January 17, 2017

"To change the world, we must be good to those who cannot repay us."
                                                  - Pope Francis

Dear St. Katharine of Siena School Families,

       Please keep in your prayers the Brogan and Puhl Families both who lost grandparents last week.  Alyssa Puhl lost her grandmother, and Claire Brogan and cousins, Bridget and Patrice Brogan lost their grandfather. Also keep in your prayers the mother of former SKS parent, Helena Quigley, who passed.   

    School Updates From Last Two Weeks 

       I wanted to assure you that we as a school had taken preventive measures during this last week as we were hit with a bad stomach bug. All week, the teachers and staff were wiping and disinfecting desks, doors, railings, etc. Thanks to those who sent in antibacterial wipes. Please keep them coming. It was a bad bug so we all need to do our part. Keeping sick students at home who have nausea and a fever is a must. The Twenty-Four Hour Fever /Nausea Free Rule prevents others from catching whatever is going around.  Common sense goes a long way in helping in these situations. Also,  keeping a sense of calm about our school community is important. We 've been through this before. All schools battle this. We need to do our best to be preventative.

      Over the next few months the School Health Council led by nurse, Mary Skilton, will be reviewing our policy regarding Allergens Safety and health measures to get a better handle on when and what food is being brought to school for things such as parties, events, etc. during school hours. With nearly forty students (40) with severe allergy issues we need to be more proactive as a school and provide a safe environment for our students.

     This past Monday, January 9th  morning our school was entertained by two very talented musicians:Pianist Laura Kerr, a parishioner and excellent pianist accompanied a world class violinist,  Elisabeth Derham. Our students were a wonderful audience according to Ms. Derham.

    On January 11th, our entire 2nd grade went to St. Joseph University in an event sponsored by the St. Joe Hawks Women's Basketball team. Some of our students were picked to dance at halftime of the game with The Hawk's Dance Team. 

    Last Friday, we had our first drawing for the two Golden Tickets winners for the Positive Behavior Program. The two winners received a free yogurt at So Fine Yogurt, a Dress Down Pass, and were  being treated to a Five Guys Lunch with Mr. T.  at school.  There was a lot of excitement as the cards were pulled at morning announcements last Friday. The next drawing will be on Friday, January 27.

    Also on Friday, January 13,  sixteen of our girls from the upper grades went with Mrs. Jennifer Loftus to spend the day at Villanova University attending Education Day, hosted by the women's basketball team.  The students got to hear motivating speeches about leadership, education, health and wellness, and anti-bullying, given by Villanova coaches and former athletes.  Then, they got to watch the women's team play Seton Hall.  Two girls were chosen at random to attend from each homeroom in grades five through eight, and all had a great day.

    On Saturday, January 14th, our SKS Forensics Team competed at the St. Joe's Prep 18th Invitational Tournament for Middle School Students. Rochelle Clerkin received a 3rd place trophy in Extemporaneous Speaking. This is one of the most challenging events and kudos to Rochelle for her superior efforts. Another one of our students garnered first place ratings moving on to final rounds, CJ Campbell was a winner in Improv. Unfortunately for CJ and SKS, CJ was not able to compete in the finals before the final rounds commenced. Other Forensics Team members who competed Saturday included: Ava Stone, Kelly Barausky, Kerry Anne Dillon, Annie Gleason. Sean Werner, Amy Werner, Sean Stone. Ethan Lee, Brandon Lee, Bridget Burke, Madison McCormick, Christine Sisiak, and Chloe Steinman. Many of these students were judged to be in 1st and 2nd place in some of the rounds and with more practice and effort, they will go forward to meet success in future tournaments. The next competition is February 16th and the students are excited about the next challenges! Congratulation to Coach Jeanne Turn and all the members of the team.  Forensics provides a tremendous life skill experience.

   Yesterday, January 16th, about 175  students , alumni, teachers, parents, and senior citizens teamed up to put together packages for the homeless teen shelter in the city.  Service in action by our school community. I was very proud to see such a great turnout.  We listened to a Radnor Policeman, SKS Alumnus,Jack Mc Clatchy, and Mr. and Mrs. Jerry and Kay Lafferty.  Jack presented a slideshow of his service trip to Peru which we helped fund last year. Kay Lafferty spoke about Mercy Hospice, which she and Jerry have run since 1983!  This  was a wonderful morning honoring Dr. King and his message of serving and caring for others.

