Volume 8, Issue 6
October 12, 2009
Feast of St. Seraphin of Montegranaro
(1540-1604)
Born into a poor Italian family, young Seraphin lived the life of a shepherd and spent much of his time in prayer. Seraphin became a Capuchin Franciscan at age 16 and impressed everyone with his humility and generosity. Serving as a lay brother, Seraphin imitated St. Francis in fasting, clothing and courtesy to all. He even mirrored Francis' missionary zeal, but Seraphin's superiors did not judge him to be a candidate for the missions. Faithful to the core, Seraphin spent three hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament daily. The poor who begged at the friary door came to hold a special love for him. Despite his uneventful life, he reached impressive spiritual heights and has had miracles attributed to him. Seraphin died on October 12, 1604, and was canonized in 1767.
For many people these days, work has no significance beyond providing the money they need to live. How many share the belief expressed in the Book of Genesis that we are to cooperate with God in caring for the earth? The kind of work Seraphin did may not strike us as earth shattering. The work was ordinary; the spirit in which he did it was not. (Taken from Saint of the Day, AmericanCatholic.org
Message from the Secretary for Education/Superintendent
Once again this year, we hear of world disasters of tsunamis and cylcones, out of control fires in our own country, and, of course, our service men and women in harm’s way in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have so much to pray for and causes to address in our social action projects. We can never underestimate the power of prayer especially prayer from our students and school communities, and the creativity they often show in working for those in need. You are to be complimented on nurturing these gifts in the students.
Catholic Schools Week 2010
The theme for 2009-2010 is “Catholic Schools: Dividends for Life.” Catholic Schools Week is January 31-February 6, 2010 with National Appreciation Day for Catholic Schools on February 3, 2010.
The marketing kit for Catholic Schools is available for $20 and can be purchased online. Go to www.catholicschoolsweek.org to see the online catalog. As an added and valuable bonus this year the CD in the kit contains artwork for four beautiful new posters promoting Catholic schools, along with billboard art work. The popular Liturgy Guide is part of the package, as is the Marketing Handbook, a valuable tool that helps you adopt a year-round strategy for promoting your school. To better assist you, there is also a new toll-free phone number: 1.877.772.2289.
New Options for Placing Catholic Schools Week Orders
Brown and Bigelow is the new company providing CSW items. There is no printed catalog this year, but all Catholic Schools Week items can be viewed online, with a description, at www.catholicschoolsweek.org
Payment is requested by check or credit card when orders are placed – although there is an exception. You may order online and request a bill: select your items, then use the special instructions box at “checkout” to request that a bill/purchase order be sent to you. It will be mailed.
You may also order by mail. Print out the order form for CSW 2010, include a check for payment and mail it to: National Marketing Campaign, Brown and Bigelow, Inc., 633 Admiral Drive #107, Annapolis, MD 21401.
There is no placing of orders by fax or email.
We Are Called Catechetical Conference
Do you need renewal hours for your religion certificate? This is a good time to register for the We Are Called Catechetical Conference. It will be held on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at Regina High Schoolin South Euclid from 8:00 to 1:00. This workshop is designed for day school religion teachers and PSR catechists, grades 1-8. Deadline for registration is October 15, 2009. No registrations will be accepted at the door.
Sr. Margaret Mach, SC Director of the Office of Evangelization, is the keynote speaker. She will also be a workshop presenter. Catechists and day school teachers will have a choice of a two and one-half hour retreat with Sr. Cheryl Rose HM entitled Walking in the Steps of Jesus, OR a selection of two breakout sessions out of a possible 16 choices. Take some time out to be refreshed and learn some new techniques and ideas for your religion classes.
