This time of Lenten preparation is marked by the practices of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. During times of extended prayer, we often find ourselves pondering big questions: Who is God? Who am I? Why am I here? If you google the first question, Who is God?, you will receive over four and a half billion search results in less than one second. If we look to Sacred Scripture for an answer to that question, we hear God himself answer that question and reveal to us who He is. In this Sunday’s Mass readings, God reveals his name to Moses. What does that mean for us? Listen to Bishop Robert Barron’s Sunday homily - Who is God?
New and Updated Announcements
Welcome to the New School Mail
We are pleased to introduce an updated look for School Mail. The content is the same although some of it has changed locations within the email.
Our goal with this update is to streamline the email and make it easier for you to find the content that's new and most important to you. New and updated announcements will appear in this section while prior announcements, resources, upcoming events, and items from our partner organizations appear in their own dedicated sections below.
We are also beginning to make increased use of the Catholic Schools section of the AOD Communications Hub. We encourage you to bookmark aod.org/hub/category/catholic-schools and visit it regularly to stay abreast of the latest news and resources for Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese.
Updated: From Vic Michaels: COVID-19 Guidance and Protocols
The MDHHS and the CDC have updated their indoor mask use guidance and rescinded the order requiring masks on school busses. We have updated the AOD Document to reflect all changes effective 3/03/2022. We will continue to keep you apprised of any additional updates.
International and Domestic travel quarantine guidelines – updated 3/15/2022.
Upon return from International Travel
Vaccinated students and staff do not need to quarantine upon return but should monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
Unvaccinated students and staff are to quarantine for five days post-travel. They may return to campus on day six. Students and staff should continue monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19 and wear a well-fitting mask once they return to campus on days 6-10.
Upon return from Domestic Travel
Fully vaccinated or unvaccinated students and staff do not need to quarantine.
New: School Survey
Thank you to the principals who completed the survey that Laura sent yesterday. If you have not yet completed it, please do so here. It will take approximately three minutes.
New: 2021-2022 Teacher Awards
The Department of Catholic Schools is seeking your nomination for the Teacher of the Year from your school. Each nominee will receive an Excellence in Teaching Award and be considered for the Bishop John Quinn Elementary or Secondary Teacher of the Year. We would also like to acknowledge our dedicated retiring Catholic School Personnel. This includes Principals, Teachers, and staff. We ask that you complete the Retired Personnel Form if you have any staff members retiring from your school. Continue reading
There is also a video tutorial on how to use the updated Accreditrac.
Updated: March 14 Uniform Professional Development Day
Many thanks to all who attended the PD Day! Please encourage teachers and staff to complete the survey so that we can understand what went well and what can be improved in the future.
The recordings will be posted to the PD website as soon as they are available.
Remember to collect your teachers’ information for each AOD PD Day and upload it to the folder Shelley Long shared with you last semester. For details on how to collect this information, see the next school mail item titled “SCECH Process.”
Share this form with teachers to earn SCECHs (or hours toward catechist renewal) for viewing recorded sessions.
Teachers will be responsible to complete the MANS application form at the end of the school year. That will be shared closer to May.
Principals are required to collect all the necessary information for the Uniform PD Day on an Excel sheet. On the Excel sheet, remember to include the following information in the following order:
first name, last name, school name, school city, PIC code, email address, title of session(s) attended and SCECH verification code.
For the star session that offers an additional 2 SCECHs for a completed Unit Plan aligned to the focus skills, please remember to add a column titled “Unit Plan” to distinguish between teachers who only attend the live session and teachers who both attend live and bring a completed unit plan to review.
MANS has already created and shared your school’s unique folder where you will be responsible to upload the completed Excel sheet within two weeks of the Uniform PD Day.
March 22, 2022: Nonpublic Schools Legislative Day
Please register for this very important MANS-sponsored event if you can. We need school leaders speaking to state senators and representatives in support of key issues such as teacher retention bonuses, mental health funding, school safety and the robotics grants.
Signature gathering materials and student packets will be delivered to your school and to parishes this week or next week. Please do not distribute these materials yet. Additional information and instructions will come from the Department of Catholic Schools soon. Learn more
