Technology Week Kudos

Did you get the chance to watch any of the Technology Week presentations? If not, ask your child what they liked most about it. Technology week was put together by The Technology Committee: Marco Grijalva (Lead), Rigo Lopez, Jamon Revaland and Mrs. DiMascio (OLMC Teacher Council) . A huge THANK YOU goes out to them for organizing a fantastic week, devoted to technology. The students were exposed to a wide variety of technology and were excited to learn.  Some of the students are already talking about becoming engineers and scientists!

School Advisory Board Happenings

On behalf of the School Advisory Board (SAB) I’d like to provide OLMC school parents with an update on SAB activities. Since our last newsletter update in October, your SAB has been working on the development of a 3-5 year strategic plan. The plan is designed to assist Dr.Sheridan, Father John, Finance Council, parents and parishioners to insure our school continues to be a strong and vibrant provider of Catholic-based education. Below are a few other recent projects:

-Enrollment Committee held two Open House functions for new families and implemented a significant marketing campaign sharing the many benefits of OLMC with the community.

-Enrollment Committee continues to promote Catholic Education Arizona (formerly CTODP) throughout the parish communities.

-Participated in the Diocesan grant writing workshop

-Technology Committee is finalizing plans for “technology week” this spring.

- Campus Enhancement Committee proposed two improvement projects for future consideration, one of which will be completed this summer.

Finally, SAB will have three vacancies after the current school year. Should you have an interest in serving on SAB, I’d encourage you to visit with any current SAB member, Dr. Sheridan, or Father John. SAB members can be found on the school website under the “School Board” link. Elections and appointments take place in April/May. More details will follow.

Vince Aguiar / SAB President

Q2 Progress Reports

Parents: Please check your email for a message from Dr. Sheridan regarding your child’s second quarter progress report in RenWeb. The email was sent Monday night and contains a direct link to the online progress report.

For security reasons, this link will expire in 14 days, so if you would like to keep the progress report, you should access the link and print the report now. If you did NOT receive an email with your child’s progress report link, please contact me in the school office.
Gina Watson, School Secretary
gina@olmctempe.com 480-967-5567

Report Cards Posted 10/17

First quarter report cards were posted this week. You should have received an email on Monday, Oct. 17 with a direct link to your child’s report card online. You can view your child’s report card for two weeks by clicking the link in the email or by logging in to RenWeb. To save a permanent copy, click Print Preview and print to a printer or to a PDF. If you are not able to access your child’s grades in RenWeb, please contact the school office at 480-967-5567 ext. 0.

Principal’s Corner

Dear Parents: There are two messages I would like to send to you this week. The first is that volunteers need to be current with the diocese’s Called to Protect certification. I received a list this week of those who are not compliant. To say I was dismayed would be an understatement. The number of those who are not up to date was too high. The parish has emailed everyone on the list in order to remind them of what steps they need to take. The video lasts less than 30 minutes to view. Please take care of this matter in a timely manner.

Secondly, OLMC has taken another step in the electronic age. We are now on Facebook and Twitter. People can follow us on Facebook at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and on Twitter @OLMCSchoolTempe. I hope that the use of these media will give more immediate information about the school to current and prospective families. Please let us know how you like our new venture.
Dr. Sheridan

Coffee & Web Training

Join us next Friday morning after dropping off the kids for school. Pick up a free coffee, something sweet and some important information for parents. This month’s CofFREE event Friday, Oct. 21 features a tutorial on RenWeb, OLMC’s online system, including how to access your child’s grades and manage your family account. Come join us starting at 7:45am in McCready Hall.

School Advisory Board News

One objective of this year’s School Advisory Board (SAB) is to keep parents informed on a variety of items that come before the board. Since June, SAB has held three monthly meetings. Our committees – Campus Enhancement, Enrollment, and Technology — have held numerous additional meetings designed to identify committee priorities. Below are a few items your SAB has completed to date:

• Nine SAB members attended the Diocesan In-Service for School Advisory Boards in September
• Enrollment Committee (EC) launched the OLMC Online Spirit Store
• EC has developed a marketing plan for OLMC’s participation in Catholic Education Arizona (formerly CTODP), the diocesan financial aid program
• EC conducted an online survey of OLMC families
• Technology Committee (TC) has reviewed their 5-year implementation plan
• TC is planning “technology week” for our students later this year
• Campus Enhancement (CE) proposed the installation of the large shade awning and relocation of the dumpster away from McCready Hall
• CE is currently identifying & prioritizing projects with feedback provided by the family survey

SAB has dedicated time to numerous other items including enrollment, school finances and a school logo redesign.

Finally, we will have a 3-5 year strategic plan in place by the end of the school year to help OLMC fulfill its mission and achieve its vision for years to come. Please engage any SAB member should you have any questions or input regarding our school – we welcome your comments! Our contact info can be found on the school website.
Vince Aguiar, SAB President

Principal’s Corner

Dear Parents: This week’s column deals with two distinct matters. The first concerns technology and the second the school calendar.

The upper grade students at OLMC sign a user’s document in order to use the school’s computers. We do this because we are well aware of the potential hazards in the electronic world. Young people, due to their immaturity, are quite apt to misuse technology. As much as parents want to believe in the innocence and naiveté of their children, today’s world works against that goal. Students can and do employ computers and other electronic devices to access inappropriate sites and send inappropriate messages.

I urge parents to set limits on the use of electronic devices and to have absolute access to all your children’s machines and accounts. At some point young people mature enough to handle these devices appropriately. However, I doubt the adolescents have reached that maturity. Never say, “Not my kid.” Just remember all the stupid things which you did when you were their age. Today’s children are no different except they have machines which you did not have.

Regarding the school calendar, please note there is an updated calendar on the school’s website now. The new dates are as follows:

Friday, Mar 9 – No school, mini spring break
Friday, Mar 16 – 12:30 Dismissal, festival set-up
Sunday, Mar 18 – Festival
Monday, Mar 19 – Festival cleanup – No school

Dr. Sheridan

News Makers: Help Us Help You!

If you have an item for Home & School News, please be sure to use our online submission form on the “Contact Us/Submit News” page. This form automatically forwards your request to the school office for review and approval by the principal, as well as to us, the news editors. We have more guidelines about news submissions here on the school website.

If you have a flyer you’d like to post for parents to download, you can use our direct email news@olmctempe.com, enter the topic of your news in the subject line of the email and attach your flyer. PDF files are preferred but if you only have a Microsoft Word or Publisher document, that’s fine, too – we can convert it for you.
Deanna Munoz & Cat Silverman, OLMC News Volunteers

Got News? Contact Us!

Do you have an event, activity or other announcement that OLMC parents need to know about? Use our Contact Us page to submit your information. All submissions must be approved by the school principal. Once approved, items will be posted on our news site and/or the school calendar, usually within 48 hours of approval.