Material and religious gifts will be available for purchase from the exhibitors. A person may obtain 3 renewal hours for religion certification for this conference. For the brochure and registration please go to the Office of Catechetical Services Web site: www.oce-ocs.org/ocs
Offer for Marketing Assistance with Your School
As part of the OCE-PSI Marketing Initiative, PSI is happy to lend a hand to any Catholic school in Northeast Ohio that requests it. Jerry Jindra reviewed one plan with schools that attended a meeting on September 25 that could begin this process at your school. There are a wide variety of other marketing options that PSI would be glad to discuss with you. Time is short, especially for schools thinking they might have to close. If you are one of these, you can indeed survive if you begin an aggressive and well-considered marketing initiative. Jerry has graciously made himself available to meet with any school representatives, at no charge, who are interested in exploring a solution tailored specifically to your needs.
All marketing campaigns cost money. But losing students costs many times more. That’s why this initiative is designed to help participating schools receive a return on their investment through new and retained students! PSI is absorbing 33% of the cost of this project to maximize its benefits to your school.
PSI knows that principals are already burdened with far too many tasks and too little time for new initiatives. That is why this OCE-PSI Marketing Initiative has been designed to take the load off your desk. If you have one teacher and one parent interested in this project, with the pastor’s blessing, PSI can begin immediately to design a program for your school.
Please call Jerry Jindra at 216.870.3332, Karen McKelvey at PSI at 1.800.841.4774, ext. 230 or Steve Rosenberg at ext. 242 if you are interested in more information about how to begin and build a successful marketing initiative for your school.
Ohio Lottery Sponsored Partners in Education Programs
The Ohio Lottery launched Partners in Education to recognize, reward and support, in a personal kind of way, K-12 students, teachers and schools throughout Ohio. Participation begins with a nomination. It’s a reward in itself, because it means someone noticed an all-star effort. Find nomination forms at www.ohiolottery.com/education/home/html. Print them out and make them available. Call the Ohio Lottery’s Partners in Education coordinator at 216.774.5688 for more information.
Current Programs include:
- Academic All Stars – up to nine students, one from each of nine geographic regions, are drawn and rewarded each month, September through June;
- Teacher of the Month – up to nine teachers, one from each of nine geographic regions, are drawn and rewarded each month from September through June;
- School of the Year – At the end of the school year one school will be drawn as our School of the Year. The only requirement is Teacher of the Month and/or Academic All Star program participation. Your nominations become chances to win the big School of the Year celebration event.
Rewards of the programs – winners receive a Certificate of Excellence, tickets to an event, recognition at the event and a feature story on the Partners in Education page on the Ohio Lottery Web site. Past rewards have placed the stars on the field during a Cleveland Browns game, throwing the first pitch at a Cincinnati Reds game and on the ice at a Columbus Blue Jackets game. Watch for more.
Partners in Education also collaborates with the Scripps National Spelling Bee by supporting any Ohio school that wishes to participate in the Bee, contributing each school’s materials and enrollment fee, no strings attached.
PIE also collaborates with Homework Express, a live TV broadcast created by Youngstown State University and aimed at students who need help with math and science. Watch for it as it expands throughout Ohio. www.homeworkexpress.org.
Video Contest for Students 13 and Older
“I Am What I Learn” is a national video contest sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The contest invites students, ages 13 and older to create and submit videos of up to two minutes long to convey how their education is important to them and their future.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan called the video contest “an opportunity for young people to share their stories about where their education and career training can take them.”
Students must submit their entries by November 2nd . Videos of any style are encouraged as long as they are original and creative. Ten finalists will be selected by a panel of judges, and those videos will be posted on the department’s YouTube channel from November 9 to November 24, allowing the public to vote on their favorites. The three most popular videos will each earn its creator a $1,000 prize. Winners will be announced the week of December 1. Specific contest rules, judging standards, and procedures for submitting videos are available on the department’s Web site at http://www.ed.gov/iamwhatilearn/
20 Students Are Semifinalists in National Achievement Scholarship Program
Among the 20 are students from Beaumont School:
Amirah Acree-Paul,
Tatiana Dubose-Butler,
Ashley Grimes, and from St. Ignatius High School:
Vaughn Spurrier.
We congratulate these students and wish them well as they continue their education.
