Disciple Dispatch

From the Principal's Desk

Hello IHM Families!

What an amazing, rewarding week we have had as the Accreditation Team filled with teachers and administrators around the diocese, as well as Superintendent Sarah Gray and consultant from the diocese Suzi Furtwangler here on Wednesday and Thursday. They went through all the 77 benchmarks in 13 Standards from the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA). These are the measures of a successful Catholic school broken down into four main pillars; Mission and Catholic Identity, Governance and Leadership, Academic Excellence, and Operational Vitality. As a staff, we have been rating ourselves and gathering evidence for these 77 benchmarks for the last year and a half. The team comes and looks at what we scored ourselves along with all the evidence and provides a score as well. The things that they identify as weaknesses we can work on for the next five years until accreditation comes around again. I'm proud to say that the team has recommended that we be reaccredited! The team was so impressed with IHM, particularly the community and the fact that we are so mission-focused. They found the students to be joyful and engaged, and credited the teachers with creating this wonderful, faith-filled environment. They were genuinely impressed with IHM. Thank you parents for your support and all you do to make this such a great community. Thank you teachers and staff who have spent countless hours working on the evidence for this visit. They said our motto of "Disciples First, then Diplomas" is definitely accurate! We are clearly mission first, but also have high academic expectations, and results! During this time of Thanksgiving, I am so grateful to be a part of it all.  

Please keep in your prayers Ms. Kelly DeVries who has extended her time of leave from teaching technology. At the start of the school year Ms. DeVries was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle. Thankfully, her cardiologist says it's treatable, though unfortunately, it's not a quick fix. For now, they need her to take it easy. That gives her heart the time it needs to repair itself so she can have the energy she needs to be in the classroom again. At this time, she is hoping to return in February. This is the same information we have shared with the kids. We have been immensely blessed with Mr. Kevin Varner, former principal at Our Lady of Consolation, as our technology sub since the beginning of the school year. He is unable to continue, but we have Jackie Spreitzer, who was a technology teacher for a long time, willing to jump in until February. She already had some commitments we are working around, but the students will be well taken care of!  Have a wonderful weekend and an abundantly blessed Thanksgiving!

Blessings,

Mrs. Holly Lake