Collaborative planning and the use of multiple assessments are just two features of integrated best practice that earned our school recognition for innovation in Catholic schools.

The beginning of the 2014-2015 school year revealed a different structure to the school day at St. John Vianney School. All grades had a new schedule format in order to support initiatives for improved instruction. The new schedule provided two major features. First of all, students at each grade level had common instructional time for reading and language arts. Secondly, teachers at every grade level had common planning time scheduled into the week to facilitate collaborative planning and the exchange of ideas for instruction and assessment. To complement this schedule component there are also blocks of time outside of the regular instructional day so that teachers can collaborate in professional development and action research.

To make sure that we are able to identify every student's particular strengths and challenges across all subjects the teachers use a variety of methods and instruments to measure learning. Teacher observations and daily work are great indicators of student progress. There are also classroom assessments that are used to measure mastery of content and skills taught. Performance based assessments like projects and presentations allow students to demonstrate skills they have acquired. Standardized assessments like Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) and Iowa Assessments allow us to gauge progress. We learn about a student's individual progress and we learn how we are performing as a school.

It is our goal to provide parents with a range of information regarding instruction and assessment. Please let us know if you have any questions. 

Padre Serra Tournament

The boys will play their first game on Friday, March 6 at 6:30pm. The girls won their first game of the tournament and will play again on Saturday, March 7 at 8:00pm. The entire schedule and results can be found on the tournament's website.  Games are played at Mount Mary College in Wauwatosa.  Please come out to support both of our teams! 

Operation Rice Bowl
Each family has received an Operation Rice Bowl bank and calendar.  With this, students and families have an opportunity to pray for and directly assist the poor in the United States and overseas.  Please see the Operation Rice Bowl Letter for further details.  All contributions are due by April 1. 

March Home & School Meeting

Plan to attend the evening March meeting of Home and School, Wednesday, March 11 at 6:30pm in P209.  Only two business meetings remain for the year so we will have many topics to cover!  New business will include nominations for 2015-16 executive officers, addition and deletion of committees, committee chair openings for next year and updating of H & S guidelines.  Officer elections will take place at the April general meeting.  Please read the meeting agenda for a complete listing.  We hope to see you there!

Nominations are Open.  Are you ready to serve?

We have several talented parents expressing interest in executive offices for 2015-16.  Offices that are available for next year are Chairperson(s)-1 year term, Secretary-1 year term and Treasurer-2 year term. The Chairperson(s) will serve the following year as the Advisor.  Amy DiPiazza will accept nominations beginning at the March meeting and ending on April 2 at 11:30am. The nomination list will be published in the April 14 Weekly. Voting will take place at the April 22 Home and School meeting. Consider offering your time and talents through these leadership positions.

Teacher Luncheon Wednesday, March 11th

Our next Teacher's Luncheon will be on Wednesday, March 11. To sign up for donations, please follow these steps:

   1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot 

   2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot) 

   3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. 

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact us, and we can sign you up manually.

We need and appreciate your contributions. Thank you in advance for your help.

Ann Marie Grubich, Ann Kottak, and Heather Ferber

Teacher Luncheon Coordinators 

Hey SCRIP Users-We Miss You!

Our Christmas SCRIP order numbers were fantastic and we thank you for a great holiday campaign!  Since then, our SCRIP orders have dropped considerably.  We know you are still spending money on groceries, gasoline, fast food, restaurants, and clothing.  Remember to plan ahead and purchase SCRIP for these items. Spring is a time to shop for First Communion attire, graduation dresses and suits, new soccer or baseball cleats, and Easter clothes.  Spring break is just around the corner!  So if you are traveling, consider hotel and restaurant cards.  If you are considering a home remodeling project, don't forget to order your cards.  We hope to see your order again soon.  As always, Martha Connelly, Amy Lodes and Janet Fisher are here to answer your questions. 

High Interest Day 

High Interest Day is coming up on April 24.  If you have a student in grades K5-5, class sign-up sheets were sent home in your child's folder.  They are due back on Friday, March 6. If sheets aren't returned by then, classes will be assigned to your child.  K4 students and middle school students will have alternate activities on this day. 

Stations of the Cross for Families

Everyone is welcome to pray "The Stations of the Cross" together on Friday, March 6th at 6:30pm in the Church.  We especially encourage families with children to join us for a powerful evening of Jesus' great love for us.  

Spring is Coming...Time for Fun with Track!

Spring is right around the corner, so everyone is encouraged to join us for another fun season with track!  All students in grades 5-8 are invited to join.  Whether you are fast or not so fast, we want you on the team!  There are opportunities for running, jumping, throwing and having fun with friends.  Mr. Ronn Blaha is the head coach, so you know students will learn a lot and have a great time.

The season will start on March 30.  Practices are Mondays and Thursdays, typically 5:30-7:00pm, typically at the BC track, although we are still drawing up the practice schedule. We will practice indoors at SJV when it rains. Track meets are typically on Saturdays.

The track registration form and other athletic forms are due on March 23. 

We also can always use more coaches!  With approximately100 participants, the more parents the better, even if you can only help out some of the time. We'll have a coach and parent meeting coming up soon.  So, watch for another announcement.  Contact Anthony Boldin by email or at 414-331-9431 if you have questions.