Week at a Glance
Marian Central Catholic High School Faculty Newsletter
November 18, 2017
A Glimpse of this Week...
This past week, although it was quite busy for many of us, seems to have been scheduled only by God. It is clear that God had a hand in positioning the many retreats for our students on the week prior to Thanksgiving. We understand how difficult it must be to have to work around all of the various retreat schedules... Certainly there was no teacher who was not affected by the retreats.
These retreats, as well as those still upcoming, provide students an opportunity to step away from the hectic nature of their school environment, spend some personal time with God, and , no doubt, coming back with a deeper sense of faith and love for God. Thank you for your prayers, letters to the retreat participants, and continued support of our students in their faith journey.
With regards to the retreats, as you know, it is important that the students to go to their retreats without having to worry about their school work. Thank you for allowing them to truly be in "retreat mode." With that, please remember that the students are to be allotted ample time to make up any work they missed. A minimum of one day for each day missed is appropriate so, for instance, for our Kairos attendees, they should be able to get all their missed work to you by this Wednesday, 11/22. Thank you for giving them this opportunity to maintain their educational progress.
Our Academic Breakfast had an amazing turnout! Thanks to the Marian kitchen staff for the beautiful food presentation as well as Ky Peronne and Haley Stiscak who provided wonderful piano music to add to the ambiance. It is always great to recognize our students for their academic successes. If you didn't already, please make sure that you let the students know why you recognized them... either in person or with the Cane-o-Gram!
Thanks to our Staffulty for making our 8th Grade Visit Day a great success! We had over 175 students attend! The perspective freshman seemed to have enjoyed their time at Marian, engaging in activities in each of the subject areas, as well as hanging out with the Freshmen and Mentor helpers!
We know it was a quick transition from 8th Grade Visit mode to the inservice, but hopefully you all got something out of the inservice with Dr. Lee Friday afternoon. Besides reviewing UBDs within the departments to determine whether they met the criteria or not, we learned about what the elements are for an effective performance task. Dr. Lee asked that teachers now work on a second UBD (Although she is aware that some departments are further along than others) as well as developing a performance task utilizing the criteria she provided. Our next inservice with Dr. Lee is not until March, so we have a good amount of time to work on this!
The week ended with the three day performance of The Miracle Worker by our theater arts department. Hopefully many of you took the opportunity to go see one of the three performances. Congratulations and thank you to Mrs. Connell and Ms. Gallagher for their tireless work with the performers and crew. This is no small undertaking!
Looking ahead...
A short week and midterm of Quarter 2 is Monday!
Although this is only a three day school week, it still seems jam packed! It is important to make sure that your grades are completely up to date, as parents will be looking at their students' grades for Q2 midterms. After this week, the down-slide to the end of the quarter/semester will be fast! Parents and students alike need to know measures of progress to ensure that students will successfully pass the first semester. Thank you for continuing to provide support to your students along the way.
Wednesday is an early dismissal, but it also includes our Thanksgiving Mass. Please refer to this adjusted schedule to manage your class time. Nov. 22, 2017 Bell Schedule It was adjusted specifically to offer each class (except those over lunches) to be about 25 minutes long, giving acceptable time to still make classes effective. Since this is a mass of Thanksgiving, we have decided to implement a new tradition... to recognize students who go out of their way (outside of Marian) to service others. Please help students remain in their seats after mass, as we will be recognizing many of them publicly and encouraging everyone to continue serving others and God.
Finally, just as each of us want to be able to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with our families and friends, so do our students, so please allow them this time, away from the stress of their studies. Consider not assigning homework over the holiday. You will find that students will come back more refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the semester with more energy and a positive attitude.
Blessings on your Thanksgiving weekend!
QUARTER 1 ACADEMIC BREAKFAST 11-14-17
8th GRADE VISIT DAY 11-17-17
HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING!
- God... our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
- The life God gave us
- Our faith
- Our family
- Our Guardian Angels
- Our Marian community
- Education
- Our health
- Our freedoms
- Our friends
- Our job
- The special gifts God has given us
- Our difficulties (from which we grow)
- Those who serve others
- This beautiful world we live in.... and so many more.
