Take Home Tuesday (THT)

We believe in the mission of St. Cecilia Cathedral Grade School:

• To teach and live the Catholic faith with a nurturing, family-like community.
• Teach respect for all.
• Foster each student's academic potential.

Our students live and share the mission both in the classroom and out in our communities. See this week's "Cardinals in the Community" who are living the mission this summer. If you have examples of how our students are displaying the mission and sharing their faith with others, please send this information to Mrs. Pick (jpick@stcecilia.net).

Classroom Walkthroughs

Each week, Mrs. Pick completes what we call "walkthroughs" into each classroom. These are brief walks (5-10 minutes/room) and sometimes they happen more frequently should time allow. These are one of Mrs. Pick's favorite parts of her job as she gets to engage with learners in the classroom, see what the classroom environment looks/feels like, and can provide feedback in real-time to teachers and students.

Peer Observations

Teachers at St. Cecilia have the opportunity to sign up for peer observations throughout the year. Many times, the best professional development can be happening in the classroom right next door. We have such skilled and gifted teachers and peer observations allow them to observe instructional techniques from each other, ask clarifying questions, and give support to each other to implement new ideas and strategies in their own classrooms.

Mentor/Mentee

Any time a new staff member joins the St. Cecilia community, we pair them with a veteran teacher to provide them with guidance and support throughout the year. We have a structured Mentee/Mentor handbook that contains seasonal talking points like Cathedralfest, parent/teacher conferences, etc. By providing support in-house for our new teachers, we are hoping to help them grow and thrive.

Instructional Coaching Opportunities

We are fortunate that Mr. Jones (middle school writing teacher) has completed his instructional coaching training through the Catholic Schools Office this past year. We now have a certified instructional coach in the building to help provide support for instruction, classroom management, etc. Teachers have the option of this collaborative partnership to help support their goals.

Eleot Observations

These classroom observations are done periodically for each teacher in an effort to provide more focused feedback regarding our Cognia accreditation efforts. There is an online form with the following categories: equitable learning, high expectations, supportive learning, active learning, progress monitoring, well-managed learning, and digital learning. These online observations are stored in the Cognia database so we can measure our progress easily when it comes to our Cognia goals.

Summative Observations

Each year in the fall and spring, teachers have what we call summative evaluations as they are much longer, more encompassing of all expectations, and require a lot from both the teachers and Mrs. Pick. These observations involve pre- and post-conversations where we discuss goals, progress, and plans for the next semester or year.

In 1907, St. Cecilia Cathedral Grade School opened. Five Sinsinawan Dominican nuns from Wisconsin made up the first faculty: Sr. M. Dionysius Hurley (1st & 2nd grades), Sr. M. Donata Wohl (3rd & 4th grades), Sr. M. Olivia Moran (5th & 6th grades), Sr. M. Cecilia Renn (7th & 8th grades), and Sr. M. Celeste Hurley (music).

Shown here in the picture are the five core Dominican values: truth, justice, compassion, hospitality, and community. We continue to honor our founding order by staying aligned to their mission and vision.

You can pay for your child's lunch account with a check, cash, or money order to the school. Please send any of those items with your child and they can give to their teacher or to Miss Jen. Instructions for how to have it auto-deducted with your tuition payment, please contact Kay Garfield in the Business Office (kgarfield@stceciliacathedral.org). Notices on lunch balances are emailed to you once your family's lunch account has $5.00 or less.

See a letter regarding Free and Reduced Lunches and the application below.

Every year (usually the first weekend of October), we host our parish fundraiser called CathedralFest. This event used to be called Oktoberfest but in 1997 the name was changed to provide a unique experience tied directly to the Cathedral.

This event is a HUGE undertaking with lots of activities taking place from Friday (September 30) through Sunday (October 2). It's a good idea just to block this weekend off because you (and your kids) are going to want to be a part of this amazing tradition.

Today your child brings home a flyer regarding Raffle Ticket Sales. This is an easy way for your child (and you) to get involved in bringing in funds for the parish. The task is easy - sell as many tickets as you can and your child gets to earn prizes! Ticket turn in happens each Tuesday and prize day is the following Thursday. (Spoiler alert - the kids LOVE the prizes)!