I recently read Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic–and What We Can Do About It (2023) by Jennifer Breheny Wallace and found her insight fascinating that the examination of the pressures we put on students to succeed leads to self-worth often becoming entangled with accomplishments. Even parents find they are measured (or measure themselves) by their children’s accomplishments. What matters is establishing that every student matters, no matter his/her accomplishments. I thought of the House system which has been established in many Catholic schools (such as St. Gregory the Great in Williamsville!) and remembered that I wrote the following blog in 2018:

Jim Collins (Good to Great) is often quoted about the bus, getting people on the bus, driving the bus, etc. But people often don’t talk about the hedgehog concept. Catholic schools do one thing really well—build community. In a wide variety of Church documents, the Church calls us to build faith communities and communion within our schools. What I often see is schools saying, “Yes, we do the community thing already. We got that down. So let’s focus on our test scores.”

Balderdash! I suggest we double down on community and become even more intentional. One such strategy is the House System catching on in our high schools. More common in England (and Hogwarts!), the House System was brought to Chaminade High School in 2002 by a group of students on a Marianist exchange program to Australia. The students wanted to bring this to their school. Interesting sidenote—when the House system began in English boarding schools, those schools were pre-Reformation Catholic. So there are actually Catholic roots to the system!

The House System is not designed to primarily promote school spirit, rather it is about providing a sense of caring and belonging to all students. Students are randomly placed in a House where they stay all four years. They can compete against other houses, yes, and I imagine at all-boys schools that might motivate most of the young men (!) but the program also provides mentoring, fellowship, and identity. At Moeller, the students join a homeroom under their House so they are spending time immediately with students from other grades.

Names of the houses are chosen to reflect and to establish a common identity—saints from the founding religious order, former teachers or principals, religious sites important to the school’s charism—as well as colors, banners, and crests all provide students with another identity.

Who would resist this great idea? Alumni have trouble buying in due to concerns that there might be more loyalty to the House rather than the class. Seniors resist because seniors resist all changes. The most conservative group in any high school, the senior class, wants every 9th-11th grader to have the exact same (sometimes miserable) high school experience. Faculty will often resist because faculty can resist changes. More links:

• Here’s an explanation from Moeller High School

• First, watch this video of the House System in action as the students from Archbishop Riordan HS (San Francisco) compete in a school-wide Rochambeau tournament. It’s 90 seconds and worth your time!

• Website and links about the House System at Chaminade College Prep HS (St. Louis).

• Link to information about O’Dea HS (Seattle)’s House system, including information on how the House names and crests were created.

• Link to my podcast conversation with Sr. Mary Jordan Hoover, OP, the founding principal of St. John Paul II HS in Phoenix who designed the school to support the House system.

Link to original blog in the May 6, 2018 newsletter: https://www.smore.com/86s5w

Previous blogs can be found here. Want to keep up with the conversations surrounding Catholic education? Set up your own Google Alert, subscribe to this newsletter by clicking "follow," or subscribe to the Catholic School Matters podcast.

Dr. Tim Uhl

• Save the date for the Diocesan Track Meet at St. Francis High School on May 13th and 14th. More details to come. There are no rain dates this year.

• We will be holding a Diocesan 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Dance on May 3rd, at St. Gregory the Great from 7-10pm for the Northtowns Schools. Queen of Heaven will be hosting a Southtowns dance the same night. Proceeds will benefit BISON Fund. More details will be forthcoming, but please let me know ASAP if you would like to be on the committee for this fun activity. We need lots of chaperones and helpers!

• Our Science Fair is just around the corner on March 9th at St. John’s in Kenmorel. ***NEW LOCATION*** Register here ASAP, find information here or a parent letter here.

• Spring Bowling begins March 5th. Sign up here before Feb. 29th. Here is a flyer for more information.

• The Character Virtue for February is Inclusion. Please submit your names here by March 2nd.

• Please sign up for the March Principal’s Meeting. It is on March 7 at St. John Vianney. Breakfast and lunch will be provided this day. Take a peek at the agenda.

• The Foundation has a donor that would like to gift one of our schools - or a family at one of our schools - with a Krakauer upright piano. The donor will cover moving expenses to it’s new home and will cover the cost of the first tuning. Please email Nancy Gugino if your school would like to receive this wonderful donation.

Here's the link to the Office Blog

CURRICULUM and INSTRUCTION

As a proud alumna of St. Andrew’s Country Day School, my heart weighs heavy with the upcoming closure of my beloved elementary and middle school. While this loss deeply saddens me, I acknowledge that there are aspects beyond my control. What remains within my realm of influence is how I choose to respond. In light of this, I am compelled to ask: How can I contribute to the preservation of the legacy of Catholic education, which lies at the heart of over 30 Catholic elementary and middle schools and 12 high schools?

As I embark on this journey within the warm embrace of the Catholic School community, I find myself reminiscing about the cherished memories from my time at SAS. As someone who holds academics close to heart, I fondly recall participating in the annual Christmas plays. Additionally, I reminisce about my 8th-grade ELA project, where I authored and performed in a play, assuming the character of Belle in a student version of Beauty and the Beast. Furthermore, the annual “Theme” publication holds a special place in my heart, as I eagerly awaited the opportunity for my written piece to grace its pages. Reflecting on these experiences, I am reminded of the great opportunities we have to provide our students with learning tasks designed for creation, collaboration, critical thinking, and the exploration of their God given gifts and talents. These memories highlight the significance of empowering students to craft their narratives and share them with the world through performance or publication. Do the units of study, lessons, and learning tasks inspire our students to write, think critically, and communicate?

