Just visit www.mcjuniorschool.org for all the latest Junior School news and headlines. We are anxious to open in September 2010. We’ll be working hard over the summer to ensure that the Morris Plains campus is bright, inviting and a terrific environment for learning.
P.S. have you seen the new St. Virgil’s Academy site? Just click here for recent Spring photos.
Our transition from St. Virgil School to St. Virgil Academy and Morris Catholic Junior School is nearly complete. We have hosted two Open Houses in the past seven weeks and continue to register students. Please contact Grace Morales at 973-539-7267 in the Main Office for PreK-5 registrations and Maureen Costello at 973-627-6674 ext 132 for 6-8th grade registration.
We are preparing to give the campus a face lift over the summer that will include improved signage, better parking lot directions and landscaping. We will also be working hard to ensure that the building is pristine and inviting.
Visit the new St. Virgil Academy website at www.stvirgilacademy.com for more details.
Transition Team Minutes: April 29, 2010
Attendees: Father Francis Duffy, Patricia Deleu, Michael St. Pierre, Dr. Jeanne Gradone, Debbie Duane, Jerry Fazzio, Carol Budisak, Michael Holland, Camille Leggett, Tan Miller, Jennifer Qvotrup, John Walsh, Robert Zebick
Introduction of Principal and Dean of Students
Meet ‘n Greet
An informal gathering will be hosted on Tuesday, May 4th at 7 p.m. so that school parents will have the opportunity to meet Mr. Fazzio, Principal of St. Virgil Academy and Mrs. Duane, Dean of Students of Morris Catholic Junior School. See photo on the MCJS transition blog by accessing www.morriscatholic.org.
Teacher Interviews
Since the interview process has been completed, it was suggested that a faculty roster be issued.
Re-Registration
Both SVA and MCJS registrations continue to come in. Acknowledgments and follow-up calls to school families by the principal/dean were suggested.
Advancement and Open House
· Lawn signs will be used to advertise the May 12 Open House
· Goody bags/packets and stickers will be distributed in the kiddie play area at the Carnival
· First Holy Communicants will be given a bookmark noting blessings from the parish school
· All school families are active marketers
School Web Site
Michael informed the TT that Sheila Schimanski and Tammy Zebick will be introduced to the new web site for the school tomorrow morning.
Listening Session
Tan provided feedback to the TT from the listening session held on April 22. The questions and answers will be posted on the MCJS transition blog by accessing www.morriscatholic.org.
Facilities Improvement
Michael and Robert provided the proposed parent survey to the TT prior to this meeting and will send out a flyer in next week’s white envelope explaining the purpose of the survey and directing school families to the link where they can complete it. Michael St. Pierre will include a note in the May MCHS newsletter about SV campus improvements.
Handbook
Jen will continue to assemble the material for the handbooks for St. Virgil Academy and Morris Catholic Junior School, and will send to Mr. Fazzio and Mrs. Duane for their review and revisions.
Next Meeting
Monday, May 17
Father Francis closed the meeting with a prayer.
The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
New St. Virgil Academy website is live! Head on over to www.stvirgilacademy.com for the latest sports, campus and classroom news!
April 22nd Attendees: John Walsh, Joanne Feeney, Rob Zebick, Eileen Williams, Kit Jaroka, and Tan Miller
The following questions and comments were raised at the April 22nd meeting. The list below also includes several additional questions raised by parents who could not attend the April 22 meeting, but who communicated their questions via phone or email.
Questions and Answers/Responses:
1. What will be the approach of SVA and MCJS towards parents who sign up for volunteer activities but then do not meet their volunteer obligations? Will SVS and MCJS take a tough stance and force parents who don’t show up for their volunteer assignments to pay the “opt out” charge?
· It is all about fairness to all involved in fund-raising, so it would be up to the principal or dean of students to contact parents after the Home and School has tried to collect what is due from the parents.
2. When are we going to know who the new Principal is?
· Announcement was made on Wednesday, April 28.
3. Are there teachers who are not currently SVS teachers who are being interviewed for the K-8 positions at SVA / MCJS? Or have only current SVS teachers been interviewed so far?
