October 30, 2014

Dear Parents,  

How do we define what a saint is?  A priest once told me that a saint is a role model or someone you can follow or focus your life on.  One of my "heroes" is St.  John XXIII.  Pope John was a very unlikely selection as Pope.  He was homely, vertically challenged, and was elected as a short term Pope so someone younger could be elected at a later date. Little did the Catholic Church realize that when Pope John organized the Second Vatican Council he oversaw some of the greatest reforms in the Catholic Church today.  Pope John XXIII has been credited as one of the greatest Popes of all time.  I venerate him because his humble beginnings brought great things for people he served in the Catholic Church.  One could say that Pope John XXIII was the "Rocky Balboa" of the Catholic Church.

I met this past week with the sacramental coordinators of St. Mary/St. Francis Xavier and St. Norbert Parishes.  One of the things we agreed to was that we were going to collaborate as a religious unit to educate all of the second graders in the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation.

Remember my "sandwich analogy" when it comes to conferences?  My first thought is that I was very pleased with conferences.  Parents and teachers met collaboratively in a positive and constructive way as based upon parent and teacher feedback.  One constructive part of the sandwich is that parents should be a little more vigilant in checking Power School.  My final piece of the sandwich is that Notre Dame is a great place that allows parents and students the opportunity to work together to insure that each student receives a high quality education, both from a religious and academic standpoint.

Mrs. Laehn, the middle school staff and I met Monday evening to discuss consequences for the inappropriate use of Chromebooks by the middle school students.  Some of the abuses have been the use of social media, instant messaging, adding unapproved applications, and using You Tube.  The inappropriate use of Chromebook will result in the following protocol:

First offense- one demerit, students will call home to explain, and the loss of Chromebook in study hall for one week.

Second offense- one demerit, a parent meeting, and the loss of Chromebook in study hall for two weeks. We had a long discussion about losing any more privileges.  The teachers and I decided against it because all of them  are using these as very effective resources as part of classroom instruction.  I would ask you to review with your child the agreements signed before school began regarding Chromebook responsibilities.

One practice I have considered eliminating  is the paid days to dress down.  It is my view that such days result in the parents donating the money, not the students.  We may have some days where "optional" opportunities may take place in which students can donate for a worthy cause.  I am considering having a dress down day each Friday unless a special event arises.  Please provide me input on these two points.  Thank you in advance for any input you can provide me.

I try to affirm members of our staff each week  Mrs. Lamers and Mrs. Nance have both been so crucial in making our school run so well. Both said when I was hired that their goal was to make me look good. I hope they haven't had to work overtime to do this, but I appreciate everything they have done for me, the parents, teachers, and most of all the students.

Please consider coming to the Key Event on November 7.  It is a tremendous opportunity to share fellowship with friends, teachers, and friends of Notre Dame and Our Lady of Lourdes.  Although the Key Event is the largest fundraising event of our school, the community atmosphere is a true sign of our Catholic Identity.

The Wellness Committee got a great deal done last Friday.  One piece we still need to write before a draft comes out is what we do with students who have allergies as it pertains to food items.  This is a very important part of any Wellness Policy. Allergies to food are more prevalent than ever before and needs to be part of any 

Wellness Policy.

Mrs. Healy, Mrs. Hoeppner, Ms. Allen, Ms. Weiss and I attended a staff development session on how to implement MAP test data in the classroom. The information and data provided us will be forwarded to all members of the teaching staff to implement in their lesson planning.  

I can tell that Notre Dame is a special place to be.  I can figure that out because there is a great deal more I could write that is positive.  Here is something about some outstanding alumni of Notre Dame School:

Come on out to the Meyer Theatre this Saturday, November 1 at 7 pm. to see two of our talented alumni from Notre Dame of De Pere.  The Meyer Theatre is holding its fourth Annual Talent Show to help discover this area's hidden talents.  Current Notre Dame Academy sophomore and Notre Dame of De Pere alumnus Charlie Urick is one of a few finalists competing for the $1,000 prize based on the votes of the audience in attendance that evening.  Also, alumnus Sam Brooker will be the guest emcee that evening.  Sam Brooker resides in Nashville and is of the famed national act Sam and Ruby, as well as the winner of the Associated Press' 2009 Album of the Year.  In addition, he was part of the a capella group, The Collective, and a finalist in season three NBC's The Sing-Off.

