Last fall, we launched our Character Virtue program. With input from our principals, we selected one virtue per month in hopes that it would inspire our schools to emphasize the “value add” that Catholic schools provide. After all, the formation of character is often cited as one of the top 4 reasons that parents select Catholic schools (excellent academics, safety, Catholic faith, and character formation).

We’ve asked schools to submit the name of one student per month and last year about 2/3rds of our schools did. This year, we’re hearing more robust programming around the virtues which is the reason we decided to keep the same lineup:

• September- Welcoming

• October- Sportsmanship

• November- Service

• December- Appreciation

• January- Determination

• February- Inclusion

• March- Sacrifice

• April- Problem Solving

• May- Optimism

• June- Joy

This must seem like a very minor request in the midst of a busy school year. And it may seem like such a small project that it won't make much of a difference. But we need to be intentional about the benefits of our Catholic school education and certainly character formation is a big part of that. I hope you’re spending some time educating and celebrating each one of these virtues this year.

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

• • We've created a google doc for agendas and notes from the 8:30 am Wed Zooms. Here is the link

  • RSVP for the Fall Professional Development day, October 6 @ St. Mary's HS. Here is the AGENDA.

  • STAR Windows: All schools should be working on their Fall STAR testing. You must be completed by September 27th. If you have any questions please reach out to Laurie Wojtaszczyk at lwojtaszczyk@buffalodiocese.org.

  • Don’t forget you must use this link to test! Welcome (renaissance-go.com)

  • Fall: September 6-27

  • The Character Virtue for September is Welcoming.Please use this link to submit your student for September by Fri. 10/6.

  • The Diocesan Speech Tournament has been postponed to January 20th, still at Cardinal O’Hara.

  Sign up NO LATER than Nov. 5th for the 2nd Annual Math Tournament at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. See here for details.
  

Here's the link to the Office Blog

• 9/29/23 NCEA Form Due to Our Office via Online Google Sheet
• 10/4/23 BEDS Enrollment Anchor Date – Count All Staff & Students

NCEA Survey Due 9/29/23 based on 9/15/23 Enrollment: Thank you for completing your online NCEA report in Google Sheets by the 9/29/2023 deadline. A few schools have contacted me because they have lost track of their link to the NCEA report for their school. Please email Laurie Wojtaszczyk at LWojtaszczyk@buffalodiocese.org if you need help accessing your Google Sheet.

BEDS Day is October 4th – Information will be sent to you by 10/2/2023: Once your NCEA report is submitted by 9/29/2023, you can turn your attention to the upcoming NYS BEDS report. We will send you information by 10/2/23 to help you prepare for this report based on student attendance from Wednesday, 10/4/23. The actual online BEDS report is not due to NYSED until November 17th.

NYS Vendor ID Accounts: I was reminded that 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, please contact the help desk at HelpDesk@sfs.ny.gov or (877) 737-4185/(518)457-7737.

Previous posts from Mr. Riso

This season's Catholic School Matters podcast season is underway. This week, I invite John Kennedy of St. Josephy High School in South Bend onto the show to discuss the school's decision to drop their Native American nickname and the process by which this decision occurred. Previous episodes:

• I spoke with Fr. Jack Podsiadlo, SJ, the author of the recent book "The Nativity Phenomenon." In the book, he tells the story of how the Nativity schools began and their incredible growth. Now semi-retired back home at McQuaid, this was a face-to-face conversation.
  
• I brought David Palmieri back on the podcast to discuss diocesan policies about human sexuality. Palmieri has done the homework to discover origins of different policies and find out how they are related to each other. We discuss the different types of policies, their origins, and their implications
  
• I spoke with Rob Birdsell of Amerigo Education & Catholic Virtual. It's a wide-ranging discussion about Catholic education and innovation
  
• 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.

A weekly newsletter of resources to spur enrollment and excellence in our Catholic schools.

Email: catholicschoolmatters@gmail.com
Website: www.wnycatholic.org
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone: 716-847-5520
Twitter: @WNYCatholicEd

1. The 272: The Families who were enslaved and sold to build the American Catholic church (2023) by Rachel Swarms
   

2. The Nativity Phenomenon: A Model that Works (2023) by Jack Podsiadlo, SJ.
   

3. Distributed Leadership (2006) by James Spillane.

4. Born to Win: Find Your Success (2017) by Zig Ziglar.

5. Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works (2013) by A.G. Lafley & Roger L. Martin
   

Click this link for a full list of my professional reading

September 19, 2023 "Goal Setting"

September 12, 2023 "Building a Collaborative Culture"

September 5, 2023 "The Board Workshop"

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!