Thank you to all the students and parents who participated in our annual surveys over the past two years. The feedback we get from these surveys is invaluable. We have taken your input along with what we have heard through conversations in our community and made changes this school year:
- Foreign Language in Middle School
- 7 Period Day which allows for common planning and collaboration amongst teachers as well as an academic coaching period at the middle level that incorporates both challenge and remediation where needed
- Additional religion curricula – Ruah Woods, Theology of the Body
- Extra support at recess
- Increased security
- Increased technology
- Increased professional development opportunities for staff
- Painting, Striping and Curbing the Parking Lots
Truly, just being able to be in person, push through the adversity with kids at the focus, and beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel has been a blessing.
Things to Celebrate:
- Stability/Retention and Positive School Culture – We had no staff turnover from last year. For us this means we can build upon the previous year and hone our craft. The morale, based on survey results and end-of-year evaluations, is high among staff. Support for staff through regular walk-throughs and accountability is strong. Teachers are partaking in Professional Development and growing professionally. We also had the highest student retention in our ‘known’ history. This means you, the community, is happy with the direction our culture has taken.
- Increased enrollment and still maintain small class sizes – With the enrollment back on the upswing, we were able to increase to two sections each grade level except for grades 1, 2 and 3. I hired two instructional assistants to support those grade levels because their numbers were on the cusp. Small class sizes are the hallmark of St. Mary Magdalen. It allows personalization and we can continue to have strong adult-student relationships. We will have two sections at each grade level next year maintaining small class sizes. It means that every person is known well at our school. It takes a village!
- A Balanced Budget 2021-2022 – With increased enrollment, PPP (Payroll Protection Program) loans, and grant writing, the school is fiscally strong. Budget projections are kept within the means for the upcoming school year while our balance this year is supporting some much-needed facility improvements. The primary bathrooms, the lower bathrooms and the back of the building, which needs siding, are on the table for the summer and into the next school year. The Annual Catholic Appeal is targeted towards these improvements as well as the upcoming AUCTION!