The Board Workshop
Later this month, we will gather all of our School Board members at Hilbert College (September 22nd) for an all-day workshop. Our vision is one of collaboration. We need many hands to do this work. We can no longer rely on the pastor and principal to carry the load. We need to rely on parents, community members, parishioners, and friends to assist us with their expertise to distribute the burden of school leadership.
Our newly focused school boards have three main specified purposes–principal, finance, and advancement. That is, our boards have their first purpose to hire and support the principal. Their second purpose is to develop a budget, monitor the school’s finances, and set the school’s tuition and wage scales. The third purpose is to assist in advancing the school’s mission through fundraising, marketing, and enrollment efforts. These three specified purposes of the board will form the foundation of our day’s efforts.
Recall that the Healey Education Foundation, a long-time partner with the Diocese of Buffalo, helped us create our Operating Principles for parish school boards and the revised bylaws for our regional schools. The Healey Foundation has now transferred its expertise and materials to Boston College’s Roche Center. Representatives from the Roche Center will be on hand to lead two of the sessions.
We are grateful that our partners at Hilbert College have provided us with a great venue to gather. We will begin the day with Mass celebrated by Bishop Fisher. Here is a copy of the day’s agenda, here is an invitation that you can share widely, and here is a direct link to the RSVP. The event is free and open to all school board members, pastors, chaplains, and principals. Please make sure that all your school board members get the word!
Previous blogs can be found here. Want to keep up with the conversations surrounding Catholic education? Set up your own Google Alert, subscribe to this newsletter by clicking "follow," or subscribe to the Catholic School Matters podcast.
Dr. Tim Uhl
Kari Buchinger on Academics
The 2023-2024 school year is finally here! As you welcome back students your priorities will certainly be building community and establishing clear procedures and expectations. One of my favorite ways to do that is through the use of read alouds. Back to school read alouds are great tools to teach students the importance of kindness, collaboration, and a growth mindset. Here are some of my favorites!
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt
Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
What if Everybody Did That? By Ellenjavernick
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen
The Pigeon Has to Go to School by Mo Willems
How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague
What are your favorite back to school read alouds?
STAR Testing:
For those schools new to STAR here are a few resources to help you get started with the first benchmark assessment of the year. Here is the login link! Bookmark this on your computer.
Video one is designed for teachers and principals to familiarize themselves with some key features of the platform. Video number two demonstrates the login process for students and what they can expect to see as they complete the reading and math assessments. The STAR Toolkit is a great resource to have on hand to handle any little questions along the way as you work through your first benchmark assessment this month. Don’t forget our first window is Fall: September 6-27.
Previous "Academic Corner" posts from Kari
Office Updates
Weekly principal zooms will resume on Wed, Sep 13th
RSVP HERE for the 8th Grade Mass at the Cathedral, September 19th
RSVP HERE for the 12th grade Mass at the Cathedral, September 20th
RSVP HERE for the School Board workshop September 22nd @ Hilbert College
RSVP HERE for the Fall Professional Development day, October 6 @ St. Mary's HS
Calendar for the Department of Catholic Schools 2023-2024
Please fill out this short School Contacts Form for the upcoming school year
Sign up by Sep. 20th for the Diocesan Fall Bowling League. See the flyer for details.
Sign up by Sep. 29th for the 2nd Annual Diocesan Golf Tournament at Grover Cleveland Golf Course on October 11 at 12pm. See the flyer for details.
Sign up NO LATER than Nov. 5th for the 2nd Annual Math Tournament at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. See here for details.
Chris Riso on Government Services
9/5/23 Teachers are approved to be alone with students via VIRTUS/Safe Environment
9/5/23 New Concussion Management Training & Protocols have been Implemented
9/6/23 Last Day to Register for Asbestos Awareness Training
9/8/23 PDF/Copy of each Signed “Written Affirmation” form sent to C. Riso
Fire Prevention Instruction for Students: This is a reminder that arson and fire prevention instruction is to be provided to students in accordance with Section 808 of the Education Law. This law requires every school in New York State to provide a minimum of 45 minutes of instruction in arson and fire prevention for each month that school is in session.
Identification of a variety of conditions in the home, school, and community that may lead to fires.
Procedures to follow in the event of fire in the home, school and the community.
Preventative measures that may reduce the risk of fire and arson
Instruction may be provided as a special subject, or integrated within content areas of the curriculum. Go to https://www.p12.nysed.gov/facplan/HealthSafety/child_safety.html for resources. As of 2005, injury prevention and life safety education must also be provided for students.
Catholic School Matters Podcast
This season's Catholic School Matters podcast season is underway. This week, I spoke with Rob Birdsell of Amerigo Education & Catholic Virtual. It's a wide-ranging discussion about Catholic education and innovation. Previous episodes:
- I spoke with William Daily, the longtime principal of St. Mary Magdalene School in San Antonio which has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past decade.
- Conversation with Christine Healey. The Healey Foundation has been in incredible partner with the Diocese of Buffalo and Christine describes the new direction for the foundation.
Here is a link to the podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Catholic School Matters
Email: catholicschoolmatters@gmail.com
Website: www.wnycatholic.org
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone: 716-847-5520
Twitter: @WNYCatholicEd
My Last 5 Books
What is wrong with our schools? The ideology impoverishing education in America (2022) by Daniel Buck.
Playing God: American Catholic Bishops and the Far Right (2023) by Mary Jo McConahay
Nation at Thought (2023 ) by David M. Steiner
The 272: The Families who were enslaved and sold to build the American Catholic church (2023) by Rachel Swarms
The Nativity Phenomenon: A Model that Works (2023) by Jack Podsiadlo, SJ.
Click this link for a full list of my professional reading
Past Issues of Catholic School Matters
August 29, 2023 "Take the Stairs"
August 22, 2023 "Singing as a Choir"
For previous newsletters, click this link
A few years ago I set out to write a book which would explore the challenges of Catholic school leadership. My premise that there are no easy answers and that we have to learn from our (and other's) mistakes in order to form a mindset appropriate for orchestrating conflict proved prescient as we all faced completely new and unexpected challenges in 2020. The book,Orchestrating Conflict: Case Studies in Catholic Leadership is now available on Amazon or on the Barnes & Noble site in print or e-book formats. The book explores issues in Catholic school leadership and the tensions between building community and following Church policies and introduces deliberate practice as a method for leadership formation. Most recently, I have completed a new book proposal so book #2 is underway!