Come on out and vote for Charlie and see Sam live!  Tickets are available at the door and more details can be found at http://www.meyertheatre.org/event/talent-jam-2/.

Have a great weekend and take time to enjoy the fall weather.  Winter will soon be upon us.

God Bless,

James A. (Jim) Clark, Principal

"May All of Us Preach The Gospel, And If Necessary Use Words."

Key Event Sign Ups

Have some fun with friends! Sign up now before things are sold out. For a complete list of events and sign up links click here

Ecumenical Partnership for Housing, St Thomas Home Clean Up Day

Our EPH resident has successfully completed their stay at the St. Thomas Home in Green Bay.  It is now time for our volunteers to gather up and transition the home so that a new family can move in.  It will be a day of fellowship and service to others in the name of Christ.  We hope that you can join us on Nov. 1!!  For more information click here

St. Francis Garage Sale

It will be huge.  So much fun and loads of neat stuff.  For dates and more information click here

National Vocation Awareness Week (NVAW) is an annual week-long celebration of the Catholic Church in the United States dedicated to promote vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life through prayer and education, and to renew our prayers and support for those who are considering one of these particular vocations.  For more information please click here

Golden Apple Awards

Is your child's teacher awesome? If they goes to Notre Dame of De Pere the answer is YES?  Why not nominate them for a Golden Apple Award?  It's about time they get a little recognition for the hard work and endless hours they put in. Nomination forms need to be submitted by Nov. 7th.  For a form and instructions you can pick them up in the office or here

St. John's Homeless Shelter

It's that time of year again, the shelter meals start back up on 

We are in need of bakers and sellers for this bake sale.  Easy and fun!!  The proceeds will support Notre Dame Home and School activities.  For more information and to sign up to help click here 

School Directory

Feed the Hungry - Food Drive

Chip in to help feed the hungry in our community. Notre Dame is sponsoring a Food Drive for our school.  What classroom will bring in the most food? Sounds like a challenge to me. Make sure it is your class and you will win a special prize. Who will win? The homeroom that brings in the most food and the hungry in our community. For more information click here

Key Event Plates

Look at these amazing plates and plan which one you are planning on purchasing. Click here

The Key Event

St. Thomas More would like to invite you to a Halloween Skate. November 1st. 6-9pm For more information click here

 Battle of the Books

This year our battle will be February 2. For a list of the books and the letter that went home click here 

VIRTUS Training/Background Checks

All volunteers MUST have VIRTUS training and a background check. For more information click here

Check out what is happening at Notre Dame

There is always a lot going on at Notre Dame of De Pere.  You can stay in the know by checking out our website. We update our website front page with fun, useful and interesting informational posts on a regular basis.  Don't be the only one that doesn't know what is going on.  Check the website as often as you check your email (maybe more). For a quick link to our website calendar click here

Private School Tuition is Deductible

For more information please click here

Techgyrls for girls in grades 3-5

Techgyrls is a fun program where girls can just be themselves but learn math and science skills as well! The girls will conduct experiments, create budgets, design a dream home, as well as other exciting activities!  If you are interested in more information or to sign up please click here

Youth Jam and Middle School Youth Group

Looking for some cool things to do for your middle schoolers?  Go as a group and have a great time at these two events. For More information on these two events please click here

Spirituality

Who is Notre Dame Spirituality? What does Notre Dame Spirituality do? For answers to these questions and more information please click here

To find out about more events go to our activities web page or to the ND web calendar for more On-Going and Specific Events during the 2014-15 school year.

Home and School Collection Contest

Students brought home baggies to fill with Box Tops, Milk Caps, and Campbell Soup Labels for Education to earn cash for Notre Dame.  Rewards for the two classrooms collecting the most items are a pizza party (first place) and a milk and cookie treat (second place). 
For further details, click here to see the letter sent home with a baggie a few weeks ago.   

Win a SMART board for Notre Dame of De Pere

The top 10 schools wit the highest earn & learn points win. Contest sponsored through Shopko.  For more information click here