What' Changing?

Happy 2015!
This year will bring more changes to the Bishop Garrigan system.  The new addition is coming along nicely.  Rumor has it we may be ahead of schedule.  Can you imagine that?  Plans are also moving forward to bring students in grades 4 - 6 to the Garrigan campus this fall.  Over the next weeks I will try to update you on some of the details of the move.  This week I will begin by mentioning some of the topics that I will address and some of the questions that you are asking.  Please remember to comment on this post or to email me if you have other questions.

What do we need to consider before we start moving?

• How will we feed all those students at Garrigan?
• Will the kitchen be ready at Seton?
• When will the Academy be torn down?
• Will there be enough room in both buildings?
• Will there be a playground or play area at Garrigan?
• Where will students be dropped off and picked up at Garrigan?
• Will there be a bus from Seton to Garrigan before and after school?
• Are there enough lockers at Garrigan?
• Will there be books in the library for all ages in both buildings?
• Will we continue some of the traditions?
• Will there be mass on Wednesdays?  Where?
• When will the move occur?
• Is there enough technology?
• Will students still have PE and music?  Who will teach it?

Renovation Update:
We already have the new rooms for high school choir, Mr.Wieland and Mrs. Even almost ready.  We have begun remodeling the ICN room for Mrs. Vaske and the old choir room for Mrs. Black.

As you can see, there is a lot to consider but we are well on our way.

December 12

Strong Catholic Families - 

I hope that you enjoyed our first Family Night.  I loved blessing our Christmas tree. We hope to have another night before or at the beginning of lent. The Diocese of Sioux City has created a website with resources for teachers and families to use.  Please check out this website.  http://www.scdiocese.org/resources 

Merry Christmas!!!

Bonus Blog - December 2

I read this in the Seton newsletter and I thought that it was great!

WHAT ARE THE IOWA CORE STANDARDS?
The Iowa Core standards are statewide expectations for what students should know and be able to do in English, Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Stud-ies, and 21st Century Skills, such as financial and civic literacy. The goal of the standards is to make sure students are prepared for college or career training after high school. The standards establish what students need to learn, but not how they should be taught. Local schools and educators continue to set and oversee decisions about classroom instruction.

Many emotions surround the term "Iowa Core".  The state recommends the following site to help parents have accurate information.

https://iowacore.gov/parents-community

November 21

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

We have a technology fundraiser coming up on December 5.  You received an email asking for volunteers and donations.  This week I would like to share with you how the technology meals and Cash for Classrooms (Gala) help our students and teachers.

In the past 4 years we have purchased:
48 laptops with two carts for the Garrigan building
11 Chromebooks for the Garrigan building
20 Chromebooks with a cart at Seton
11 Ipads for Seton
Each classroom at Seton has some form of an interactive whiteboard (Mimio or Smartboard)
Each classroom at Seton has a mounted projector
Updated approximately 25 teacher laptops
Added access points making both buildings wireless
7 new printers between the two buildings
This list does not include the yearly maintenance.

We hope to purchase:
Updated technology for the Mrs. Vaske business lab.  (24 laptops and software updates)
20 Chromebooks for grades 2/3
5 Ipads for grades K/1
20 Chromebooks for grades 5/6
Increased bandwidth to 100 mbs

You can come and eat even if you don't attend the game!  Thanks for your support!

November 6

Hello again,
Congratulations to all of the fall activities.  I am so proud of how hard our students work both in school and outside of school.  Did you know that about 95% of BG students participate in an after school activity and over 85% of our students are in more than 2 extra-curricular activities?  Most of the students who are not involved in extra-curricular activities hold jobs or work for their families.  This makes me think twice when I say, "I am SO busy!"

Thank you to all of our students, parents, and community members who make it all work!!!

October 16

Today the administrators are in Irene, South Dakota at a Diocesan Retreat.  Usually we do not have internet access, but this year we are lucky enough to have it...or are we?  This week's blog is inspired by our recent work with Strong Catholic Families, many discussions that I have had with parents, and my struggle with "being unhooked" for two days.

We have the world at our finger tips, but how are we using it?  Are we creating balance in our lives?  Are we creating balance for our children?  I would like to encourage everyone who reads this blog to encourage others to shut down for a little bit each day, but more importantly to help our children have some time without electronics.  I am not writing this from the perspective of a perfect parent, instead quite the opposite.  My children watch too much TV and they are on the Ipad too much.  Let's commit together to help our children learn balance.  Are you aware how much texting your child is doing from 8:00 - 12:00?  Just look sometime and see what happens during those hours.  I would encourage you to take away the phones at night.  Help to give them permission to just tune the world out so they can slow down before another day begins.

Can a push a step further?  Can we challenge ourselves to turn off the TV, put down the electronics and talk about God?  As a parent,  I might need help with this.  One of our goals as a result of the Strong Catholic surveys is to help create a list of resources for parents to use at home.  Hopefully, we can have some ideas put together before Lent.

I am only beginning to experience how hard parenting can be.  It takes a village, but I for one, am glad that my village is BISHOP GARRIGAN!

October 4

Thank you to Erpelding Voigt for donating chocolate shakes on Friday.  What a great way to end the week!

This week the Department of Education and the Diocese of Sioux City will be in our buildings, Seton and Garrigan, for our 5 year accreditation visit.  I am so proud of who we are and I can't wait to share our successes with them.  

What do you want the state to know about Bishop Garrigan?  One question on the list is "Please share what changes you hope your school will achieve in the next five years."  How would you answer that question?  Feel free to post general comments or email me your thoughts.