Office of
Catholic Schools
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Let Us Pray . . . Lenten Advice from Pope Francis |
Fast from Hurting Words and say Kind words.
Fast from Sadness and be filled with Gratitude.
Fast from Anger and be filled with Patience.
Fast from Pessimism and be filled with Hope.
Fast from Worries and Trust in God.
Fast from Complaints and contemplate Simplicity.
Fast from Pressures and be Prayerful.
Fast from Bitterness and fill your heart with Joy.
Fast from Selfishness and be Compassionate to others.
Fast from Grudges and be Reconciled.
Fast from Words and be Silent so you can listen.
Blessed Lent to you and all those you meet!
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For Your Immediate Attention, Please . . . |
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Is Your School the Charter Organization
of a Boy Scout Unit?
Time Sensitive; Action required today!
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Please share this email with your local BSA leadership to act upon quickly.
The Roman Catholic Church Ad Hoc Committee (RCCAHC) shared a memo (attached) noting that the voting deadline on the Boys Scouts of America (BSA) plan has been extended until Friday March 4 at 4:00 p.m.
The RCCAHC continues to urge all Roman Catholic Chartered Organizations to vote against the plan (details are included in the memo). If chartered organizations voted yes and wish to change their vote, they are able to do so before March 4 at 4:00 p.m. If you already voted no, there is no need for additional action. The memo includes a section on how to cast a ballot.
Please see the attached memo for more details. If you have questions, you can contact the RCCAHC committee chair or committee counsel: Daniel Schufreider at dschufreider@schiffhardin.com or 312-258-5669.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.
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Next edition of the Office of Catholic Schools Newsletter:
March 18, 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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Mar 1-31 ACRE Assessments
Mar 7 New Administrators: a look at contracts & benefits
Mar 7 DASA Central
Mar 9 System Presidents' meeting w/Bishop Ricken
Mar 10 DASA Southeast
Mar 12 Called & Gifted Workshop
Mar 14 DASA North/Northeast
Mar 16 PowerSchool Admin training
Apr 21 Mental Health Webiner (final in the series)
May 4: All School Rosary
May 16: Battle of the Books
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Thank You, Chesterton Academy! |
The first annual Chili charity cook-off took place at Chesterton Academy. 20 students raised $1,036.00 for 4 projects from the World Missions project booklet www.catholicfoundationgb.org/projects.
Two mission speakers were able to lead prayer and speak at the event. The students worked hard to raise these monies. They are truly missionary disciples, the future of our faith.
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Contract packets are now available. Use the link below. |
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3 New Policies taking Effect July 1, 2022 |
After considerable and thoughtful discernment on how to address gender identity in the schools, the following policies have been created and/or updated for use by the schools in their handbooks.
The complete list of all the 2022-2023 policies can be found HERE.
These 3 new policies will become effective July 1st, 2022. Catechetical Leaders will also receive this information today, and parish leaders will receive it in the March 9 Parish Pages.
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Jason Evert Presentation Follow-up |
Thank you to all who attended the Jason Evert presentation.
Several schools discussed having Jason come and speak. If you are interested in booking him, please let Lori Paul know as we can get a discount on multiple events.
Jason mentioned some websites and books that you may want to check out:
Chastity.com- This is Jason’s website with links to order all his books.
Personandidentitycom - Created by the Catholic Women’s forum to create policies that protect th Catholic identity.
When Harry Became Sally by Ryan Anderson - Exposes the contract between the media’s sunny depiction of gender fluidity and the often sad reality of living with gender dysphoria.
Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shreir - digs into the trans epidemic, talking to the girls, their parents, and the counselors and doctors who enable gender transitions, as well as to “detransitioners”—young women who bitterly regret what they have done to themselves. A generation of girls is at risk and Abigail Shrier’s book will help you understand what the trans craze is and how you can inoculate your child against it—or how to retrieve her from this dangerous path.
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BTW . . . Forget Something? |
We found this folder with notes from the "Loving All God's People" (Jason Evert) event after everyone left Nativity Parish that morning. Look familiar? Please e-mail cfountain@gbdioc.org to claim. We'll hold onto it until the end of March! |
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It is with great sadness that we announce that two of our Catholic schools will be closing at the end of this year.
St. Rose St. Mary’s in Clintonville and St. Mary’s in Algoma will end instruction after the 2021-2022 school year.
Please keep the staff, students, parishioners and pastors in your prayers during this difficult time.
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Please join us in welcoming Sarah Shimek as the new SEVIS (Student Exchange and Visitor Program) Administrator. Sarah is also employed at Xavier High School in Learning Services and also manages the SEVIS program for Xavier. Her email is sshimek@gbdioc.org and her number is 920-272-8273. She will officially begin on March 14, 2022.
