Volume 9, Issue 8
November 15 , 2010

Albert the Great was one of the Church's greatest intellects. He studied at the University of Padua and later taught at Regensburg, and Strasbourg. He then taught at the University of Paris, where he received his doctorate in 1245. He was among the first and greatest of the natural scientists, gaining a reputation for expertise in biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geography, metaphysics, and mathematics. He was also very learned in biblical studies and theology.

St. Albert the Great, pray for us and for our students.                                                  
(Adapted from Catholic Online)

Happy Feast Day, St. Albert the Great Parish and School!

Message from the Secretary for Education/Superintendent
Thanks to all who attended the Principals’ Leadership Conference. It was a pleasure to serve you again through this professional development opportunity tailored especially for you. Once again, we will take seriously any comments you provide us in the evaluation so that our next conference will be even better.

With the November elections behind us, we need to be aware of and in touch with those who will be voting on issues of School Choice and state funding for non-public schools. See the article below on Advocacy. Also, there are two online newsletters that are of importance to you as a non-public school administrator: the Non-Public School Newsletter, Volume IV, Issue 1 Fall 2010 from www.ode.state.oh.us with invaluable reminders, and CAPE Outlook available at http://www.capenet.org gives us the latest national news on school choice and other information on private schools.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your school community! May this beautiful holiday be spent with your loved ones truly grateful for the blessings we all have received. May God bless you and continue to grant you the graces you need.

Below is a request from Father Nuzzi of Notre Dame University. Their Leadership Program is conducting a survey with principals. Father would be very grateful if you would complete the survey. Thanks in advance.

Every now and then, I will include a Marketing Minute in the Superintendent’s Bulletin. Below is the first. These easy to implement ideas can bolster your marketing efforts. Choose the ones that appeal to you and try them out. If you have any ideas that work well for you and would like to share them, please send them to me for inclusion in the Bulletin.

Marketing Minute #1
There used to be a television show, “You asked for it, you got it!” How do you put your constituents on such a show? You invite them “home” to a Show and Tell evening. Early in the year tell them your goals, ask their feedback and begin collecting success stories related to your goals.  

Invite them to a Promises Kept event. Restate the goals and have students and faculty report on the achievements. “We promised to go green and… we promised to improve technology and look at …”

Make sure you say things like, “You told us… therefore…” Remember, ‘If it was my idea, I love the results.’

University of Notre Dame Survey of Catholic School Principals from Father Nuzzi
Dear Catholic School Principal,

On behalf of the University of Notre Dame, I want to thank you for your witness and leadership in Catholic schools. I hope and pray that this email finds you well as you lead another successful year of Catholic education.

My colleagues and I are conducting a research study to examine the needs and dispositions of Catholic school leaders from across the United States – a study that is a vital complement to Faith, Finance, and the Future: The Notre Dame Study of U.S. Pastors conducted in 2008. Through this inquiry, we acknowledge and affirm that effective school leaders are essential to the transformation of underperforming schools and the ongoing success of high quality schools.

Our research study is possible only through your collaboration and participation. Please take a moment to complete the survey at your earliest convenience – it should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/schoolleader

The survey is completely voluntary and all responses are anonymous. You will NOT be asked to share your name, and your responses will only be reported in aggregate with all other survey respondents. If you have any questions about the survey instrument or the study in general, please feel free to contact me by phone 1.574.631.7730 or by email: acedata@nd.edu.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request, and for the candor of your responses. We are confident that with your partnership we will better understand and more clearly identify innovative solutions to the contemporary challenges facing Catholic schools. In so doing, we hope to ensure that they remain the vibrant and “privileged environment for Christian education” for generations to come.

