“I do this because I believe I am doing it for Jesus.  I am very sure that this is his work.  I am very sure.  I am very sure that it is He and not me.”

                                                                                                                                                                                -Mother Teresa

Our mission is to provide a quality education in a faith-filled environment.  We are striving to teach children to apply the teachings of the Catholic Church to their daily lives.  This year Monsignor Clarke is fortunate to have begun lent with a service in our new Chapel.  Students were part of a new tradition; they participated in a beautiful Lenten service performed by Deacon Larry and Mrs. LaBelle. 

Thank you to all of you who were able to make the State of the School Address.  I was happy to report on all the improvements we are making here at Monsignor Clarke.  The New Chapel topped our list along with a new state of the art computer lab and computers in all classrooms.  The addition of three smartboards will enhance instruction and the school reach program allows us to better communicate with parents.  In the near future we will be part of the edline network which will allow parents to better communicate with teachers.  Our test scores remain well above the national average.  We will remain vigilant in seeking out other means of obtaining funds to keep costs down while increasing the programs we offer such as robotics to all 5^th and 7^th graders.  As always I will keep you all in my prayers.

God Bless,

Paula Bailey

Principal

The following is a summary of the Principal’s State of the school address

given on Wednesday January 30, 2008

State of the School

1.      Catholic Identity

a.      Monthly Masses – each class takes responsibility and parents are invited to attend.

b.      Field trips – Middle School visited the Knights of Columbus Museum. The theme was Nativity scenes

c.       Building the connection to the parishes (10) encourage more activities. This will be an ongoing process

d.      Father Taillon has been invited to serve on board

e.      New Chapel

f.        Prayer with faculty and staff at 8AM

g.      Pray with students

2.      Curriculum

a.      Currently looking at the curriculum as we work through NEASC certification.  We have identified some gaps particularly in health, that we will be addressing.

b.      We had a problem with textbooks with the towns this year in part to their having a change in personnel.  A person left in April and was not replaced until July but also we had an error in an ISBN number that they did not pick up on.  We will correct that this year.

c.       We have state of the art technology now, new computer lab, computers in the classrooms, school reach allows us to communicate better, we are offering robotics to 5^th grade, and 3 smartboards give every teacher an opportunity to integrate into their classroom.  Edline is coming which will allow parents to communicate with teachers and teachers to post assignments and grades accessible to parents.

d.      Our staff is made up of RI state certified teachers all of whom are either highly qualified or working on that status.  We are taking advantage of our title funds to give our teachers professional development opportunities to enhance curriculum, teaching strategies and resource opportunities.

e.      Test scores are very good.  Diocesan results are not out yet but we do not have any score that fall below the 59% mark nationally, while most of our scores are in the above average range.  In the past we have always performed very well when measured against the rest of the schools in the Diocese and I am expecting the same if not better results this year due to our math program.

3.      Clarity of Mission

a.      Our mission is to provide a quality education in a faith-filled environment.  We are striving to teach children to apply the teachings of the Catholic Church to their daily lives.  We are preparing students to be life-long learners that contribute to their communities through service to others.  We have introduced the second step program at all grade levels and have a professional counselor that is teaching conflict resolution within the classroom.  We provide and track community service for our students and involve them in all aspects of helping their communities.  Participation is on a family level.