 Coming Attractions to SKS

- On Tuesday morning, January 24th, while all math teachers will be having a two hour in-service, the students will be visited by Ben Franklin. Mr Rob Devitis portrays Ben and will present to our students in two separate assemblies:one for KG - 4 and then for 5 - 8. You can visit his website at:
 www.jrwfranklin.com. He looks like the real Ben!

- Friday, January 27th some  6th, 7th, and 8th grade students will travel to Washington, D.C. for the March for Life to stand up for the rights for those who cannot speak for themselves. That day we will have Adoration in church for those to make a visit and pray for the sanctity of of all life from womb to tomb. Feel welcome to come that day anytime from 8:30 to 4. 

- The opening of Catholics Schools Week starts with an opening mass on Sunday, January 29th,  at the 9:30 am mass.  The whole week has a flurry of activities as we continue to celebrate our 100th year as a school. Thursday afternoon at 1 pm we will be in the gym with the annual faculty vs student basketball game, along with special appearances by the Archbishop Carroll Band and Cheerleading Squad. There is also a rumor that the principal has volunteered to do something crazy if the school reaches its quota for the annual Souper Bowl Collection. It's probably just a rumor. The week ends with a 9 am closing Mass that Friday, February 3rd. Please join us if you can. There is a noon dismissal that day.

- On February 7th at 9 am in the gym, grades KG -4 will be entertained by The Walnut Street Theater Ensemble who will perform The Boy Who Cried Bully. 

-  Friday, February 10th is a Dress Down day  for the 100th day of school in our 100th year! The money collected will be for the teenage homeless shelter that we provided a few weeks back.  There is a KG-4 Party that night in the cafeteria. 

- Saturday February 11th is a celebration /fundraiser for our school. It is Logan Schweiter 's 18th b-day. Many of you know Logan and the Schweiter Family, but many do not . Logan was a student here (as was older sister, Bailey, and brother, Parke). Logan was critically injured several years ago in an accident. The Schweiters want to celebrate Logan's birthday and thank our school community which has been a steady support to Logan and the family. With any money raised that evening a scholarship fund will be started for worthy SKS student(s) who emulate Logan's spirit and personality. The night will start with the 5pm mass here in church followed by a party in the cafeteria for all of Logan's friends and then an adult party in the gym featuring food drink and live music. All are welcome to attend. For ticket information and event go to:

- On Wednesday morning, February 15th  in the cafeteria, The Radnor Police will be here to present to our students. There will be two assemblies again: The KG-4 focus will be in internet safety. The 2nd assembly for grades 5-8 will focus on internet safety, social media, cyberbullying, and possible legal consequences for teens when they use their devices inappropriately. The Family Life/Education comprised of parents, teachers and students from the 7th & 8th grade have asked for this assembly. Our upper grades students have asked for an assembly of this nature. The follow up for parents will be at the February 28th Home & School Meeting where Psychologist /Counselor, Michael Blanche will present to parents.  I heard Mike speak earlier this year and he is excellent. 

- Looking a bit ahead ahead, but really not that far away, please reserve the night of Saturday, March 25th for the night of our Centennial Celebration. Chairpersons Anne Condello and David Heacock are putting together a fun night for all members of our school community past and present to enjoy and celebrate our school's 100th Birthday.  It's going to be a special night in the parish center/gym, so please mark that date down. Invitations will be sent this week through an evite email. 


Finally, here are five traits that teachers and parents should be instilling in the  children on a daily basis. Helping instill these traits is part of educating the "whole child."

• Empathy: learning to see the world through others' perspectives.
• Self-control: cultivating the abilities to focus and delay self-gratification.
• Integrity: recognizing right from wrong and practicing ethical behavior.
• Embracing diversity: recognizing and appreciating human differences.
• Grit: persevering in the face of challenge.

  As they develop, where are your child's strengths and areas of growth in these five traits?

