“Come to me all you who labor and are burdened” (Matthew 11:28)

This 2023 Catechetical Sunday theme is a reminder that the goal and object of catechesis is Jesus Christ. The role of catechist, first and foremost, is to be close to Jesus as a disciple, and secondarily to be a witness and accompany others.

Below are a few resources offered by Sadlier for Catechists.

Catechist Training Workshop.

Be an Evangelizing Catechist Webinar

Catechesis and the Art of Accompaniment Webinar

• What brought you joy in your classroom last week?
• How can you create that experience this week?

Take a few moments to reflect on these questions as your start your week.

9/20/23 - Leaning Resource Meeting In Person, 9 am - 12:30 pm, Our Lady of Mercy (park in the parking, we are meeting in Library, check into the school). Please fill out this survey so that we can have as much information as possible for our September 20, 2023 in-person meeting.

Last Call for Registration - Complete Today Please In-Person Meeting Registration

Principals will receive a list of all who have registered from their school later this week.

8/28/23 Registration Opens - 7 am

9/7/23 Registration Closes - 5 pm

9/11/23 Confirmation to Principals to verify registration

9/20/23 School Lists Updated

9/22/23 Email: Confirmation session emails sent out to all attendees

10/6/23 Professional Learning Day (ZOOM 8:00 am - 1 pm)

1/10/24 Email: Information on January 22nd session

1/22/24 Professional Learning Afternoon (ZOOM 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm)

3/8/24 Professional Learning Day (ZOOM 8:30 am - 11:45 am)

Educator Pathway Descriptions 2023-2024

Explicit Instruction and Teacher Clarity
Clarity is the prerequisite of almost anything involving instruction because it provides the ability for both teachers and students to articulate what is to be leaned and how it is to be learned. Developing learning intentions and success criteria allow teachers to align instruction with assessment. It also helps narrow the focus of instruction by identifying what matters most in the learning process. By using learning intentions and success criteria in the classroom, students become self-regulated learners who routinely perform better than students who rely solely on teacher support.

Sample Learning Intentions and Success Criteria
Clearly articulated success criteria can lead to better feedback between teachers and students, helps to create a sharp focus for students, and provides students opportunities to identify areas needing improvement. Above all, success criteria must be purposely linked to a specific learning intention.

Learning Intention: Describe the contribution of Roman civilization to law, literature, poetry, architecture, engineering, and technology.

Success Criteria:

• State accurately a technological contribution
• Explain how the contribution improved a Roman’s daily life
• Include 2-3 sentences in your explanation
• Make a connection to your own personal experience – how has this contribution improved your life?

Learning Intention: Determine the central idea of a text and provide key details. Provide an objective summary of the text.

Success Criteria:

• Identify the central idea of a text
• Identify 3-4 key details that support the central idea
• Describe how each key detail supports the central idea
• Summarize each key detail
• Write an objective summary of the text

From: Think*Grow*Giggle - Creating and Engaging Resources for Elementary Students

The US Constitution and Preamble are not easily digestible for our students. That is why I love to read as many books as possible during Constitution Day week. These read-aloud books are a great way to build student background knowledge before diving into activities. Through reading and discussing these books students will understand key concepts and vocabulary to help them understand why we celebrate Constitution Day.

• We The Kids illustrated by David Catrow
• A More Perfect Union written by Betsy Maestro
• Shhh! We're Writing the Constitution written by Jean Fritz
• A is for America written by Devin Scillian

Class Constitution vs U.S. Constitution

Illustrate the US Constitution

Refer to the link above for the full blog or CLICK HERE.

Congratulations to Nativity School, St. Raymond School, St. Philip School, Ecole Notre Dame Des Victoires for registering last week!

2023-24 Registration is OPEN! ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM

There are THREE options for Registration:

Option 1 is registering a full team of up to 10 students that participate in the full day, including the Logic Test, Individual Subject Tests and Super Quiz.
Option 2 is registering 1-5 students to each take an Individual Subject Test only, known as a POD (Part of Decathlon). Option 2 allows micro-schools or schools that want to see what the Academic Decathlon is about and participate without committing to a full team and all events. (No more than 1 student per subject)
Option 3 is registering TWO full teams of up to 10 students for each team that participate in the full day, including the Logic Test, Individual Subject Tests and Super Quiz.

REGISTRATION PRICES FOR TEAMS/PODs:
Sept 8 – Oct 6 —– Early Bird $250 Team / $150 POD
Oct 7 – Nov 3 —— Regular registration $300 Team / $200 POD
Nov 4 – Dec 1—— Late registration $350 Team / $250 POD

REGISTER HERE - https://payit.nelnet.net/form/LrdNEkyr

Watch a short video from the Diocese of Sacramento HERE to see the magic of AJHD!

Wondering how to review your class data, click on the video link below for an example of which reports to view and how to access them.

https://express.adobe.com/video/E4bvLWWcWDn32

Professional Learning - FREE How-to-Webinars– LINK HERE

SOY School Data Informed and Planning Decision Making SOY Slides

This Sunday’s Gospel challenges us to treat others as we want to be treated. The example which Jesus uses to illustrate this teaching is the one of debtors and forgiveness of debt. Throughout the Scriptures, we hear God challenging us to forgive debt and give people a second chance. Your challenge this week is to focus personally or globally on debt forgiveness. If you go the local route, ask yourself who most needs a second chance in your life. Whose “debt” can you forgive? If you want to meet the global challenge, ask who most needs a second chance, or a chance to start over, in the world. Is it victims of a natural disaster? Could it be those who have suffered from political persecution? Pay attention to what is happening in the world, then choose a group or individual in need of a second chance. How you can help them get it?

A typical American family spends nearly $2,000 per year on their home energy bills. Much of that money, however, is wasted through leaky windows or ducts, old appliances, or inefficient heating and cooling systems. The Energy Saver Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Savings Projects offer easy, step-by-step instructions for energy efficiency improvements that will save you energy and money. Go to energy.gov to explore ways to improve your energy efficiency, lowering your bills and saving the planet valuable resources.

The Laudato Si’ Action Platform, a campaign to build on the encyclical’s message through concrete actions, is currently underway globally to implement Pope Francis’ encyclical. You can participate in the Archdiocese of San Francisco by signing up here.

Laudato Si Encyclical Letter
Pastoral Statement by the California Conference of Catholic Bishops: “God Calls Us All to Care for Our Common Home”
Recordings of Clergy Study Days 2020 – Theme: In Celebration of the Fifth Anniversary of Laudato Si’

National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools