| United and Alive in Christ | News from the Federation of Catholic Schools |
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|  | Back to School & Ready for Renaissance New Director of North County Schools Signifies Archdiocese and Parishes Partnering for Continued Excellence One of the first steps toward implementing a Renaissance for Catholic Schools in North County has been taken: a new Director of North County Elementary Schools joined the Catholic Education Office this summer. Rick Danzeisen will provide leadership and support to all North County Catholic elementary schools and the Federation of Catholic Schools as the Archdiocese’s Renaissance for Catholic Education gains momentum.
 Danzeisen has served as a Catholic School principal for 35 years, most recently at Our Lady of Lourdes in Washington, MO. He brings enthusiasm and expertise to the table, as he will be working together with the school principals, pastors, and director of advancement to continue the collaboration of Catholic schools in North County, which has been ongoing since 2005.
“For many years now, we have been working hard at working together to continue excellence in Catholic education here in north county,” said Fr. Mike Henning, pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish and pastor representative for the Federation of Catholic Schools. “Having a director from the archdiocese focused on the unique opportunities and challenges for our north county schools is another milestone in this collaboration. We are excited to have Rick join this important work.”
Danzeisen will spend much of his time on location in the 10 Catholic elementary schools in north county. He will provide support and guidance to principals at all parish schools on administrative and curriculum issues, and identify programs and resources that are needed to ensure that all families in north county have access to excellent and affordable Catholic schools.
“I am very excited and honored to be the new Director of North County Catholic Elementary Schools,” said Danzeisen. “I look forward to working closely with principals and pastors to ensure viability, affordability and accessibility of Catholic education for all children in North County.” Read a welcome letter recently sent to schools and parishes from Mr. Danzeisen. This new leadership position is one of several recommendations that Archbishop Robert J. Carlson approved in April 2017 after a series of meetings in January and follow-up Q&A led by the Archdiocese School Oversight Committee. While all nine schools in the federation are currently parish-based schools, that will change with the formation of the new partnership model school to be established between St. Ferdinand, St. Norbert and St. Rose Philippine Duchesne parishes and the Archdiocese. The school will be one educational entity, governed by the members of the corporation (pastors, the archbishop, and superintendent of Catholic education) and a board of directors, and operated at the sites of each of the three existing schools. As a designee of the Superintendent of Catholic Education, Danzeisen will work with those pastors and principals to plan all the details, including the formation of a board of directors this fall, to ensure a smooth transition to the new partnership school, set to begin with when enrollment for 2018-19 starts in early 2018.
The recommendations also include a study of the Archdiocesan Elementary School (AES) model to be completed by October 2017. The AES model, which means that the school is run completely by the Archdiocese through the Catholic Education Office, is currently in use at three schools outside of north county.
In addition, starting in the 2018-19 school year, all schools will have access to funds from the archdiocese to enhance the quality of educational and religious education programs in North County. More details on the recommendations and history is available at www.FederationofCatholicSchools.org/renaissance.
In 2010, after several years of exploring ways to collaborate, the pastors of the Northeast Deanery first signed the agreement on the Federation of Catholic Schools. The federation helps all parishes, even those without schools, stay close to the mission of Catholic education in North County through collaborative programs such as Professional Learning Teams for teachers, Sacramental Preparation Retreats for 2nd, 7th and 8th grade students, joint marketing/advertising programs, and opportunities to seek grant funds in support of collaboration., 7 and 8 grade students, joint marketing/advertising programs, and opportunities to seek grant funds in support of collaboration.
The federation agreement is renewed annually and now includes 13 parishes with 10 schools: Blessed Teresa of Calcutta School and Parish, Christ Light of the Nations School (Holy Name of Jesus Parish), Holy Spirit Parish & School (new for 2017-18) Holy Trinity Parish and School (new for 2017-18), Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and School, Sacred Heart Parish and School, St. Angela Merici Parish, St. Ann Parish and School (joined in 2016-17), St. Ferdinand Parish and School (St. Martin De Porres Parish), St. Norbert School and Parish (St. Sabina Parish) and St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Parish and School.
Welcome, Holy Spirit! We are delighted to welcome Holy Spirit Parish & School to our Federation of Catholic Schools in north county. Holy Spirit's pastor, Father Bob Evans, and principal, Mrs. Jill Gould, will join the quarterly meetings of pastors and principals for the 2017-18 school year.
Chromebooks are in the Classrooms!
