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

Happy Catholic Schools Week! 

What makes a Catholic school? Perhaps it is better to ask what makes a school Catholic? I think what makes a school Catholic is the daily opportunity to hear God's voice. Our students' hearts are left soft each day they step foot into our classrooms.  

Each day, they are surrounded with opportunities to hear God's voice, and these opportunities are not limited to religion class or morning prayer. God's voice is not restricted to Sundays nor is it restricted to any singular discipline. God's voice can be heard throughout the day because our teachers teach through the lens of our Catholic identity. Not restricted to a class or prayer, God's voice is amplified in all that we do.  

What makes a school Catholic is not uniforms or masses. No, what makes a school Catholic is the quest to find God in all things, and in all that we do – in the classroom, on the playground, and in service to others – to give glory to God. 

With gratitude, 
Nicholas 

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

Principal
Morning Meetings
1/31 Principal Morning Meeting 11:00 AM
Intent to Return & Covenant Renewal (FML/renewal connection) with Pam Schwartz
Marshal Memo #970: The Benefits of Reading Your Writing Out Loud
2/1 New Principal Morning Meeting 11:00 AM
2/2 Principal Morning Meeting 11:00 AM
Professional Development and Curriculum Day Registration and Reminders / How to do PD right with Justyna King
Marshall Memo #970: How Do Earlier School Start Times Affect Elementary Students?
ACTION ITEMS (clickable links below)
CALENDAR EVENTS
FEBRUARY
MARCH
(Click links next to dates for more information)

1/31 High School Leadership Dinner with the Archbishop 5:30 PM

2/1 Catholic Schools Night at Climate Pledge Arena
2/6 High School Choir Festival at Beneroya Hall 7:00 PM
2/7 Executive Principal Meeting at St Patrick Parish 9:00 AM
2/9 New Teacher Virtual Meet-Up-3:00pm-4:00pm via Zoom; Topic -Partnering with Families
2/14 High School Leaders Meeting 1:00 PM at Holy Names
2/20 President's Day - Chancery Offices are Closed

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
Thank you
Thank you for making the Celebration of Light a great success! Share the videos and pictures with your community!
MDI February Meeting
7th grade religion teachers are invited to receive support in their implementation of the Maryknoll MDI program and journey with other educators through our monthly teacher formation meetings. Our next meeting is Tuesday, February 7 at 3:45PM on Zoom and recurring the first Tuesday of every month at the same time. Please invite your 7th grade religion teachers to attend. Teachers may register through this link.
March CIC Retreat
The Christ in the Classroom toolkit for your March 10 local retreats is being finalized and will be shared at the February 14th - 11 am principals’ Zoom. Guided by the retreat PowerPoint slides, the focus of the retreat will be for teachers to explore the recently revised tasks of catechesis and apply each task to school life.
Governance & Leadership
Schwartz Newsletter - January 30, 2023
In this week's edition: 2023-2024 Teacher Covenants, annual OSPI Equitable Services meeting
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
Academic Excellence
Early Learning Newsletter - January 30, 2023

Weekly Newsletter will cover resources, professional development, upcoming meetings and more!
REGISTRATION OPEN for PD&C Day 2023
Registration is OPEN for PD&C Day 2023~ February 10th, 2023. Please send this link to all of your teachers if your school is participating in PD&C Day 2023!
LAST Day to Test Students for the Winter MAP Session is Friday, February 3rd!
Please plan accordingly - all test sessions will close at 3pm on Friday, February 3rd, 2023.
Annual Progress Report 2022-23 Information

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.
Catholic Schools Unite!

Let's fill up Climate Pledge Arena Wednesday night. Principals & students can win $$ for your school and have TONS of fun. Promo Code: csw23 Tickets: $15
Social Media Extravaganza

On February 10th Andrea Gribble with be with us for TWO sessions focused on social media marketing. Andrea is a FUN presenter and shares pratical and doable tips and tricks. Instagram, Reels, Stories...it's all happening here! Zoom link is hyperlinked for you.
Teacher Recruitment Initiatives
We are about to begin our 2023-24 educator recruiting season. See the link for dates of upcoming fairs and tune in on Thursday's 11:00 for details, tips and policy to support your recruitment and retention.
710 Ninth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104