SAT Newsletter 2020 1Q€¦ · 3D computers, 3D printers, Clevertouch, Bloxels, camera drones, Lego Wall, Circuit Scribe, a solar and hydro energy kit, and new iPads and Chromebooks.

SCHOOL ADVISORY TEAMSCHOOL ADVISORY TEAMSCHOOL ADVISORY TEAMSCHOOL ADVISORY TEAM NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER

First Quarter 2020 @slspanthers /StLschool

FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR ST. LAWRENCE SCHOOL!

What an exciting time to be a part of St. Lawrence School. Have

your children came home and couldn't wait to share about their

learning experience in the school's impressive new STEAM Lab?

The STEAM Lab debuted at the start of 2020. It includes Byte Speed

VR which allows students to fly around maps and Class VR virtual

reality system allowing field trips beneath the ocean and visit

world-famous landmarks. Other new learning tools include ZSpace

3D computers, 3D printers, Clevertouch, Bloxels, camera drones,

Lego Wall, Circuit Scribe, a solar and hydro energy kit, and new

iPads and Chromebooks. The school is investing savings, private

donations and grant funds to bring this phenomenal technology to

the classroom.

The School Advisory Team believes the STEAM Lab is a fantastic

differentiator for St. Lawrence School. While many tri-state schools

are embracing technology like never before, our school is leading

the way in using interactive technology to truly provide a 21st

century learning experience.

An event is being planned to give our school parents the ability to check out the STEAM Lab for themselves.

Details will be announced soon, but if you come, be prepared to wish you could return to school! In the

meantime, please help us spread the word of St. Lawrence School's new STEAM Lab, especially with families

considering their educational options.

You may have also noticed a couple new school logos on letterhead or the school website. One logo features

a crest containing symbols of the whole child education St. Lawrence School provides. The other is a fierce

panther head which will be associated with our athletic teams. The electric blue and green color schemes add

a contemporary touch.

We have also adopted a new school slogan: "Our tradition. Your future." While recognizing the amazing work St.

Lawrence School has done to nurture numerous generations of Catholic children in the Lawrenceburg area

since 1869, we look forward to preparing students for the challenges of today's world.

And a few more changes are coming soon. But you'll have to wait until after Spring Break to see what those

are.

The SAT thanks our school's amazing staff and administrators for continuing to live up to our school's mission to

promote the positive academic and spiritual growth of each student. They are committed to teaching as Jesus

taught - just with the benefit of virtual reality and iPads.

"Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day."

-Psalm 25:5

St. Lawrence School Advisory Team Newsletter First Quarter 2020

ST. LAWRENCE SCHOOL EARNS A "B" ON STATE REPORT CARD St. Lawrence School received a "B" on its 2018-2019 school year annual report card from the Indiana

Department of Education. The grades were released February 5 by the Indiana State Board of Education. For

comparison, no schools including any grades K-8 in Dearborn County earned higher than a B and only two

such schools in all of southeastern Indiana (Dearborn and bordering counties) earned an A. Only 31 percent of

schools statewide earned an A. If you keep up on Indiana education news, state lawmakers and Governor Eric

Holcomb signed a hold harmless law for all Indiana schools for the news two years. This law prevents schools

from receiving a grade any lower than what they received for the 2017-2018 school year. The hold harmless

move, necessitated by student performance on a new state standardized test introduced last year, was widely

welcomed by educators statewide. Read more on the issue at www.chalkbeat.org.

STRATEGIC PLANNING CONTINUES A committee of Mr. Detzel and four SAT members are working toward completion of an overdue 2020-2025

strategic plan. It is a roadmap for ensuring St. Lawrence School works toward the National Standards and

Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools. Three key areas our draft plan focuses

on include academic excellence, facilities improvement, and marketing and increasing enrollment. A draft of

the plan will be submitted to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis this spring. Thank you for this committee's work on

the plan.

WEBSITE CALENDAR NOW THE AUTHORITY ON WHAT'S HAPPENING AT ST. LAWRENCE If you have visited the school website at www.stlschool.com in the past, you may have noticed a few different

school calendars. Up until just recently, the calendar page on the website was lightly populated with events.

Thanks to the work of Mr. Detzel and SAT members Melissa Lahey, Joe Hornback and Mike Perleberg, the

website calendar is now filled with school events. The calendar includes extracurricular events, school masses,

testing dates, break dates, and more. Links for a monthly school lunch menu and volunteer schedule will remain

under QUICK LINKS on the website homepage.

NEW PROMOTIONAL VIDEO St. Lawrence School alumni Eric and Adam Duwel

recently produced an amazing new promotional

video for the school. Watch at

https://youtu.be/JZxTnkVq-XE. You may have

recently seen it published to our Facebook page

and noticed a lot of familiar faces and scenes.

When they aren't filming or producing videos, the

Duwels are continuing their education at Elder

High School.

CONGRATULATIONS SIERRA LEDESMA Another St. Lawrence School alum deserves recognition. Sierra Ledesma was named USA National Miss Indiana

Teen 2020 at a pageant in Zionsville in February. With the honor, the Lawrenceburg High School student will get

to compete for USA National Miss June 28-July 4 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Good luck Sierra!

