Office of
Catholic Schools

December 16, 2022

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An Advent Prayer


God of Love,

Your son, Jesus, is your

greatest gift to us.

He is a sign of your love.

Help us walk in that love during the weeks of Advent,

As we wait and prepare for his coming.

We pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior.

Amen.


Resources

Next editions of the Office of Catholic Schools Newsletter:


January 6

January 20

Look for topics in previous editions:
Index of Past Topics
Archive of Superintendent’s emails:
Archived emails
Calendar Items
(See details in articles below)

Dec. 23 - Jan. 1: Diocesan Offices Closed for Christmas Break

Jan. 1: Annual School Safety Report is due

Jan. 9: New School Administrator Meeting

Jan. 9: DASA North & Northeast Meeting

Jan. 10: School Choice registrations and auditors fees due

Jan. 13: Pupil Count Day for DPI

Jan. 16: DASA Central Meeting

Jan. 19: DASA Southeast Meeting

Jan. 25: DASA Executive Meeting

Jan. 24 - Feb. 4: Catholic Schools Week



Link to: OCS 2023-2024 Calendar

2022-23 Schools Calendar
Important Dates for Private School Choice Programs
New Items

Catholic Educator Formation and Credential Program


The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education offers a robust alternative to state teacher licensure: a national credential that prepares educators to infuse a deeply Catholic philosophy and practice of education into their teaching.


The Catholic Educator Formation and Credential (CEFC) program is an 18-month hybrid program that features five robust courses on content and pedagogy rooted in Catholic philosophy and theology.


The application is now open to be part of our fourth cohort: the 2023-2024 national cohort of K-12 educators, which kicks off July 31-August 4, 2023 with one of three in-person sessions at Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee.


Please share this with teachers who may be interested. Click here for more information on the program.

Harm Reduction Presentation


This week, Catholic Charities hosted a webinar with presenter Jane DePrey on Harm Reduction. The information from this session is difficult to hear, but important to know. We will be sharing some training options for adults and teens at future DASA meetings. Below is a video of the presentation.

Missionary Childhood Association


Are you teachers looking for some special activities to keep the children busy as Christmas approaches?


Here are some Advent and Christmas resources featuring materials and information with a mission focus for this season. Newly added: the December "A Moment for the Missions" Interactive Calendar, as well as several resources from the Boston MCA Office. Access all at this link.


Visit MCA's website to see the winners of the National Christmas Artwork Contest. Each winning drawing may be sent as a Christmas eGreeting. Congratulations to Bernadette L., from the Diocese of Green Bay, whose winning picture can be seen above. Bernadette is a homeschool student who is part of St. Joseph Parish in Kellnersville. Click the link to send an eGreetingt: eGreetings.missio.org

School Choice Updates


Please complete and submit the Notice of School's Intent to Participate (ITP) in OAS as soon as possible, but no later than Tuesday, January 10, 2023.


The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) encourages schools to view the following helpful resources to answer common questions for the ITP:

If you are considering adding a grade level for next school year, this must be added in the ITP. The school must also be sure the grade is accredited by August 1, 2023.

Below are links to the three-part webinar series, Protecting Religious Freedom in Catholic Education, hosted by The Cardinal Newman Society. You can click on the links below to view each recording or, as a bonus, click on the link to view a compilation edition that takes the key portions of each recording and condenses them into a single one-hour episode.


Click here for the compilation video or below on the link of your choosing.


Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel for Becket Law, presented on "Recent Key Court Rulings Impacting Catholic Education." Click here.


Gregory Baylor, senior counsel and director of the Center for Religious Schools at Alliance Defending Freedom, presented on "Current Threats to Religious Freedom and Opportunities for Religious Education." Click here.


Patrick Reilly, founder, and president of The Cardinal Newman Society presented on "Defending Against New Threats to Catholic Identity." Click here.

REMINDER for System Schools:

For those schools that attended the Vocation Event November 9th and 10th in Appleton, all bus invoices are due to the Office of Catholic Schools for reimbursement by December 31, 2022. After that time, we will not be able to reimburse your school for the bus costs. Please send invoices to Debbie Linnane at dlinnane@gbdioc.org.


Curriculum Corner

Curriculum Planning Team


We will begin the process of reviewing and revising our curriculum standards in the new year. At this time, we are looking for members to create a core team made up of administrators and curriculum directors. Our first meeting for the core team will take place on January 24 from 1:00 - 3:00. Please contact Liz Goldman if you're interested in participating.


Moving forward, as we look at each curriculum area, we will look for individuals who specialize in each area. Please begin to think about teacher who are strong in specific subject areas.

Renaissance Learning Presentation



Renaissance Learning has offered all of the schools in the Diocese of Green Bay an opportunity to pilot the programs below through the end of the school year for FREE! Subscriptions will be available by mid to late January. When I was a principal in the Diocese of Madison, our teachers used many of the options listed below. Each one offers great resources for connect, extend, and challenge students. I would highly recommend giving these resources a try.  


If you are interested in participating in an/all of the options, please contact Liz Goldman by Tuesday, December 20.


UPDATED LINKS:

Freckle – https://www.renaissance.com/products/freckle/

AR-  https://www.renaissance.com/products/accelerated-reader/

myON- https://www.renaissance.com/products/myon/

myON News - https://www.renaissance.com/products/myon-news/

Lalilo- https://www.renaissance.com/products/lalilo/

Star Phonics - https://www.renaissance.com/products/star-phonics/


Worth Repeating

IMPORTANT Information from WCRIS about the Annual Safety Report due on January 1


A Message from WCRIS:


Your school’s annual safety submission is due to the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety (OSS) on January 1. This is required of all private schools, regardless of your participation in the choice programs or past receipt of school safety grants. You can find more information on what’s required here.


To submit your documents to the state, you must use a unique ShareFile login that may have been created with a previous administrator’s information. We recommend that you check your access to the ShareFile now, and contact the OSS if you cannot locate it.


Be aware that January 1 is not only a holiday, but also a Sunday this year.

This fall, you may have been notified that your school was not in compliance and consequently submitted missing documents. That was for 2022. Regardless of any previous submissions, a new upload of all documents is required for 2023 from your school by January 1.


Compliance with this law is not only important in maintaining a safe school environment, but on-time, completed submissions make your school eligible for future state safety funding in an emergency.


We recommend contacting the OSS with specific questions about your safety submission. After that, if you have further questions or concerns, please contact WCRIS. We are here to serve.

Sharefile Instructions
Link to DOJ Sharefile
Safety Report Checklist

Catholic School Playbook


Check out the Catholic School Playbook, a free Catholic school resource. In addition to the website, you can also join the mailing list for regular newsletters filled with articles to inspire your work.

School Choice Training


The Choice Team will again be offering virtual training sessions geared towards new schools to the Choice Program for the 2022-23 school year. As we did last year, we would like to extend this opportunity to existing schools in the Choice Program who are interested in a refresher related to program requirements (see topics below). New Choice Administrators and Designees may find these training sessions particularly helpful. The dates and topics covered can be found below. The trainings will be offered via Microsoft Teams; the link to each training can be found below as well. Please note these trainings are not mandatory but encouraged.  


All times are 3:30 - 4:30 on the dates listed below:

 


More . . .
NCEA Newlsetter Link
Click on icon below to read the latest issue of Catholic School Matters Newsletter from NCEA and Dr. Tim Uhl.
Full Education Policy Manual for SY 2022-2023


Office of Catholic Schools


Questions? Contact us at education@gbdioc.org or (920) 272-8273.

www.gbdioc.org/catholicschools

Diocese of Green Bay
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