Blood students to be at St. Mary Catholic School in Greenville. We are grateful to St. Mary for being able to welcome the new students to their campus. Please keep the Most Precious Blood families in your prayers as they navigate new surroundings.
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New Teachers & Administrators
This year we welcome seven new administrators and more than 100 new teachers.
The Holy Spirit has gifted us with educators who are ready to share Jesus and the mission with our students and families. We are grateful for their YES to Catholic school ministry.
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Please let the Office of Catholic Schools know if you need assistance in finding a mentor for your teachers. We would be happy to set up mentor training if the need arises. | |
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Have you Hired New Teachers very recently?
New Teacher Orientation scheduled for September 8th
If you have new teachers who missed the orientation or were hired after August 17, there is another virtual opportunity on September 8 at 2:00pm.
You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Sep 8, 2022 02:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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WRISA Accreditation Annual Report Webinar
September 15
Thursday, September 15, 2022
10:00am - 11:00am
| After you register, a calendar invite will be sent to you. | |
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Praying w/Scripture Course
Lectio Divina on Franciscan at Home
We are now about to enter the Worship Jesus Years as part of our Disciples on the Way Journey. The outline for the Worship Jesus Years is as follows:
- Kick Off of the USCCB National Eucharistic Revival
- Discipleship Seminar - October 11, 2022 (see article below) & Bishop Ricken's Pastoral Letter
- Year 1: 2023-2024 Focus on the Word
- National Eucharistic Congress - July 17-21, 2024 Indianapolis Indiana
- Year 2: 2024-2025 Focus on the Eucharist
- Diocesan Eucharistic Congress - July 2024
In preparation for Year 1 (Focus on the Word), the Office of Catholic Schools is requesting that ALL administrators take and complete the Franciscan at Home Course: Praying with Scripture: Lectio Divina by September 30, 2022. This will allow the school administrators to ask their faculty members to take this course during the 2022-2023 School Year.
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Worship Jesus Day of Encounter
The Word Becomes Flesh
We begin the Worship Jesus years with a Day of Encounter on Tuesday, October 11 at the Resch Expo. The day will begin at 8:30 AM with check-in and hospitality, and will end around 5:00 PM after Mass with Bishop Ricken. Fr. Dave Pivonka will guide us through the day which will include prayer, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, witness talks, break-out sessions (including a specific one for Catholilc Schools), and Mass.
SAVE THE DATE:
October 11, 2022, from 8:30am to 5:00pm
Resch Expo in Green Bay
Please see the following video invitation from Bishop Ricken for more information.
Additional information about the day, registration, parking, etc., will be forthcoming. No cost to attend.
QUESTIONS | disciplesontheway@gbdioc.org | (920) 272-8329
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Message to School LoSEC's
Recap of the e-mail sent August 17th to School LoSEC's from the Office of Safe Environment:
- The Office of Safe Environment has been researching opportunities to go paperless by use of e-signatures however at this time they have not found a method that will work for all.
- The most current and up to date version of these polices and procedures can be found on the diocese website under the tab Protecting our Children, Diocesan Policies and Resources.
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- Most of these documents are registered documents meaning that updates to these documents are coordinated through the Office of Safe Environment. We would ask that you please insure that your location is not modifying these documents.
- You are able to include the link from the diocese website in your required paperwork and documentation process. We would ask that you don't download the document(s) into a file at your location and then direct people to your file for the information as your file will be outdated if updates are made to the documents on the diocesan website.
Questions? Feel free to contact Courtney or Deb at the Office of Safe Environment.
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School Success Summit
Focus on Grades and Grading
We are excited to partner with CESA 7 for the School Success Summit with a focus on grades and grading. We would like to have at least one representative from each school who can help to move the conversations with staff forward.
The School Success Summit does qualify for Title II as well as EANS funding. If you need assistance with the EANS request, contact Aaron Malczewski at CESA 7 amalczewski@cesa7.org or eans.cesa6.org
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School Lunch Program
Automatic Exemption from Title IX
Religious private schools are automatically exempt from Title IX if there is a conflict between Title IX and a school’s religious beliefs, according to a clarification released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday, August 12.
With the above in mind, the Office of Catholic Schools is advising you to do the following in regard to the Federal Hot Lunch Program:
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Do NOT seek a written religious exemption from the USDA.