Sincerely Yours in Notre Dame,
Rev. Ronald J. Nuzzi, Ph.D.
Senior Director, The Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program
Alliance for Catholic Education
University of Notre Dame

Advent Begins November 28, 2010
This gentle season of the year in which we anticipate the celebration of the birth of Our Lord is a uniquely teachable moment to recall not only the first coming of Christ, but his second coming at the Last Judgment and even more apropos for our students, the coming of Jesus into our hearts at each reception of the Holy Eucharist. It is the season of giving and expressing our love for each other and for those less fortunate than ourselves. May we make the most of this graced time.

Free Concert with the Daughters of St. Paul Choir
As part of the Helen D. Schubert Concert Series, the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist presents A King is Born: Christmas with the Daughters of St. Paul on Friday, December 3, 2010 at 7:30 pm. The award-winning Daughters of St. Paul Choir from Boston, MA, is known for its fresh arrangements of time-honored classics. The Choir’s Christmas concerts allow the Sisters to do what the Daughters of St. Paul do best – communicate God’s extraordinary love for every person. They sing well-loved carols and holiday favorites to combine a heartwarming collection of both lively and moving songs that celebrates the glory of the wonder and joy of the Christmas season. The Pauline Records division of Pauline Books & Media has sold nearly one million albums since the choir formation in 1988. Many are Angel Award-winning projects that have been, in whole or in part, written, produced, arranged, or directed by Music Director Sister Bridget Charles Ellis, FSP.

The concert is free, and there is free secure parking in Cathedral Square Parking Garage on Rockwell Avenue at East Ninth Street.

NEEDED: Advocates on Behalf of Your School’s Students and Their Families
In anticipation of the 2012-2013 Ohio Budget, we are all encouraged to take a proactive stance on behalf of the non-public students in Ohio and certainly on behalf of our own Catholic School students and families. The Catholic Conference of Ohio is always hard at work—advocating for our schools, but even more so at this critical time.

Please use the information on the FOCUS sheet you received at the Principals’ Leadership Conference. If you have misplaced the sheet or if you did not attend the Conference, go to: www.ohiocathconf.org and select Focus Newsletter September/October 2010.  Please invite elected officials to visit your schools and to see the value of what you are doing for the State of Ohio. 

With the projected $4-$8 million dollar shortfall in state funding, it is important that non-public school students and families be vocal to ensure parity of state aid for the non-public school student.  

An additional comment: While other School Choice groups are also active at this time, the focus of the Catholic Conference and the Ohio Advocates for Catholic Schools will be on protecting funding and services for our Catholic Schools.

Attention All Principals re: High School Application Packets
High-school application packets for this year have been mailed to all schools. These documents including the timeline, application and schedule have the most recent updates. Please use this version when making the necessary copies for your eighth grade students. If needed, additional copies can be found on our Web site at http://oce-ocs.org/oce under Administrators – Elementary and High School Downloadable Documents. Please feel free to contact Wayne Uehlein at ext. 2450 or Sandy Williams at ext. 4990 if we can assist you in any way in this process.

Pro Orantibus Day, A Day of Support for Cloistered Life
Each year there is a special day for Cloistered Communities of women and men who are a tremendous gift to the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II established this worldwide event in 1997, to be celebrated each year on the Memorial of Mary’s Presentation in the Temple. This day was established to provide spiritual and material support to Cloistered Communities.

Presently we have three diocesan Cloistered Communities: Carmel of the Holy Family, OCD; Poor Clare Colettines, PCC; and Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, PCPA. We invite you to pray for these communities especially on Sunday, November 21, 2010, the Memorial of Mary’s Presentation in the Temple. It is also Christ the King Sunday. These contemplative women and men are the hope of the world, in that they testify to the truth that we are created for God alone, and that we are destined to spend eternity worshipping our King if we are faithful servants.

You should have received a brochure with suggestions for honoring these special people. Perhaps, in addition to praying for them, you could send cards to them encouraging them in their vocation. Their addresses are:

Carmel of the Holy Family
3176 Fairmount Boulevard
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118

Poor Clare Colettines
3501 Rocky River Drive
Cleveland, OH 44111

Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration
4108 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44103

Stop the Hate Essay Contest
This is a reminder that the deadline for the Essay Contest for 6th-10th graders is December 1, 2010. For more information, go to www.maltzmuseum.org. The deadline for grades 11-12 is January 5, 2011.

