Volume 6, Issue 6
October 15, 2007

Feast of St. Teresa of Jesus (Teresa of Avila)

Saint Teresa was born in Avila, Spain, March 28, 1515. Her devout mother and father profoundly influenced her spiritual life. On November 2, 1535 she entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation at Avila. After much sickness and trial from those who opposed her call from God to reform the Carmelites, she succeeded in establishing convents throughout Spain. She was an extrovert, feisty, and not one to give up no matter how much opposition she met. Throughout her life she grew closer to God and experienced the gifts of intimate prayer that she describes in her books, her autobiography, the Way of Perfection and the Interior Castle. She was canonized a saint in 1622 together with Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Isidore, and Philip Neri.

Prayer of St. Teresa of Jesus

Christ has no body now but yours

No hands, no feet on earth but yours

Yours are the eyes through which He looks

Compassion on this world

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

"Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, all things pass away: God never changes."

~St Teresa of Avila

Message from the Secretary for Education/Superintendent

It was great to see the educators from our diocese in Cincinnati last week. I’m sure you’ll agree that the sense of Church at the OCEA confirms the importance of the mission of Catholic education in our schools. Thank you for supporting the OCEA.

Some questions have arisen about HB119 and the Physical Education requirements. Each school is required to report to the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) by October 31: “the number of minutes per week and the number of classes per week of physical education provided to students in each of grades K-8 in 2006-2007 and scheduled to be provided to students in 2007-2008.” ODE plans to collect the physical education data electronically (via the ODE web site), during the last two weeks of October. Principals will be emailed directions by ODE if they have not already received them.

HB 119 also requires that “no later than December 31, 2007, the State Board will adopt physical education standards for grades K-12.”However, our schools are not required to implement these standards.

FYI: Retained in law for 2007-2008 (from SB311) is the permission (not mandate) for dioceses or schools to adopt a policy to excuse from the high school physical education requirement each student who, during high school, has participated in interscholastic athletics, marching band, or cheerleading for at least two full seasons.

On another topic, as the mathematics curriculum workshops are held, we have become aware that teachers are not accessing the excellent newsletters and links online for them, namely Chalk Talk and Tech Newsletter. The excellent teacher resources that are available through these newsletters and the web sites that are linked to ours can greatly enhance the classroom experience for students. Please share this information with your teachers and, perhaps, take the time at one of your faculty meetings to walk them through the web site showing them these newsletters and sites.

Principals’ Leadership Conference – November 6-8, 2007

The agenda for the upcoming Principal Leadership Conference being held on November 6-8, 2007 at The Lodge at Sawmill is now available online. Elementary Principals can find it at: http://www.oce-ocs.org/oce/administrators/principal_meetings.shtml; High School Principals at
http://www.oce-ocs.org/oce/administrators/hs_principal_meetings.shtml.
We look forward to seeing you there in November!

Congratulations Government Programs and Mandated Services!

Thanks to the excellent work of both departments, the detailed audits performed annually will be discontinued. School visits will continue, but the formal auditing of reports and paperwork has been deemed unnecessary by the state because of the accuracy and effectiveness of the processes our departments employ. Congratulations to Mike Voinovich and Jeannie Somrak, and Pam Ouzts, John Kastelic and Pat Mohney.

Congratulations, Regina Geither, St. Mary Berea Teacher

Regina Geither, fourth grade teacher of reading, science, health and religion at St. Mary School, Berea recently won the SRA/McGraw-Hill What’s the Story? Teacher Author Contest. Her original writing is called, “Swamp Stallion,” and will be published in an individual book with the 2008 edition of Imagine It! Elementary Reading and Language Arts Program.

Attention Entry Year Teachers and Mentors

The Entry Year Teacher/Mentor meeting scheduled for November 14th at Notre Dame has been moved to Regina High School from 4-6 pm.

Attention Teachers with Permanent and Non-tax Certificates
Teachers holding a permanent teaching certificate or non-tax certificate need to have a BCI (fingerprint) electronically submitted to the Ohio Department of Education no later than 12/31/07. ODE will not accept paper copies.  Go to http://www.ag.state.oh.us/business/fingerprint/data/index.asp to search for a web check site available in your area. This BCI requirement does not include those individuals who hold a 5-year renewable license along with a permanent or non-tax certificate.

Faith and Values Appeal for Catholic Education
Letters will be mailed to donors with previous giving history for the Faith & Values Appeal for Catholic Education. Funds raised will be used for tuition assistance for qualifying families in the eight counties of our diocese. If you don't receive a letter but would like to contribute or send copies to parishioners, please call Karen Joyce at 800-869-6525, ext 1910.

The 2008 in-pew appeal for the Faith & Values Campaign for Catholic Education will be held the weekend of 19-20 January in all parishes.  School and parish communities will receive flyers in December to post in the school or church for January. A link will be placed on the OCE web site for interested donors to access the Faith and Values newsletter or to make a donation to this tuition assistance collection.

Correction to October 1st Bulletin

Shannon Szczepinski is not Mrs., but Miss, and now teaches at St. Ann School in Cleveland Heights. Shannon is one of the winners of the 2006-2007 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Youth Science Opportunities.

