December 17, 2012

My DeSales Family,

As I shared with my colleagues today, to say that my heart is rent with sorrow at the tragedy that befell those little angles in Sandy Hook would be grossly understated.   We as educators enter this vocation because of a passion to guide our future and mold young minds.  When the innocent are taken far too soon, the only consoling moment is that they are with our Savior and will witness eternal joy.  Please continue to pray with me for these precious souls, for their families, and for all our sake that we have seen an end to the violence that befalls our society today.

I know that many of you will and already have questions about how we are handling this very delicate heartbreak at school.  Throughout the day, as students have asked questions of why and what, we have first and foremost, listened with sensitivity to their fears.   The first

priority is letting your children know that we all love them, that we are all here for them and that we always have their safety in mind.

Please rest assured that the safety of your most precious gift is utmost in our minds.  As you are all aware, we relocated the Main Office to the Ambleside Drive entrance in 2011.  School staff have a direct line of sight to our main entrance, and we continue to screen all entrants to our building.  We require all visitors who enter the building to sign in at the Main Office and carry a visitors badge with them while they are on the campus.  We continually monitor, and update as necessary, our emergency response plans and conduct drills to ensure the safety of all.

Again, I ask that you keep not only our, but all of God’s children in your prayers.

In His Name,

Scott

Safety, Stairs and Backpacks

Dear DeSales Family,

As I sit down to write to you today, it seems as if winter may be planning to make its first real appearance for this year.  I know that is hard to believe, especially with that bust of 60+ degree temperature we just enjoyed.  How do I know that winter is getting ready to rear its head you may ask, well, Mr. Rich spent time today making sure that the school’s snow plow was ready to go and that our ice solvent was in good supply.  With these harbingers of impending winter weather, I would be remiss if I did not take an opportunity to review a few perennial safety concerns as well as address a more recent safety concerns that have been discussed, middle school stairs and backpacks.

Ø  Please remember that all of our little ones walk through the parking lot in some form or fashion and they do not always look before moving on.  As a rule make sure that you enter and exit the lot through the designated lanes and that you adhere to a maximum speed of no more than five miles per hour.

Ø  Please allow some extra time for students to get into class in the morning as they are wearing a few more clothes, and so is everyone else in the school.  If you have never seen an elementary school hall the day of a first real snow, it looks as if a tornado has hit with kids and clothes everywhere.

Ø  With the previous in mind, please be sensitive to the time of teachers immediately before and after school.  The time is designed for daily preparation and brief student questions.  Unfortunately, they often do not have time to accommodate drop-in parent conferences.  It is always best to either call, e-mail, or drop a line to schedule a conference.  As a school, it is our goal to reply to all communication, at the latest, in 24 hours.

Ø  Please remember that passing a school stopped school bus, even with a permanent divider in the road is illegal. 

Ø  Finally, in the rare case that DeSales Catholic School is going to close because of inclement weather we will publicize this on all major television stations and, in all instances, if the Lockport City School District is closed because of inclement weather, DeSales is closed.

At our October Home School Association meeting a question was raised asking why stairs between the first and second floor of the middle school were one directional and, in a word, the answer I gave was safety.  However, I think that a little more insight into that statement may be warranted.  Several years ago parents came to the administration and were concerned about the traffic of students on the stairs and the safety of younger students that may be on the stairs at the same time.  While it does not happen all the time, but often enough, we have instances where students as young as four-years-old are in the hallways during passing time for the middle school.  After investigation it was decided that it would be in the best interest of all of our students to make the stairs unidirectional and, after further study, the “up and down” stairs found their current home.  Since then it is my understanding, there have been fewer instances of students falling down the stairs and an easier flow of traffic in the middle school; which is the current concern. 

Finally, backpacks and their weight.  Many of you, like I, cringe when you see a little one carrying a backpack that is wider than they are.  I am sure some parents have even weighed their child’s pack and are shocked by the sheer poundage that is being carried.  Please rest assured that this is also something that we are concerned with, as well as have actually weighed backpacks for the students to show them just what they are carrying. 

