Academic Calendar Reminder February

To: Elementary and Secondary Principals
From: Dr. Patrick Haggarty, Superintendent
Subject: Archdiocesan Academic School Calendar for 2015-2016
Date: February 23, 2015

This is a reminder that school calendars are due to our office for approval by March 31, 2015. As soon as your calendar is ready, please complete the form at this link to submit your calendar for approval.
To assist Catholic school principals in their planning, the Office for Catholic Schools annually prepares an Archdiocesan Academic School Calendar. According to Archdiocesan School Policy (Management Section 5.1d), each school submits its calendar to the Office for Catholic Schools for the upcoming academic year.

When building the individual school calendar, please keep in mind that all schools are responsible for at least 180 student contact days for the academic year of 2015-2016. Any variation from this requirement must be approved by the superintendent. In addition, the school’s calendar should demonstrate a rigorous plan for student instruction, with opportunities provided for teachers’ professional growth and faith formation.

Dates worth noting that should be on all school calendars include:

• October 2, 2015 Teacher Excellence Day (required attendance for principals and teachers)
• March 18, 2016 Regional Curriculum Development Day (required attendance for principals and teachers)
• The date for the 2016 Fulcrum Foundation Celebration of Light is still being determined (it will likely be either the last Friday in January or the first Friday in February) – school auctions should not be celebrated on that weekend.
• The first All Principal meeting of the school year will be August 10-11, 2015 at Palisades Retreat Center for the purpose of planning.
• The Curriculum Review Schedule is beginning its cycle and our hope is that schools will begin to align to this review:
  
  • 2013 Religion
  • 2014 ELA
  • 2015 Math
  • 2016 Science
  • 2017 Social Studies
  • 2018 Arts and PE
  
  

A digital version of this 2015-2016 Academic Calendar tool is available at this link. It is important to note that individual school calendars are to be submitted to the Office for Catholic Schools by March 31, 2015. This will allow us to collate the information and create a master calendar for the Archdiocese.

I hope that this information assists your planning for the ministry of Catholic education on behalf of our students, parents, teaching faculty and support staff. If you have any questions about completing the form, please contact Janeal Grosinger at janeal.grosinger@seattlearch.org.

Peace and all good things….
Patrick Haggarty, Ed. D.