Illinois Tax Credit for Teacher Spending
The following information was provided by the Illinois State Board of Education:
There is a new statute that provides for an Illinois tax credit for teachers who personally buy supplies for their classrooms that has come to my attention. Here’s the text of the statute with some added highlight:
35 ILCS 5/225. Credit for Instructional Materials and Supplies.
For taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2017, a taxpayer shall be allowed a credit in the amount paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year for instructional materials and supplies with respect to classroom based instruction in a qualified school, or $250, whichever is less, provided that the taxpayer is a teacher, instructor, counselor, principal, or aide in a qualified school for at least 900 hours during a school year.
The credit may not be carried back and may not reduce the taxpayer's liability to less than zero. If the amount of the credit exceeds the tax liability for the year, the excess may be carried forward and applied to the tax liability of the 5 taxable years following the excess credit year. The tax credit shall be applied to the earliest year for which there is a tax liability. If there are credits for more than one year that are available to offset a liability, the earlier credit shall be applied first.
For purposes of this Section, the term "materials and supplies" means amounts paid for instructional materials or supplies that are designated for classroom use in any qualified school. For purposes of this Section, the term "qualified school" means a public school or non-public school located in Illinois.
This Section is exempt from the provisions of Section 250.
(Source: P.A. 100-22, eff. 7-6-17.)
This credit is in addition to a comparable federal tax credit discussed at https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc450/tc458. If you have any additional questions, please ask your qualified tax professional.
Professional Development Opportunities
If you are interested in attending one of these PD opportunities, please contact Ms. Novy. For more information, please click on the links provided.
Grading Smarter, Not Harder Online PD
Questioning for Classroom Discussion Online PD
TECHNOLOGY CORNER
If you are wondering how to integrate technology into your specific subject area, check out the BestPrep - Technology Integration" Resource Library. Click on your subject area and find a multitude of ideas on how to bring your content to life with technology. The lessons are also already in UBD format!
If you are interested in one of these, or other technology conferences or workshops, contact Ms. Novy!
Upcoming events:
ICE Conference Feb. 26-28, 2018 If Interested, please contact Ms. Novy no later than Dec. 11
ILfabCon (Illinois Flipped and Blended Learning Conference June 21 & 22, 2018 at Huntley High School If interested, please contact Ms. Novy by Feb. 9
ISTE Conference June 24-27, 2018 in Chicago If interested, please contact Ms. Novy by Feb. 15
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
Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017
2:00 pm ~ Final Performance of The Miracle Worker, Auditorium
Monday, Nov. 20 , 2017
Q2 Midterms Posted
7:30 am ~ CIA, rm 229
Lunch ~ Confessions, Chapel
2:30 pm ~ Math Club, rm 207
2:40 pm ~ Club Med, rm 123
2:40 pm ~ Mass, Chapel
2:50 pm ~ SIP Team Meeting, Annex
Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017
7:00 am ~ Mustard Seed Committee, rm 210
7:30 am ~ Spanish Honor Society, rm 208
7:40 am ~ Rosary, Chapel
Lunch ~ Eucharistic Adoration
2:30 pm ~ Ping Pong, Auditorium Commons
2:30 pm ~ Business Club, rm 219
2:40 pm ~ Mass, Chapel
2:40 pm ~ Gavel, rm 218
2:40 pm ~ Chess Club, rm 129
2:40 pm ~ Scholastic Bowl, rm 219
2:45 pm ~ Smart-Fit Club, rm 147
7:00 pm ~ Boys Soccer Team Event, Cafeteria
Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017
9:12 ~ All School Mass, Lander's Pavilion
Early Dismissal, 1:30 pm Nov. 22, 2017 Bell Schedule
1:30 pm ~ Early Dismissal
1:40 pm ~ Baseball Meeting, Cafeteria
2:00 pm ~ Office Closes
Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017
Thanksgiving; No School; Offices Closed
Friday, Nov. 24, 2017
Thanksgiving Vacation, No School; Offices Closed
Happy Birthday To....
11-19 Kelly Hilton