Academic Updates & New Changes
Dear St. Clare Families,
The 2023-2024 School Year is off to an exciting and energetic start. This year we are setting a number of academic goals as a team.
FAITH:
1. First and foremost, we are shaping disciples through our emphasis on Catholic values, traditions, and service. We will be attending Mass weekly at 8:05am in Wrightstown. Please join us as often as you are able.
READING/LITERACY:
2. We are maintaining our emphasis on Reading and Literacy at all grade levels; this includes pre-literacy skills in our creative curriculum model of instruction. A creative curriculum model is a balance between traditional instruction and play-based lessons. By focusing on this approach, we are able to cultivate the skills students need for success as they grow in the areas of faith, social, kinesthetic, cognitive, and language development. Please contact Ms. Courtney Calmes, Mrs. Elizabeth Lade, or me with any additional questions. We only have 5 more spots in 3K and 3 more spots in 4K available for the year, so please contact us swiftly if you are hoping to enroll.
ASSESSMENT & GROWTH:
3. For Grades K-8, we are no longer using the NWEA Maps testing for growth assessment. In the coming weeks, you will begin to see more information about the Renaissance STAR 360 assessment model. This platform is a change throughout the entire Diocese of Green Bay. I have professional experience in administering this assessment format and can personally attest to the effectiveness of the model. It will take less instructional time to assess, the students will still be tracked on their personal growth through adaptive questioning, and the reports are very user friendly for both educators and parents. I will share more information on this platform in a separate and independent newsletter.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:
4. Another new feature for our school is the inclusion of Project Lead the Way (PLTW). St. Clare's is the recipient of a 3 year educational grant that supports teacher training in a hands-on project-based learning science program. Through PLTW, students are able to build, problem-solve, collaborate, collect and analyze data, and work through all aspects of the scientific method in an engaging and student-focused manner. Our teachers are balancing the project-based approach with our standards-aligned curriculum for grades K-8 that integrates our values, Catholic Social Teachings, and faith worldview. Teachers also have Discovery Education and Mystery Science available for additional curriculum and lesson resources.
As part of the PLTW experience, we are also very blessed to have the leadership of Mr. Pete Brauer and Mr. Connor Kohlman working to bring a VEX Robotics club back to St. Clare School. Our school participated in National Competitions of which Mr. Connor Kohlman was a previous member. He also assists with programming at the Wrightstown High School in addition to being one of our Early Childhood Aides. We are very excited to have their leadership and passion at the forefront of bringing this incredible opportunity back for our middle school students. The 5th-8th graders now have access to a brand new science lab with 3D Printing, Laser Engraving, Robotics, and computer coding... and yes, lockers for the 8th graders too.
SUPPORT:
5. Returning from last year is the IXL platform for students in all grades. Students are able to access this platform 365 days a year. IXL is designed to supplement learning on particular skills or content topics across most of the major subject areas like: math, science, social studies, and reading. This program allows students to practice and will re-teach a concept if a student makes a mistake. Your child/ren should have their username and password already as it was shared with their teachers. If you are not sure how to access it from home, please contact your son/daughter's teacher or email me and we can troubleshoot things together.