· Only current teachers at SVS have been interviewed as of 4/30/10
4. Can parents provide input to the decision-makers who are hiring the teachers? If yes, how?
· Michael St Pierre and Pat Deleu did receive input from a number of parents over the last few weeks. Interviews are now completed.
5. Will there be offers made to teachers by 4/30 for all full-time positions that SVA and MCJS expect to have in the fall of 2010. Or will there be some SVA or MCJS full-time positions as of 4/30 for which an offer will not have been made as of 4/30?
· Offers have been made for over 90% of all full-time positions at SVA and MCJS for the fall of 2010. New teachers will be interviewed in May for any remaining openings.
6. What will the required uniforms be for boys and girls? And related to this question : Why can’t we keep uniform requirements the same indefinitely so that older SVS children can give “hand me downs” to their younger siblings – and save money for the parents?
· The new principal and dean of students will make the final decisions regarding uniforms for MCJS and SVA respectively. They have been informed of this question (i.e., question 7) so that they can take this input into consideration.
7. There are supposedly one or more “trust funds” that support SVS. What trust funds are there, and are they all being used as intended to support the SVS School?
· There is one trust fund for St Virgil School and this was created a number of years ago by Father Fallon. All funds from this trust have been used exclusively for St Virgil School (i.e., these funds are not used to support the Parish). There is currently about $14,000 in this trust fund.
8. Will there be one integrated calendar “on paper” for the combined SVA and MCJS schools? (Note: to clarify, the parent who posed this question was hoping that although there will be 2 schools and 2 handbooks – for ease of keeping track of all dates – can there be just 1 published calendar with all dates for both schools. This would make it easier for parents to keep track of all dates in one calendar.)
· It is recognized that one calendar for both schools is a good idea that would make it easier to keep track of all activities in one source. Every effort will be made to have a single calendar if at all possible.
9. Because of the current budget concerns, will there be any subjects eliminated from the curriculum in 2010-2011? (Note: by subjects, the parent meant both academic and related such as art, gym, etc.)
· At this point no cuts in the current SVS curriculum are planned. A final decision will be made once the 2010/2011 school year budgets are finalized.
10. Which entities (i.e.., the parish, prep, svs, boy scouts, other?) currently have priority for obtaining facilities such as the gym – i.e., what is the “pecking order”?
· The schools (SVA and MCJS) have priority over all other organizations for obtaining facilities on the school campus such as the gym. However, we do have to recognize that other organizations that are part of the Morris Plains community also depend on using the school facilities. Thus, to the extent that we can be flexible in scheduling other organizations’ requests, and occasionally juggle the schools’ utilization of our facilities to facilitate other organizations’ requests, we will continue to do so.
11. In the 2010-2011 academic year, will these priorities for obtaining facilities such as the gym remain the same? Will MCJS have an equal or higher priority than SVA?
· SVA and MCJS will equal priority in using school facilities such as the gym.
12. Will any improvements be made concerning the safety of children in the aftercare program? The school currently has unrestricted access, and nobody answers the school phone after hours.”
· This issue has been pointed out to the new principal and dean of students, and they will put a high priority on addressing any and all concerns.
Non Transition Related Comment:
· Several comments were made at the close of the meeting that SVS (and in the future MCJS and SVA) should improve its capabilities to send information to parents electronically. There was a request that the administrative personnel responsible for this receive additional training on email lists, etc.
o The new principal and dean of students will address this issue.
Please join us in welcoming Mr. Jerry Fazzio as the new Principal of St. Virgil Academy and Mrs. Debbie Duane as the Dean of Students of Morris Catholic Junior School. They met with the Transition Team last night and shared a bit of their vision of what SVA and MCJS can be for the coming years.
A podcast interview will be scheduled next week which will then be placed online for listeners.
The Transition Team will meet again on Thursday, April 29 from 6-7:30pm in the library.
Agenda
Transition Team Sub Committee
Meeting Notes from March 23, 2010
In attendance: Dr. Gradone, Eileen Williams, Donna Karr, Eileen Brennan, Wendy Drake, Anne Praino, Carla Gelpke, Mary Beth Soutar
Next Meeting: Monday, April 12, 4pm at Morris Catholic HS (Dr. Gradone’s office)
Items of Discussion:
The purpose of the sub-committee is to bring questions and suggestions for the new junior school to Dr. Gradone either for an immediate answer or further investigation with the Transition Committee. We should also be communicating these discussions to our classes at SVS.
