International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program at Holy Family SchoolBy: Pamela Otto, Principal, Holy Family School

For the past three years, Holy Family School has been an International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program

candidate school. Middle school staff have completed extensive training provided by IB in places such as Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Georgia in order to successfully implement the goals of the program. An IB authorization team will be at the school on April 27-28 to examine all of the documentation and make observations of the program in progress at Holy Family. Upon successful evaluation, Holy Family School will become an authorized IB World School. The IB Program is gaining momentum across the United States and the world due to its academic rigor and holistic aims.

IB prepares students for lifelong learning. The program focuses on the whole student through its ten unique Learner Profile Attributes, which are the foundation of the program. Students strive to be inquirers, thinkers, risk-takers, and balanced, to name a few.

IB expects progress and achievement. Both teachers and students are accountable to the IB Criteria, which are continuously reviewed and standardized by IB evaluators worldwide to preserve academic integrity. These criteria present a standard to work toward in showing achievement in any subject. Academic goals and feedback are clear because of well-designed units and rubrics, which outline four main levels of achievement. Soft skills (called Approaches to Learning or ATLs) like communication skills, social skills, research skills, self-management and thinking

skills play an important role in helping students be successful. The Middle Years Program at Holy Family School preparesstudents who choose to participate in the IB Diploma Program in high schools such as Notre Dame Academy. Many reputable colleges recognize and give credit for completed IB Diploma Program coursework.

IB prepares students for a global society. In approaching learning from a collaborative view, students grow to understand the interconnectedness of the world and their part in it. Students are encouraged to be caring, open-minded communicators in order

to solve problems and create meaningful products. In the words of David Hawley, IB Chief Academic Officer, “We need

young people building an ever-expanding portfolio of skills and experiences of things that they have

done, created, and contributed to -- things that matter to them, to others, and to the world we share.” In this way, students learn to contribute to a sustainable future.

The IB Middle Years Program accommodates national and local

curriculum by providing a conceptual container in which to make sense of content

knowledge. It encourages students to become creative, critical and reflective thinkers through

the use of inquiry-based learning approaches. The Holy Family School mission statement best reflects the

IB philosophy: Grounded in the Catholic Faith, the Holy Family School community will educate our students to reach their academic potential while inspiring a passion to be active, lifelong learners. Through Catholic teaching and global awareness, students will learn the great importance of being compassionate, loving and understanding citizens.

If you would like more information about the IB Middle Years Program or how it is being implemented at Holy Family School, please contact Tiffany Green (tgreen@gracesystem.org) or Cheryl Smet (csmet@gracesystem.org).

May 2017

Inside this Issue:Give Kids The World Lenten Project

Page 5

St. Thérèse of Lisieux Page 6

Staff Spotlight: Lisa Niemuth, Director of Development

Page 7

2 | GRACE Newsletter MAY 2017

GRACE is proud to announce three recent awards highlighting the talent

and strength of our GRACE educators!

For more information regarding these prestigious awards, please see

• 2017 Herb Kohl Foundation Excellence Scholarship, Initiative Scholarship, Fellowship, and Leadership Program Awards | link to http://www.kohleducation.org/userimages/HK_statewide_press_release_2017_with_lists.pdf

• 2017 Golden Apple Awards | link to http://www.greatergbc.org/programs/workforce-development/golden-apple-awards

Kay FranzPrincipal, Father Allouez Catholic School

Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Leadership Award 2017

Leadership Award recipients are school principals who are being recognized for setting high standards for instruction, achievement and character, and creating a climate to best serve students, families, staff, and community.

Jennifer Schmitz JohnsonPre-K-5th Music Teacher, Holy Cross Catholic School

Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Teacher Fellowship 2017

Fellowship recipients are educators who have been chosen for their superior ability to inspire love of learning in their students, their ability to motivate others, and their leadership and service within and outside the classroom.

Amber Meyers3rd-4th Teacher, St. Thomas More Catholic School

Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction 2017

These educators were selected because of their commitment to all students, their active involvement of students in relevant learning opportunities, and their creation of learning environments that stimulate student interest in learning as described in their applications.

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Dear Friends:Welcome to spring! A time of renewal, growth and expansion; we can feel it in the air!

