Wildcat Paw Recipient for January
Congratulations to Mrs. Deem for being our Wildcat Paw recipient for the month of January. Mrs. Deem runs our Preschool 3-year-old program at Saint Andrew. Mrs. Deem is always smiling and does a fantastic job teaching the foundations of faith and knowledge. She is a true team player and we are so blessed to have her at Saint Andrew.
Early is on Time, On Time is Late and Late is .....?
I used to work with a coach that would tell the players, "Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable." In the world of 5A high school football, it was important to discipline the players in every facet of the game including being on time for practice, workouts, and meetings. Proper preparation, with everyone on the same page at the same time, gave us a better opportunity for victory on Friday night. One missed concept because a player was late could make a big difference. We were also working on something much bigger than the game on Friday night. We were working on a life skill, seemingly small, but so important. The concept of being on time.
Roll the clock up a few years, and I find myself thinking about the coach's saying about being on time. I can't help but think about all the important things that could be missed when a student is not on time. Their arrival late to the classroom could also distract others from catching what the teacher has to say, hearing the announcements, or missing morning prayers.
Managing tardies is one of those things in governing a school that is very important to the success of the school and your student. It is, as stated above, part of disciplining a student in "every facet of the game." The game of life. This is a lifeskill, when learned early, that can lead to great success in your student's future. Habits are being formed.
Certainly, there are allowances for being late on occasion. A school will usually drop an arbitrary number on what it believes is not acceptable when tallying up a student's tardies. This is to allow for the unforeseen traffic jam, the lost car keys, or any other reason for being late. As a whole, we have too many tardies in the morning. We are asking you to please be mindful of the 7:50AM start time. Students who are in class and ready to go at 7:50AM will start their day off on the right foot and will be able to receive all the information necessary for a successful day.
Accreditation Set for 2013
A special faculty meeting was held on January 25th to begin our preparation for accreditation in the Spring of 2013. As a faculty, we began the initial phase of the self study and looked at our mission statement and our school philosophy. We decided that it was important that parents were informed about our progress along the way. I will be writing about different aspects of the accreditation process in my newsletter as we move forward. This is, of course, to keep you informed, but also to remind you of the roles that teachers, staff, administration, parents and the parish play in the education of children.
We began with our mission statement:
Saint Andrew Catholic School exists in order to help families pass on faith and knowledge to the youngest generation of Catholic Christians.
The mission statement will guide our process and progress along the way. It is important to remember that the primary role for raising a child in the Catholic faith falls to the parents. This is stated at the child's baptism. It is also stated by the community present at the Mass that they will help the parents raise their child(ren) in the faith. Saint Andrew Catholic School exists to do just that, to help you "pass on the faith" to your child(ren). Although our role is supplementary in nature, we take our mission very seriously. We partner with you to educate your child in faith and knowledge. This partnership is addressed in our philosophy statement.
The philosophy statement can be found in the handbook. I will be breaking it down over the next few newsletters to help explain our partnership with you when raising your child as a follower of Christ. As we go through the accreditation process, we will be looking at our philosophy statement to make sure it is relevant to the mission. The first paragraph speaks of our personal dignity:
"Our philosophy stems from our belief that God created not just all of us, but each of us, and in God's own image. From this conviction, it follows that each of us has a personal dignity and worth that must be respected by others and also by ourselves. We are called to do all that we do to the very best of our abilities, and we have the right to have our efforts respected."
The concept behind this paragraph lays the foundation of respect for each other. We are all working to the best of our God given abilities and this effort should be acknowledged. All stakeholders must recognize this relationship of respect for one another. The relationship among parish, school and parents always calls for an open line of communication and a philosophy of respect for one another's role in educating children.
As we move forward as a school and community, we will be laying the foundation for the future through the self study in the accreditation process. I would ask that we each be mindful of the school's philosophy and how it guides our individual roles in the process.
Strategic Planning Begins
In the shadow of our self study for accreditation, we will be working on our strategic plan for the school. The accreditation process is very time consuming and will guide our efforts for the Spring of 2012 and fall of next year. It has been 10 years since the last accreditation so it is a good time to look inward and celebrate where we have been as well as form goals for the future.
I'm hoping that things will come out in the self study that will guide our strategic planning process. The goal is to come up with a working document for the school that will be updated yearly and will guide how we operate spiritually, academically and financially. Teachers, staff, parents, and the parish will be involved in this process.
The parish is currently involved in the pastoral planning process for the church as well. As a ministry of the church, our strategic plan will need to be consistent with the direction that the church is headed. Much time and effort has already been put into the framework of the pastoral plan. The school will use pieces of that framework to guide our process for establishing a strategic plan for the school.
We have established the goals of the strategic plan and our next efforts will be to come up with a timetable for its completion. I will continue to keep you informed of this process.
Catholic School's Week
The Catholic School's Banquet took place on January 28th at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Mrs. Galine Baker, our Teacher of the Year for Saint Andrew, was among the many honorees from schools around the Diocese that were honored for their impact on Catholic education. Mrs. Baker's family was present at the banquet to watch her receive her special award from the Diocese.
The banquet kicked off Catholic School's Week here in our Diocese and set the tone for the celebration of Catholic schools that will be acknowledged throughout the entire week.
