Joyfully Catholic

Dear Directors and Principals,

We are excited that we are only ten days away from our Diocesan Professional Development Day! Friday, September 29^th will be packed full of opportunities to connect with your colleagues across the Diocese and to learn and grow professionally. You will find an agenda for the day included in this edition of the Wednesday WOW. Please share the agenda with your teachers and staff so they can begin to consider the sessions that will best meet their needs. We are looking forward to coming together to share the JOY of Catholic education.

Joyfully,

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

We are excited about next week's Professional Development Day! Please share the following agenda and programs with your staff.

Agenda for PD Day 2023

K-12 PD Day Program

Please have all ECC teachers and staff that will be attending the Professional Development Fill out this Registration Form. This will allow us to ensure that everyone gets credit for their training through MoPID.

Here is a document that outlines the sessions that will be offered for MoPID Credit. ECC PD Day Program

EANS MEETING - TODAY!!!

EANS IIA is a 3rd round of COVID Relief funds available to ALL private schools, EVEN if you took a PPP2 loan. Nicolette will host a Zoom meeting for our Diocesan schools Wednesday, September 20 @ 11 a.m. If you have not yet attended an EANS IIA meeting, please plan to attend. There is an important deadline on September 29th. Do not miss out on this round of funding! Zoom meeting link

PHONICS FOR READING

If you would like to participate in the pilot reading remediation program for 3rd - 12th graders - Phonics for Reading, please use the attached assessment to determine how many books in each level you will need and email your request to Nicolette. There is funding to purchase these materials, so there is no cost for schools. Phonics for Ready Placement Test

2023-2024 DATA COLLECTION

This year all staff and enrollment numbers should be as of September 15. All school reports need to be emailed to Sherri Hennen no later than September 29.

2023-24 NCEA School Datab a nk Form

School Video Explanation of Form

SCHOOL ROSTERS NEEDED

In order to make our reporting easier, please complete your school rosters which are located in your school's Google folder. All school rosters need to be completed by October 1.

SCHOOL SAFETY GRANTS

Did you apply for the School Safety Grant?

Yes

Iowa Flex Benchmarking

Please look at your school’s results carefully. Several schools have contacted me about not being able to see all the student’s scores on the reports. If this is happening to you, you must call the Data Manager and let them know so they can work on it.

NCEA RISE (Acre) Testing

A reminder that we will test all 5^th, 8^th, and 11^th graders in November with the NCEA Rise (ACRE) test. This is an online assessment that you will need to register your students for. You can find more information at https://ncearise.org/ to register and order the assessments. 5^th Grade will take Level 1; 8^th grade will take Level 2 and 11^th Grade will take Level 3.

PRIESTHOOD SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

Priesthood Sunday is a special day set aside to honor priesthood. The following are resources that can be used to celebrate your parish priest:

Priesthood Sunday Resources

Priesthood Sunday Bulletin Announcements

Priesthood Sunday Signs for Parishes

Prayer for Priest before Mass

INTERNATIONAL ROSARY & MARIAN PROCESSION

On October 7^th St. Patrick parish in Kansas City will host the International Rosary and Marian Procession from 10 am-12 pm, with His Excellency Bishop James Johnston. For more information click HERE.

The Office of Divine Worship is looking for Rosary leaders of International languages, school servers, and choir members to participate in areas of service. Please contact sage@diocesekcsj.org if you can offer your gifts and talents!!

We invite all to walk in procession with banners from parish organizations or schools, priests, deacons, and lay people from all ages are welcome to celebrate this day in honor of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary!

(Please share this in your parish announcements, bulletins, website, and display boards.)

APPLICATIONS BEING ACCEPTED

Applications for the 2023 Rev. Msgr. Larry J. Droll's scholarship for Catholic Laity is being accepted. The deadline to apply is October 16, 2023. For more information review the below documents.

Rev. Msgr. Larry J. Droll Scholarship Fund Letter

Rules of Eligibility for the Rev. Msgr. Larry J. Droll Scholarship Fund

Application for the Rev. Msgr. Larry J. Droll Scholarship

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

If you are looking for high-quality professional development opportunities for your staff, please consider reaching out to Jodie Maddox at 913-908-8220. Some popular topics include Differentiated Instruction for Children with ADHD, Dyslexia, and Anxiety; Effects of Too Much Passive Technology in the Classroom; and A Social Emotional Learning Survey, School Reflection and Implementation Plan. Your Title funds can be used for these PD opportunities.

What Affect is Passive Technology Time Having on Classroom Motivation and Focus

Guided Social Emotional Learning for Classroom Teachers 2023

Differentiated Instruction

DKCSJ -

CATHOLIC CHANCERY DIRECTORY

The Diocese Directory has been placed in the administrative portal of our website. Also, you can click HERE.

MARKETING KIT FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Please find the NCEA 2023-2024 Marketing Kit for Catholic Schools HERE. This document has ideas for your schools for Discover Catholic Schools week in November and then to celebrate your Catholic School in January 2024. Every school should be doing something during Discover Catholic Schools week in November – host an Open House, host a Literacy or Math night in your building and have current families bring in a new family with them, send students out to read at area daycare centers in their uniforms, etc. Be creative with what to do to promote Catholic Education to your community.

September Prayer Intentions

Pope Francis: We pray for those persons living on the margins of society, in inhumane life conditions; may they not be overlooked by institutions and never considered of lesser importance.

Bishop Johnston: That individuals, institutions, and nations will exercise wise stewardship of God’s gift of creation, care for the environment, and responsible use of resources in accordance with Christian principles

Do you have prayer intentions that you would like our school communities to lift up? Complete this form to submit them for future Wednesday WOWs!