“How is GRACE doing?” is the question we hear time and time again from alumni, donors, parents and community members. GRACE is doing well, very well, as evidenced by stable enrollment, a healthy budget, growth in terms of our parish and school relationships, academic success and also parental engagement. The bridges we build in our GRACE Catholic ministry become stronger each day. We continue to focus on student outcomes, educator talent, fundraising and also enrollment growth. The GRACE teaching staff places our faith as the heart and soul of the schools creating a distinctively Catholic environment that sets us apart from other regional schools.

I wish to highlight many of the outcomes over this past year that help to justify our stability and our success as one of the largest Catholic systems in the State of Wisconsin.

• Curriculum gains have been made this year in mathematics and world languages. Teachers have worked to better define standards and our next step is to identify a tool to better communicate curriculum with current and prospective GRACE families.

• GRACE continues to mount programs such as a new student math club at Notre Dame of De Pere, a popular flag football program at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, and an archery club at St. John the Baptist School.

• Several awards have been earned (Kay Franz, Father Allouez; Amber Meyers, St. Thomas More; and Jennifer Schmitz Johnson, Holy Cross) to recognize the excellence in leadership and teaching. This raises attention to exemplary educators throughout GRACE. In addition, the GRACE Student Services Program was recently featured as a model program in the National Catholic Education Association online blog.

• As a means to focus and understand retention rates, an assessment tool has been developed in the form of an ‘Exit Survey’ for families that transfer or leave the GRACE system. The survey will be sent from the GRACE office to gather honest feedback to improve the experiences for all families.

• GRACE built upon and refined our system-wide marketing initiatives. All schools crafted a marketing plan and GRACE-wide branding focused on aligning GRACE logos, websites and communications to better position us for growth.

• Currently, a team is reviewing teacher compensation as a means to better understand the challenges we face to align educator salaries and create a competitive salary structure.

• GRACE participated in the “Meitler Strategic Planning Study” in partnership with the Diocese of Green Bay to better understand how we can set strategic goals for our future. The suggestions from this study will be forthcoming in the months ahead.

I am blessed, grateful, and proud of the opportunity to serve in my second year as President of GRACE. Thank you for your support and commitment to Catholic education. Being a member of the GRACE family is like no other as it yields so much in terms of the values of discipline, respect, faith, and service. We know that attending Catholic school significantly impacts who we are for the better.

Blessings to all,

Kimberly A. DesotellGRACE, President

Father Allouez Catholic SchoolPrincipal | Kay Franz432-5223, Elementary School336-3230, Middle School

Holy Cross Catholic SchoolPrincipal | Sharon Gast468-0625

Holy Family SchoolPrincipal | Pamela Otto494-1931

Notre Dame of De Pere Interim Principal | Kevin Schwarten337-1103, Elementary School337-1115, Middle School

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic SchoolPrincipal | Jeff Young336-3091

St. Bernard Catholic SchoolPrincipal | Crystal Blahnik468-5026

St. John the Baptist SchoolPrincipal | Andrew Mulloy434-3822

St. John Paul II Classical SchoolInterim Administrator | Carol Ricken494-1931 ext. 9

St. Thomas More Catholic SchoolPrincipal | Olgamar Amor432-8242

4 | GRACE Newsletter MAY 2017

World Languages By Jackie Crown, World Language Coordinator/Spanish Teacher, Father Allouez Catholic School

新年快乐 Happy New Year!

Our World Language Program is making exciting strides to offer your children the best language-learning opportunities

in the area. One progressive opportunity is providing Mandarin in two of our schools. Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School’s Mandarin students celebrated the Chinese New Year by holding special events throughout the week and by hosting an all-school celebration on February 9. The program was filled with songs and presentations that showcased the Chinese language and culture.

Father Allouez Catholic School introduced Mandarin classes this past January. All students in second, third and fourth grade spent the first half of the school year learning Spanish, and now will learn Mandarin for the second half of the year. Students are thrilled with the experience! Like Our Lady of Lourdes, Father Allouez is grateful for the chance to introduce its students to an additional language and culture.

GRACE 8th Grade Class Trips

The organization, fundraising, chaperoning and liability for eight grade class trips are the responsibility of the parents.

Eighth grade class trips are not to be scheduled on days when school is in session and should take place after the eighth grade graduation. GRACE staff is not responsible for the planning, fundraising, and chaperoning of these trips.

GRACE 8th Grade Tuition Policy

Keep in mind that it is expected that the tuition payments for eighth graders in GRACE schools are kept current according

to the “Tuition Payment Plan” signed by parents/sponsors. A review of eighth grade tuition, fees, and lunch accounts will be made in January of the eighth grade year. In the case of eighth grade students whose accounts are not up-to-date, the students will not be eligible to participate in eighth grade trips, parties, and graduation events. The only exception will be the eighth grade retreat as long as the retreat fee (if required) is paid.

