Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll!
Have A BeauTifully blessed (AND SAFE) thanksgiving week!
PRAYER FOR THANKSGIVING
For the sun and the rain, For the manifold fruits of our fields:
For the increase of our herds and flocks, We thank you. For the enrichment of our souls with divine grace,We are grateful.
Supreme Lord of the harvest,
Graciously accept us and the fruits of our toil, In union with Jesus, your Son, As atonement for our sins,
For the growth of your Church,
For peace and love in our homes and for salvation for all. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Preschool/Pre-K, Kindergarten Bathrooms
As you may or may not know, law for Preschool/Pre-K is that they must have designated bathrooms for their program. "Big" people are not allowed to use the same restroom as them. Therefore, over the Thanksgiving Break, we will be cleaning out the Locker Rooms. Beginning the week after Thanksgiving, 1-8 grade students will no longer be allowed to use the bathrooms in the hallways. These will be ONLY for Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten. The Preschool/Pre-K teams are making signs noting this change but please do not take your students there for bathroom breaks after Thanksgiving and remind them if there is an emergency, they are to use the locker room bathrooms.
Jesse Tree This Year
This year we are going to have our students make our Jesse tree ornaments in Art! We have a slightly different design and Cathy will be having one from each class represented on our tree BUT all students will get to make a cool ornament. As a reminder, our Advent Gathering time will begin on December 2nd. For the entire month of December, we will be on a full school AM gathering schedule every day of the week (other than Wednesdays which will be a Mass schedule and no AM Gathering time and on the our first Friday PLC).
Submissions to the Colt
As a reminder, the Colt Express goes out to our entire school community on a weekly basis and will have content you may find beneficial. If you have GOOD NEWS you would like share with the entire CCCS community, please send it to me!
The Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz, Archbishop of
Louisville, was elected President of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the
Catholic Bishops General Assembly in Baltimore on Tuesday. He succeeds New York
Cardinal Timothy Dolan who is ending his three-year term. The conference
president is the main spokesman on national issues for the Catholic Church in
the United States and acts as a representative of the American church to the
Vatican and the Pope.
He’s there in the stillness. He’s there in the chaos. Our call is to seek Him, find Him, and serve Him…Put your faith into action today with Christ’s constant invitation to discern His presence in the ups and downs of our live.”
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan
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MARZANO’S ESSENTIAL NINE
Webinar
presented by Kathy Mears, Executive Director, NCEA Elementary Schools Dept.
Based
on the nine instructional strategies from Robert Marzano’s book Classroom Instruction that Works, webinar
participants will be able to:
§ Learn strategies that
they can implement immediately, in any subject area.
§ Use these strategies to
implement the response to intervention (RTL) processes.
§ Increase student
engagement with the use of these strategies.
Webinar is
offered on Tuesday, December 3
at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. and free to NCEA members. To register, visit http://www.ncea.org/events/marzanos-essential-nine
FYI – HEALTH ALERT
Colorado
health officials are urging people to make sure their vaccinations are
up-to-date following an outbreak of whooping-cough. Health officials say in the
last two weeks of October, 100 cases were reported in Colorado. According to
the Denver Post , last year was the worst year on record for whooping cough in
Colorado, with nearly 1,500 cases reported. Whooping-cough is highly
contagious. It starts like the common cold, but after one or two weeks, severe
coughing can begin and last for more than 10 weeks.
THE HISTORY OF THE ADVENT WREATH
“The Advent wreath is
part of our long-standing Catholic tradition. However, the actual origins are
uncertain. There is evidence of pre-Christian Germanic peoples using wreathes
with lit candles during the cold and dark December days as a sign of hope in
the future warm and extended-sunlight days of Spring. In Scandinavia during
Winter, lighted candles were placed around a wheel, and prayers were offered to
the god of light to turn “the wheel of the earth” back toward the sun to
lengthen the days and restore warmth.