After looking at this for some time we have found that while our middle school students have two minutes to get to their lockers and move from class to class, they are, on average, spending one to one and one half minutes socializing instead of taking advantage of the time to lighten their pack loads.  As a result of our discovery we have increased teacher presence in the hallways and “forced” students to go to their lockers and carry no more than two classes worth of books in their packs.  When a child shows up to class with more than that, or what looks like an overly full pack, they are sent to their locker to lighten the load.  However, we cannot do this alone and are asking for your help.  Over the next few weeks we are going to try a series of tests to see if students even need their packs or are able to successfully cope without them.  During this time please talk to your sons and daughters and encourage them to take advantage of the time that is allotted to get to their locker.  There is no location in the building that cannot be reached in the allotted passing time and, with limited exception, also get to their locker.  All teachers are working on organization skills with our students, but we need your help, so please reinforce these skills at home. 

As always, thank you for all of your help because without your help DeSales would not be the school that it is.

In His Name, 

Scott

A New Beginning

Dear DeSales Family,

Colors are changing, rain is falling, mornings are crisp and evening comes much sooner; can it be the end of October already?  Where has the start of the year gone?  I have come to realize that as we entered this year, I am happy to say that some of our dreams have been fulfilled and yet we have many more to accomplish. 

Last year I shared with each of you our new vision and mission statements.  We have affirmed that DeSales students will be well equipped to successfully meet the challenges of modern day society with faith, dignity and integrity.  Additionally, it is our mission that:

            DeSales Catholic School provides . . .

A center of excellence that inspires individual students to reach their greatest potential inside and outside the classroom.

A nurturing community dedicated to advancing the highest academic standards and an exceptional faith-based education rooted in the values of love, compassion, mercy, sacrifice and justice as taught by St. Francis deSales.

Students with the fundamental building blocks to be innovative, critical-thinkers, and responsible future leaders.

If you take a moment to consider what the above vision and mission are really doing, they are helping us to focus our dreams and guide us along a path that will allow the entire DeSales community to grow in Christ and prosper in an ever-changing society. 

Moreover, these statements are a measuring stick by which we are beginning to evaluate ourselves by as the 2012 ~ 2013 school year also marked the beginning of our Middle States accreditation process.  This year plus long process will touch every member of our community in some form, some as committee chairpersons or members, and yet others to gage your opinion on focused standards as we see them through the above mission. 

The initial phase, Phase I, of the Middle States process involves an integrated study of our philosophy/ mission statement as well as a more thorough examination of our community.  These two study teams will examine how we define ourselves, where we have come from, where we want to go and how those dynamics have changed throughout our recent history. 

Phase II, a much more focused phase, will use the work of the first two study teams to look into our student services/activities and our curricular program offerings.  This is the time where we closely examine whether or not we are “walking the walk” that we have defined in our mission statement.

Finally, in Phase III the work performed during the first two phases will allow us to engage upon an examination of leadership at all levels from classrooms through our Board of Trustees and attempt to determine if its organizational structure is the most conducive to learning.  Additionally, during this phase we will review the resources that we employ to fulfill our mission.  Questions about our physical plant, the technology we employ, and the every environment in which we operate are going to be posed and need to be answered.  And, with all this information, a strategic action plan will be formulated to help address any weaknesses that appear as well as allow us to build on the inherent strengths that DeSales has.

I know that I have been rather long winded today, but I wanted to give you a brief picture of just what this year has in store for us as well as offer any who are interested to help in the process.  If you would like more specific information, or are willing to help based on what you already know, please contact any member of the Steering Committee, Mrs. Beth Marotta, Mrs. Stacey Pellicano, Mr. Joseph Granchelli, Mr. Paul Schuster and Dr. Fike. 

Thank you and God Bless you all,

Scott

A close call, but Catholic Charities WINS in the end.

Hello Everyone,

You may not be able to see it, but rest assured that I am currently standing on my feet applauding the work of our 2012 Catholic Charities committee: Miss Brewer, Miss Barmasse, Miss Nicholson, Mrs. Crissman, Mrs. Engel and Mr. Schuster.  Why you may ask?  Well, let me tell you.  Tuesday evening was the culmination of weeks of their labor and resulted in a record event that produced over $1,417 for this year’s Catholic Charities appeal. 

In a great outpouring of school spirit the entire DeSales family gathered Tuesday evening to watch two very closely contested contests; volleyball and basketball. A capacity crowd saw the DeSales Lady Knights joined by several of their eighth grade classmates fight to a third game in volleyball against the faculty, including yours truly.  It is with great relief that, after a great deal of worry, that the faculty was able to pull off a two point, mandatory win.  I can tell you that, whereas I had a great deal of respect for the talent these young ladies possess, after playing them, they are awesome and we were lucky.  I personally think they may have taken it easy on us and let us win.

