A Prayer for Ash Wednesday

God of goodness and mercy,

Hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day.

Amen.

More prayers for Lent from Catholic Dynamic can be found here.

Lenten Resources

Prayers and Resources for

Black History Month

"I want to be present. I want to be ready. I want to share what I have - my life, my laughter, my love, my joy. I want to give to you as I receive from you. I want to learn from you. I want my children to learn from you so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past, so that we can grow together and walk together and talk together and live together in love, in joy, in peace forever." Sister Thea Bowman

Saint Joesphine Bakhita

Venerable Pierre Toussaint

Sister Thea Bowman

Next editions of the Office of Catholic Schools Newsletter:

March 3

March 17

Register for TECIP Training Today

Tragic events within the school or parish community, such as an unexpected death, or a catastrophic disaster, have significant potential to inflict pain, turmoil, confusion, and heartache on both students and staff. With this recognition, the primary purpose of this two-day course is to introduce a flexible proactive Traumatic Event Crisis Intervention Plan (TECIP)® that can be readily implemented following exposure, either directly or indirectly, to a traumatic event.

This course will provide participants with knowledge, protocols and materials designed to facilitate (1) competent, thorough, and proactive pre-incident (traumatic event) preparation, (2) subsequent day (after students and staff have returned) deployment of crisis response team members and management of the building response, and (3) familiarity with a variety of intervention strategies and documents specifically designed to strengthen building response following a traumatic event.

There will be a training at the Diocese of Green Bay on April 24 and April 25 from 8-4. Please plan on being in attendance both days. Lunch and training materials will be provided. There is no charge for the training thanks to a grant from the Catholic Foundation. Advance registration is required. To register please go to https://connect.gbdioc.org/s3/TECIP-Training-Registration. For questions, please contact Lori Paul at lpaul@gbdioc.org or 920-272-8318.

IMPORTANT Reminders from the

Office of Safe Environment

Greetings from the Office of Safe Environment to all School Leaders Spring 2023

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 personal regardless of position/job title) and all adult volunteers who have contact with minors as part of their volunteer duties are required to:

1)  Have a Diocese of Green Bay approved background check,

2)  Complete a VIRTUS "Protecting God's Children" Adult Online Awareness session,

3)  Review and sign either the Our Promise to Protect (employees) or the Diocesan Code of Pastoral Conduct for Volunteers (volunteers). 

Not only does the Charter require that adults must receive safe environment training but the diocese is also required to provide safe environment training for the children.  In the school setting each child must receive three hours per grade level each year of safe environment training.  The diocese purchased the VIRTUS Lesson Plans for children and they can be found on the diocese website at:

Safe Environment Lesson Plans and Resources for Children | Protecting Our Children | Protecting Our Children (gbdioc.org)

The VIRTUS lesson plans are meant to be used as the primary safe environment training material.  A school may always supplement the lesson plans, but the basis of the training needs to be the VIRTUS lesson plans.

Parents need to be aware of when the safe environment training will be presented, that they can request the materials to review and that they have the option to opt their child out of the safe environment training. Our hope would be to see no child opted out of the safe environment training. It’s important the communication explaining the safe environment training focuses on teaching what is and is not appropriate boundaries, what to do when someone makes a child feel uncomfortable, and who they can talk to about what they are feeling.

Thank you for all you do, especially in keeping our children safe!    

Diplomas for the Class of 2023

If you need diplomas for your 8th grade students, you will need to order them from the Digicopy Portal. To access the portal and to order. go to https://gbdioc.dcopy.net/login 

Enter your username and password - your username is your email and, if you have never used the Digicopy Portal, your password is 1234 and you will be prompted to change it. If you have difficulty logging in, please contact Jeremy Vaughn at vaughn@dcopy.net to have your password reset. 

Click on the Blue Square labeled DIPLOMAS. Follow the directions while choosing the options you want.

If you chose the option to have the student name pre-printed on the diploma, you will be required to download and complete the diploma spreadsheet template.  

When you check out you will be required to pay. If you do not have a school credit card, please contact DigiCopy to make payment arrangements.  

Instructions are also included on the web page and all customer support information for DigiCopy is also included at the bottom of the web page.

If you have any questions or need assistance with ordering, please contact Jeremy Vaughn at DigiCopy: vaughn@dcopy.net or 920-857-2208. 

Wisconsin Parental Choice

Program Application Portal

is Now Open!

The WPCP application portal for the 23-24 school opened on Feb 1st.

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has posted a number of resources for Choice schools and parents for the upcoming 2023-24 student application process.

