November 24, 2003

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

1.    Diocese of St. Petersburg Seeks Principal:  The Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida is accepting applications for the position of principal at Tampa Catholic High School, Tampa, Florida.  A candidate must be a mature, practicing Catholic and must possess a minimum of Masters Degree in Educational Administration or a related field.  Salary and benefits will be accord with Diocesan policy.  An interested candidate should write a letter to request an application to:  Superintendent, Office of Catholic Schools and Centers, PO Box 40200, St. Petersburg, FL  33743-0200 or request and application via email at OCSC@dosp.org.  The application process will remain open until a suitable candidate has been selected.

2.    "Building Skills for Success in the Third Grade Classroom":  The fourth annual third grade teacher conference will be held at the Columbus Hilton (Easton) on February 9-10. 2004.  Among topics to be presented at the conference are "Helping Struggling Readers and Writers in the Third Grade," "Guided Reading the Four Blocks Way," and "Building Real Topics with Third Graders." 

For further information and to register, call 1-800-462-1478
           

3.    Current, Best Strategies to Enhance Your Guided Reading Instruction: This seminar will be presented by Dr. Mary Howard, one of the nation's foremost experts in reading instruction.  At this seminar, the teacher will learn how to implement an effective guided reading program, select powerful strategies before, during, and after reading, and teach phonics and word attack skills in a meaningful context.
       The seminar will be held at the Howard Johnson hotel in Columbus on January 7, 2004.  For further information and registration call 1-800-735-3503.

4.    On-line Graduate Program:  St. John's University, New Your City, has developed New York's first online Masters of Professional Diploma in Educational Administration.  The program is completely on-line except for one short  optional experience at the Manhattan campus.  Teachers can learn more about this program by calling Dr. Michele Nowosad at 718-990-1569 or by reaching her by e-mail  NOWOSADM@stjohns.edu

      The next cohort starts on January 17, 2004.  Because of St. John's Catholic mission, Catholic school educators receive a 40% tuition discount.

5.   Weekly Religion Ideas:  This week's ideas are dedicated to the topics of social justice and service, which are found in the graded course of study objectives, Standard 4: C-1 and Standard 4: E- 4, 8, and 9.  In addition, on December 6th people from around the world celebrate St. Nicholas Day.  What a prefect saint to mention when speaking of service and social justice.   He is recognized for his good works for the poor, power of healing and ability to calm storms!!!   He is the patron saint of children and sailors.  *  All books can be found in the Dept. of Religious Education's print library! 

      For the Teachers:  The book, Companion to the Calendar, by Mary Hynes is a wonderful text that connects the daily Gospel reading to the saint of the day.  It's straight forward language, definitions, background material and cross references, provides a handy resource for honoring the saints who helps us grow in the life of Christ.  This books is a great resource for the entire year, in addition to St. Nicholas Day. 

Liturgy Training Publications:  www.lpt.org or 1-800-933-7094

Ann Neuberger's book, Introducing Catholic Social Teaching to Children with Stories and Activities, is a great resource for every parish, school and home.  The main purpose of this book is to help the youth in our communities think, feel and act with justice by using a format that is appealing, informative and engaging.  It also provides additional resources and media to help in teaching the seven social justice principles. 

Twenty Third Publications:  www.twentythirdpublication.com or 1-800-321-0411

      For the Classroom:  Our Sunday Visitor Publication has a neat little workbook for younger children entitled, Teach Me about Saints.  There are work sheets for over 20 saints, including St. Nicholas.  The page dedicated to St. Nicholas give some background and the asks the children about gifts that they can share with others that are in need. 

Our Sunday Visitor Publication:  www.osv.com or 1-800-348-2440

The Kid's Guide to Service Projects provides over 500 service ideas for young people who want to make a difference.  Barbara A. Lewis designed this book to provide service ideas around various topics such as environment, politics, animal and friendship.  She is also the author of The Kid's Guide to Social Action and Kids with Courage.

Free Spirit Publishing:  www.freespirit.com or 1-612-338-2068

For Resource:  In our media library we have available to video, St. Nicholas and the Legend of Santa Claus.  It is a fifteen minute segment that speaks about the good deed of St. Nicholas and how this resulted into the character of Santa Claus we know today.  VC6602: Brown and Roa Publishing

6.  Sympathy is extended to Katie Kapala, Department of Religious Education, whose mother died this past week.

REMINDER:  November is Black Catholic History Month.  For wonderful resources check out the web site for the National Black Catholic Congress at http://www.nbcongress.org

Comments to office@cdeducation.org

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