January 29, 2015
Dear Parents,
A household task I have done all of my life is to wash and dry dishes. My mom always used to say I did nothing but whine when I had to do them. I must admit I was pretty good at whining (I still am). My mom told me that when I got mad at doing dishes I should not look at the ones that had to be washed but the ones that had been dried.
I guess one could look at the 2014-2015 school year the same way. The school year is more than half completed. There are many good things all of us have done this year. With the winter months continuing we dread what occurs next. Let us be positive in what all of us have done so far this year in making Notre Dame School the excellent school it is. We can then think of the rest of the school year as "the best is yet to come."
Our students had a large number of activities during Catholic Schools' Week. I have found it a privilege to be a small part of them. It was evident from the Talent Show to the Open House to Mrs. Healy's mother in law speaking about Haiti to the meal planned for St. John's Homeless Shelter that Notre Dame School embodied the main message Fr. Dane gave at the Prayer Service for the kindergartners through second graders Tuesday morning. The Talent Show was outstanding. I was disappointed that after I taught the pre schoolers about Siskel and Ebert they gave the teachers two thumbs down for dancing to the hits. Fr. Dane's reflection at the k-2 prayer service urged all of us to Love Learn and Serve not only during Catholic Schools' Week but every week of the school year.
I urge you to enroll your child for the 2015-2016 school year. Enrolling your child now, allows GRACE to determine enrollment, budgeting and personnel for the upcoming school year. Your promptness in enrollment will make it easier for the principals and Fr. Dane to meet the needs of each child for next school year. Tuition assistance is available through both GRACE and Notre Dame School. If you wish to apply for assistance here at Notre Dame, call me as soon as possible so I can review criteria with you. No child should be turned away from receiving an education that is so steeped in Catholic values and academic excellence.
Please read the information regarding signup for involvement in school activities through the volunteer forms and Lo Sec registration (Notice to all Volunteers - see below). I realize that many of you have participated in this process once before, but the Green Bay Diocese is asking that each school update its lists of parents who have previously volunteered for school sponsored activities. I find this highly appropriate in that circumstances change for each volunteer over the years.
One area I would like to address before the end of the school year is to provide each staff member and person who uses our school buildings a Safety Plan. I have received information from the Green Bay Public Schools as well as Notre Dame Academy as a starting point for Mrs. Gilson, Mrs. Healy, Ms. Freeman and me to work on. Contrary to popular belief, there is more to a security plan than cameras or other electronic devices. Some of these safety/security procedures include:
- No bullying policy
- Code of Conduct or Behavioral Procedure
- Identification Badges for staff and parent visitors
- System for checking in students and visitors
- Locking off parts of the school to the public
It is safe to say that we will be looking at a procedure that includes all aspects of safety and security. The goal of any plan is also to be proactive and mindful that irregardless of how we view our school, society also presents challenges many of us did not experience when we were growing up.
The teachers and I attended an afternoon in-service session last Friday. Some of the topics teachers participated in included:
Early Childhood Program Enhancements and Curriculum
Wilson Reading/Fundations
New regulations for VIRTUS and Lo Sec
Middle school subject area collaboration with Notre Dame Academy teachers
Recommendations for eighth grade placement with NDA (we have done the De Pere School District as well).
The feedback I received from the teachers at NDA was that it would be good if we could discuss and collaborate more often. I think this would be a great idea as all of us learn from others who have been "in the trenches."
In closing, I would like for you to continue to speak with your friends and neighbors about their children attending Notre Dame of De Pere. Notre Dame is a school of growth. At the same time we want to be as inclusive as we can be for all who wish to enter our doors and join us. Word of mouth can be the best way to tell others about the goodness we offer at Notre Dame of De Pere.
Please make sure you check out my page about Parent Education on our website. It is located on the top of the website page in the "Featured News" area. Every week I put some information in there that I think you may be interested in. This week it was an article about Why my kids go to Catholic School.
Have a great rest of the week! Thank you for your continued support of the work all of us do to make your child the best person they can be so that they can LOVE LEARN AND SERVE.
God Bless,
James A.( Jim) Clark, Principal
"May all of us pray the Gospel, and if necessary, use words."
NEWS & EVENTS
Notice to all Volunteers
We will need ALL VOLUNTEERS to sign an updated Volunteer Agreement Form. Even if you have signed one in the past this updated form must be signed. Please click here to print off form. Please return the form to the school office.
Island Adventure Carnival
It's almost here!! February 6th from 5-8 in the middle school gym. All you can eat pasta dinner. For more information click here Come for dinner and have some family fun!!