Free Educator’s Open House at the Cleveland Zoo

The open house is scheduled for Tuesday, October 23 rd between 4-7 pm in The RainForest. You may bring up to three family members. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be served. Register at www.clemetzoo.com/learn.asp. The first 20 educators to arrive will receive will receive a 4-pack of tickets to Boo at the Zoo! There will be education demonstrations for all programs. For more information call 216.635.3391.

Ohio Lottery Honors Outstanding Teachers and Students

Just an FYI about a new program the Ohio State Lottery has started to recognize outstanding students and teachers in Ohio. This program is open to ALL schools, public and private. So be sure to nominate the great teachers and great students you know. Drawings are held monthly, and winners are regional. The lottery has nine regions across the state so one student and one teacher can win in each region. Here's a link with more information: http://www.ohiolottery.com/education/index.html

Grant Writing Seminar

Learn how to get the books you need for free. National Geographic School Publishing is sponsoring the seminar. The seminar speaker is Carol Ghazarian.

You will:

• Learn tips on writing successful grants
• Receive a disk of grant information
• Receive National Geographic books valued at over $50
• Browse National Geographic school materials
• Register to win door prizes
• Enjoy a delicious lunch or snack

Cost: $25 registration fee for luncheon meeting or $20 registration fee for after school meeting.

Register by October 19, 2007 for one of the following locations:

October 25, 2007

McKinley Grand Hotel

320 Market Avenue South

Canton, OH 44702

October 26, 2007

Avalon Inn

9519 East Market Street

Warren, OH 44484

Lunch session only

Choose a session:

Reserve your space now!

To register for this seminar, please contact Mary at 800.816.9544.

Methods of payment:

Purchase Order

Check made payable to National Geographic School Publishing

Sorry, no cash, please.

Fax PO to Mary at 1.847.733.1318 or Mail Check to: National Geographic School Publishing, Att. Mary McCarthy, 1880 Oak Avenue, Suite 300, Evanston, IL 60201.

Celebrate Priesthood Sunday, October 28, 2007

Father Gurnick, Coordinator for Vocations to the Diocesan Priesthood invites us to reflect on the gift of priesthood for the Church and for those men who have generously responded to this vocation. You may order the prayer card for Priesthood Sunday by emailing Mary Avenoso at mavenoso@dioceseofcleveland.org. Indicate the number you need, where to send the cards, and to whose attention. Payment is optional. Ideas for honoring your priests can be found at www.priestsunday.org.

Suggestions for honoring our priests:

• Make special gifts/cards to present to them at the school Mass the week before the 28 th.
• Decorate a bulletin board with photos of the parish priests.
• Invite the priests to school for a social after the school Mass.
• Order prayer cards and recite the priest prayer over the PA.
• Ask the priests to share their vocation stories.
• Invite students to write a note to or essay on a priest in support of his ministry.

Diocesan-Wide Holy Hour, Every First Thursday of the Month

Join the Cleveland Catholic Forum for adoration, rosary and praise every first Thursday of each month at Conversion of Saint Paul Shrine, 4120 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44103. The Holy Hour begins at 6:45 pm and is followed by refreshments at 7:45 pm. Please note that the November 1st Holy Hour will be an All Saints Mass due to the Holy Day. Visit www.clevelandcatholicforum.com for more details.

January Thaw

The tenth annual “January Thaw:  Fire Up” Conference is scheduled for Saturday, January 19, 2008, at Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron.  This catechetical conference is sponsored by the Southern Area Catechetical Leaders of the Diocese of Cleveland in association with the Diocesan Office of Catechetical Services. The conference offers 30 sessions for Parish and School Catechetical Leaders, Youth Ministers, Catechists, Teachers and RCIA Candidates and Catechumens, plus a 3-session retreat option.

A brochure with registration information will be included in the December Memorandum or online in November at www.oce-ocs.org/ocs. Please note that registration is limited and will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. 

For additional information, call the Southern Area Office of Catechetical Services at 800-869-6525 X 1029 or contact pflaherty@dioceseofcleveland.org.

Web Site on Human Trafficking

To access the Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter, Stop Trafficking!go to http://homepage.mac.com/srjeanschafersds/stoptraffic/index.html. Stop Trafficking! is dedicated exclusively to fostering an exchange of information among religious congregations, their friends and collaborating organizations, working to eliminate all forms of trafficking of human beings. The amount of trafficking in the United States is appalling. Learn about human slavery in Nevada and California. Worldwide, the problem is even more severe. The newsletter fosters awareness and gives suggestions for advocacy and action.

Opportunity to Save

The Flower Factory is a wholesale superstore not open to the public located at 10830 Brookpark Road in Brooklyn, OH. It is offering free memberships to all education employees. The Factory has over 70,000 items at prices that are up to 70% off retail. Your school can complete the group membership application, available at www.flowerfactory.com. You will need to show your school’s ID and your driver’s license when you enroll. The Cleveland Diocese Promo Code is 100028. Call Sara Watts at 330.494.0010 extension 318 for full details.