As I navigate my involvement with this beautiful and nurturing Catholic School community, I am committed to fostering an environment that echoes the spirit of creativity, collaboration, and self-expression that defined my formative years at SAS. Together, let us endeavor to cultivate a learning ecosystem where every student finds purpose, voice, and fulfillment in their academic and spiritual journey, thereby perpetuating the timeless essence of Catholic education.

• Principals please complete the STAR survey by March 1.

• Principals please book a 1-1 STAR data discussion with me by March 1.

• Book time with Gajewski, Julie: STAR Data Discussion in Person Meetings • This link will expire on: May 22, 2024

• Book time with Gajewski, Julie: STAR Data Discussion Microsoft Teams Meeting • This link will expire on: May 22, 2024

STAR Windows

Fall: September 6-27

Winter: January 8-29

Spring: May 20- June 10

NYS TESTING

Test Administration Schedule

Grades 3-8 English Language Arts

Monday, April 8 – Friday, May 17

Make-ups must be given within the testing window Must be completed by Friday, May 24*

Test Accommodations

• If applicable: Are all student 504 plans and IESP accommodations up to date?

• Do we have a plan for test accommodations for NYS tests and STAR for students with a 504 or IESP plan only?

2/27/24 HS Scholarships for Academic Excellence (SAE) Nominations Due

3/1/24 Complete New Textbook Adoption Survey - Survey Link Here

3/9/24 CIDEL “Call to Leadership” Event: Free - Register by 3/1

3/11-12 Mandated Services Data Entry Sessions (Optional)

3/15/24 Last Day to Submit Erie 1 BOCES Textbook Requisitions

3/18/24 Save Mandated Services Claim online for C. Riso Review

4/1/24 Online 2021-22 Mandated Services Claim Due to NYSED

4/1/24 Parent Requests for 2024-25 Transportation Due to Public School Districts

4/15/24 NYSED Nonpublic Safety Equipment (NPSE) Claims Due

4/15/24 NYSED Elementary School AIS Claims Due

NYSED Mandated Services Update: I am all caught up on the Excel spreadsheet and online claim reviews requested over the last few weeks. I anticipate that requests for reviews will increase over the next few weeks, so get your request in soon.If you have not yet opened your 2023 claim online yet, please do so this week - you can enter the information later. Check out my thoughts on your need to have official payroll and benefits reports to support the actual amounts you are submitting with your claim. Remember, I am hosting Mandated Services Data Entry Sessions 3/11 & 3/12 for those interested. Please email me if you have any questions about the Mandated Services process.

Transportation Requests Due to Public School Districts on April 1: Parents of Catholic school students must request transportation services directly from the public school district in which they live. The deadline for submitting written requests for transportation is April 1, 2024 for the 2024-2025 school year. Failure to submit a request by this deadline might lead to the suspension of bus privileges for those families. Administrators are urged to remind current parents of the necessity to meet this deadline and to alert parents of prospective and newly-registered students of this requirement as well.

Textbook Adoption Survey Reminder: The Executive Principals asked me to create another survey, this time asking if your school plans to adopt a new textbook series for the 2024-2025 school year. Please click here for this survey. Please complete this brief survey by 3/1/24.

Previous posts from Mr. Riso

The Catholic School Matters podcast season is back on the air!. A new episode dropped yesterday which serves as the first of the "Innovation Spotlight" series. These podcasts are conversations with exemplars in Catholic education which can show up the bright lights in Catholic education. These spotlights will form part of each chapter of the the upcoming book I'm writing in partnership with NCEA. The book is focusing on innovations in Catholic schools which point to a brighter future. The first podcast is a conversation with Jack Joyce of St. Labre Indian Catholic Schools in Montana. Joyce explores how the schools evangelize their school communities by appreciating and integrating what they already know and experience into the Catholic schools. It's a story of integration and creative catechesis!. Look for a new spotlight every Monday. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so it will automatically come to you every week.

Here is a link to the podcast on Apple Podcasts.

A weekly newsletter of resources to spur enrollment and excellence in our Catholic schools.

Email: catholicschoolmatters@gmail.com
Website: www.wnycatholicschools.org
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone: 716-847-5520
Twitter: @WNYCatholicEd

1. No Guilty Bystander: The Extraordinary Life of Bishop Thomas Gumbleton (2023) by Frank Fromherz & Suzanne Sattler, IHM.
   

2. Richard Rohr on Transformation: Collected Talks (1998) by Richard Rohr
   

3. The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future (2022) by Orly Lobel.

4. More than a Dream: How One School's Vision is Changing the World (2008) By G. R. Kearney.

5. 
   

   Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic--and What We Can Do About It (2023) by Jennifer Breheny Wallace.

Click this link for a full list of my professional reading

Feb 13, 2024 "Introducing Julie Gajewski"

Feb 6, 2024 "Catholic Schools Week"

January 30, 2024 "Catholic School Week Surveys"

January 23, 2024 "St. Benedict & Intentional Community"

January 16, 2024 "Leadership & Anxiety"

For previous newsletters, click this link

A few years ago I set out to write a book which would explore the challenges of Catholic school leadership. My premise that there are no easy answers and that we have to learn from our (and other's) mistakes in order to form a mindset appropriate for orchestrating conflict proved prescient as we all faced completely new and unexpected challenges in 2020. The book,Orchestrating Conflict: Case Studies in Catholic Leadership is now available on Amazon or on the Barnes & Noble site in print or e-book formats. The book explores issues in Catholic school leadership and the tensions between building community and following Church policies and introduces deliberate practice as a method for leadership formation. Most recently, I have completed a new book proposal so book #2 is underway!