LifeWorks Ohio Art and Essay Program
The goal of this program is to encourage grade school and high school students to artistically express their commitment to life in a yearly contest that attracts thousands of local students. The theme of the contest is set annually and a panel of pro-life community leaders judge the art and essay works. This year’s theme is: “In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40) Using this verse, students may express their belief on the sanctity of human life with special consideration to the unborn, elderly and disabled. Go to http://www.lifeworksohio.org/art_and_essay.asp for information on the contest and the rules for entering. Entries must be postmarked no later than January 7, 2011, so you have plenty of time.

Students in grades 4 through 12 who enter the contest have the opportunity to:

• Express their commitment to the sacredness of human life
• Win cash prizes from $10 to $50, an award certificate and ribbon
• Attend a beautiful award ceremony in the spring
• See their winning art entries displayed at the award art exhibition
• Read their winning essay at the award ceremony
• Have their art entry considered for publication in the LifeWorks Ohio Calendar!

Attention Schools that Partner with Cleveland Clinic Initiatives
Here is the registration link for the 2010/11 Distance Learning programs offered by the Cleveland Clinic Office of Civic Education Initiatives – these programs began 11.9.10:

http://survey.clevelandclinic.org/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=m6LL39m4

Ohio Resident Educator Transition Program: The first round of meetings took place at the end of September.  At these meetings paperwork was requested in order to be able to register new teachers into CORE for the program.  Since the meetings I have received numerous requests for information regarding the program.  The information was provided to all principals in the packets received at the Plenary.  This included mentor training information, meeting dates and registration information, as well as the registration paper.  My deadline to register new teachers for the mentoring program is today, November 15th.  Should anyone go un-noticed, they will be required to participate in the new Resident Educator Program, a 4-year residency program beginning in 2011.  Please check your records to make sure that I am aware of any new teachers who need to complete the mentoring program.  Thank you!   Melissa Hokanson

Restructuring Your Open House
Now is the time to begin thinking about your open house. PSI Solutions has invited SDG Advisors to speak at the popular PSI in the A.M. series on November 16, 2010, from 9 – 10:30 am, on simple tips to make your open house more effective in increasing enrollment. Join SDG and PSI on the 16th to learn more about how to get prospective families in the door, and what to do with them once you have them there. This is a great primer for school principals and marketing committee members filled with take-away ideas to help you turn prospective families into newly registered families.

Contact Brenda Anderson at PSI: 1.800.841.4774 ext 237 to learn more and to reserve your spot.

SDG Advisors works with Catholic K-12 schools to help them understand their finances, market for enrollment, raise more money, build better boards, and plan for their future.

Professional Learning Community for Assistant Principals
Last month, several assistant principals gathered to create their plan for a Professional Learning Community. The afternoon was spent brainstorming ideas for collaboration, researching best practices and developing ways to assist students in the learning process. If you would like a copy of the PLC minutes, please contact Kathy Friess at St. Barnabas School.  
  
The next Assistant Principals’ Professional Learning Community meeting will be on Wednesday, November 17th @ 12:45 PM at St. Albert the Great School in North Royalton. If you would like to join the group, simply RSVP and bring your ideas and your enthusiasm.  A light lunch will be provided.
Contact:  Kathy Friess at St. Barnabas 1.330.467.7921 or kfriess@barnabasohio.org.

Maltz Museum Exhibit: The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936
This exhibit continues through January 2011. The exhibit from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a stunning look at how world politics, sports, and racism converged in Germany. It explores the issues surrounding the 1936 Games – the Nazis’ use of propaganda, the intense boycott debate, the history of the torch run, the historic performance of Jesse Owens and more.