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Verify Your Choice Applications |
There is just over 6 weeks left until the Choice portal closes. If you do not verify in OAS that the student has submitted the correct information, you will not receive a voucher for the student.
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Powerschool has a reference booklet where you can quickly find information on signing in, basic navigation, searching for student records, working with individual student records, and using group functions. Feel free to download and keep it handy!
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Franciscans at Home: Catechetical Certification |
We have had some principals reach out for ideas to help everyone stay on track with certification.
We support doing at least one module together as a staff. Each teacher does need to log into the module on their own and in the question boxes indicate they were in a group discussion and the date. This way it will register their activity. Teachers need to do at least one module in the Foundational Catechetics for Teachers if they haven’t completed all their Foundational basics from the past.
We will work on “cleaning up” the dates for completion to reflect the contract period instead of the school year as that can be confusing in record keeping as to what goes with which contract year.
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WCRIS Board Meeting Cliff Notes |
Over the next few Current Events emails you will probably see some of the following items or reminders.
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Equality Act - this did not move through congress this session but it is not dead. Revisit your mission statement and handbooks to be sure that you have statements that articulate your Catholic identity in the mission statement as well as following the values and moral teachings of the Catholic church in Parent/Student and Staff handbooks..
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Board of Ed By-Laws - It was suggested that schools have a statement in their By-Laws regarding membership on the board to rescind a member if he/she would pull his/her child from school for a reason that is not in concert with the mission, values, and beliefs of the school or if the board member is a detriment to moving the school forward in its mission.
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CESA 6 is offering to work with WCRIS on a large teacher conference in either June or August 2023. This conference would include experts in all areas of education as well as vendor specialists to assist with the resources you currently use. They will be working on a proposal and how Title funds and EANS fund could be used.
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They also reminded us that Title funds can be used to stipend teachers for professional development outside contract hours.
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Mental Health Webinar:
Staying Positive in a Negative World
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Thursday, April 21st 9:00-10:00
The world today is full of negativity and sometimes it’s hard to not be affected by what’s going on. This webinar will provide practical steps to increase positivity in your life so that both your outlook and mental health will improve.
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PBS Wisconsin Education
Great Lakes History
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PBS has launched a new adventure game, The Legend of the Lost Emerald! Step into the shoes of Jules, a maritime archaeologist, and dive underwater to gather clues to build evidence and uncover the real treasure: the stories of shipwrecks inspired by Great Lakes history. The game would probably be most enjoyable for students in grade 3-5.
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It's March: Time for ACRE! |
The ACRE assessment for our Catholic schools will be used March 1-30. The assessment is for students in grades 5, 8 and 10. The most economical is the online version, $3.50 per student. If you are using booklets and answer sheets, the school or parish may have the booklets available. They are a 2013 copyright. The answer sheets must be ordered. They are $4.00 per student. Visit www.nceaifg.com and
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Textbook Resources Review |
GRACE and St. Mary Catholic Elementary Schools are each reviewing science resources. If you would like to make a connection with them, feel free to contact the Office of Catholic Schools and we will get you to the right person.
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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Curriculum Review & Connections: Please fill out this 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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Enrolling Transfer Students in Choice |
We have received several questions with regards to students that transferred to your school this past year and whether or not they can apply for a Choice Voucher.
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Basically, a student meets the application requirement if at least one of the 6 conditions listed in these requirements is TRUE. Check the links above for complete details. |
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When you log in, click on the DIPLOMAS button. You can order either diplomas where you will write in the name, or you can upload an excel file of the graduates and have their name put on the diploma. Please contact Digicopy at 920-857-2208 with questions or for assistance.
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The Called & Gifted™ Discernment Process has been used since 1993 by over 100,000 lay, ordained, and religious Catholics and other Christians around the world. It is designed to help Christians discern the presence of charisms in their lives. Charisms, or spiritual gifts, are special abilities given to all Christians by the Holy Spirit to give them power both to represent Christ and to be a channel of God's goodness for people. |
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Called & Gifted Workshop
Saturday, March 12
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
St. Raphael in Oshkosh
Facilitated by the Catherine of Siena Institute
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Greetings from the Office of Safe Environment to School Leaders |
As a friendly reminder, all employees/volunteers that support your school as principals, administrators, teachers, substitute teachers, chaperones, coaches, aides, hall monitors, bus drivers, etc., must meet the diocesan Safe Environment Requirements. All employees (paid personnel regardless of position/job title) and all adult volunteers who have contact with minors as part of their volunteer duties are required to. . . |
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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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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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April 27
Summer School, Application Verifications, Choice Administrator Changes, School Information Update Forms, Designee/Admin Trainings
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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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