Cleveland Chosen Site for 28th National Pesticide Conference
The Washington, D.C. partner, Beyond Pesticides, has chosen Cleveland as the site of its 28th National Pesticide Conference in April of 2010 (most likely on Friday and Saturday, April 9 and 10.) Also, Case Western Reserve University's Department of Environmental Health and Science will be co-hosting the event. It will be held on the CWRU campus.
The conference will encompass more than pesticide reform issues and health topics. Related issues including clean air and clean water, smart growth and sustainability, lawn care, organic food and farming and green jobs will also be included. There will be a strong regional component to the forum. You or your organization is welcome to help shape the agenda and you are welcome to participate through presentations, tabling, etc.
This conference will bring together scientists, policymakers, activists and the public to share scientific findings and areas of public policy that are important to public health and the environment. Hundreds of people from the U.S. and Canada are expected to attend. Please let Beyond Pesticides know ASAP if you or your organization is interested in cosponsoring or participating in any way.
For more information about BP’s work visit the Web site at http://www.beyondpesticidesohio.org and the Web site of the national Beyond Pesticides at http://www.beyondpesticides.org
Denim Recycle Drive: Change the World One Pair of Jeans at a Time
The company, Vanity, has teamed up with Cotton, Inc (Cotton. From Blue to Green) to launch a denim recycle drive. The drive is to collect donated denim, to be recycled, eco-friendly into insulation for communities in need as housing for disaster relief victims. It is a great cause, and 500 pairs of jeans, will be enough to insulate 1 home. Denim clothing items other than jeans are also accepted. Your denim clothing donation will be used to create UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation to help rebuild communities and make a positive impact on the environment.
The drive began September 16 and continues through November 3, 2009. Donations can be made at Vanity Stores. You will receive 25% off a new pair of jeans for each pair recycled (excluding clearance).
The closest Vanity stores are located in Belden Village, Canton and Sandusky Mall. You may also take denim clothing to the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor or Summit Mall in Akron.
Visit the Web site www.CottonFromBlueToGreen.org for more fascinating details about the process of using denim to make home insulation.
Ohio Achievement Tests for Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Schools
The OATs are new for the CSTP schools. For principals who are very concerned these are links from the ODE Web site that might help prepare students. They have been used with EdChoice before, and they think they are very helpful.
Resources for Ohio Achievement Tests
Ohio’s Grade 3-8 Achievement Tests in reading, mathematics, science, social studies and writing are aligned to Ohio’s academic content standards. At the ODE Web site, please click on the title below to open the document or a new window to a related Web site.
Documents
Family Report Interpretive Guide – Spring 2009 (PDF)
Ohio Achievement Tests Performance Level Descriptors (PDF)
Constructed Response Items on Ohio Achievement Tests and Available Resources (PDF)
Related Web sites
Achievement Test Web site for Students and Families
Ohio Achievement Tests Document Archive Web site
For Teachers and Administrators
Strategies for Improvement on Ohio's State Tests (PowerPoint)
Strategies for Taking State Assessments (PDF)
Using Ohio’s Student Success Website To Conduct an Item Analysis (PDF)
Contact Information
Office of Assessment
614.466.0223
Aloe Up Available from CPO
CPO has added a product that can be helpful, especially at this time because of the Flu Scare and susceptibility of school age children to H1N1.
The product is called Aloe Up -- A hand sanitizer that is alcohol free and effectively minimizes the spread of most bacteria and viruses. It is an alternative to products like Purell, which contains high amounts of alcohol and which is hightly flammable.
Mr. Ed Vittardi, Superintendent of North Royalton Schools has put these products in all his city's school buildings. The Medina Police Department has equipped all its officers with this product as well as its facilities. The University of Michigan has also put this product in all their campus buildings and facilities.
Contact CPO Customer Service to order or for additional information: 440.717.9700 or 866.746.7276.
Remember Mission Sunday on October 18th, and
Priesthood Sunday, October 25th!
Let us pray for our priests that they may be good pastors and leaders.