Catholic Schools Walk

Dear Families,

It is once again Catholic Schools’ Walk time. For me, this event will always trigger the smell-memories of whipped cream, souring in real time in the deep recesses of my nose, the folds of skin under my eyes, and in the creases of my ears. Last year, I eagerly and naively volunteered to take a parade of pies to the face. Hopefully no softball players are selected this year, but should one be, I will know better than to publicly taunt them prior to launch. 

We do the walk as a school community event. We walk through our neighborhoods down to our village park, in what will hopefully be beautiful fall weather. We pray before we leave the school. We pray as we walk. Once we get there, we’ll pray even more, because prayer is the primary way we communicate with God, who is the reason for our school and everything we do. This year, when we get to the park, we will celebrate and play, because Joy should be a part of everything we do here, too.

Our focus this year for the donations is to support our teachers. Over and over, when asked what families most like about this school, the answer is always the teachers. They are the people on the front lines with our students. They teach content, model inquiry and a Christian approach to study. They come in early, stay late, and frequently work at home and on the weekends. The teachers are the lifeblood of a school; they exhibit the joy and dedication that makes a place like St. Mary’s Visitation truly special. Those that are here we want to have stay, and see them build a career growing in our community and serving our students. When they leave, we want this to be a place that attracts and inspires a new cohort who are the best in the field of Catholic education. 

So, keep an eye out for updates on the walk, which will be coming soon. We hope you are able to donate, volunteer, or at the very minimum live vicariously through your children on what should be a great day. I have already started bracing myself for another onslaught of pie!

God Bless,

Siggy Spelter

Principal

School Office Notes

Update from Mrs. Pogacar about Accreditation

Over the past 12 months, staff have been researching and collecting evidence for our self-study for this year’s school Accreditation. St. Mary’s Visitation is hosting an Accreditation Visiting Team on site November 5th and 6th. The Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Association (WRISA) accredits all religious and independent schools. Every seven years they conduct a school evaluation to validate its educational programs, quality, and unique mission. The purpose of Accreditation is to affirm the contributions of teachers, staff, administration, and the entire school community in the implementation of the school’s mission and Catholic Identity. 

The Visiting Team is a team of professional educators who visit the school for two days and conduct a comprehensive review that validates the findings of a self-study report, which entails an examination of four domains: Mission and Catholic Identity, Governance and Leadership, Academic Excellence, and Operational Vitality. The team will then make recommendations based on our narratives written and evidence we have documented in those four domains. 

We want to keep our school community apprised with the process. Please continue to keep St. Mary’s Visitation staff, students, and community in your prayers as we go through this journey together. We are excited to show our school to the Visiting Team and look forward to affirming our school’s mission and Catholic Identity. 

School Photos - next Thursday

Students and staff will have their school photos taken the morning of Thursday, September 26th. Students may be out of uniform and wear dress up clothes on this day, if they wish.

School photo packages should be ordered before picture day to receive online discounts and to avoid late delivery fees. Visit mylifetouch.com

Our picture day ID is: EVT22SGMD

Yearbooks were a part of the tuition fees this year, so no need to worry about ordering those. Yay! Everyone will get one!

Health Room Supply Donations Appreciated!

Our students work hard and play hard, and then scrape their knees and much more in the process! If you have any extras to spare, or would like to donate to our school health room, we would greatly appreciate and accept the following:

• Band Aids (assorted sizes)
• Baby wipes
• Kleenex/tissue
• Paper towels
• Reusable Hot/Cold Gel Packs
• CaviWipes or Sani-Cloth (germicidal disposal wipes)

A few gently-used, smaller sized, uniform school skirts, leggings, shorts and polo shirts are also welcome, for times when accidents happen. Thank you!

Cristo Rey Corporate Work Study Program

This year at SMV, we are continuing our partnership with Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. We have four students who work with us in job-sharing teams.

On Tuesdays, we welcome Abril and Viri. Wednesdays we collaborate with Melanie and on Thursdays Hugo joins us. On Fridays, student workers rotate and help assist with different tasks throughout the school. For the next four weeks, we will feature a student worker blurb in Virtual Backpack with their picture. This way, when you see them throughout the building you can put a name with a face. Let’s give our students workers a warm SMV welcome to our school community!