Leading with Faith
by Joleen Dimitroff
Dear Catholic Community,
This week I had the joy of spending more time in our schools, and once again, I was reminded of what makes our community so special. At Nativity Miguel, the students were all smiles as they enjoyed a Bills Dress Down Day. Over at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I joined Mrs. Szablewski’s Pre-K class as they set out on a very exciting Bear Hunt! Their energy and laughter were contagious. My husband, Steve and I attended Nativity’s Student Mass on Sunday. The children’s choir was truly amazing!
I also spent time with our new Security Consultant, Nick Keil, touring Our Lady of Victory and St. Benedict’s. Together, we walked through safety plans and talked about how best to place our new security guards. Already this week, six guards have joined our schools, and Tarian Security is working carefully to place guards in every remaining building. It has been so encouraging to see this important layer of safety coming together.
Another highlight of my week was meeting with Elise Pogorzelski, Senior Director of School-Based Services at Catholic Charities, and her amazing team. Their partnership is such a gift to our schools. Right now, Catholic Charities provides counselors in 17 of our schools through the Student Support Program. Their work goes far beyond academics—it’s about caring for the whole child. From classroom lessons to small group support, mentoring, and community referrals, their team helps our students build confidence, resilience, and a true sense of belonging.
Bills Day at Nativity Miguel
Mrs. Szablewski's Pre-K at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Cooper & Mr. Keil at Our Lady of Victory
by Stephanie Genco Gasiecki
One of the best parts of my role is getting into schools and seeing our students and teachers in action! I was blessed to make my first school visits last week, and it was such a joy to witness the energy and dedication in your classrooms. Thank you for the warm welcomes! I’m busily scheduling the next round of visits for October.
STAR Testing Update
A heartfelt thank you for your persistence and flexibility during the STAR testing window. I know it hasn’t been without challenges, and I’m grateful for the dedication you’ve shown to maintaining testing fidelity and ensuring high-quality data for our students.
STAR isn’t just about the assessment itself—it’s about using the results to inform instruction and monitor growth throughout the year. This resource offers a helpful overview of the many reports available in STAR and how to put them into practice:
👉 STAR Key Reports & How to Use Them
Diocesan Convocation – October 10
Convocation is right around the corner! Please be sure your school is registered by Friday, September 26. This year’s gathering promises to be an uplifting day of community and inspiration, including:
Mass with Bishop Fisher
Keynote speakers focused on resiliency, unity, and SEL
Music and comedy
Opportunities to connect and recharge with colleagues across the diocese
We’re looking forward to seeing you there!
Middle States Accreditation
Our diocesan Middle States Accreditation self-study process is well underway. This important reflection allows us to celebrate strengths, identify areas for growth, and set strategic goals for the future.
Over the next two weeks, school leaders will hear more from me and from your senior principals about the next steps in your self-study. Together, we’ll be working both at the diocesan level and within each individual school to evaluate ourselves against standards for Foundations, Governance and Organization, Student Well-Being, Resources, Teaching and Learning, Curricular Areas, and Catholic Identity. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful engagement in this important work.
Virtue & Character Focus
As part of our diocesan commitment to faith formation, each month we highlight a virtue and a character trait to help guide our students’ spiritual and personal growth:
September
Virtue: Hope – Trusting in God’s loving plan.
Character Trait: Resilience – Bouncing back from challenges and maintaining a positive outlook.
October
Virtue: Studiousness – Seeking knowledge to grow closer to Truth.
Character Trait: Devotion – An act of prayer or private worship.
STREAM 2.0
We’re excited to launch another year of STREAM with new opportunities for our students and teachers. Our goals for this year include:
Sustainability & Renewable Resources: New programming in KidWind, Future City, gardening, and exploring partnerships like Great Lakes/River Keepers.
Community Partnerships: Re-engaging with past partners and seeking new collaborations in engineering, architecture, and beyond.
Collaboration: Asking “Who can I partner with?”—both inside and outside of our schools.
Grants: STREAM Grants will again be available this year through the Foundation, up to $3,000. The next application deadline is October 15. Find grant info at https://frcdb.org/grants/streams-grants/
💡 Save the Date: X-STREAM Games 2.0 – March 28, 2026
Office Hours
If you’d like to connect directly, please use my office hours booking link to set up a time. I’d love to meet with you and support your work in any way I can.
by Chris Riso
ASAP PDF/Copy of each Signed “Written Affirmation” form sent to C. Riso
9/29/25 NCEA Form Due via Online Google Sheet based on 9/12/25 Counts
10/1/25 BEDS Enrollment Anchor Date – Count All Staff & Students
10/25/25 Voter Registration Deadline
11/1/25 2024-25 School (and Parish) Annual Reports Due to the Audit Department
11/4/25 Election Day - Please Vote!
NCEA Survey Due 9/29/25 based on 9/12/25 Enrollment: Thank you in advance for completing your online NCEA report in Google Sheets by the 9/29/2025 deadline. Please email Stephanie Genco Gasiecki at sgenco-gasiecki@buffalodiocese.org if you need help accessing your Google Sheet. Once we review your completed Google Sheet in early October we may email you asking for clarification on some of the information you provided. For more information, see my introductory letter here and the NCEA Form Instructions here.
BEDS Day is October 1st – Information will be sent to you by 10/1/2025: Once your NCEA report is completed by 9/29/2025, you can turn your attention to the upcoming NYS BEDS report. We will send you information and a Google Sheet by 10/1/25 to help you prepare for this report based on student attendance from Wednesday, 10/1/25. The actual online BEDS report is not due to NYSED until November 14th.
