Conference Week

 Happy Sunday!  If you had the opportunity to hear Fr. Xavi give a homily this weekend, I imagine you, too, were inspired by how he answered God's call.  It was a great reminder to always be listening, and definitely don't be like those 5 virgins who didn't bring enough oil.  Here is what I was thinking when I listened to the Gospel: What about the five virgins who brought enough oil and wouldn't share?  Was that unkind or just?  Something to ponder.

This was Holy Card weekend, and the card to look for is St. Therese.  And speaking of Mass, I have been given these instructions from Fr. Dermot.  During the Our Father, students may (but do not have to) raise their hands like he does.  However, if they are singing in the choir, they may NOT do that.  They must hold their hands together in a prayerful way.  For ALL students, they may NOT do any other hand motions/gestures during Mass other than the sign of peace.  In particular, they may not do the hand motions to the Lamb of God.  Please let them know this before the next Mass and remind them if they continue.  

Grades are due tomorrow at 8:00 am.  Please be sure all comments, ATLs, etc. are complete.  Report cards will be available to parents on Thursday in time for conferences.  

Friday is a half-day, and core teachers will be having conferences.  All faculty are expected to be at school Friday afternoon during their normal hours, even if they do not have conferences.  I was looking for a cute picture/gif about parent/teacher conferences and stumbled upon this one.  I laughed so hard and couldn't resist sharing.  I'm sure that's exactly how some parents feel.  Please remember to start with prayer and focus on the positive.  If there are areas for improvement, they are just that, not areas they're not good at.  Also remember that students should be present for the conference.  

Finally, please send Jordan a copy of your Friday conferences so we know when your last one is scheduled.  The last teacher in Angel's wing should make sure the door is closed if you are propping it open.  

One more item regarding conferences.  If you are having a conference prior to 7:30 am, please do not expect that someone will be available in the front office to let them in.  Tell the parents to enter through the Art Room, BUT also tell Teresa that you are expecting someone so she will let them in.

I will not be sending a blog next weekend; I will be sitting at a resort.  Actually, I will be at the Florida Catholic Conference Administrators' Conference... at a resort...in Ft. Lauderdale...near the beach.  It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.  Mary and I will both be out Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 16 and 17.  I will also be out Wed., Nov. 18.  Have a great week!

Oh When the Saints.....

 I just finished watching the video Yesenia put together for All Saints Day and All Souls Day.  You are going to love it.  Expect that the morning show to be a little longer, but the kids had fun educating us all on the saints.  It will not be live.  Yesenia will send (or did send) you a link to the YouTube video that you will play first thing in place of the morning show.  I believe there is our traditional Saints Parade.  Please do not start too early.  Allow the classes time to play the video, which is 10 min. So start the video right at 7:50 am.  

As part of your discussions of saints this month, please spend some time talking about St. Vincent de Paul and what the SVDP Society does.  We will be collecting food the week of Nov. 9, and it's good for the students to understand why they are asked to do that.  

All teachers will attend this week's faculty meeting, where we will be reviewing unit plans and how CIT is being incorporated.  Please be prepared to share a current unit and how you are incorporating it.  Mary and I have found some examples to share too.  

Please remember that TUESDAY is the last day of the Trimester.  This gives teachers a few days if someone is absent or needs to make up a summative.  All assessments done after Tuesday (unless a retake or makeup) should go in the 2nd Trimester.  Grades are due on Monday of next week, so there is plenty of time to get them finished.  

I will be at an administrator's meeting on Friday.  Have a great week!

We Did It!

 

We raised $70K, and Linda kissed a pig!  I think Wilma may even be related to Wilbur.  And then there was the pie throwing and the ice buckets and the inflatable races and the great music and on and on.  What a great day Friday was and the perfect end to a VERY successful fundraising event.  I was thinking of sharing the news with APEX, but I'm afraid they might offer Mrs. Moretuzzo a job.  Thank you to everyone for jumping in and making this a great event.  My only question is, what do I have to kiss next year??!!

Please refer to the calendar for this week's happenings.  We have Rays Day on Monday, a couple of field trips, Superkids Coaching, Marvelous Mustang, and a Religion PLC on Tuesday (that will be for religion teachers only), Boo Gram delivery, Halloween shirt and jeans on Friday, and Trunk or Treat

Please remember next Monday is All Saints' Day.  While we are not going to Mass that day, please be sure you are focusing on the Saints either that day or during November.  

Have a Spooktacular Week!

Rule of St. Benedict

 Your way of acting should be different from the world's way.  Rule of St. Benedict 4.  These words were over the door as we exited the chapel on Friday, and I thought, "What a great way to say, don't be peer-pressured!"  What a great idea to instill in children, helping them see that they can be the person they are called to be, not who or what their peers say they should be.  

I hope everyone enjoyed Fr. Ralph as much as I did, and what a beautiful setting for our retreat.  Thank you, Melissa, for making it happen.  

You may have read about Fr. Drew in the bulletin.  Thursday was his last day in the parish, and he is currently discerning his vocation.  Please keep him in your prayers as he travels on this journey.  Please also keep Fr. Dermot and Fr. Daniel in your prayers, as their load has just gotten heavier.  Fr. Drew will not be replaced until the summer, if at all.  I believe Issac will be covering Fr. Drew's class visits, and I'm sure Fr. Dermot will be in too.  One of the changes we recently made to accommodate having fewer priests is that we will only have one class go to confession at a time.  Melissa has already set up the schedule up to Christmas break, and the class that hosts the Mass will go to confession.  

