Catholic Schools always....REACHING HIGHER
From the Superintendent...
Greetings!

Good morning, 
“It is so that the works of God might be made visible through him” (John 9:3). 

In John’s Gospel yesterday, Jesus’ disciples are asking about the “cause” of the man’s blindness, wondering who sinned that he was born blind. While perhaps not tied to sin, I too have found myself wanting to understand ‘why’ in relationship to a suffering, real or perceived. 

Surely, I have heard Jesus’ response many times over the years, and yet yesterday it struck me in a new way: “It is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” I thought about the students in my classroom who may have needed a behavior modification or an extra dose of compassion and the other students who needed academic modifications or an opportunity to learn in a new way. I thought about the times I received the grace that allowed me to meet the moment, and I thought about the times when I pushed the grace aside and grew impatient or lacked a willingness to push further. 

Yesterday’s Gospel was a welcome reminder that these students offer us unique opportunities in our schools for God’s work to be made visible. 
*   *   *   *   * 
I appreciate the energy dedicated to our time together last Thursday at St. Thomas. I am grateful for the fruits of the conversations and look forward to deepening this conversation as we move forward. If you did not have an opportunity to share your thoughts or would like to add to what was shared, please go to this link to a Google folder in which you will find some of the material from Thursday’s meeting. Specifically, we are interested in your feedback that was collected through the two Google forms that can be found in the folder. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

With gratitude, 

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

Principal
Morning Meetings
3/21 Principal Morning Meeting 11:00 AM
Facility Projects - Steps with the Chancery - presented by Dave Mayer
Marshall Memo #977 Useful Feedback on Student Work
3/23 Principal Morning Meeting 11:00 AM
Centro Rendu Parent Ambassador Program- presented by Connor Geraghty
Marshall Memo #977 Getting the most out of frequent check-in meetings
ACTION ITEMS (items below have clickable links)
CALENDAR EVENTS
MARCH
(Click links next to dates for more information)
3/21 High School Leaders Meeting- ZOOM (1-2:30pm)
3/28 CCSSCC Principal First Year Academy ZOOM Meeting (virtual)
3/29 Leadership Academy Meeting (12-1:30pm)
3/30 Vice Principal Academy Meeting
March 1- April 28 Private School Application Due April 28th (required for all schools)
DEI & Belonging Opportunity!
Dr. James Knight will be here the last week of April (24-28th) working with many of our schools. He still has Thursday morning open. He has a wonderful presentation for students! Fulcrum Diversity funds MAY be able to be used to fund this opportunity. Please check with Susan Ocoma. Contact Dr. Knight directly to schedule a time: james@leadwithhumility.org
Archdiocesan Youth Mental Health Luncheon - March 29, 11am-1pm
The annual archdiocesan youth and mental health ministry luncheon is hybrid this year (in-person and streaming). The luncheon features mental health professionals and local Catholic youth talking about their experiences with mental health and what can be done to support our youth. Anyone can attend, especially teachers and school staff. Please register at this link.
ACRE Registration
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.
WSCC Catholic Advocacy Bulletin - March 17, 2023
Governance & Leadership
Schwartz Newsletter - March 20, 2023
In this edition: Slide deck from last week's presentation on employee misconduct and student disciplinary actions - please read it if you were unable to attend; Recruiting and hiring information; Payroll announcement about W2s and reminders of Important Due Dates (Participation in Federal Programs AND Private School Approval Applications)
Educational Leadership Partners Program
Do you have an aspiring leader who has applied to an Educational Leadership Program? If they are applying to one of our partner university, they are eligible for a Fulcrum leadership grant. The deadline for this grant is approaching. For more information contact Kelly Surapaneni, kelly.surapaneni@seattlearch.org
Put in your PACE Teacher Requests
The University of Portland is still accepting requests for PACE Teachers. See the link for request form and information about the PACE program. If you have any questions, please contact Jackie Brocka, Assistant to PACE at brocka@up.edu
Academic Excellence
Early Learning Newsletter - March 20, 2023

Weekly Newsletter will cover resources, professional development, upcoming meetings and more!
2023 Private School Spring Workshop with Neural Education on March 28th 4pm-6pm online
At the completion of the 2022 Neural Education Summer Conference, educators in school or department teams collaborated to integrate new understandings as they co-created structures and learning experiences to meet the needs of their students. This is a follow up meeting from the Summer - clock hours provided.
Title IIA funding needs SURVEY - All GRACE principals should complete this please

Catapult Learning will be processing any title II funds that need to be paid by your local public school for GRACE teacher leader stipend or program costs. DUE March 31st!
Operational Vitality
Save the Date! August 10th is the 2023 INSPIRE Conference

INSPIRE is a conference for Office Managers, Finance Managers, Admissions, Marketing, Communications, Fundraising, and Early Learning staff hosted by Kristin Moore & Dave Mayer. It will at Seattle University this year. More details coming soon. Please have your staff save the date- it is going to be a great day for them!
Looking for 2-3 AMAZING Office Managers & Finance Managers to be speakers at our August 10th INSPIRE conference.
Do you have an OUTSTANDING office manager or finance manager that you think would be a good presenter on best practices in front office operations or communications with parents on tuition issues? If so, please email Kristin Moore at kristin.moore@seattlearch.org and she will reach out to them and invite them to be a speaker!
2023/2024 Operating Budgets
We are coming to that time of year when our individual Annual School Operating Budgets are at very different stages of completion. Some Schools are complete and some have much left to complete. Once you have completed your 2023/2024 Operating Budget I would ask that you send it to John Sullivan with answers to four questions: (1) One broad, single percentage change of Tuition. (2) One broad single percentage change of Salaries. (3) How do your planned 2023/2024 Salaries compare to your local School School District - also one percentage. (4) Do you plan to do a Multi-year Operating Budget ?
Timely Review and Approval of Substitute Time Sheets
Substitutes are paid on a semi-monthly basis (from the 1st 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 1st). 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.
710 Ninth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104