Immunization Requirements; Student Exclusion Process: I just wanted to remind you that all students attending a school, either full or part-time, must have received the immunizations required to attend school in NYS. We have passed the end of the 14-day threshold for allowing students to attend school without the required immunizations (9/16/25 for school that started 9/3/25) unless they are “in process” on the ACIP catch-up schedule; this means all students out of compliance should have been notified of their situation and then excluded from school. Remember, failure to exclude an unvaccinated child by that date could result in a $2,000 fine per day per violation (see this letter to administrators). If you have not yet excluded the children out of compliance, please consider using this sample exclusion template and send letters home today with an exclusion date of 9/26/25. Call me if you wish to discuss anything about this process or specific students.
Second Update to (Once in a Lifetime) Mandated Report Training - New Info: As a follow up to last week’s post and the 9/12/25 ORISS email about additional “Mandated Reporter” training to be completed by November 17, 2026 (next school year), staff will the find the “Mandated Reporter: Intellectual and Development Disabilities Addendum” training when they log into the Human Services Learning Center (HSLC) found on the New York State Mandated Reporter Resource Center - Training website if they did the last training through this website or possibly if they completed it during the NYS teacher certification process. I completed this training in 16 minutes and was immediately credited with its completion and received a certificate. The email I received also directed me to a link that will ensure my TEACH account would be updated to include completion of this training.
I recommend that school leaders forward this post to the staff in need of completing this training. You could take 30 minutes of a faculty meeting to ensure they have time to complete it. Remember, it does not need to be completed until 11/17/26, so you have plenty of time to ensure all required staff complete this training.
If your staff completed this training another way, you should have them reach out to that company or organization to ask if they will provide the additional training.
NYS Vendor ID Accounts; Change from Checks to ACH: Many of you do not know who the contact person is for your NYS Vendor ID accounts and may wish to update that information. Here is the process that was sent to me by a NYSED representative:
To Change Information about your Vendor Account
1. Go to: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/vendor_management/forms.htm
2. Log In to your account and make the changes online or else select the appropriate paper/digital form (AC-3326-S or AC-3327-S).
3. SUBMIT THIS FORM TO THE NYS OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER – VENDOR MANAGEMENT UNIT* *
You have 3 submission options:
Fax: (518) 473-9533
Email: vendupdate@osc.state.ny.us
Mail: 110 State Street Mail Drop 10-4, Albany, NY 12236-0001
For step-by-step online instructions, select the “help” link once you have logged into the Vendor Portal and select the appropriate topic. If any further assistance is needed, or to get assistance setting up ACH payments for your school instead of getting paper checks (see instructions: https://upk.sfs.ny.gov/UPK/VEN101/FILES/JAA_VEN101_024.pdf), please contact the help desk at HelpDesk@sfs.ny.gov or (877) 737-4185/(518) 457-7737.
NYS Parks “Connect Kids Grant”: I just learned about the “Connect Kids Grant” opportunity. The grant program is described this way on their website: https://parks.ny.gov/environment/connect-kids/grant-program.aspx - “The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) is proud to administer grants for eligible entities in accordance with the Environmental Protection Fund that aims to support “education and outreach” with $3,000,000 for the connect kids program, including reimbursement of transportation costs to swim instruction programs and field trips “for facilitating access in title 1 school districts, municipalities, and not-for-profit organizations to outdoor recreational activities, public lands and parks providing environmental education opportunities in environmental justice, inner city and underserved communities.” The Connect Kids to Parks Field Trip Grant Program Guidelines indicates that eligible applicants must be:
A public school (including public charter school), BOCES, non-public school (including non-public charter school), municipality, public library, or a not-for-profit organization that serves underserved, environmental justice, and/or inner-city communities in New York State, and
physically located within a NYS school district that receives Title I funds
If you are interested in this grant, see their website for more information on how to apply.
by Nancy DiBerardino
Middle States Accreditation Yearly Membership Dues
Please check your email for your school's invoice.
Elementary School Bowling
The elementary bowling leagues start tomorrow September 23rd for schools bowling at Abbott Lanes in South Buffalo and Classic Lanes in Kenmore. There was a glitch at Mallwitz Lanes on Grand Island. Therefore, schools bowling at this location will begin on Wednesday, September 24th. Moving forward with the second week you will return to bowl on Tuesday. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 716-847-5504.
Bowling invoices will be sent out to school on October 2nd.
12th Grade Mass Registration
The 12th Grade Mass will take place on Tuesday, October 28th at St.Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY at 10:30 AM. Registration for this event is required by October 17th. The registration form will be used for creating our seating chart..
8th Grade Mass Registration Form
The 8th grade Mass will take place on Wednesday, October 29 at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY at 10:30 AM. Registration for this event is required by October 17th. The registration form will be used for creating our seating chart.
Certificates of Insurance
When requesting a certificate of insurance the following information is required in order for the insurance company to issue your school the certificate. Name and address of organization that is requesting you to provide them with a COI, dates of the event, times (beginning and ending). If the COI is for a sporting event they will need a list of all schools participating in the sport. For general insurance matters, including COI, please email: dobis@buffalodiocese.org or call 716-847-8394.
by Mike Baumann
I am also available to work with our school leadership on any matters related to HR and personnel. Hiring and firing, employment agreements, contacts, employee discipline issues, documentation, benefits and job restructuring are all areas where I’ve already assisted in some schools, and I am happy to do so for you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out.
9/29 - NCEA Data Due
10/1 BEDS Day
10/10 - Diocesan Convocation
10/23 - Principal's Meeting