ALWAYS....REACHING HIGHER
From the Superintendent...
Greetings!

We have a change to share in our office. Janeal Grosinger will be leaving our office team at the end of this week. Janeal has worked for the Office for Catholic Schools for nine years and has served four superintendents. During her time, she has provided support to and built strong relationships with our principals as the coordinator for their professional development activities.  

She is positive and has a problem-solving attitude that has deepened the work in the Office for Catholic Schools. I have certainly appreciated Janeal’s institutional knowledge and commitment to Catholic education as I have transitioned into this role, and as a principal, I always valued her responsiveness and support.  
While I am sad to see her leave our team, I find consolation knowing Janeal will continue to serve in the archdiocese as she takes on a new position at one of our Catholic high schools. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Please see below under Governance and Leadership for an official announcement from Archbishop Etienne announcing the opening of Cristo Rey High School in the archdiocese in July 2024, following the completion of a feasibility study this January. I am excited to welcome this high school into our community of Catholic schools as it deepens our opportunity to serve more students, widening the reach of Catholic education to more families. 

With President’s Day weekend, we will not have a Keystone next week. We will return on February 27th. We will also not have the 11 AM principal meetings next week. They will resume on February 28th.

With gratitude, 
Nicholas 

NICHOLAS FORD |  Superintendent
Office for Catholic Schools | Archdiocese of Seattle

Principal
Morning Meetings
2/14 Principal Morning Meeting 11:00 AM
March CIC Overview with Connor and Feedback from PD&C Day / Annual Progress Reports with Justyna and Connor
Marshal Memo #971: Fostering Productive Mindsets in Mathematics Classes
2/15 New Principal Morning Meeting 11:00 AM
2/16 Principal Morning Meeting 11:00 AM
Governance and Leadership with Pam Schwartz
Marshall Memo #971: A Daily Huddle for a School Leadership Team
ACTION ITEMS (clickable links below)
CALENDAR EVENTS
FEBRUARY
MARCH
(Click links next to dates for more information)

2/20 President's Day - Chancery Offices are Closed
2/28 High School Leaders Meeting 12:00 PM at Holy Names

3/1 Annual Progress Reports Due no later than March 1st
3/1 Academic Calendars 2023-2024 Due no later than March 1st
3/15 Principal Intent Forms Due no later than March 15th

March 1- April 28 Private School Application Due April 28th (required for all schools)
ACRE
The ACRE religion assessment window is scheduled from Wednesday, March 29 – Friday, April 28, 2023 for all 5th and 8th grade students in our archdiocesan schools. Please work with your teachers to prepare for the testing window. ACRE information, including how to order your testing materials, is linked below.
March CIC Local Retreat Toolkit
The Christ in the Classroom toolkit for your March 10 local retreats is now live! Please access it at the following link before our 11am principals' meeting tomorrow, when we will walk through the toolkit together. Note that you may use this new toolkit, a previous toolkit, or expand upon the themes of the fall retreat for your March retreat.
Governance & Leadership
Schwartz Newsletter - February 13, 2023
In this edition: Private School Application opens March 1st, Due on April 28th for all schools. Reminders from previous weeks are included as well.
Cristo Rey High School Announcement
Please read the message from Archbishop Etienne and Nicholas Ford on the Cristo Rey High School.
Educational Leadership Partners Program
The Fulcrum Foundation's Educational Leadership Grant Program will open on Wednesday.Fulcrum provides partial scholarships for aspiring administrators and principals to pursue degree programs and/or principal certification programs in Educational Leadership from our Catholic partner universities. For more information contact Kelly Surapaneni, kelly.surapaneni@seattlearch.org
Put in your PACE Teacher Requests by Feb. 24th

Academic Excellence
Early Learning Newsletter - February 13, 2023

Weekly Newsletter will cover resources, professional development, upcoming meetings and more!
Anti-Racism Resources and Support for Black History Month
This webpage has resources for social change in the realm of anti-racism and can help frame the good work that is being done in our Catholic schools during Black History Month and beyond.
Annual Progress Report 2022-23 Information

Due March 1st! All Catholic schools are required to complete the annual progress report; schools in WCEA must complete all sections. Schools in different accreditation systems must complete the Catholic identity portion of the progress report.
Operational Vitality
Supplemental 2023/2024 Budget Letter from Parish Financial Services
Each February Parish Financial Services distributes a package of information to facilitate Parish and School budgeting for the following fiscal year. The letter in this link was an early supplement to that process. It was shared through PAA's throughout the Archdiocese in December, 2022, but was not shared with OCS at that time. We are sharing it now to make sure certain elements in this document can be considered in your 2023/2024 Budget work. Also, there is a change in the Stock donation process that was effective in January, 2023. We apologize that this was not shared with all of you in December. Please let John Sullivan know if any of the elements in this letter can be explained further.
Timely Review and Approval of Substitute Time Sheets
Substitutes are paid on a semi-monthly basis (from the 1rst to the 15th is paid on the 25th and the 16th through the end of the month is paid on the 10th of the following month). Please make sure that your Primary Payroll Processor reviews and approves the time sheets for days Substitutes work at your school by the first day after the end of these Pay Periods (the 16th and the 1rst). Any time input into Paycom time sheets will be paid even if not approved, but it is important that charges to your School are correct and approved. As of Sunday 2/5/23 22 Schools had unapproved Substitute Time Sheet Days. Please address.
Potential PSE Natural Gas Supply Issues
Puget Sound Natural Gas supply issues can be creating challenges for some of our Schools. If your Natural Gas is supplied by PSE and you are billed on Schedule 86, please consult with your PAA about potential supply issues during winter months. If you need further assistance addressing this, please reach out to Ed Foster at the Chancery or John Sullivan.
March Teacher Recruitment Events - Registration is Open
The Office for Catholic Schools will have a presence at the Washington State Educator's Fair in Tacoma & Spokane and recruit the Frontline postings for all 72 schools. You can also register and attend these events. See the link for more information.
2023-2024 Academic Calendar - Due March 1st
Academic calendars for the 2023-2024 school year are due to the Office for Catholic Schools by March 1st.
710 Ninth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104