Week at a Glance
Marian Central Catholic High School Faculty Newsletter
January 20, 2019
On Monday, Father lead us as we celebrated the first all school mass of the new year. What a wonderful way to start the week! It really does help to set the tone for the days ahead.
I was able to pop by several PLC Team meetings during our Late Start this past Tuesday. Several conversations of clarity with regards to curriculum alignment and UBDs, curriculum changes for next year, and other planning conversations rounded out the morning. There were a lot if great things happening! Keep that forward momentum going! Remember, as we are winding down this school year, please make sure that your team is submitting Year Long Plans (YLP) for every course. Department Heads... please contact me to ensure that I am aware of where and how you have been sharing your team's curriculum and YLPs online. Before the end of the year, I want to be sure all have been submitted. If you have any questions, please contact me.
Tuesday night was our second Conversations that Matter presentation. Members from the McHenry County Health Department shared a lot of valuable information about the dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes to a crowd of about 30-35 parents and students. Once we receive the slide presentation from our speakers, we will be sharing it out to our community through our Friday Focus. In the meantime, if you are not sure what some of these devices look like, please click on the powerpoint attached below.
Both Wednesday and Friday, I was engaged in meetings with my SAM (School Administration Manager) Coach. We continued conversations on how to increase my instructional time engaged with my faculty and the students of our school. Because this is a state funded grant, there will be some things that I will be required to implement moving forward. Fortunately, these actions directly correlate with the expectations from our accreditation network, AdvancED, as well as the school's existing strategic plan. As I begin to more clearly identify these future adjustments, all of the Staffulty will be informed.
Our school sent 25 students and several faculty members to participate in the March for Life in Washington, DC. Though the weather ultimately forced them to leave a day early, surely they will have a lot to share with their friends and faculty about all they had done and, more importantly, how the March impacted their life. Thank you for all of your prayers.
Finally, as the snow storm was looming on Friday, that didn't stop our students from doing amazing things!
- Wrestling honored their senior members Wednesday night... and beat Prairie Ridge!
- The Marian Dance Team competed at Huntley High School Saturday, wowing the crowd with their performance
- Gabe McKenna and Elizabeth Kita performed in the McHenry County Honors Band concert at Woodstock North
- The MC Fencing team made their presence know at their tournament this weekend, with Jenna Knapp placing 3rd in Foil!
We are always so proud of our students!
Looking ahead...
No School Monday, as the nation observes Martin Luther King's birthday! Enjoy your day off!
We are jumping into a 4 day work week with a bang, as the second quarter Academic Breakfast starts our Tuesday morning. We open the cafeteria doors at 7am and the persentation of the awards usually starts by 7:15am. Again, it is always great for our students to see their teachers at this celebration, as you are the ones who nominated them! If you can, please try to attend and celebrate our students.
The SIP Team will be meeting this Tuesday as we finalize decisions on the 2019-20 Curriculum Guide, as well as other discussion items. This is also a good time for your department to begin talking about which classes each member is qualified to teach and has the desire to teach. Department heads, please provide Ms. Novy with a listing of this information after you have these discussions. Decisions on scheduling will be beginning in February. More information to come.
All last week, students were purchasing tickets for this coming Saturday's Winter Dance. If you are one of those staff members who signed up to be a chaparone for the dance, please remember that you need to report to the gym no later than 6:15 pm Saturday evening. If chaparoning, please review the Dance Dress Code so you are aware of the expectations. In addition, students are not allowed to enter the dance after 7:15 pm or leave the dance prior to 9:00 pm requiring them to check out with the chaperone at the door, and students are not allowed to bring bags into the dance. If there is any question or concern at the dance, Ms. Novy will be in attendance to address them. The dance will be from 6:30 - 9:30 pm.
Catholic Schools Week is coming up quickly ~ January 28 - February 1! This is a great time to incorporate a few more faith-based concepts and activities into your lessons! A reminder while you are planning ahead... our All County Mass, where Deanery elementary schools participate in mass at Marian, will be on Monday, January 28 at 10am. This is a special bell schedule, as the mass starts later and usually lasts a nit longer than our regular All School Masses. Please click here for that schedule.
Have a wonderful week...
Marian Students at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington DC
Do You Know what Vape Material Looks Like?
NCEA 2019 Convention in Chicago!