Resources For Parents: https://dpi.wi.gov/choice

• Link to Online Parent Application
• Application Process Presentation
• Overview of Private School Choice Programs in Wisconsin Handout (available in English and Spanish)
• Application Guidelines for Parents Handout (available in English and Spanish)
• Frequently Asked Questions for Parents (available in English and Spanish)
• Online Parent Application Print Screens
• School Lists and Contact Information (will be posted by January 31)
• Allowed Residency Documents
• Alternative Residency Documentation Form
• 2023-24 Income Limits

These resources may be helpful in answering questions parents have when applying and schools assisting parents with the application process. 

Hiring for the 2023-2024 School Year

It is that time of year when principals begin to post for open positions. Before posting new positions on WECAN, please be sure to review your old/current postings. Remove or revise them as necessary to ensure the information posted is accurate.

In addition to using WECAN, we encourage you to share openings on your school Facebook page, in the church bulletin, and other local resources. Please let our office know what positions you need to fill.

Speaking of hiring, the Office of Catholic Schools at the Diocese of Green Bay is currently seeking a full time versatile & highly motivated School Finance Coordinator. Do you have a talent for working with numbers? Would you like to work in a faith-filled environment? If the answer is yes, this may be the calling for you. For more information, click here.

Vocations

Over the past few months, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit and meet with some of our local Religious Sisters. I've enjoyed learning about the beginnings of Catholic education in our area, some examples predating the existence of the Diocese of Green Bay! The priests who settled here and began our parishes were so focused on also establishing Catholic schools which were run by several religious orders. Now most of our Catholic school educators today are lay people. We would not be where we are without the work of those who came before us.

It is important for us, and for our students, to remember the Vocation of our Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, Religious Sisters, and those in Formation. Please take time to pray for these men and women with your students. If you would like to have posters for Religious Vocations, please contact me: Liz Goldman

Visit the Holy Family Convent in Manitowoc

The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity have extended an invitation to our Catholic Schools to visit the convent. If you are near Manitowoc, or have another field trip planned that would take you through Manitowoc, I think you and your students would love the experience. The visit would include a tour, which lasts about an hour. There is also a gym there so the kids can run around before getting back on the bus. Please contact Sr. Julie Ann Sheehan at 920-323-9632.

"Sophia Institute for teachers was founded in 2013 to renew and rebuild Catholic culture through serve to Catholic education." Sophia Institute for Teachers

Each summer, the Diocese of Green Bay hosts a 2-day event for Catholic school teachers and parish catechists to attend. This is FREE to all who particpate. We are excited for the line up planned for this year.

• The Catholic Faith and Science
• Tuesday, August 1
• Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help
• Source and Summit: The Most Holy Eucharist
• Wednesday, August 2
• Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help

Seating is limited, so Sign Up NOW!

E-Rate Reminder

The E-rate application window is now open for filing requests for the 2023-2024 school year. Please take this opportunity to receive substantial discounts on a wide range of advanced telecommunications services, including broadband internet access, distance learning and videoconferencing service, high speed data connections and internal wiring and wireless network equipment for your school classrooms. More information about the E-rate program is available here on the NCEA website. The link to the forms on the application site is here.

If you are not receiving them already,

be sure to sign up to get updates from WCRIS.

WCRIS updates: https://www.wcris.org/

• Tuition Tax Deduction
• Compliance Requirements
• SNSP Professional Development
• School Choice Information
• Legislative Updates
• and more.

Tax Deduction Message from WCRIS

Tax season is quickly approaching. And a simple form can help your families deduct up to $4,000 for K-8 grade tuition and $10,000 for 9-12 grade tuition on their state income taxes.

This state tax deduction has been available since 2014, thanks to WCRIS advocacy and your support. The deduction saves private school families nearly $8 million per year. The state budgets for around $12 million per year so there is room for more families to use the deduction.

School principals should send the Wisconsin Department of Revenue Schedule PS form home with students. Give parents a head start by filling in your school’s name in the first column, school address in the second column and school/church Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) in the third column.

Please share this form with your families. Feel free to contact WCRIS with any questions. Learn more about the tuition tax deduction here.

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:

• March 8: Frequently asked questions during open application - Click here to join the meeting
• April 12: Summer School, Application Verifications, Choice Administrator Changes, School Information Update Forms, Designee/Admin Trainings - Click here to join the meeting

NCEA Newsletter Link

Click on icon below to read the latest issue of Catholic School Matters Newsletter from NCEA and Dr. Tim Uhl. (updated link)

Office of Catholic Schools

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

www.gbdioc.org/catholicschools