BRADY TUFTS HAS CHARACTER Fifth grade student Brady Tufts was honored as a finalist for the Tri-

State Heroes of Character Award by the Character Council of

Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky last November. Brady

has been bravely dealing with surgeries, but continues to be a

positive influence in the school. What a gentleman!

If you want to share information about a current or former Panther

you know who is doing great things, please contact the school

office.

St. Lawrence School Advisory Team Newsletter First Quarter 2020

DID YOU CATCH THE ST. LAWRENCE SCHOOL BILLBOARD? Mr. Detzel has made increased marketing of St. Lawrence School a priority. While driving through

Lawrenceburg on U.S. 50 in January, you might have noticed a billboard promoting our recent Catholic

Schools Week Open House. Great smiles by those kids!

SECURITY AND SAFETY UPGRADES WITH CAMERAS AND APPS You have to be looking for them, but you may have noticed new security cameras have been installed around

the school. Thanks to a grant for the Indiana Secured Schools Safety Grant Program, we were able to partner

with Enhanced Telecommunications Corporation of Sunman to have the new video surveillance cameras and

recording system installed over Christmas break. Thank you to SAT member Gary Hammerle and former

principal Mike Odar for their work on this project.

Also, the Dearborn Community Foundation recently provided $33,000 in grants to help all schools in Dearborn

County adopt use of the SchoolGuard app. SchoolGuard provides an early warning system that puts a “panic

button” in the hands of all school staff. Thank you to Dearborn County Sheriff Shane McHenry and DCF for

making our schools safer. Read more at www.stlschool.com/news/st-lawrence-school-part-of-county-wide-

schoolguard-app-implementation.

Lastly, Bark technology monitoring service is now being used on the school's network to alert staff when

technology is being used for unintended purposes.

WE'LL SEE YOU AT ST. LAWRENCE LIVE! Mark your calendars! On Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020, the second St.

Lawrence LIVE will happen. This year's fundraising gala will

happen at Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun, Indiana. Remember -

this fun event replaced St. Lawrence BINGO as the school

fundraiser, so please help support it with your attendance or

sponsorship.

SCHOOL PLAY IS DISNEY'S ALADDIN JR. Not all K-8 schools have a top-notch musical production like that

put on each year by the St. Lawrence Panther Players. They will

show you the world - or at least the stage at Lawrenceburg High

School Auditorium - with a production of Disney's Aladdin Junior on April 24, 25, and 26. Thank you again to the

students, Mrs. Sheila Meyer, the parent volunteers and sponsors who make this amazing play happen each

year.

St. Lawrence School Advisory Team Newsletter First Quarter 2020

SAT MEMBER SPOTLIGHT – JOE HORNBACK Joe Hornback joined the St. Lawrence School SAT as our new technology

pillar leader at the start of the year. Please allow him to introduce himself:

Hello, my name is Joe Hornback and I am the father of Vincent currently

attending Pre-School at St. Lawrence. I am a Product Manager in the IT

department at Great American Insurance. My professional experiences

have given me a diverse background in technology. Knowing I wanted

to be involved with my son's school, imagine my excitement when I

discovered the SAT team needed a Technology pillar! I was happy to

offer my skills to assist St. Lawrence in whatever way I could.

My wife Gina and I grew up on the west side of Cincinnati attending the

same grade school and are proud graduates of Seton and Elder High

School (Go Panthers!). Being from the west-side, we are strong believers in

tradition, which is a staple of St. Lawrence. This made our decision to join

St. Lawrence in 2016 easy. St. Lawrence is the perfect place for our

growing family. Our oldest son attends Pre-School and we have also been

blessed with Maria (3), Roman (19 months) and Clara (3 months).

Needless to say, the Hornback name will be around the halls of St.

Lawrence for the foreseeable future!

NEXT SAT MEETING Tuesday April 7 in the St. Lawrence Church basement, date and location subject to change. The public portion

of the meeting begins at 6:30pm, with a possible executive session to follow. Email schooladvisoryteam@sls-

apps.org if you would like to be placed on the meeting agenda. Every meeting begins and ends with a prayer

for our SAT, staff, students, and families.

MEETING SUMMARIES St. Lawrence School Advisory Committee meeting summaries are posted on the SAT webpage at

www.stlschool.com/school-advisory-team. Minutes are posted as they are approved at the following month's

SAT meeting.

SAT’S MISSION AND VISION At St. Lawrence School, we strive to teach as Jesus taught, instilling Catholic values that emphasize respect for

the individual while fostering a love for learning and continuous growth. In a positive and caring atmosphere,

our staff is committed to developing the whole child, focusing on both the head and the heart developing

judgment and critical thinking, with a strong sense of values. This Christian value-based approach to education

benefits both our catholic students and our students of other faith traditions. Our Vision is to foster intellectual

curiosity and build the skills needed to inquire in an atmosphere that honors and promotes individualized

learning while living out the Gospel value of service, rooted in the traditions of Catholic faith.

SAT PILLAR LEADERS

President: Steve Stoecklin

Secretary: Melissa Lahey

Curriculum: Cathy Siemers

Facilities: Gary Hammerle

Finance: Julie Terrill

Marketing: Mike Perleberg

PTO: Katie Lainhart

Spirituality: Katie Ohlhaut

Student & Staff Retention: KC Witte

Technology: Joe Hornback

Pastor: Father Benjamin Syberg

Principal: Robert Detzel