- Continue to operate the program as you have done in prior years. Sign the contract, but do not red-line anything in them.
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Do NOT hang the "new" And Justice for All Posters
- If you are a school that uses the public school as a vendor for hot lunch and they ask you to put up the "new" And Justice for All Posters, please politely decline. If the public school district attaches the "new" And Justice for All Poster to a cart, or other item that they bring in, make sure that you hang a Catholic identity statement in a prominent place in the cafeteria (if you need such a statement, please contact the Office of Catholic Schools).
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Planbook
Lesson planning option
Several of our schools are using Planbook.com as an option for lesson planning. We know of a few schools but not all. For those who are not familiar, Planbook is a lesson plan book online. Our standards and benchmarks are in Planbook so teachers are able to click on a standard/benchmark and it goes into their lesson.
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Teachers can move lessons around easily if “life” happens in the classroom and things need to change. We have worked with Jacob at Planbook and are able to get a discount as a group. Please let us know if you would like further information. The pricing is typically between $11-$14 per teacher (the cost of a paper book). | |
Holocaust/Genocide Education
Do you have units of study to share?
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Wisconsin’s 2021 Act 30 requires schools in the Choice programs to provide Holocaust and other genocide education to grades 5-8 once and grades 9-12 once. Schools are required to update their curriculum by July 1, 2022, to be implemented in the 2022-23 school year.
In order to assist with this curriculum, we are wondering if any teachers have Holocaust units of study which they would be willing to share or would be willing to meet with the Office of Catholic Schools to update curriculum. We are working on updating the standards and benchmarks to include specifics on Holocaust and genocide and would be happy for input. Our thinking is that this content would be appropriate for 8th grade in our middle schools and high schools where it fits best in their scope and sequence. We do realize that the Holocaust is discussed when students in fifth through eighth grade read books like Number the Stars, Diary of Anne Frank and others, but need to formalize where it is taught. Please use the link to share your resources.
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This year our non-system schools will submit their CRF to Becky Krahn. In the subject line, please indicate 'PowerSchool MAP CRF'. For the Winter and Spring test windows, Becky will automatically submit the CRF that is created in Fall. If you have any changes in enrollment after the CRF is submitted, let Becky know.
The test windows for the 22-23 school year are
- Fall - September 7-October 1
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Winter - January 4-January 21 (highly recommended)
- Spring - April 1-April 30
Helpful hints for creating the CRF especially if you have multi-age cohorts in one classroom.
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Scholastic Book Fairs
Decision effective SY2023-24
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Due to the decision by Scholastic to include many LGBT themed books in their book fairs, the Diocese of Green Bay’s Office of Catholic Schools is requiring that schools end their relationship with Scholastic and Scholastic Book Fairs beginning the 2023-24 school year. Read full message:
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School Choice Items
to be completed prior to the start of school
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Just a reminder, that the following items need to be completed for School Choice prior to the start of the 2022-2023 school year:
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Notify the DPI of Choice student withdrawals for the 2022–23 school year. Schools must notify the DPI immediately when a Choice student withdraws from the school or decides to no longer participate in the program so that the DPI can determine if a student from the waiting list may receive a voucher.
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The school should ensure that its data in the School Directory application is accurate. The School Directory application allows private schools to update their school and contact information. If schools make any updates using the School Directory application that impact the PSCP, they must also update their information with the Choice program using the School Information Update form see School Submitted Reports and Forms webpage (see Training 3-4: School Update Forms on the On Demand Training webpage).
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Before individuals begin working at the school complete background checks and verify VIRTUS training is complete for new employees.
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Schools must ensure all administrators, teachers, and teacher aides have appropriate credentials (see Staff Credentials Bulletin on the Program Bulletins webpage and Training 6-9: Employee Education Requirements) on the On Demand Training webpage.
Also, schools can now submit their preliminary enrollment report in OAS. This report will generate the September state aid payment. The deadline to submit the report is August 31, 2022. Please make sure your school has completed the report. Failure to meet the deadline can result in a loss of revenue from the Choice program.
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Safe Environment -
Student Curriculum
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Linked here is a document from Safe Environment regarding the curriculum and teaching the safe environment content. The Office of Catholic Schools recommends focusing on the three sessions in the months of October, January and April. October and January the church focuses on Respect Life and April is Child Abuse Awareness Month.
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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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