September 4, 2014

Dear Parents,

I was a teacher for two years in Medford, Wisconsin at a junior high school.  My principal  at that time was a very Italian man who I referred to as my "godfather."  Mr. P called me into the office the second week of school.  He asked me how the first week went, and I said it went very well.  My godfather's response was that the first four weeks were a "honeymoon period."  If I had the class in a proper routine, they would be great the rest of the school year.  I was intelligent to take his advice since then. I guess you could say that I am in a "honeymoon" period with the Notre Dame family as well.  I will do my best to insure that this period will last more than four weeks.  Let me know if there is anything I can do to make your child's life easier so the honeymoon period can last the entire school year.

We will celebrate our first Liturgy on Wednesday, September 10 at 8:35 am. I told the students at practice this past week that Liturgy is God's greatest gift and nothing else matters.  I also spoke to the students indicating that Liturgy is celebrated with reverence and respect.  I must warn parents that with the increased enrollment, the seating for Liturgy is more limited than before.  It is also helpful to model no talking in church as the students pick up on that immediately.  Thank you in advance for keeping cell phones off as well.  Liturgy is the most reverent time our students spend during the week.  Our modeling as adults will go a long way with our children not only at Wednesday Liturgy but weekend Liturgies as well.

After observing the first week of drop off and pickup, we ask that you pick your child up at the end of the day at the front entrance and not in the parking lot.  There is no supervision in the back and to insure a safe area we ask you to follow this procedure. Any student who is not picked up by 3:15 pm. will be asked to report to the after school program.  Any student who remains for 20 minutes after 3:15 pm. will be charged for one half hour of after school care.  This is the most fair way of addressing this matter in relation to the other students whose parents pay for this fine service.

I would ask that parents who drop off students at the elementary not park or drop off students by the fence near the playground. It is my understanding that a child was almost "hit" last year due to this situation.

We are in need of a person to supervise preschoolers on Wednesdays while the rest of the school goes to Liturgy.  Mrs. Ertman would like to go to Liturgy on that day. If you would like to help out, please call  Mrs. Lamers at the elementary campus.

Harmann Studios will take student pictures of the elementary schools Monday morning, September 8.  The middle school students will have their pictures taken on Tuesday morning, September 9.  Please have your child dress appropriately for pictures on those days.  

We still have some students at the middle school campus who have not turned in their forms that indicates that parents saw the webquest on them.  Students will not receive Chromebooks until this responsibility is taken care of.  

Mrs. Danen and I will soon start discussing a Wellness Policy that pertains to proper nutrition at lunch.  We will be asking for volunteers to assist in making such a policy.  I have materials from both the National Association of Elementary and Secondary Principals as to procedures that will make a Wellness Policy, especially as it pertains to nutrition, allergies and other health concerns.  Mrs. Pagel is already addressing the exercise aspect of a Wellness Policy with the E-60 program.  She also addresses this policy with her method of having students put down how much exercise they get for the quarter.  I have spoken with representatives from the American Association of Physical Education at an NCEA convention and they indicate that a program such as the one Mrs. Pagel does is a perfect way to assess physical fitness and conditioning with children.  If you would like to assist us in drawing up a Wellness Policy for ND, please call Mrs. Danen.

I want to (with Mrs. Danen's help) provide some information about hot lunch.  Hot lunch is offered on full school days.  Notre Dame participates in the National School Lunch program.  Our focus is on offering children nutritious meals that are whole grain . This includes such tasty items as chicken nuggets, mini corn dogs and other main entrees. All food is portion and calorie controlled.  One item we serve in abundance is fresh fruit and vegetables.  We encourage all families to participate in our awesome hot lunch program.  Join us on Facebook for lots of information throughout the year at Notre Dame cafeteria.

I met with the third through fifth grade teachers regarding the implementation of the behavior policy as it pertains to those grades.  We had a very lengthy discussion about both the compensation and implementation of that policy.  I support it wholeheartedly as well as the ones in the other divisions of the school ( pre school-2 and middle school).  Behavioral rigor is as important in a Catholic School as  academic rigor.  Your support of these behavior policies insure a positive relationship between teacher, parent and student.  It is surprising that effective behavior policies have a tremendous buy in by all parties in  Catholic Schools.  An effective behavior policy is a perfect way to implement our school theme A RAINBOW OF EXCELLENCE.

In closing, I want to again let you know that one of my personal  goals for Notre Dame this year is to do my best to communicate comings and goings in the school. President Ronald Reagan was known as the Great Communicator. I hope to follow his lead in communicating with all of you to the best of my ability.

Please see below for some very important updates.

Have a great weekend and GO PACK!

God Bless,

James A.(Jim) Clark, Principal

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