Take care,

Bud 

Martin Luther King Day of Service

Violinist Elisabeth Derham Performs 

Happy 40th Birthday Mr. Heacock 

First Golden Ticket Winners 

Winter Sunrise over SKS 

Photo credit to Bill DiClemente 

SKS Forensics 

Second Grade at St Joe's University 

SKS at Villanova 

January 6, 2016 - (Feast of the Epiphany)  

Dear St. Katharine of Siena School Parents, 
    Blessings on you and your loved ones in 2017.  I want to thank you once more for the goodness you demonstrated in so many generous ways to the faculty/staff and myself. The Christmas bonus and other kind gifts we receive are really incredible acts of generosity on the part of our families. It is truly appreciated by all of us. 

          Here's some communication as we journey into 2017: 

                       What's with this Golden Ticket ?!? 

    Any business, institution, and in our case, a school, that is standing still and not getting better, in reality is going backwards in today's world.  At past faculty meetings, we have discussed ways in which we could do things better as a school.  It's as simple, yet as important, as traffic flow up and down a hallway. It may seem trite, but there are literally dozens of little actions that make up and contribute to the daily climate of our school. All these actions lead us to a positive, successful school culture. Good institutions reflect and take action on how they can improve. Many ideas we had as a faculty were about how we need to communicate better to our students what our "expected behaviors" for them are.  
    In a few previous blogs, I mentioned that a team of faculty members had been working on a PSB (Positive Student Behavior) Program.  Other successful schools have implemented such programs with excellent results. 
    This past Wednesday, at two town meetings (KG-4 and 5 -8) we officially kicked off our new Student Expectations: PSB Program.  Unofficially, in the fall, we started to implement a few of the student expected behaviors.  We have already seen improved results. For example, at dismissal time one can witness how quiet and efficient we are. By changing the traffic flow, setting the expectation of class behavior moving in the hallways, we are more organized and less disruptive of classes in session. That's important. 
    At the town meetings this Wednesday, I spoke to the students  to set the program's wheels in motion. Students were then shown a video of what the right behaviors and the wrong behaviors were in given situations (classroom, bathrooms, cafeteria, church, playground, and hallways. The video featured our own students performing the right behavior, followed by the teachers (and a principal who shall remain nameless) performing the wrong behavior. The students got a real charge out of seeing the teachers in the video. I know you want to see our theatrical skills in action. You can see the video at: 

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMjVsMX_w_Y

   * Between this video and my limited dancing skills at SKS Got Talent, I am putting my Hollywood career on hold.  No one is beating my agent's (Steph Twohig) door down, nor is the phone ringing. 

    The PSB Program is aimed at catching students in the act of being good. That is, exemplifying model behavior in a given situation, and/or behavior that is above and beyond the expected norm.  Teachers and staff are given Golden Tickets weekly. The teachers/staff have been asked to look for students students (preferably not someone in their own class), who have earned a ticket by their actions. The student receives a ticket.  Half the ticket the student keeps, while the other half goes into to the office. Every two weeks on Friday morning, a drawing will be held with two winners: one for KG-4 and one for 5-8.  The two winners, chosen at random, will receive a prize.  Every two weeks, we start over and begin the process again. Two other things the students were told. First, they are not to "beg" for a ticket:"Look at me, I held the door open for a visitor, so can I get a ticket." Also, no politicking for friends: "Mr. T. , Jimmy was being so nice, he should get a ticket."

     My thanks to Steph Szczepkowski, a DCIU educator /coach who had experience putting this program together and led us in these efforts.  Following her lead, our faculty team of Kathy Flanagan, Jayda Orsatti, Bill DiClemente, and Katie Tosti met with Steph several times from last year to now to put this program together. I am grateful.   

    As a support of this program, I have a recent article I sent to the teachers this week. I believe this article can be of benefit at home for parents too. 

Rethinking discipline and classroom management Building a productive learning environment is important, but those two words -- discipline and management -- put educators and learners on opposite sides of the table. Schools need to separate the terms discipline and punishment. We should have discipline in our teaching and policies, guiding and supporting students as they grow. Teacher and administrators should recognize those social and emotional skills students are lacking and work to mediate them through instruction, not punishment. Scores of books have been written about discipline in the classroom and how to design classroom rules to manage students. Building a productive

learning environment is important, but those two words – discipline and management – put educators and learners on opposite sides of the table.