Basketball, well, that was even closer.  The faculty team held their own during the first quarter, but the younger, talented co-ed team of eighth graders quickly pulled to a 12-point lead that was held deep into the fourth quarter.  However, just as it looked like we were going to see an eighth grade victory the faculty mounted a rally and, with seconds left to spare pulled ahead for a victory.

Now I know that bragging rights are being discussed and contested, but I have to say that Wednesday morning the most often heard conversation is that everyone had fun, we raised a lot of money for a great cause and how are we going to beat it next year.

I have said it before and will say it again, DeSales, it is the place to be.

With Great Respect,

Scott

Great Things Happening

Dear DeSales Family,

If you look at the bottom of all of the correspondence we send from the school you will see the following phrase “The Start of Something Great.”  Well, it is not just a phrase to get attention; it is the truth as I have two great stories to share that have occurred in the past few weeks.

On Sunday March 4^th for the first time in DeSales history one of our students, eighth grader Catie Fike, qualified for the Scripps Spelling Bee at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.  With over 8,000 students participating locally, Catie had some stiff competition on her way to place 13^th regionally.  All of DeSales and her mother and I are especially proud of her accomplishment.  Way to go!!

Over the weekend of March 9 ~ 11^th DeSales sent three teams to the local Odyssey of the Mind competition representing grades 3, 4 and 7.  While these three teams had some big shoes to follow in as last year’s DeSales team qualified for the world competition you will see from the following judges’ comments that they did themselves and all of us very proud. 

•   “SUCH AN AWESOME JOB. Great props, incredible message . . .”
•  “Absolutely wonderful! Great ideas! I love how you brought an issue so real into the spotlight! Amazing!”
•   “Super performance! This was a great portrayal of a problem.”

With such lofty praise how can we not but be proud?

These are just some of the more recent accomplishment that our students do each and every single day.  So, yes, DeSales: The Start of Something Great!!!”

God Bless You All,

Scott

Hello DeSales Family,

Can it really be the end of February already?  It seems like only yesterday we were getting back from our Christmas break to begin a new calendar year and the start of the second half of the 2011 ~ 2012 school year.  With that said, I just had to take a few moments to write everyone with some thoughts about a few issues.

I am very happy to report that this point we have already re-enrolled 50% of our students from the current year to attend DeSales next year.  This is well ahead of our pace of re-enrollment over the past several years.  Thank you for your vote of confidence in allowing us to continue to work with you in educating the future.  Please note that the early bird discount of $25 per child registration does expire at the close of business on Friday, March 9^th; after that the fee will become $100 per student. 

Along the same lines, our most recent Open House was a rousing success and I want to extend my personal appreciation for everyone who had a part in it coming to fruition.  This year both our total number of families and number of potential students was up ~65% over the previous two years with several people leaving a deposit for admission before they even left the school that Sunday.  Why do I mention these numbers?  It is simple, the secret is getting out, DeSales is the place to be.  The interest in our programs, particularly our Early Childhood Development Center has forced us to expand; starting in he 2012 ~ 2013 school year our pre-k programs will have an additional 500 feet of space to learn, grow and mature. 

Now, while I am sure that you have probably heard by now, but I would be remise if I did not mention it here.  As a result of the overwhelming success of our students and their collection for the St. John’s Outreach program I will be spending an entire day on the roof of the cafeteria.  Yes, I did say the roof.  Through the hard work of Mr. Rich, my office, complete with a desk, computer, files and telephone will be moved to the roof where I will gladly spend the day working.  When we get closer to the actual day I will send out more details.

Finally, I have to address a very traumatic experience I am sure we are all aware of and praying over, the shooting that occurred at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio.  I, as I am sure you have, have been praying for all the students and families of Chardon and thank God that our children are safe.  Please rest assured that our children and their safety is my number one thought each and every day.  Mine and all of our children are our most precious gift that God has given to us and we are always working to make their lives better in all ways.  If, in talking with your family, you feel that your children have any questions about this senseless tragedy and either need our would like to talk to someone please get in touch with me and I will make someone available to help. 

May God continue to bless you.