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. 

D-Day!

Once every seven years, religious and independent schools in the state of Wisconsin are visited by a team of professionals who are charged with validating findings of an intensive self-study, recommending goals for continuous improvement, and (hopefully!) recommending the school for accreditation to the board of Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Accreditation.

After a full year of self-study and preparation, our hour of reckoning has nearly arrived!  At 7:15 on Wednesday morning, a team of ten principals and teachers from throughout the Archdiocese will arrive to begin an intensive two-day review of our findings.   The review will include examination of collected artifacts and evidence, observation of classes and other environments in the school, and interviews with teachers, non-instructional staff, students, administration, volunteer leaders, and parents selected randomly from our directory.

The evaluation process used by Catholic Schools in the State of Wisconsin is derived from the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools.  It is based on identified best practices and is rigorous, comprehensive, and objective (rubric-scored).  It is also viewed through the lens of nine defining characteristics of Catholic schools.

The Benchmarks are divided into four domains (Mission and Identity, Leadership and Governance, Academic Excellence, and Operational Vitality), thirteen standards, and about 70 individual benchmarks.  These were studied by teams of teachers and School Advisory Board members from August of 2016 through June of 2017, with the final touches put on our digital collection of evidence artifacts just last week.

Final preparations will include putting a shine on our spaces with some thoughtful tidying and displays - and of course planning hospitality for the visiting team.

Your children are the best evidence of a St. Robert education.  You can join our effort to showcase our excellence by reminding them to employ their very best manners, effort, and engagement during the visit.

I am proud of the work we completed and the collaborative nature of the study process we undertook; I'm pleased with our findings relative to rigorous standards; and I look forward with anticipation to the guidance of peers in defining next steps in the growth of our school.

Plan to join us for our annual State of the School meeting on November 7th for a brief summary of the visit, summary impressions of our reviewers, and next steps.

Difficult questions

The aftermath of unthinkable evil and trauma brings awareness of the potential risk in everyday life - and difficult questions for young minds we can't always protect from sensational media coverage or a sea of swirling conversations.   Parents often ask for help determining the just-right balance between protecting their children from and preparing them for the realities of a dangerous world.

In response to the recent concert shooting in Las Vegas, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network has developed resources to help families and communities. I have included some that you may want to consult: 

The Psychological Impact of the Recent Shooting

Parent Guidelines for Helping Youth After the Recent Shooting

Tips for Parents on Media Coverage

Restoring a Sense of Safety in the Aftermath of a Mass Shooting

After a Crisis: Helping Young Children Heal

We are ONE, part 2

Our theme this year, which comes from the archdiocese, was intended to shine a light on the archbishop's pastoral priorities of Catholic identity, evangelization, and stewardship.  For our community in particular, however, it resonates in a uniquely personal way as well.  "Community" was adopted as a core value of our institution when we wrote our current school mission statement in 2009.  We envisioned the ever-present ideal of  "learning, praying, loving, serving, working, and playing - as one."

The St. Robert School community continuously works toward forging a singular identity out of many sometimes disparate parts.  We live in many different kinds of neighborhoods in many parts of the city and its environs. Our families are representative of multiple races, ethnicities, and religions.  Our students bring a wide range of passions and abilities to their classrooms.  But we are united by our values and, most particularly, our values about education.  So, still, we are one.  Our ongoing efforts toward maintaining a singularity of identity and purpose stands as one of our unique strengths.

We can't forget, though, that the strength of a parish school comes also from an identity entwined with its sponsoring parish. This is another area where our school stands apart. Because our population of new students in any given year does not come primarily from St. Robert Parish, we have had to work strategically and continuously to maintain a oneness of community that understands the school as part of this larger parish identity.

There are, of course, many ways that a parish identity is forged.  Few would dispute that foundational among them is worshipping together every week.  If this isn't realistic for our diverse school community, then we do need to work intentionally at other creative ways to strengthen this critical bond.  A meaningful start would be to simply socialize as a larger extended family.  Don't minimize the potential of familiarity and friendship to build a powerful entity that could accomplish great things - and maybe feed your spirit along the way in ways you didn't even realize you were hungry. Whether or not you have previously engaged in the larger parish family, you are afforded an opportunity to do so this Saturday, September 30th.  

Please join us for our first parish-sponsored Family Fun Night from 5:30-7:30 in the parking lot. Food and fun are are the menu, along with the opportunity to meet up with old friends and make some new ones.  All school families are invited - whether you belong to our parish or not; whether you're Catholic or not.  Let's start playing together in a bigger way this year.  Understanding that we're a parish school isn't enough to keep us strong.  We have to walk the talk.

I hope to see you on Saturday night!

We, who are many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

Romans 12:5

Three questions

A blog post by Meg Conley, who writes on topics of motherhood and childhood, recently caught my attention for its relevance to the changing rhythms of family life that come with the start of school. After a summer of spontaneity and adventure, fall brings with it an opportunity to renew the important ritual of the family dinner.  At a table.  With napkins.  And prayer.  And conversation. Real, interactive conversation.

If this routine is foreign, or you think your children are too little or too teenager-y to embrace a ritual of actual interactive talking and listening, Conley suggests a framework of three provocative questions:

• How were you brave today?
• How were you kind today?
• How did you fail today? 

How brilliant!  To talk about these things daily keeps them on everyone's radar and sets them up as expectations. Hearing our children's answers gives us a glimpse into their evolving challenges and keeps us more intimately connected as a family.  Further, conversations framed on values allow us not only to coach, but to model self-reflection. Talking day upon day about our own attempts at bravery and kindness and our own moments of failure affirms our children's experiences and challenges as normal, and, most importantly, sets them on a course to cherishing critical values and honing important competencies. 

Though you could certainly choose different questions to guide your conversation, I really like the package Conley proposes. The definition of bravery does, of course, change with life's stages and is impacted by one's personality as well, but acts of bravery always bring a sense of accomplishment and hope.  Talking about bravery daily gives parents the opportunity to celebrate those moments when a child asked a teacher for help or stood up to a bully or read in front of the class. It gives Mom and Dad opportunities to reflect on the risks we take in learning something new or defending our values or our faith publicly. When we affirm a family's ever-growing diary of these little moments, we form our children's habits and skills and, eventually, their honorable character.

  

Making kindness part of daily conversation is a reminder to all of us that we are surrounded by opportunities to spread goodness.  From a friendly word to the cook or the janitor to including a marginalized classmate (or coworker), hearing a growing list of daily examples will inspire the entire family to make kindness a habit, not just something for an annual "kindness challenge."

Finally, failure is a necessary ingredient in growth and every failure - whether by omission or commission - is an opportunity to become better:  more skilled, more responsible, more holy.  To normalize failure in daily conversation supports a lifetime of reaching high.

We know from research and child development experts that the family dinner in and of itself is an important ingredient in academic success.  Perhaps by adding the structure of three questions it could be a platform for much more.  And I have no doubt that listening to our children's responses will inspire our own personal growth.

Bon appetit!