Don't forget that tomorrow is Team Color Day and Friday is the celebration.  All teachers will attend the afternoon PD on Friday.  

Have a great week!

WE ARE AMAZING!

Thank you all for the hard work that made our third-year review run so smoothly.

Mary Camp and Brenda were very grateful for our evidence. They didn’t have to ask for anything because everything was there and clearly labeled. Your comments, reflections, and action plan updates were excellent.

Key takeaways:

• Ratings: Brenda said they discussed raising one of our 3s to a 4, but kept it at a 3 for the same reason we had: the “ALL and EVERY” clause. That’s a tough bar to meet, and a 3 is a strong rating.
• CIT: We talked about our work with CIT. It was reassuring to hear that Mary Camp had to Google it, too, when it became a new standard.
• Budget process: We have a good process, but it is hard to show through evidence.  After discussing the process with Mary, I now have some ideas for what we can document in the future.
• Action plans: Mary Camp suggested we retire some of our action plans at the end of this year, since they’ve become part of our regular routine rather than active focus areas. I agree.

I will share the actual results via email.  

Highlights for the week:

• Picture make-up day and Graduation pictures are on Tuesday.
• I will be at yet another Principal meeting Thursday morning.
• Our retreat is on Friday.  I will share all the details by email.

Have a great week!

 

Third-Year Review is Here!

  Yes, the two-person team is coming.  Mary Camp and Brenda Budd will arrive at 8:30 am.  After a brief meeting, they will review evidence and visit classrooms until noon.  After their working lunch, they will present their findings to Mary and me.  This is when they tell us how wonderful we are.  Below is a screenshot of the slide Mary Camp shared during the last Zoom meeting.  It shows exactly what they will be looking for as they walk through the school.

These are the four benchmarks noted.

Wednesday will be a Communion Service, which means we will have Liturgy of the Word followed by Communion.  Deacon said there will also be music.  Since it will not take as long as a Mass, please remain seated at the end.  Once most of the parishioners have cleared out, we will do a lockdown.  I will review the procedures with the students before we begin.  Pre-K can participate.  We will not be able to check on you, but your phone will alert you when the drill is over.  

Friday is the KickOff for the Mustang Strong Fundraiser.  Please be sure the students are in the FLC and seated by 2:15.  Parents are invited to attend, but all students will return to class for classroom pickup after the rally.  I will confirm if PK is expected to come over.  I will be at a principal meeting on Friday, so I will miss all the fun.  Be sure I'm not signed up for anything crazy.  

Now for something else I would love to share.  I am reading a book called The Meaning of Your Life along with all the other principals.  At first, I thought the book was talking to a younger generation that is lost in the world of technology, but then I read one particular page, and so many things became clear.  He talked about the left and right brain, math vs. art.  But it's not.  It's really practical vs. spiritual and mysterious.  The right side says, why am I alive?  The left side says, how can I get food to stay alive?  We all have the capacity for both.  There is so much in between that is discussed, including technology, boredom, addiction, complicated vs. complex, Tolstoy, The Matrix, and it all led to Emerson.  The author believes Emerson would be appalled at the education uniformity, technological distraction, and immediate gratification that keep our most ambitious young people anesthetized and unable to find their life's meaning.  The author said life's boredom has led to a reliance on being entertained by technology, which prevents the right brain from functioning (my very brief synopsis).  He asked, Did you ever notice that you tend to solve difficult problems and come up with good ideas in the shower?  YES!!!  I thought it was only me.  Why?  Because your phone is not in there with you.  

My point?  THIS is why PBL is important.  With tests and rote memorization, we are only activating the left side of the brain.  We need to help students fire up the right side through creativity and deep thinking.  He also talked about AI, which could take away our creativity.  He sees AI as a tool we can use to help us move through our mundane tasks faster so there is more time to ponder life's mysteries.  I agree, and I am so happy I have finally solved the mystery of shower enlightenment.

Have a great week!

If only I could remember everything....

 I actually think I remember most things, but making the connection between one event and another doesn't always happen.  An example is that I remembered Mary was not going to be here for Grandparents Day (you missed our best ever, btw), but I didn't put it together that she would also be absent for our CIPA review.  Thank you, Mary, for working hard ahead of time so that our meeting went smoothly.  My point is, something else happened...  I knew Ken was out on Friday.  But I didn't put it together with the fact that there was no one to clean up AW after the Dunkin Donuts party you had out there.  Faith Formation graciously threw out some of the trash, but they may not have gotten everything.  Ken is also out on Monday.  I will come in the morning with a big rolling trash can to get whatever you may still have, then have the kids dump Monday's trash at the end of the day.  I will then bring it into the main building for the Cleaning Crew Monday night.  Thanks for helping with this.  

Thank you to everyone who made our Grandparents Day a success.  I loved all the performances, and I know the grandparents did too.  

Last week, I joined the last CIPA Zoom meeting.  One of the things Mary Camp said was to be sure our school looked its best, and the teachers are showing their best game.  I think our teachers are always doing that, but maybe remind the students to be respectful and greet the visitors (they like that).  Mary Camp and Brenda Budd will both be here at 8:30 and will spend time in the classrooms in the morning.  This all happens on Oct. 8.  Please take some time this week to tidy up your classrooms.  

Have a spectacular week!