By the Middle Ages, the
Christians adapted this tradition and used Advent wreathes as part of their
spiritual preparation for Christmas. After all, Christ is “the Light that came
into the world” to dispel the darkness of sin and to radiate the truth and love
of God (cf. John 3:19-21). By 1600, both Catholics and Lutherans had more
formal practices surrounding the Advent wreath…
The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. A tradition
is that each week represents one thousand years, to sum to the 4,000 years from
Adam and Eve until the Birth of the Savior. Three candles are purple and one is
rose. The purple candles in particular symbolize the prayer, penance, and
preparatory sacrifices and goods works undertaken at this time. The rose candle
is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, when the priest also wears rose
vestments at Mass; Gaudete Sunday is the Sunday of rejoicing, because the
faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent, when their preparation is now
half over and they are close to Christmas. The progressive lighting of the
candles symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord’s first coming
into the world and the anticipation of His second coming to judge the living
and the dead…”
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0132.html
After School - 2:45-3:45 - Maloney
We are in the process of hiring our new PE teacher. This lovely individual will be taking the athletic director role as part of this job but we will be looking for a person to serve as our facilities manager during athletic events held in our gym - ie, CSAL Basketball, Volleyball, Wrestling etc.
Mid-Year Review
Mark your calendars - we will be having our Mid-Year Evaluation reviews on Thursday, December 12 and Friday, December 13 for teaching staff. During these two days, we will have each of you come for your planning period or after school to discuss your progress using our evaluation rubric. There have been a few revisions for those that have requested them. Please plan to meet with Maureen and I at:
Tuesday, December 10
5th - 12:33-1:37 -Chromy/Rothstein (with Gutschick)
6th -1:39-2:37 - Martinez (with Gutschick)After School - 2:45-3:45 - Maloney
Wednesday, December 11
1st -7:40-8:32 - Nuvolini
2nd - 8:34-9:25 - Conlon
3rd - 9:27-10:19 - Gieck
4th - 10:21-11:13 - Cave
Lunch - 11:52-12:30 -Gutschick
5th - 11:15-11:50, 12:35-12:50 - Degenhart
6th -12:52-1:42 - Hennessey
Mass - 1:45-2:45
After School - 2:45-3:45 - Bruno
Thursday, December 12
1st -7:55-8:53 -
2nd - 8:55-9:53 - Ortiz
3rd - 9:55-10:53 - Wetta
4th - 10:55-11:52 - Dusbabek
Lunch - 11:52-12:30 -
5th - 12:33-1:37 - Gonzales
6th -1:39-2:37 - Corbett
After School - 2:45-3:45 -
Friday, December 13
1st -7:55-8:53 -
2nd - 8:55-9:53 - Leckey
3rd - 9:55-10:53 - Sr. Mary
4th - 10:55-11:52 - Smith
Lunch - 11:52-12:30 -
5th - 12:33-1:37 - Baca
6th -1:39-2:37 - Kowalsky
After School - 2:45-3:45 - Wilson
AdvancEd STAFF Survey
Thanks so much to the teachers and staff who have already completed our Staff Survey! We have about half of our staff that have completed the survey so far! As a reminder, the results of the survey are reported to AdvancEd and then we receive all the results as collective data. All individually identifying information is kept confidential! So please click on the following link to complete our survey ASAP: AdvancEd Staff Survey
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD - Athletic Facilities Manager
I have not received any response that any of our staff is interested in this position so we have opened this role to our Corpus Christi Community! If you know of anyone who is interested in this role, please have them pick up an application from the front office. The pay rate for this position is $8/hour.
The job would entail basic leadership of the gym during events that would include:
- On Tuesday and Friday evenings the gym will need to be opened by 5:00 to let players and coaches in
- Additional hours are required for beginning and end of season tournaments
- Games and clean-up are done by 9:00 PM - depending on the CSAL schedule.
- The gym would need to be set up for games and cleaned up following games
- Any "rowdy" behavior would also need to be addressed by this individual
- A prayer and introduction of players is also led by this person
Announcement Schedule:
On all days but Wednesdays we will have announcements in the gym during Advent. We will resume our regular schedule after Christmas: 5th Grade - Jan 7-10, 4th Grade - Jan 13-17, 3rd Grade - Jan 20-24.
Virtue of the Week:
December 2-6 - Prudence
December 9-13 - Justice
December 16 - 20 - Temperance
On all days but Wednesdays we will have announcements in the gym during Advent. We will resume our regular schedule after Christmas: 5th Grade - Jan 7-10, 4th Grade - Jan 13-17, 3rd Grade - Jan 20-24.
Virtue of the Week:
December 2-6 - Prudence
December 9-13 - Justice
December 16 - 20 - Temperance
Here's What Happening The Week AFTER Thanksgiving Break:
Sunday, November 24 – End of the Year of Faith Mass- see your parish bulletins for times!
