New tools, next steps

In discussing office systems with a candidate for our open administrative assistant position earlier this month, the candidate remarked, "We sure didn't have tools like these when I was in school!" I would add that we didn't have tools like these a few months ago!  With the release of our Alma parent accounts last month and our online directory last week, it is clear for even the casual participant to see concrete evidence of the shifts in the way schools do business.  As the world goes, so too must schools.

In anticipation of report card distribution next week, I'd like to take an opportunity to give you some background on the contemporary new tool from which our reports will be generated.

Alma is an integrated database and "learner management" system.  The database functions are sophisticated, including everything from more contemporary directory information (e.g., moms and dads are now separate entities) to medical and behavioral records, but it's the learner management side of the product that brings us to the next level of functionality.  With this tool, we take a significant step forward in the authenticity of the standards-based grading approach we have been implementing for the past eight years. 

Previously, we evaluated outcomes on course goals or "standards" by attaching these standards to assignments.  Although our software collected scores by standard, it was cumbersome for teachers or parents to track progress by standard because scores were reported in topical clusters.  In other words, performance on each standard was collected with others under a related topic and averaged as a simple mean to an "anchor standard" or umbrella topic further up an organizational hierarchy. These averaged proficiencies on sets of standards were what we reported on the report card.  The reason for reporting averages on clusters of skills was largely functional in that reporting out on every one of the 200 or so standards per grade level would have made our paper report card about eight pages long by the end of the year, which was simply not practical.

All that has changed with our new tool.  Now, we are grading standards instead of assignments.  We track each students' performance on every standard in a color-coded way that allows us to easily track mastery.  Our tool allows for digital archiving of all of our data, so report cards will be sent and stored electronically - allowing for us to report on every standard.  Most new, however, is that the mastery is calculated with a "decaying average" tied to learning theory.  The formula automatically weights the most recent assessment for each standard most heavily, with the understanding that it is more representative of a student's current mastery level than assessments from earlier in the cycle when large leaps of learning were still occurring.

These changes will take some getting used to for all of us, to be sure, but we can be assured that they will better support learning and report a more refined picture of your children's actual proficiencies relative to grade level expectations.

In addition to Alma, we recently added a digital parent directory to our arsenal of tools thanks to the generosity of the Home and School Association.  Directory Spot replaces our paper Blue Book and, if you install the app on your phone, works pretty much like your phone contacts and needs little to no explanation.  I hope you love it as much as we do!  If you need help logging in for the first time, just give the office a call.

This week our teachers and students started using the TADS Lunch module, replacing very antiquated lunch ordering and billing software tied to our old student information system.  With apologies for the delay in getting this up and running, you will soon have the capacity to see your lunch balance online - and we will have the capacity to assure you get auto-messages reminding you when it's time to reload your account.  We're hoping this improved communication will help us work together to better steward the school's fiscal resources.

Finally, we will launch the TADS Admission and Enrollment module with the opening of our January enrollment season.  This digital process will take paper out of the equation.  Stay tuned for more information just after the holidays.

At school, we're ever learning, ever growing - even in the office!

Great night out

Guest blog by school parent Susan Callanan

It's time for the St Robert School Annual Fund party set for 7 p.m., Friday, November 17, 2017. We hope you have the date circled in red on your calendar. If not, read on to find out why the Callanans do. 

This fall marks our 13^th year as a St. Robert family. We graduated two daughters, who currently attend Divine Savior Holy Angels High School. And we have a 5^th grader, Jane, who started as a 4K student and is now enjoying her first year of school sports and beginning band – i.e., the “big kid” activities. Over the years, we've always looked forward to the Annual Fund party and made a point of attending. Here's why. 

It’s a great night out! Parents enjoy an evening of gracious hospitality at a beautiful home with fellow friends of the school. This year you'll be welcomed into the home of Margaret and Michael DeMichele, parents of current 8^th grader Mio, as well as three older children who are all Bobcat alumni. 

You can make new friends. At St. Robert, we often spend a lot of time with parents in our own grades at those wonderful class parties and on the sports sidelines. At the Annual Fund parties, Liam and I have met some of our favorite St. Robert people that might not otherwise have crossed our paths.

Experience the depth of the St. Robert community. You may meet St. Robert supporters who actually have not set foot in the school in years. We have had the pleasure of meeting a number of alums, and even parents of alums, all of whom have wonderful stories and histories to share about the school. We can say thank you to them for continuing to help keep St. Robert financially strong. 

Learn more about the Annual Fund. This is one of the most critical financial pieces of St. Robert’s success. It’s the easiest tax-deductible way to support the mission of the school, and relies on the support of current and alumni parents, alumni, grandparents, parishioners, foundations, and friends. 

   

Cross one thing off your to-do list. Gifts and pledges to the 2017-18 Annual Fund will be gratefully accepted – and will make you eligible for a prize drawing that night! Even if you can’t commit anything the night of the 17^th, come by for a taste of community and camaraderie.

So uncap that red pen (or crayon) and circle November 17 on YOUR calendar! We look forward to seeing you and perhaps forging another new friendship! 

Saints and leaders

Guest Blog by Jennifer Luna, 2nd Grade Teacher

This year the Climate and Culture faculty leadership team and the Faith and Mission leadership team are joining forces to make some positive changes in our school.  Last Friday, we kicked off one of our initiatives with the very first meeting of our “Spirit Teams.”  The spirit teams are a mix of students in 4K-8^th grade and are led by a faculty member.  The teams will meet periodically throughout the year to do service together, pray together and have fun together.  Our last spirit team meeting will be on Field Day in the spring. Our spirit teams are a way to inspire the saints and leaders in our community. 

On Friday, we made banners to show our support for Veterans in our community in preparation for Veteran’s Day on November 11^th.  Teams had a lot of fun working together to create the banners.  Older students were naturally leaders for the younger students.  It was wonderful to be a part of this.  As Ms. Dahl said, it was very fitting that we came together as a school community on a day when we lost a beautiful member of our school family, Kate Almond.  Kate was a loving mother, and an incredibly supportive parent to us, the teachers.  She will be greatly missed by all those that knew her. 

During the first week of November, Catholics celebrate two feast days, All Saints Day and All Souls Day.  On November 1^st the adorable second graders inspired us to be more like the Saints, and on November 2^nd we remember those loved ones who have gone before us to be with the saints in heaven.  In our small school community, we have 11 students who have lost a parent in the past 5 years and many more students have lost loved ones.  As a way to show support for each other and in honor of all the loved ones we have lost, we will be having a “saints and leaders” memorial bulletin board during the month of November.  If you would like to send in a picture for the board, please include the name of the deceased, student’s name and relation to the student.  Pictures can be sent to school, attention: Mrs. Luna.  One of the messages I took away from a character conference I attended this summer is “It is more important who you are, than what you know”.  Let’s show who we are this year at St. Robert.  Let’s be saints and leaders.