In August, a new set of 30 Chromebooks and a charging cart was delivered to 9 north county elementary schools, thanks to the generous $100K Beyond Sunday Academic Capacity Enhancement Grant received by the Federation of Catholic Schools. In addition, teachers had the opportunity to attend a variety of professional development workshops in August, focused on Chromebooks, Google for Education, and Differentiated Instruction at different grade levels. 
One of the most exciting components of this grant project is the collaboration of lead technology teachers from each school. Each school now has a staff member who is a certified "Level 1" Google Educator, and all are working toward their "Level 2" certification as well. Mrs. Addie Govero, the principal at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta School, serves as the program coordinator and is facilitating the work of the technology teachers to share their expertise with one another. Each teacher has his or her own strengths to share, and now we have established a way to connect them so they can more easily help one another as challenges arise with using the new technology.
Middle school (grades 6-8) math teachers at each school have begun using the Chromebooks for basic math facts practice using Xtramath. This is one way the results of the grant will be measured.
All of our north county elementary schools are raising funds for hurricane relief efforts. Knowing that the needs after Hurricane Harvey and now Hurricane Irma will continue for a long time, we look forward to bringing representatives from all the schools together on Wednesday, 9/27 at SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis to "pool" our funds for one BIG donation to Catholic Charities. Our prayers continue for everyone's safety after these devastating storms. Check out the article in this week's St. Louis Review: http://stlouisreview.com/artic…/2017-09-07/st-louis-catholic
Upcoming Events and Activities Upcoming Fall Festivals and Fundraisers at our Parishes: (click the links for more details in each parish's bulletin or website)
September 16 - Car Show at St. Martin De Porres November 4 - Dinner Auction at Sacred Heart November 4 - Dinner Auction at St. Norbert
And, here are a few upcoming local community events you can enjoy with your family and friends! Spread the Word! Follow our Schools and Parishes on Facebook Many of our Federation schools and parishes are becoming more active on social media, especially Facebook. Please consider "Liking" these pages on Facebook and sharing their posts when something may be of interest to your network! Think about why you choose (or chose if you have alumni) a Catholic school for your children. Share your thoughts on social media or simply in conversation with friends and family members. And, most importantly, PRAY for our students, teachers, principals, pastors, parishioners and all who support Catholic education in our community.
Other North County Catholic institutions are also on Facebook - be sure to follow them, too!
|  | | Planning Underway for Sacramental Preparation Retreats The schools and PSR programs from our Federation parishes are working together on sacramental preparation retreat days for 2nd grade students at Pallottine Renewal Center and for 7th-8th grade students at Trinity Catholic High School. Retreat days for 2nd grade students are set for Oct. 5, Oct. 25 and Nov. 6 at Pallottine Renewal Center. The full-day retreats will be led by the Sacred Heart Sisters from the Archdiocese's Paul VI Institute. Last year's retreats were funded by a grant from The Koch Foundation, and were so successful that pastors and principals decided to continue them this year even without grant funding. A grant is being requested to continue them for 2018-19.
On Friday, Oct.13 Trinity Catholic High School will again host the North County Deanery's Confirmation Youth Rally. The REAP Team leads this interactive day for 7th and 8th grade students preparing for confirmation, both from elementary schools and PSR programs. Bishop Rivituso will celebrate the closing mass at 3pm at the end of the Rally. Please pray for all those preparing this special day, and for the students who are ready to take the next step in their faith journeys. | High School Nights! North County is home to two excellent Catholic High Schools - Trinity Catholic High School and Incarnate Word Academy. Families with students in grades 6-8 are invited and encouraged to learn more about options for Catholic High Schools at several High School Nights throughout St. Louis. A detailed schedule is available here.
Trinity Catholic High School (1720 Redman Rd, 63138) will host a High School Night on Thursday, October 5th, 7pm Schools Presenting: Barat ~ Bishop DuBourg ~ Cardinal Ritter~ Chaminade ~ CBC ~ Cor Jesu ~ De Smet ~ Duchesne ~ Incarnate Word Academy ~ Nerinx Hall ~Rosati-Kain ~ St. John Vianney ~ St. Joseph's ~ St. Louis Priory ~ SLUH ~ St. Mary's ~ Trinity Catholic ~ Ursuline ~ Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill ~ Visitation
Also save the date for Sunday, November 5th, which is High School Open House day!
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| (314) 537-3174 Email: advancement@FederationofCatholicSchools.org |
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