New: MDE Nonpublic Membership Report – Due November 15
The 2022-23 Nonpublic Membership Report is now available in NexSys. A message went out to all Nonpublic schools on Tuesday with a PowerPoint presentation. Please refer to the presentation for step by step instructions. We encourage your school to complete the report as soon as possible.
New: Jodee Blanco’s SEL and INJJA Program
Recently, Jodee Blanco visited with our principals (September) and teachers (Oct. 17 PD Day) regarding how to communicate and restore relationships between the school and parents. She also shared insights about her SEL and INJAA (It’s Not Just Joking Around) program and many have indicated interest in having her visit their school.
Please review the details from Jodee which indicate what her visits include as well as the cost. Upon review, if you are interested in having her visit your school this spring or next fall, please contact Dr. Bluestein by Nov. 18 confirming interest and indicating which timeframe you would prefer.
November All-Principal Meeting RSVP Link
Our next In-Person All Principal Meeting scheduled for Thursday, November 10 from 9am to 12pm, will be moved to St. Edith’s Social Hall. The Hall is located at 15089 Newburgh Rd. Livonia, MI 48154. Please RSVP here.
New: Fr. Gabriel Richard Art Contest
The Fr. Gabriel Richard Guild at the Basilica of Ste. Anne de Detroit is very excited to announce its first art contest for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit. Students are invited to submit artistic renderings of Fr. Richard depicting his image, an event from his life, or a general aspect of his life.
The winning students in each age group will each receive a $1,000 cash prize. The winning students' schools will also receive a $1,000 cash prize. Prizes are courtesy of contest sponsor Concorde Financial. Artwork will be displayed at the Annual Exhibit on Fr. Gabriel Richard at the Basilic of Ste. Anne de Detroit in September 2023.
The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2023. Winners will be announced by May 31, 2023. More details and complete rules are on the flyer.
October 17 Uniform Professional Development Day
Many thanks to all who engaged in learning during our uniform PD Day. All recordings and resources will be posted directly to the PD website (professionaldevelopmentday.org).
If you haven’t yet done so, please remember to complete the survey (linked here and also found at the top of the PD site). Please also encourage your teachers to complete the survey. We value your feedback and would like to ensure we are serving your PD needs.
Important SCECH Record-Keeping for Principals
Please recall that Shelley Long with MANS sent each principal an email with the link to the Google Folder created for each school. Please review the important information to ensure your teachers earn SCECHs, especially in regard to the AOD Professional Development Days.
- Google folders (on the spreadsheets) contain links to 10-minute webinar on how to track SCECHs properly, the updated SCECH handbook, & written instructions on how to complete both tabs of the spreadsheet.
- Spreadsheets include AOD earned PD columns; final amount will tally correctly & educators only have to apply one time with MANS.
- Principals must collect & upload to the folder a SEPARATE excel sheet on the details of the AOD UNIFORM Professional Development Days including the following in exact order:
- first name, last name, school name, school city, email address, session title & # of SCECHs session is worth, SCECH verification code for (each session attended).
- Shelley will check in with each school via email mid-year to see if they have questions, concerns, etc.
- Teachers will use online SCECH application shared in May to apply for SCECHs
- All SCECHs processed through MANS are FREE
Religion Assessment
Thank you for your patience and for alerting our department of any issues you experienced during testing.
An email was sent to all principals regarding the need to discontinue implementation of the Religion Assessment. After thorough investigation, we found that RCL B/Kendall Hunt made egregious errors. They will follow up with a letter of apology to principals and have confirmed that they will provide a refund. Details regarding the refund process will be shared as soon as possible.
Protect Young Eyes: Curriculum & Parent App Access
As indicated in August, based on the need for online safety and digital citizenship, the AOD purchased the Protect Young Eyes Curriculum and Parent App for all schools in the AOD (including the order schools).
Click here for the PYE curriculum or the link can also be found under the Educator’s Tab in Virtus. Also note that Chris McKenna provided a walk-through of the PYE curriculum at the Oct. 17 PD Day, showing how it can be used alongside the Virtus Safe Environments lessons (that recording will be posted to the PD site). Information to share with parents and details on how to access the Parent App will be sent in the coming weeks.
Star Custom Parent Reports
Dr. Bluestein has completed the process of preparing and sending out the Custom Parent Reports. Each principal should have received two separate emails with a unique link and password for access. If you have any trouble accessing your reports, please contact Dr. Bluestein for support.
DCS School Technology Survey
We are grateful to the school principals and administrators throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit for the admirable way they balance their many significant responsibilities. Among these is striving to make sure their school technology networks and devices are safe and secure for the students, staff, and families who are all part of the school community.
While some schools are fortunate to have found great resources and programs to ensure their schools’ devices and networks are secured in an ever-changing cyber world, others may not be so fortunate. In this light, we are requesting your responses to a very short survey to identify and assess best practices and ultimately to be able to share this information with all AOD schools. Please click here to complete the survey.
Virtus: Empowering God’s Children (Replacing past Safe Environments curricula)
As indicated previously, our Safe Environments program for schools is now going to be hosted by the Virtus online platform titled Empowering God’s Children; school are required to teach 2 lessons per year.
Virtus has provided detailed information on how you may access the materials using the Educators Tab, and how you may also provide access for your teachers. They’ve also provided a short 10-minute recording that you may view and share with teachers once you have given them access to the Educators Tab. The recording contains information regarding the lessons, how to navigate the site to access resources (including resources for parents), and how to report when training has been completed.
Please see the attachment and read the instructions from Virtus carefully.
Important Update for November MANS Conference Registrations
It has come to our attention that a form we offered in our Weekly Update, to assist collecting educator preferences (excursions, lunch options, meet-ups, etc.) was misunderstood. Here’s the language from the Weekly Update:
- Registration Assistance Form: ask your staff to complete this Google Form prior to you registering them. They may indicate interest in excursions, box lunches, etc. This is not the actual registration but a tool to help collect information so one person may register the whole staff.Click here for more information.
A few schools had teachers complete the Google form, and thought it was the registration form. We are trying to make sure that folks understand it was a registration assistance form for collecting information only, and from there they must register their staff using this link.
A New IDEA in the Great Lakes State
MANS is pleased to partner with ADAC to offer training and consultations on Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) services in Michigan. IDEA provides federally funded special education services to nonpublic school students with learning differences. You are invited to attend one of three FREE trainings with ADAC on November 28, 29, or 30. Learn more and register.
Accreditation Site Team Members Needed
If you would like to serve on a site team this year, please complete the Google form. Also, please share the link to form to any teachers who may like to serve on a team as well. Team members can receive 25 SCECHs after the completion of the visit. Principal chairs will create their site teams from these lists. They will contact you or the teachers as they are assembling teams.
Please contact Nancy Kuszczak at nkuszczak@livoniastmichael.org if you have any questions.
MANS Membership Dues 2022-2023
It is that time of year to collect the annual MANS membership dues. We have decided that it is time to end the paper forms and are asking everyone to fill out this Google form with their information, print it out, and mail it along with their dues payments. The deadline is December 1, 2022.
Teacher Evaluations Requirement 2022-2023
Please note that this year (like last), DCS is requiring two formal, written evaluations of all teachers. The PowerPoint presentation provides more information and links. The last slide includes the link to all items on Box.
Catechist Certification Requirement
Please see the attached document which provides details, exceptions, and modifications for the Catechist Certification Requirement.