Guest Lecture: Jesse Owens and the 1936 Berlin Olympics will be held Wednesday, November 17, 7pm. Cost is $10/$8 for members. Dr. Rusty Wilson, author of Ohio State University at the Olympics and recipient of the 2009 Vikelas Plaque of the International Society of Olympic Historians, brings to life Jesse Owens’ historic triumph over Nazi ideology in this fascinating, illustrated presentation that also examines America’s decision not to boycott and the last minute replacement of Jewish runners Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller.

Galleries at the Cleveland Museum of Art
In Honor of the Cleveland Arts Prize Exhibition – In the east wing’s Cleveland gallery, find works of art in all media created by visual arts prize winners whose work is in the museum’s permanent collection. Enjoy the art of Moe Brooker, Edwin Mieczkowski, John Clague, Julian Stanczak, David E. Davis, Richard Anuszkiewicz, and Athena Tacha as part of this month’s rotation of artists. The exhibition is on view with several rotations through March 13, 2011.

The Jewelry of John Paul Miller Exhibition – The museum’s first retrospective of the work of the legendary Cleveland jeweler is on view through January 2, 2011, in the Betty and Max Ratner Gallery in the east wing. Don’t miss the sketches and drawings of his objects in the gallery opposite the exhibition cases.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2011
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an opportunity for us to grow in appreciation of the gifts of the Spirit that have been showered on Christians of all churches. In 2011, there is a special event during this week.

St. Mary School of Theology along with the Interfaith Commission of the Diocese of Cleveland will sponsor on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 1:30pm a presentation entitled Liturgy, Ecumenism, and the Pursuit of Christian Unity: To Where Shall We Go? By The Reverend Maxwell E. Johnson, Ph.D., Professor of Liturgical Studies, University of Notre Dame, in the Aula of the Center for Pastoral Leadership, 28700 Euclid Avenue, Wickliffe, Ohio. The presentation is free and open to the public. Lunch is available before the program at 12:30pm in the CPL Dining Room, but reservations must be made by Wednesday, January 19, 2011 by phoning 1.440.943.7475 or emailing jhilinski@dioceseofcleveland.org.

Dr. Johnson is an ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Because of the high regard for his liturgical scholarship, his name and books are found on bibliographies in Catholic seminaries as well as Lutheran schools of theology. Among his more recent publications are American Magnificat: Protestants on Mary of Guadalupe and The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretations. Dr. Johnson is well acquainted also with the Eastern Orthodox liturgies and has been invited to give lectures at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.

January Thaw
The thirteenth annual “January Thaw:  Fire Up” Conference is scheduled for Saturday, January 29, 2011, at Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron.  This catechetical conference is sponsored by the Southern Area Catechetical Leaders of the Diocese of Cleveland in association with the Diocesan Office of Catechetical Services. ValLimar Jansen, singer, recording artist, professor and leader of worship and prayer will keynote and lead the morning prayer.  The conference offers over 20 sessions for Parish and School Catechetical Leaders, Youth Ministers, Catechists, Teachers, RCIA Teams, and interested adult Catholics, plus a two- session retreat option.

A brochure with registration information will be included in the December Memorandum and online at www.oce-ocs.org/ocs. Please note that registration is limited and will be processed on a first-come first -served basis.

For additional information, call the Office of Catechetical Services (Southern Area Office) at 1.330.773.7621 or contact pflaherty@dioceseofcleveland.org.

OCEA Call for Presenters
The Ohio Catholic Education Association Convention will be held on October 3 & 4 (Monday and Tuesday), 2011 at the Hyatt Regency & Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, OH.  
The purposes of this biennial event are:

• to provide a distinctly Catholic educational gathering - a wider experience of the Church's educational mission - for educators engaged in a variety of educational ministries in Ohio and surrounding states.
• to serve as a gathering place for Catholic educators to connect with one another.
• to provide an opportunity for participants not only to benefit from professional presenters, but to serve as "peer educators" for one another.  Toward that end, we expect that 50% of the OCEA presentations will be conducted by Catholic educators...for Catholic educators.