Montana Catholic Schools Weekly
November 23, 2015
Gratitude
Last week marked the conclusion of our regional principal meetings. Below is the good news from each one of our schools:
· Billings Central Catholic HS: service focus at this time of the year provides opportunities for students to help others in need; good news received for seniors from early admission to national universities
· Butte Central Catholic ES: successful WCEA accreditation visit
· Butte Central Catholic HS: Thanksgiving dinner served approximately 800 people
· Central Catholic (Great Falls) HS: utilizing the Ursuline Centre to house 15 international boarding students and two from Montana; enrollment has risen
· De La Salle Blackfeet School: chess program has been successful; school is organizing its self-study for next year’s visit
· Holy Spirit (Great Falls): successful WCEA accreditation visit spotlighted their strong Catholic identity
· Loyola Sacred Heart HS (Missoula): received endorsement from the Jesuit Schools Network, renewing their historical connection to the Jesuits
· Our Lady of Lourdes (Great Falls): adopted Open Sys as their Student Information System which also has potential for curriculum mapping; preparing for spring WCEA visit
· Pretty Eagle (St. Xavier): successful WCEA accreditation visit affirmed the staff’s work
· Sacred Heart (Miles City): after being turned away from their long-standing partnership with the public schools, SH developed its own sports teams
· St. Andrew (Helena): now recognized as a private Catholic school in the Diocese of Helena; adopted RenWeb this year as a Student Information System
· St. Francis Primary (Bilings): the new “SMILE” board honors students who are “caught” performing acts of kindness
· St. Francis Intermediate (Billings): Tim Lowe, the new principal, is learning his new role and concurrently serving as the Education Director (implementing standards-based grading, 1:1 iPad program, etc)
· St. Francis Upper (Billings): developing formative assessment programs
· St. Joe’s (Missoula): Launching a new type of enrollment night with registration incentives for current families; staff is undergoing a new type of emergency training
· St. Jude Thaddeus (Havre): new SLEs adopted and work on the self-study underway
· St. Labre Elementary: new PLC meetings have proven successful
· St. Labre HS: “Works of Mercy” program brought students to Billings to perform service projects
· St. Labre Middle School: great results from their emphasis on positive discipline with attendance up, behavioral referrals down, and test scores up
· St. Mary’s (Livingston): new blended learning model is being implemented, communication vital to new and current families
· St. Matt’s (Kalispell): successful WCEA accreditation visit; enrollment is up in entry grades
· St. Paul Mission Grade School (Hays): Without the Jesuits, the school is adjusting to new lay pastoral leaders and priests serving from Malta; self-study work is underway
Dr. Tim Uhl, Superintendent
Sacred Heart traditions
Name that Founder!
Pajamas for books
The Week Ahead
Tues: Missoula meetings
Wed: office (Helena)
Thurs-Sun: Thanksgiving break (NB there will not be a newsletter next week)
This week: 445 miles
Last week: 1,064 miles
2015-16: 10,462 driving miles/ 5,184 air miles
Montana Catholic Schools
Email: superintendent@montanacc.org
Website: www.montanacatholicschools.org
Location: PO Box 1708 Helena MT 59601
Phone: (406) 442-5761
Twitter: @mtcathschools
For Principals
2. Below in the Teaching & Instruction section there is a link to the CRS Global High School initiative.
3. Upcoming dates: Jan 17th high school meeting in Billings, Jan 26th virtual principal meetings (9 am & 1 pm).
4. I've included the Fall Survey at the end of this newsletter. If you haven't had a chance to take it yet, please make sure to take the survey.