2016-17 GRACE Schools 8th Grade Graduation ScheduleSCHOOL DATE TIME LOCATION

Father Allouez June 1 5:00 p.m. Resurrection Church

Holy Cross May 25 6:30 p.m. Holy Cross Church

Holy Family June 1 5:30 p.m. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church

Notre Dame of De Pere May 30 6:00 p.m. St. Francis Xavier Church, De Pere

Our Lady of Lourdes June 1 6:30 p.m. Our Lady of Lourdes Church

St. Bernard May 30 4:30 p.m. St. Bernard Church

St. John the Baptist June 1 6:00 p.m. St. John the Baptist Church

St. Thomas More June 1 5:30 p.m. St. Mary of the Angels Church

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Give Kids The WorldBy: Crystal R. Blahnik, Principal, St. Bernard Catholic School

This year St. Bernard Catholic School selected GIVE KIDS THE WORLD (GKTW) as our Lenten project. GKTW

organization partners with Make-A-Wish Foundation to allow children with life-threatening illnesses to escape the long days in a hospital and head to Florida to enjoy time being a kid.

St. Bernard has been collecting toys and money for GKTW for the last few years. Kindergarten teacher, Autumn DeCleene, spearheads this effort, and typically brings the donations to the resort in Florida each March with her family. While there, they spend time working in the resort and get to know the children who are visiting there. This year, a total of four families from the St. Bernard school community joined the DeCleene family, and together they were able to hand deliver donations from the school.

For this project St. Bernard Catholic School:

• Raised $922 • Families created 400 “Wish” pillowcases for the children

as they are traveling long distances to their treatments• Families donated 10 luggage bags worth of toy

donations

The stories from St. Bernard families that have evolved from this project have been rewarding. These stories include:

• A kindergartner donating her birthday presents• A mom sewing pillowcases as her own way of healing

during her own cancer treatments• A grandson sewing pillowcases with his grandmother• Students donating their free play time to make offertory

envelopes for the entire school

• A little boy folding endless amounts of socks to earn money to donate during mass

• Four St. Bernard families transporting the donations down to Orlando and serving breakfast to the children at the resort over Spring Break

As a school community, we are proud that this project has grown every year, and we love seeing how easy it is to make a difference in the world, one person at a time!

Right: Brynlee Hanold asked for toys for GKTW collection for her birthday

Below: St. Bernardkindergarten donated their free play time to make collection envelopes

Four St. Bernard School families visited the Give Kids The World Resort in Florida during Spring Break this March to deliver a record breaking amount of donations.

6 | GRACE Newsletter MAY 2017

GRACE Student Services Program was featured by the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) via their website as a model progam demonstrating best practices. Our Student Services Program is dedicated to supporting teachers and students to ensure that each student receives a meaningful and responsive Catholic school learning experience.

| Link to www.nceatalk.org.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux was born in Alencon, France on January second, 1873. She was a very sickly child, and had been sick

for many months. One night, when Thérèse was praying to a statue of Mary in her room, she saw Mary smile at her, and suddenly, Thérèse was cured! This made Thérèse sure she wanted to be a carmelite nun just like her sisters. Thérèse was refused admittance to a carmelite convent many times because of her young age, but she had a will of steel. When the priest refused her, she went to the bishop, when he refused her, she decided to keep climbing the catholic ladder. They visited the Pope, but the lay people were forbidden from speaking at the time. That didn’t stop St. Thérèse! She threw herself into the Pope’s lap and begged for him to put her into the carmelite convent, and he obliged.

St. Thérèse created her “little way” to teach thousands how to follow God in their own way. She would make little sacrifices and good deeds all day, and she is still followed by many, people striving to achieve holiness little by little. In 1896, St. Thérèse started coughing up blood. She had contracted a very serious form of Tuberculosis, a disease that causes chills, fever, loss of appetite, and the all common coughing up blood. She died on September 30, 1897 at the age of 24. Some of her last words were, “I will return. My heaven will be spent on Earth helping those in need.”

St. Thérèse was canonized on May 17, 1925 by Pope Pius the XI. St. Thérèse of Lisieux believed that she would return to Earth after she died to practice her little way of helping those in need. She will always be an example of how to be holy in your own small way.

