Montana Catholic Schools Weekly
January 4, 2015
New Year's Resolutions
As I promised in December, I unplugged and read a few books over Christmas break. I didn't look at my Twitter feed for over a week! The best book I read was entitled "Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads." The author gives interesting background on Pope Francis before he was the pontiff.
Whenever a parent of a young child came to him for confession or spiritual direction, Fr. Bergoglio asked, "Do you play with your children?" In Pope Francis's recommendations for New Years' resolutions (the article link is included below), he repeats that question with a recommendation that young parents play with their children.
Notice he did not simply say, "Spend time with your children." That's easy--I can drive my daughter to her practices, we can watch TV together, or I can check my email on my phone while my son puts together a puzzle. It's easy to be together, much more difficult to be engaged together.
This is a challenge for me, for you, and for the parents of our students. And amid all the important work we have to do, it's worth considering. If we want to improve our schools, we need to put our students first. And to be a student-first leaders, we need to model for our parents that we put OUR own children first in our lives.
Spending time with my 3 kids balances me as a person. It makes me a better educator, colleague, and leader in my "work" life. I suspect it does the same for you and for parents in your schools.
Pope Francis has challenged us to be more engaged with the children in front of us. They deserve our attention. And he has also called us to prioritize our time (and attention) to our families.
Dr. Tim Uhl
Holiday Bowl
Happy New Year
Disneyland
The Week Ahead
Tuesday: Great Falls meetings & Study Commission (5:00 pm)
Wednesday: Billings meetings, school visits, & School Board (4:00 pm)
Thursday: Butte meetings & accreditation meeting after school
Friday: office day (Helena
This week: 940 miles
Last week: 570 miles & 356 newsletter views
2014-15: 16,787 miles
Montana Catholic Schools
Email: superintendent@montanacc.org
Website: montanacatholicschools.org
Location: 1313 11th Avenue, Helena, MT, United States
Phone: (406) 442-5761
Twitter: @tduhl
On the Horizon
- January 12th & 13th: Virtual Principal meetings. Principals--please send in your suggestion topics and questions. Look for a separate email with instructions.
- January 19th: MHSA convention. The high school meeting for Catholic high schools scheduled for the 18th has been canceled.
- Jan 25-30: Catholic Schools Week. Bishop Warfel's schedule was released in December.
- March 10th: Catholic schools day at the state legislature.
American Catholic News
Catholic Universities
While this article paints a far rosier picture: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/12/the-new-brand-of-jesuit-universities/384103/
Opening, Closing, & Saving Catholic Schools
St. Michael the Archangel HS will open in Kansas City: http://catholickey.org/2012/09/07/new-diocesan-high-school-has-a-name/
Redemptorist High in Baton Rouge is closing: http://www.wafb.com/story/27670941/redemptorist-jr-and-sr-high-school-closing-june-30-2015
St. Florian (near Chicago) was saved from closure: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/st-florian-saved-from-catholic-schools-chopping-block/article_7168f803-6c81-55e0-9403-8d29a22a1801.html