Newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
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The Catholic Spirit News with a Catholic heart
February 2, 2012
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TheCatholicSpirit.com
C AT H O L I C S C H O O L S W E E K
Local Catholic schools will benefit from council’s work The Catholic Spirit Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have a new source of support to help them plan more strategically, work more collaboratively, be more acFoundation to raise funds countable and implefor tuition ment best practices in — page 19 areas ranging from marketing and governance to academics and finances. A 12-member Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Advisory Council is drawing on the expertise of educators, pastors, parents and other Catholic school constituents to help implement recommendations in these areas announced last August by Archbishop John Nienstedt. “ACSAC will be driving change and enhancement through all those channels,” said council chair John McMahon, who is a partner with Ernst & Young and a member of Holy Spirit in St. Paul. The council serves as an advisory body to Archbishop Nienstedt; the initial members PLEASE TURN TO SCHOOLS ON PAGE 19
Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit
Nativity of Our Lord School principal Kate Wollan talks with fourth-graders Eleanor Friar, left, and Sophia Tambornino during class. Wollan will be receiving the National Educational Association’s Distinguished Principal Award in April.
Principal knows her kids by name — all 759 Nativity principal to be honored with national award for her dedication and service By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit
Kate Wollan strolls a second-floor hallway at Nativity of Our Lord School in St. Paul. Its principal since 1993, she is about to switch roles and take over the second-grade class of long-time teacher Cathy Peterson. “Hi, Matthew,” she says to a student roaming the hall. Then, she walks into the classroom and instantly starts chatting with the second-graders as they work on their self-portraits. “I like your crown, August,” she says to one boy. “Very nice, Will,” she remarks to another. “Colin, that is handsome.” And, on and on it goes. In only a minute’s time, she rattles off names of students in the class like a chef rattles off a list of ingredients — Susie, Mallory, Emily, Brennan and
A week to celebrate The theme for Catholic Schools Week 2012 is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Academics. Service.” The annual observance began Jan. 29 and runs to Feb. 5. Schools typically celebrate the week with Masses, open houses and activities for students, families, parishioners and the community at large. Read more Catholic schools stories in this issue on pages 16-19, including: ■ New Eagle Scouts from St. Odilia to be honored ■ Maple Grove Catholic school gets new name ■ Social justice comes alive at Visitation School
many more. Though she does not teach regularly in
this classroom, she knows the name of every student in it. In fact, she knows the name of every student in the school — all 759 of them in kindergarten through eighth grade. “Luckily, it’s a bit of a gift for me,” she said. “But, most importantly, I want the kids to know that I’ve made an investment in them as an individual. “Kids ask me all the time, ‘How do you know our names?’ And, I always answer them, ‘Once I know you, how could I forget you?’ I must say that a hundred times a year.”
Dedicated to mission In this way, and many others, Wollan has shown the kind of dedication and excellence that helped her earn a Distinguished Principal Award from the National Catholic Educational Association. She is one of 12 Catholic elementary school principals nationwide to receive the award. It will be presented at the NCEA convention in Boston in April. Glowing comments from teachers like Kathy McRae, who has been a teacher at PLEASE TURN TO FOR ON PAGE 7