St. Thérèse of LisieuxContributor: Andrew Mulloy, Principal, St. John the Baptist School

The St. John the Baptist parish community has long had a devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Before the church

renovation in 1975, she had her own little prayer area in the church. The school has taken the statue out of storage and prominently placed her in a “little shrine” in the school. Below is the biography written by a St. John the Baptist student which is on display next to the statue.

St. Thérèse of LisieuxBy: William T. Schlueter, Sixth Grader

GRACE Student Services Program Recognized Nationally

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GRACE 2016-17 Annual Appeal UpdateBy: Lisa Niemuth, Director of Development, GRACE

The GRACE 2016-17 Annual Appeal to date has received donations exceeding $133,000. These gifts have an immediate

impact on this year’s Annual Appeal initiatives of tuition assistance, technology, and strategic enrollment growth.

We are grateful for the generosity of our many donors in supporting GRACE. Annual Appeal donations can be made via the remittance envelope or online at gracesystem.org. Please contact the GRACE Development Office for more information on additional giving opportunities.

Staff Spotlight: Lisa Niemuth, Director of Development

I began my journey with GRACE in December 2016 as the Director of Development after accumulating 37 years of work

experience and accomplishments in private practice law firms, entrepreneurial direct sales self-employment, and corporate management. I served on the founding GRACE Board of Trustees and chaired the Development Committee from which the GRACE Annual Appeal evolved.

The first few months as Director of Development have been very rewarding in managing the initiatives of the Annual Appeal, donor acknowledgements, researching and implementing a donor management system, and fostering relationships with GRACE constituents and partners, as well as promoting GRACE through development activities.

I am blessed to be an ambassador for GRACE and the ministry of Catholic education, and to further have the opportunity to strengthen Catholic education in the greater Green Bay area as GRACE grows through our outreach efforts. Together, we all can make a difference for GRACE.

Help Others Experience the Joy of Catholic Education!

Enrollment for GRACE in grades Early Childhood through eighth grade continues for academic year 2017-18. We

continue our efforts to focus on enrollment growth in each of our schools daily. School principals, along with a marketing and leadership team, strategically discuss ways in which they can increase faith-based, rigorous education to more students and families. If you know someone that may be interested in attending a GRACE school, or participating in a shadow day yet this year, please contact the school office directly. Help others experience our caring, friendly environment that contributes to successful learning for your children. Parents and our own GRACE community members are the best messengers for enrollment growth! Thank you!

AnnouncingGRACE is now a registered charitable nonprofit organization with AmazonSmile and has a link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/26-2752858 from which Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases made by customers who shop via AmazonSmile using the GRACE link or selecting GRACE. These donations will benefit your GRACE school third source funding. Additionally, a GRACE school or parish will profit when payment is made with an Amazon Scrip gift card purchased through the school or parish Scrip programs. Help GRACE spread the word by sharing the AmazonSmile link on Facebook and other social media sites.

AmazonSmile and the AmazonSmile logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

2016-17 GRACE Schools CalendarMay 29, Memorial Day - No School

June 6, Early Dismissal - Last Day of School

2017-18 GRACE Schools CalendarAugust 31, First Day of School

September 4, Labor Day - No SchoolOctober 10, Parent/Teacher Conferences 4-8 p.m.

October 12, Early Dismissal - Parent/Teacher Conferences 1-7 p.m.October 13, No School - Diocesan In-service

October 24, No SchoolNovember 10, Early Dismissal - Staff In-service

November 22, Early Dismissal - End of First TrimesterNovember 23, Thanksgiving - No School

November 24, No SchoolDecember 22, Early Dismissal

December 24-January 1, Christmas Vacation - No School

Let Us Help YouCall 920-499-7330E-mail: graceoffice@gracesystem.org

Business ServicesHeidi Janowski, ext. 307hjanowski@gracesystem.org

Development and Annual AppealLisa Niemuth, ext. 313lniemuth@gracesystem.org

Enrollment and Financial AidLori Ashmann, ext. 303lashmann@gracesystem.org

Food ServicesJamie Hurley, ext. 306jhurley@gracesystem.org

Human ResourcesJami Hintz, ext. 309jhintz@gracesystem.org

Student ServicesJames Cullen, ext. 308jcullen@gracesystem.org

Green Bay Area Catholic Education1087 Kellogg StreetGreen Bay, WI 54303