Dear Parents,

Scavenger hunts are usually an exciting way of finding out where certain things are. Every Christmas we have a scavenger hunt.  It is one that annoys my wife greatly. My 24 year old son hides all the items in the manger scene.  I usually get a good laugh when my wife gets so frustrated that all of the characters are gone and she is forced to look for them.  I hope you have some very special Christmas traditions at your house, whether they are as "bizarre" as ours is or not.

I would ask the middle school parents to review a separate letter I sent earlier this week that addresses four items that include Uniform Code Review, Chromebook Use, attire for eighth grade graduation, and a possible trip to Washington, D.C. for the eighth grade class of 2017.  I will attempt to communicate with grade level divisions should it be necessary. 

One thing that impresses me so much is the generosity of parents, students and teachers at Notre Dame. Fr. Getchel and I discussed the generosity of the Notre Dame family in providing food items for the pantries in Green Bay and De Pere.  The Secret Santas the classrooms do for one another is a genuine way of celebrating the season.  The staff even does Secret Santa. I would encourage the first graders in Mrs. Cramer's room to inquire as to the "White Elephant" gift she received from her Secret Santa.  Believe it or not, it is something that the first graders will find very educational.

The GRACE Administrative Team met this past Monday with Mrs. Jane Schueller, Assistant Superintendent for the Green Bay Diocese to discuss MAP scores from all of the GRACE schools.  All of us were extremely with the RIT and percentile scores in all of our schools.  Some of the items that stood out with our scores included:

• Our students scored in the 90th percentile and above in Language Arts, Reading, and Spelling.
• The Math scores at the middle school went up from last year.  The Math scores at all grade levels were consistently high.

One goal we will continue to work on is in the area of student growth during spring testing.  The teachers are already addressing this with their individual goal conferences with the students as well as a goal or two they set for their classroom instruction.  The scores our students attained is something that all of us can celebrate.

I have been observing in the cafeteria what the students have been bringing for cold lunch. I must say that along with our hot lunch there is a great deal of care in providing great nutrition for the kids. One thing I would ask though is that the students not bring popcorn to school.  Not only is it not the most nutritious item to bring for lunch, but it does cause a bit of a mess in the cafeteria.  

One of the things we are working on at this time is to construct a comprehensive marketing plan for the enrollment season that begins on January 31.  A special focus of our plan will be to center upon external marketing that will affect the immediate De Pere community.  You will receive more information on our marketing plan after January 1.  It is not too early to pass the good word on about Notre Dame being a school we are all proud of.

We will dismiss for the Christmas Recess on Wednesday, December 23 at 11:30 am.  There will not be an after hours program that day.  I ask that you pick up your child as soon as possible on the 23rd.

Students will be able to have a dress down day this coming Friday.  Your child (ren) and the staff can view this as an early Christmas present.

Have a great rest of the week and take a few minutes to relax or reduce your stress levels.

James A.( Jim) Clark, Principal

"I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH."

Philippians 4:13