Lent: A Season of Service

Good morning, Kristin,

As we approach Ash Wednesday and enter the sacred season of Lent, we are invited into a time of reflection, repentance, and renewal. This season is a gift—an opportunity to step back from the busyness of life and reorient our hearts toward God.

Lent provides a wonderful opportunity to engage our school communities in the Archdiocese’s Season of Service. The Season of Service is an opportunity for us to join together as the living Body of Christ, marking 175 years of the Archdiocese of Seattle, honoring our rich faith heritage and demonstrating our commitment to serving others. For more information on the Season of Service, click here.

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This past week marked a significant milestone in our accreditation process as we completed our last visit with the ISL protocol. This completes our transition to our utilization of the Standards of Excellence protocol, which fully aligns with the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools. I want to recognize the work of Justyna King, who has spearheaded our successful transition as an archdiocese, and thank you to all schools who have already completed the process.

With gratitude,

NICHOLAS FORD | Superintendent

Office for Catholic Schools | Archdiocese of Seattle

OPERATIONS CALENDAR & MONTHLY TASK LIST

Click here & log into mycatholicschool.org

Principal Weekly Meetings

3/6/2025 - Hiring Protocols, Policies, and Best Practices with Pam Schwartz

3/13/2025 - Coverage Counts: Navigating Insurance Reporting Requirements with Tony Henderson

3/20/2025 - Curriculum Committees: Key Updates for Principals with Justyna King

3/27/2025 - Catholic Identity Goal Setting with Connor Geraghty

Upcoming Events

March 11, 2025

Executive Principals Meeting

St. Thomas, Tukwila

March 17, 2025

Curriculum Review Committee

March 26, 2025

OCS Presents PD Series - Inspiration

Via Zoom

March 28, 2025

BLC Lent Retreat

Peace and Spirituality Retreat Center

March 28 & 29, 2025

Latino Summit

St. Thomas, Tukwila

April 1, 2025

DUE: SBE Private Schools Approval & Participation in Federal

Click here for more information

MISSION & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

Latino Summit

Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. Catholic Church—yet they remain the most underserved by Catholic schools. Together can we change that! We’ve partnered with the University of Notre Dame’s Catholic School Advantage – Latino Enrollment Institute to provide schools and parishes with a proven framework to attract, support, and uplift Latino families in meaningful ways. FOR SCHOOL & PARISH STAFF Click here for more information.

Care Solace Super Care Heroes

Congratulations to our 2024 Care Solace Super Care Heroes! Please click here to learn about this award and read testimonials about how our leaders are partnering with Care Solace to support the mental health care needs of their communities.

Inspiration & Resources for Lent

Please use this collection of resources to help support your school community throughout the season of Lent. The links provided include a variety of tools to be used in classrooms, faculty meetings, and family newsletters.

Season of Service Report Form

We hope that every school will be represented in the Season of Service spiritual bouquet photobook that will be presented to Archbishop Etienne in celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Seattle. Use this form to submit your hours and photos today!

NCEA Inclusive Practices Survey

The National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) is collaborating with the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) to learn more about current approaches to the inclusion of students with disabilities in Catholic schools nationwide. We invite all principals to complete this survey to inform this crucial work.

March CIC Toolkit

The March CIC Toolkit extends our fall retreat with further prayerful reflection on Jesus' many teachings and leadership lessons from the Gospels.

Access the toolkit here.

WSCC Catholic Advocacy Bulletin

Click here for the latest WSCC Catholic Advocacy Bulletin.

GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP

Schwartz's Update for the Week of 3/3/25

Included this week: Important upcoming due dates/information for private school approval and participation in federal programs.

Click here to read more.

Seattle University's Teaching Program

Seattle University has launched a Catholic Schools Teaching Corps Program (starts Summer 2025). Click the link to connect with CSTC.

Exciting Leadership Scholarship Opportunities!

Click the link to learn about leadership scholarships from ACE and Shea Family Charities to attend ACE Principal Academy & ALMA formation programs.

Contact Kelly Surapaneni, kelly.surapaneni@seattlearch.org with questions.

Educational Leadership

Are you interested in administration? Here is a link to our partner programs. Be sure to check out the Fulcrum Foundation Educational Leadership Grant.

Creighton's Catalyst Program for Aspires

The Catalyst Program for Aspiring Catholic School Leaders is offered for free to Catholic school teachers and leaders who seek to discern a Catholic school leadership. Contact Kelly Surapaneni, kelly.surapaneni@seattlearch.org with questions.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Academic Decathlon was a Great Success!

This past Saturday, 11 teams and 2 PODS from across the Archdiocese gathered at Kennedy Catholic High School for the 2nd Annual Catholic Academic Junior High Decathlon. Each team, made up of 10-12 students, competed in two team events and eight individual subject challenges. Congratulations to our overall first-place winner — for the second year in a row — St. Alphonsus School's Green Team! Shout out to Shauna Richards for coordinating this great event. Email, srichards@sjsissaquah.org if interested in joining this event. CLICK HERE FOR OUR VIDEO.

Early Learning Weekly Newsletter

Click here for important resources and reminders for the Early Learning Program.

PD&C Day Resources are Online

If you'd like to see a session recording or get the resources from a particular session, check out the PD&C Page website for those options.

OPERATIONAL VITALITY

2025/2026 Academic Calendar - DUE NOW!

If you have not already sent in your 25/26 academic calendars, please click on this link for the official academic calendar and the template. Calendars must be turned in in excel format.

Turn in your academic calendars to ocs@seattlearch.org for approval.

Job Posting Requirements

Please remember to use the required verbiage regarding salary and benefits in your job postings. Thank you! OCS will be at University of Portland, Western Washington University, and Seattle University this week.

Check your Job Postings!

Job postings over 90 days old, which are not for the 25/26 school year, have been closed. Please refresh and re-post if still open. Click this link for more information.

2024 Plan Year Lay Pension Bill

Your School's Annual Lay Pension Bill for the year ended 12/31/24 will be charged to your Bank account on 2/24/25. Are you prepared? Read this memo from IPBS and plan accordingly.

Archdiocese Budget Memo

The annual 2025/2026 Archdiocesan Budget Memo is now prepared and available for your use. Questions? Ask John Sullivan.

Monthly School Financial Reporting

Please review the attached list of monthly Financial Reports and reach out to John Sullivan if you are not receiving all of the items on this list.

Multi-Year Budgeting

NSBEC Standard 10 describes an effective Catholic School as one that has a Three to Five Year Financial Plan. Do you? See template in link.

FULCRUM

Nomination Period is Open!

The nomination period is open for the Fulcrum Foundation’s St. John Baptist de la Salle Educator Excellence Awards. These awards recognize eight exceptional educators in regions throughout the archdiocese. Recipients will receive a personal gift and will be honored both at the school level and at Fulcrum’s chairman's event next fall in Seattle. This year, anyone is welcome to submit nominations by April 30, 2025. Please share the nomination form with your community. Questions about the awards can be directed to Amy Hall at Fulcrum (hall.amy@fulcrumfoundation.org).

News & Resources

Submissions

Please submit any news and resources you would like to be shared on the newsletter to Ellie Bailey, eleanor.bailey@seattlearch.org.

Less than 2 weeks left to register!

Jubilee Pilgrimage to France with Archbishop Etienne

Sept. 21-30 | France

In honor of the Jubilee, join Archbishop Paul D. Etienne for a Jubilee pilgrimage to France this September. The pilgrimage includes visits Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur in Paris, Chartres, Normandy, Lisieux, Lourdes and more. Will include daily Mass, prayer and opportunities for adoration. Registration deadline is March 15. Learn more/register

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