Because this is one of the four inservice days, you will be required to attend. When the date gets closer, we will be providing you information on how to check in at the convention. Please take some time beforehand to review the variety of sessions available here. More information will be forthcoming.
DUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES~
The academic expectations you set in your classroom are already so high... did you ever think that they might be to the level of McHenry County College (MCC) expectations?
The minimum qualifications for a high school teacher to teach a dual credit course have changed. According to the Illinois Dual Credit Quality Act, a high school instructor now just needs a minimum of a Master’s Degree with 18 graduate hours appropriate to the academic field of study or discipline in which they are teaching. For example, if a teacher has a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction or Secondary Education, and has at least 18 graduate credit hours in their subject area (ie: Biology) this teacher would qualify to teach Bio157 - Fundimentals of Biology as a dual credit class in conjunction with MCC.
Are you qualified?
Are you interested in finding out more about this? Click here to review in more detail what the Dual Credit program is all about.
If interested in seeing what the program might look like for your courses here at Marian, please contact Ms. Novy to discuss this great opportunity for you and, especially, for our students!
Catechist Certification Opportunities
Diocese of Rockford Adult Faith Formation
This site provides FREE courses, lessons, instructional videos, and educational resources.
This is an online platform providing access to Catholic audio talks, movies, e-books, and video-based studies.
Click on “Register Now” and create your account (email and password). For future visits, enter your sign-in info and choose step 2. Once you create your account, you will be on Marian’s FORMED page.
TECHNOLOGY CORNER
Please refer to the 18-19 Technology Guide for most of the information needed for log-ins, Wi-Fi, printers, saving files, and more!
2018-2019 MCCHS SMART Goal: Technology: Curriculum Integration
2018-2020 MCCHS Technology: Professional Development SMART Goal
Next Technology Committee Meeting is this Thursday, Jan. 24 at 2:45 pm!
Professional Development Opportunities
**NEW! NCEA Virtual Education Program
Being a member of NCEA also allows your teachers to use the new Virtual Education Program through Notre Dame of Maryland. Teachers can take up to 4 graduate courses for a yearly fee of $125. More information can be found onhttps://www.ncea.org/NCEA/Membership/Virtual_Education_Software_Course_Membership_Program.aspx
Teacher's Teacher : A wide variety of online courses are offered, designed to meet the changing needs of teachers.
Did you forget your GCN Training?
As shared back in August, all trainings must be completed no later than April 1, 2019.
If you have alerady completed your trainings, thank you for being so pro-active! If you have not, please print out the Certificate of Completion once you have completed all of your designated trainings.
If you need assistance logging into your account, please contact Ms. Novy.
This Week's Schedule
As you work through your plans this week, please note these events. For a more detailed list, check out our school calendar, 8to18 Athletics Calendar or Clubs/Organizations Page
>>> If you sponsor a club or organization and would like to have your events listed here, please provide Ms. Novy with your calendar.
Monday, Jan. 21, 2019
MLK Birthday... NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019
7:15 am ~ Academic Breakfast, Cafeteria
7:45 am ~ Daily Mass, Chapel
Lunches ~ Adoration, Chapel
2:30 pm ~ Confessions, Chapel
2:40 pm ~ SIP Meeting, Library
3:00 pm ~ Musical Rehearsal, Auditorium
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019
7:45 am ~ Daily Mass, Chapel
9:00 am ~ Facilities Meeting, Superintendent's Office
2:30 pm ~ Confessions, Chapel
3:00 pm ~ Musical Rehearsal, Auditorium
7:00 pm ~ Parent's Assoc. Planning Meeting for Senior Breakfast, Annex
Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019
LOY Out
NOVY Out: Principal Retreat
7:45 am ~ Daily Mass, Chapel
Lunches ~ Adoration, Chapel
2:30 pm ~ Confessions, Chapel
2:40 pm ~ Friends of Rachel Club, Rm 134
2:45 pm ~ Technology Committee Meeting, Library
3:00 pm ~ Musical Rehearsal, Auditorium
Friday, Jan. 25, 2019
7:30 am ~ NHS Meeting, Auditorium
7:45 am ~ Daily Mass, Chapel
2:30 pm ~ Confessions, Chapel
3:00 pm ~ Musical Rehearsal, Auditorium
Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019
9:00 am ~ Musical Sets, Dance, Costumes, Auditorium
6:30 - 9:30 pm ~ Winter Dance