Morris Catholic Junior School (MCJS) will have a “teaching” Dean of Students (not a principal). This person will be a Junior School teacher, deal with Jr. School issues such as discipline and also liaise with MCHS on academics, extracurricular activities, etc.
MCJS will NOT have the same mascot and/or uniform as MCHS. The junior school should have its own identity – both a unique uniform and mascot. Can we involve the students in possible voting (from a selection of 2 or 3 mascot choices?
And, as with any uniform change, there will be a period (at least next year) where both the SVS and new uniforms will be acceptable.
Morris Catholic High School (MCHS) has a bus that can be used to transport MCJS students to the High School as needed.
Academic Integraion:
The HS Vice Principal also specializes in curriculum and staff development and she will be leveraged to assist MCJS teachers with staff development and integrating things like technology into their classrooms.
Use of high school science lab facilities was discussed. The desire is to have all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students get regular time in the HS science labs as part of their science curriculum. The schedule will be worked with the teachers.
Technology is another area for integration: Possible student participation in Media Club (or class?) activities such as podcasts, video and web design; Possible use of things like Turnit in.com, moodle, and others. Again, this will be worked out with teachers.
Foreign Language for MCJS has not been finalized yet. We would like to continue with Latin if possible but this will depend on the ability of a Jr school teacher to teach this material. Sharing a HS teacher was also discussed. It will be considered as a possibility.
Dr. Gradone will look into the process of how we divide middle school students into different math groups. This process seems very subjective today and a more objective process is desired. 7th grade students might be taking an Algebra Readiness Exam to determine 8th grade math placement to either Algebra I or the 8th grade math curriculum.
After school activities are also a possible area of integration. It is possible that MCJS students can take part in Media Club, MCHS productions (musicals, plays), after school Band and Chorus, and possible more.
Two committees have been formed to hire the teachers for the “new schools”. Pat Deleu is the Diocese Director or Personnel and she is leading this effort. All teacher applications are due April 30th.
The 8th grade students will be automatically accepted to MCHS but will most likely still take the Co-Op test (as long as the diocese is giving it) and it will be used as a placement test for HS.
In general, most traditions will be able to stay at St. Virgil’s. Things like graduation week activities, the buddy program with the Pre-K – 3rd grade classes, morning prayer, the yearbook, etc. The idea is that if it is “working” there is no need to change it.
There is an open question about whether having students in both MCHS and MCJS makes you eligible for a multiple student discount in both schools. There is a multiple student discount if you have children in St. Virgil and MCJS. Dr. Gradone is checking on the resolution to the MCHS and MCJS question.
From Tan Miller to Current SVS Parents:
As you are aware, there is a Transition Team that is supporting the
transition from the current SVS (K-8) school to the future SVA (K-5) and
MCJS (6-8) schools. In an effort to assure that the Transition Team
addresses as many questions and concerns as possible, the Communications
sub-committee of the Transition Team (a fancy name to describe John Walsh
and Tan Miller), is holding a meeting on April 22nd from 7pm to 8:30pm in
the Tracy Center. This meeting is open to all interested members of the
SVS community.
MEETING OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this meeting is to offer a forum where any and all questions,
concerns or recommendations can be openly communicated. John and I will act as facilitators and simply listen to, and document any topics that parents
want addressed. John and I will then report back to the Transition Team all
issues and questions raised at this meeting. The next meeting of the full
Transition Team is scheduled for April 29th. So John and I will communicate
to the Transition Team (on April 29th) all items raised at the April 22nd
parents meeting. For “expectations purposes”, we would like to emphasize
that at the April 22nd meeting, John and I will not have “answers” to your
questions. However we can guarantee you that every item brought up at the
April 22 meeting will be documented and reported to the Transition Team on
April 29th. The Transition Team will take this input and determine how to
address these items.
PLEASE RESPOND ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND:
We have no idea if this meeting will be of interest to many, few or none.
Thus, if you do plan to attend, can you reply to this email and confirm that
you plan to attend. If you don’t plan to attend, no need to respond.
Thanks,
Tan tanjean@verizon.net
