Partners in the Gospel School Liaison

Greetings!

I want to share that Dave Mayer on our OCS team has accepted an assignment as the special project liaison from our office to facilitate the integration of schools in the One Parish Planning process, with a specific focus on our multi-school parish families. He will take this on in addition to his continuing role as Director of Early Learning, and his title will be updated to Director of Early Learning and Special Projects for the duration of the project, which is intended for this academic year.

During the assignment, he will serve as the main point of reference for schools and our Chancery team, including our parish family liaisons, on matters related to Partners in the Gospel. He will be supporting principals, pastors, School Commissions, and Parish Family Advisory Councils in that process.

I am grateful to Dave for taking this on, and I look forward to supporting him in the work.

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

Taking a break until October!

Upcoming Events

September 22, 2026

GRACE Online Kick Off

Online

September 23-25, 2026

Christ in the Classroom Retreat

Seabeck Conference Center

October 6, 2026

GRACE Fall Meeting

Camp Don Bosco

October 7, 2026

OCS Presents: Mission

Zoom

October 13, 2026

Curriculum Committee #1

St. Mary on the Lake

October 27, 2026

New Employee Orientation

Online

View Chancery to Parish Communications (C2P)

MISSION & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

Dr. Knight Visits!

Dr. James Knight is returning for student, staff, and parent presentations on cultural humility from October 19-23. Please register here for one of these two windows and we will be in contact with you to set a specific date and time.

Symbolon Catechetical Certification

Through the generosity of the St. Joseph Foundation, Symbolon catechetical certification registrations are available at no cost to our schools for this coming school year. Availability is limited, so please email Connor Geraghty with your total number of requested licenses as soon as possible.

Sacred Heart Devotion Curriculum

Curriculum has been developed to help our schools activate the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in three grade levels: K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. Please share this curriculum with your teachers along with this introductory video. Archbishop Etienne recently published his Pastoral Letter on the Sacred Heart, which provides more context for perpetuating the devotion. You can find his letter, the curriculum and more here.

FAQs and Guidance on ICE

Please click here to review our guidance and most common questions regarding immigration enforcement. For questions or other resources, please contact Chris Koehler at 206-274-3194 or chris.koehler@seattlearch.org.

SafeTALK

The Catholic Lifesaver Corp is opening the upcoming SafeTALK suicide prevention workshop to all interested school staff members. It will be held from 9am-1pm on October 20th at the Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center. To register, please contact Joe Cotton at joe.cotton@seattlearch.org.

GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP

Personnel & Policy Notes for the Week of 09/08/26

Updates this week: Registration link for the October new employee orientation (virtual session); Key information from State Board of Ed; 26/27 Title program information

Click here to read more.

Leadership Academy Registration

The Office for Catholic Schools offers a year-long BLC cohort for aspiring administrators with a mixture of in-person and virtual meetings. Framed in the 4 domains of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (NSBECS). For questions, please contact Kelly Surapaneni at kelly.surapaneni@seattlearch.org. Click here to register!

Calling All Assistant Principals

The Office for Catholic Schools offers year-long BLC cohort (with a mixture of in-person and online meetings) for assistant principals to develop leadership, share resources, and collaborate. For questions, please contact Kelly Surapaneni at kelly.surapaneni@seattlearch.org. See registration form to connect with the Assistant Principal Collaborative Network (APCN).

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Register GRACE Teacher Leaders for 2026-27

GRACE 2026-27 Description

Check out our website with information, schedule, and teacher registration, contract, and other resources!

Plan for NWEA MAP Testing in 2026-27

The testing schedule is listed on our website. We will also be hosting several meetings throughout the school year (both online and in person) for Data Analysts.

Curriculum Committees for 2026-27

We are meeting in person quarterly to look at Content Times and Homework; we are also resuming the AI committee. Learn more here!

OCS Presents Recording

Click here for the recording and materials from our 1st OCS Presents!

OCS Presents Northshore PD #2

Join us on 10/07 from 3:30-4:30pm to learn more from Northshore Consulting entitled: Responding to Challenging Classroom Behaviors. Click here to register!

Wired for Reading CCDEI Clock Hours

If you have a reading/writing teacher who needs CCDEI clock hours, Wired for Reading PD provides those through Seattle University - Click here to learn more!

LAST CALL! *SU Special Education Endorsement

For $2000 dollars, Seattle University is offering an endorsement in Special Education. For questions, contact Ted Kalmus, kalmust@seattleu.edu. Click here for more information!

Early Learning Weekly Newsletter

Important Resources and Reminders for Early Learning Programs. Click here to learn more.

OSPI Virtual PD on SEL - FREE

OSPI is partnering with Generation Wellness to train teachers in SEL standards - up to 9 free clock hours. Click here for more information!

NWEA MAP Analyst FREE Training

NWEA is coming back to the Archdiocese of Seattle for continued in-person trainings on reports and how to use data from each season of MAP testing. Click here for more information.

OPERATIONAL VITALITY

New Staff is in Frontline

New staff has been entered into Frontline. Departing staff will be removed this week. If anyone was missed, please let Synthiea know.

Sub Pool - New Rate?

If you are changing the rate you pay your substitute teachers. Please email that to Synthiea.

Fulcrum

News & Resources

No News this Week!

If you would like something featured in this section, please contact Ellie Bailey (eleanor.bailey@seattlearch.org)

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