We need more help, so please sign up to help with the event here
Help Needed at Mass this Weekend
At Notre Dame of De Pere we are truly blessed with families and staff who continually share their talents, time and treasure to make ND an awesome school of learning spiritually and academically. We are also grateful to those parishioners who do the same. Notre Dame families please consider showing our gratitude to our parishioners at St. Mary and St. Francis this weekend (Jan.31/ Feb. 1st) by handing out a pre-made student thank you card to our parishioners after one of the weekend Masses. If your family is interested please sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4ea5ab2cab9-catholic or contact Kari Jossart: karijossart@gmail.com
Magazine/Cookie Dough Sale February 19th - March 9th are the days of the sale. Turn in Days are Friday February 27th and the final is Monday March 9th. This is a great profit for our school. If you are looking to renew your magazines please look here. There will be prizes given to teachers and students. You can enjoy the consistency of your existing magazines or it could be a great opportunity for new magazines. For more information please click here Life's A Beach!! FUN! AWESOME BAND PLAYING LIVE MUSIC! DANCING! DRINKS/FOOD! SUPPORTING OUR SCHOOL! If any of those things sound up your alley, you don't want to miss out on the "Life's A Beach" Party on Friday, February 27th! Please see the attached flyer for details - click here To sign up for this event click here Talent Show Bake Sale Bring in a few extra dollars and enjoy some baked goods for the weekend. There will be a bake sale during the talent show on Friday January 30. It all goes toward a good cause. This is being organized and implemented by one of our own 8th grade students. Claire Kini!!! Please support her cause. For more information please click here Enrollment Returning families will receive an email from SchoolAdmin on GRACE's behalf with a link for registration for the 2015-2016 school year. Returning families DO NOT go to the GRACE website to create a new account. Enrollment opened last weekend. If you are an existing Notre Dame Family and have not received an email link to register please contact the GRACE office 499-4330
A non-refundable fee is required at the time of enrollment. Enrollment fee structure is as follows: Jan 25-31: $35/per student Feb 1-28: $65/student After March 1st: $100/student
The earlier you enroll the lower the fee.
Catholic Schools Week - Let the Celebration Begin! All Notre Dame families you are invited to kick off our celebration of CSW with Mass on Sun. Jan. 25th 9:00 am St. Francis. Families and students we invite you to bring up the gifts, sing in the choir, assist the ministers of hospitality and distribute Holy Communion: click here to sign up. After Mass, from 10 am - 1 pm, join us at the Elementary building for our Open House which includes tours, fellowship and a complimentary breakfast. Adult tour guides are needed during the Open House to give tours of our school buildings: click here if you can help us showcase our school! Please remember to check out the ND website for how our students and you can continue to celebrate with us all week long, in events such as our ND talent show, rosary at McCormick and Haiti school supply drive! See you on Sunday! St. Valentine's Day Cookie Sale Give your someone special a dozen beautiful cookies. You can even have them personalized. Or just order a kit for you and the kids to decorated, all the cooking is done for you. For more information please click here Tax Deductible TuitionHere are the instructions for families wanting to deduct their tuition off their taxes for 2014. The instructions are self explanatory and very easy. If you are having difficulty with the steps provided, please contact FACTS directly at 1-866-441-4637. Do NOT call GRACE as they cannot get into your accounts for this information, only FACTS can. For more information please click here
Helping Haiti One of our Alumni (Kari Healy, daughter of Jean Healy) is going on a mission trip to Haiti. Care to donate some items for the school children in Haiti? Everyone needs a helping hand from time to time. For more information please click here
Project ADAM Benefit Join us to celebrate Life's Foundations. Great Food, carnival games for the entire family and meet Elsa and Anna. Frozen is the theme if you haven't guessed. Enjoy an afternoon of fun for the family. For more information click here NDA Freshman Registration Day Freshman Registration Day is Saturday, January 31, 2015. For more information please click here 2015 De Pere Baseball Registration This is for children in Pre-K through 12th grade. Must register before February 1st in order to avoid a late fee and having your child put on the waiting list. For more information please click here Scrip If you are not purchasing SCRIP for this year and you know you are not going to purchase then the requirement below must be paid by January 31, 2015. $250.00 for Pre-K4 through 8th grade $125.00 for Pre-K2 and Pre-K3 Please make checks payable to Notre Dame of De Pere mark on the envelope atten: Tracy Glover We are also looking for SCRIP sellers. It's fun and you get to meet people from school that you may not have met otherwise. You can get hours for it and it's easy. To volunteer to sell SCRIP please click here Notre Dame of De Pere Just Launched Facebook Yes its true!! We have arrived!! Check us out and like us on Facebook. Don't expect too much yet it is new but keep in touch with us in the future through Facebook and keep up with what is going on. Check us out here https://www.facebook.com/notredameofdepere
De Pere Park & Recreation DepartmentFor the most fun this summer sign up for the De Pere Park & Recreation 2015 Summer Camp. Click here for more details.
De Pere & Ledgeview Youth Soccer Teams
It is time to register for the 2015 De Pere and Wrightstown Youth summer soccer for ages 4-18. Click here for more details.
Parent Education Mr. Clark has set up a Education Post at the top of our webpage. This week he added the topic of Why my kids go to Catholic School. This site is updated constantly. There are many valuable tools in which parents can educate themselves in different aspects of their children's education. Very helpful information. Check it out here.
Prayer Support New to the Notre Dame Website
Do you know someone who is sick? Pregnant? Having surgery? Being challenged in life in another way? If so, would you like a few extra prayers sent their way? Now you can anonymously submit a prayer request, and multiply the power of prayer!!
The Campus Ministry and Spirituality teams of Notre Dame of De Pere invite you to participate in the spiritual formation of our community. Our school community provides many opportunities for prayer: through school liturgies, the Rosary, our classrooms and prayer groups. If you have a special intention that you would like us to pray for, please feel free to submit your request and we will join with many others in our community praying for you. Submitted prayer requests are anonymous unless you choose to include your name. To submit a prayer, go to the "Faith" tab on the ND website, and select "Prayer Requests" or 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 |