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Martyr Messenger

The Martyr Messenger is now being printed as a pdf linked file.

Please click the below link to view the Martyr Messenger

Friday, March 5, 2010

ITBS Information for parents

Other important links that go with this newsletter:

* Project Hope  (In Stock)
* Project Hope (Special Orders)

 

 

St. Stephen the Martyr School:  Blue Ribbon School 2008

 What does it take to be a blue ribbon school?

This past Tuesday, September 9th, United States Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings named St. Stephen the Martyr School as one of the recipients of the 2008 Blue Ribbon School award.  We were one of six schools honored from the state of Nebraska.    This award is the highest honor and distinction possible for any school in America.  But, what makes it so?

This award is given to schools that show one of two basic, but major, criteria:  they have to be considered academically superior (standardized test score results considered in the top 10% of the nation) or they have to show student improvement (this condition is based upon a student population of 40% from ‘disadvantaged’ back grounds.)

St. Stephen the Martyr School is considered a Blue Ribbon School because our students do incredibly well on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, our standardized assessment instrument.  Their results on the annual ITBS put them in the top 10% of all students, and schools, in the United States.

This is no small feat.

However, what does it really take to get to this point?  I have my thoughts on this and want to share them with you.

-First, our school is relatively young, and it was through the strong commitment to Catholic School education that was our genesis:  our founding pastor, Rev. Gerald Gonderinger and the founding parish families marked a Catholic school as a priority for St. Stephen the Martyr Parish.  Without that strong beginning, we would not be here.

-Second, our school is sustained.  It is expensive to operate a Catholic school.  Through the support of our pastor Rev. James Tiegs, the generosity of our families and parishioners, we are able to pay the salaries and expenses that it takes to operate a school.

-Third, our school is blessed to have a dedicated, caring, professional, talented and skilled teaching staff.  Their dedication, especially when they could be making more money teaching in a public school, says so much about them!

-Fourth, our parents are committed to a Catholic school education.  They want that for their children; it is a priority and it shows.  They make the sacrifices that are necessary; they give of their time, talent and treasure.

-Fifth, our students work hard and succeed.  Combined with the support of their parents and the commitment of our teachers, they have a winning combination to truly succeed.  They have so much going for them.

-Sixth, the education of the entire child, especially the dedication and devotion to our Roman Catholic faith, is our mission.  The adherence to this mission is vital to our students’ success! 

The procedure to become a Blue Ribbon School involves a lengthy application process.  Factors that are considered on the application are: our curriculum, our process for updating and reviewing our curriculum, our dedication to the continuous improvement process (where you are constantly evaluating ways to improve your programs), the various uses of assessment, exposing our students to a World Language (Spanish), professional development of our staff, the methods of instruction that we use and how we consider all types of learners.  We are school that is a blend of tried and true methods of instruction while also being progressive and creative.  I pride our teachers on knowing what works and building off of that.

Being an effective and successful school is based upon how our students perform.  They are the ones that speak for our school.  Their results on various assessments and their performance on standardized testing compare them to others and also to their individual growth.  This year alone we had 50 of our seventh graders (our highest number ever) invited to participate in the Duke University Talent Identification Program (T.I.P).  What this means is they scored at the 95%ile OR above on certain test areas of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.  They have been invited now to take the ACT or SAT with high school juniors or seniors.  Last year we had the highest number of scholarship awardees to our local Catholic High Schools-this was based upon the students’ performance on the high school admission tests.

Yes, we are an elementary school, and we are giving our students a solid foundation of skills necessary to be sound, faith-filled citizens of our world.

One of the factors in submitting the application is this:  how many times has your school filed for the Blue Ribbon School honor?  They want that noted on the application.  This was the first time that St. Stephen the Martyr School has applied!

St. Stephen the Martyr parish will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. What a tremendous honor it is to have our school recognized nationally on this anniversary!  We opened our doors with 173 students in 1992 and we currently have 903 students enrolled in September of 2008.

Since the inception of the Blue Ribbon School program in 1982, less than 4% of all schools (elementary, middle and high school) in the United States have been honored.  We are part of a very select group.

I want to thank all of our parents.  Without you, none of this would be possible.  Your sacrifices and faith in us is vital.  Catholic school education is a choice and we are so pleased you have chosen St. Stephen the Martyr School.  May our good Lord always bless you!!!

I want to thank the teachers for their hard work and efforts.  They give and sacrifice and commit to our students and families.

I want to thank all of our students; past graduates and those presently enrolled.  I am very proud of them.

I want to thank Fr. Jim and the various parish committees; parish council, board of education, finance board, etc. that give of their time and expertise in making the decisions that put our school at the forefront and make it the priority that it is.

I want to thank Mrs. Mary Ann Maier who assisted me in writing, proofing and filing the Blue Ribbon School application.  Numerous hours were spent last November writing, re-writing and editing the document.  (On an aside:  once we filed the application with CAPE-the Council for American Private Education-we were informed that we had the only perfect, error-free submission!).

 

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