Discipline is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as a noun to mean, “The practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. As a verb the definition is, “Train (someone) to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience” and “Punish or rebuke (someone) formally for an offense” Looking at the definition of management we find, “the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.”

Schools need to separate the terms discipline and punishment. We should have discipline in our teaching and policies, guiding and supporting students as they grow. Teacher and administrators should recognize those social and emotional skills students are lacking and work to mediate them through instruction, not punishment.

Schools also should be clear and consistent in identifying expected behaviors and what success in those behaviors will look like. It is important to be clear not only on what behaviors should look like, but also in the contextual difference between appropriate behaviors. For example, the behavior of an audience at an orchestra concert and a jazz performance in the same school auditorium are difference and those differences should be clearly articulated and understood in advance. During a symphony it is considered inappropriate to applaud until the final note of the last movement of the piece. In jazz, applause is encouraged any time a soloist has done a good job.

Discipline is not one-size-fits-all. While a school-wide plan is necessary, the exact same consequence for every student regardless of individual context is rarely effective for all students. Make sure the intensity of the interventions matches the intensity of the presenting behavioral challenge; for some students, the general school-wide approach simply doesn’t match the necessary level of intensity.

It is important to treat every incident as a unique set of circumstances. The idea is to look at the individual situation and determine the most appropriate response without comparing it to other similar situations involving different students. Be equitable, not equal. Of course we know that there are students who require more intensive and/or individualized approaches to improving their behaviors.

School plans are best developed with student input. After all, it is their learning space as well as your teaching space. I remember as a middle school principal having a discussion about dress code with my student council. The issue at hand was length of shorts. A contingent of girls was arguing for fingertip length on shorts. I stood up and put my hands down to my sides, stretching my fingers as far as they could go and ask if there was anyone in the room who wanted to see me in shorts that short. Clearly that wasn’t what anyone wanted and a plan quickly evolved regarding shorts length that was the making of the group, not a mandate from the principal.

I am not arguing that classrooms should be organized in a manner resembling “The Lord of the Flies,” but beginning with a shared sense of ownership of the learning environment would be a good start. The goal shouldn’t be to control and punish learners, but rather to build an environment of trust and respect.

Howard Pitler, Ed.D. is an international speaker, coach, and facilitator with a passion for improving education for all learners. He was the Executive Director and Chief Program Office for McREL International from 2003 to 2015. Prior to working at McREL, Dr. Pitler spent 29 years in K-12 education as a teacher, assistant principal, elementary school principal, and middle school principal in Wichita, Kansas.

   

                           Martin Luther King Day of Service 
                           Monday, January 16th - 10 am to 12 pm 

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' " 
                                      Dr. Martin Luther King

    On the school website is information on how you as a family can contribute to the day of service we have each year on MLK Day. This year it is on Monday, January 16th.  Each grade has been asked to donate an item, KG - bar soap , 1st - deodorant etc ...All students are invited to participate that day and make toiletry care packages this year for the Youth Emergency Shelter in the city. These youths are homeless with no place to go. Can you even imagine? For more info go to the school website or  contact Jackie Sevag or Steph Twohig. It's a great morning and an example of service in action - an important component of our school mission. 

   New Art Easels

    Thanks to our Home & School Wish Lists, two generous family grants from two of own SKS Families, and the engineering talents of Mr. Checchia and a team of SKS Families on a Saturday morning, we now have 30 new art easels in the Art Room. Another wish list item fulfilled, and gone are the dilapidated tables from the past. Now each artist has their own easel to draw on. Thank  you again everyone.  

                                      Culture of Life Concert 

Just a reminder that the Culture of Life Concert is tomorrow (Sunday) at 4 pm in church.  It's an inspirational event to attend.   


Take care,

Bud 

Students can receive a Golden Ticket   by meeting or exceeding an expected behavior in the newly introduced SKS Positive Support Behavior Program.   

  

 An (injured) Ninja Warrior and an accomplished artist, 8th grader Matt Bradley likes the the new art easels.