Monday, November 25-Friday, November 29 - THANKSGIVING BREAK! :)
Sunday, December 1 - First Sunday of Advent
Monday, December 2 - Friday, December 20 - Advent Celebration in Gym EVERY Morning (other than Wednesdays) at 7:40 AM; Everyday Uniform for K-8
Tuesday, December 3 - Everyday Uniform for K-5; PE Uniforms for 6-8; Advent Celebration in Gym at 7:40 AM
Wednesday, December 4 - Mass Uniform for K-8; to classrooms at 7:40; 1:45 - School Mass
Thursday, December 5- Everyday Uniform for K-8; Advent Celebration in Gym at 7:40 AM
Friday, December 6 - Everyday Uniform for K-8 - what a busy day - see below!
- St. Nicholas Day and Advent Celebration in Gym at 7:40 AM; Students put their shoes outside for goodies from St. Nicholas
- First Friday Adoration - 11:15-11:45 AM
- Optional 8th Grade Explore Test at SMHS - make sure to sign up at St. Mary's
- SMHS Right to Life Rally (contact SMHS for more info
- Lunch (in Teacher's Lounge) and Coach's Meeting/Lunch (in Conference Room) - 12:15-1:00 PM
- Father Mark Talks with School Staff - 1:00-2:00 PM in Computer Lab
- AdvancEd Team - Work with Teams after question and answer and time!
Monday, December 9 - Honey Baked Ham Sale kicked off Monday, November 11th! All orders due by TODAY!
Reminder of THINGS to DO:
- Send Kim AND Mike a link to your blog! :) According to my and Mike's notes, we have links from the following teachers:
- Dusbabek
- Baca
- Maloney
- Gieck
- Bruno
- Smith
- Kowalsky
- Nuvolini
- Conlon
- Gonzalez
- Corbett
- Wilson
- Complete the staff survey at the link above
- Please complete your Tier 2 and 3 Progress Monitoring and plan for Benchmarks. Next Data meeting is in January - please turn in monthly Tier 2 Intervention Logs to Kim for November and December
EVENTS COMING SOON:
Wednesday, December 11 - Advent Confession Time - Begins at 10 AM - classes will be called beginning with 3rd grade and as is required until all can participate.
Thursday, December 12 - HSA General Meeting and Christmas Program - 6:30 PM
Wednesday, December 11 - Advent Confession Time - Begins at 10 AM - classes will be called beginning with 3rd grade and as is required until all can participate.
Thursday, December 12 - HSA General Meeting and Christmas Program - 6:30 PM
Monday, December 16-December 19 - Middle School Mid-Year Exams
Friday, December 20 - End of 2nd Quarter; Preschool-8th Grade - Christmas Parties - 11 AM; Noon Dismissal; Staff Christmas Party Sponsored by HSA - At 12:15ish PM in the Parish Hall
Saturday, December 24-January 6 - Christmas Break
Tuesday, January 7 - Students return from Christmas Break
PLC Schedule and Themes for the Next Few Weeks:
- Preschool/Pre-K Team Meeting and PLC - Tuesdays at 6:30 AM - lead by Jen
- K/1/2 PLC - Mondays at 10:30 AM - lead by Kim
- Middle School PLC - Tuesdays at 12:00 - lead by Maureen
- 3/4/5 PLC - Thursdays at 11:10 AM - lead by Maureen
- Week of December 2 - Teaching Like A Coach - the objective of this PLC is that Teachers Will Be Able To (TWBAT) compare the similarities (and differences) of GREAT coaches and GREAT teachers as well as describe how Christ's example of being the ultimate coach/teacher impacts their roles as a Catholic school teacher. The content and arenas may differ, but the coaching and teaching process are remarkably the same. Are you a GREAT coach to your students? How has your faith coached you as a Catholic teacher?
- Week of December 9 - Be Here, There and Everywhere - the objective of this PLC is that TWBAT describe the importance of and implement proximity in the classroom. You will be asked to identify your own comfort zone and SHAKE IT UP! Here is a driving question for this week's lesson - ask yourself - "Where do I normally sit/stand in my classroom?" Bring your answer with you to this PLC.
- Week of December 16 - Making Lessons Meaningful! - the objective of this PLC is that TWBAT describe how they can weave their faith into their lessons while making lessons meaningful to students. How can you take some new risks, rethink what meaningful learning entails, and make your lessons even better than they currently are?
Diocesan Committees
Team members please mark your calendars for meetings at the diocesan office!
- No Scheduled meetings noted on the diocesan calendar. :)
Have a BLESSED Week!
