Open House presentation by Mr. Zelenka, Incarnation Catholic School Principal

1. Welcome to
INCARNATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL
Monday, March 12, 2012

2. +PRAYER+
Fr. Michael Suszynski,
ICC Pastor

3. Welcome- Mrs. Toni Klopfenstein, ICS Parent
Overview of Evening:
 7:00 – 7:10, Welcome
 7:10 – 7:30, Mr. Michael Zelenka, ICS Principal
 7:30 – 8:30, Tours
Introductions:
 Mrs. Michele Moody, Registrar
 Parent Ambassadors

4. MISSION STATEMENT
In keeping with our tradition, we at Incarnation
Catholic School:
Inspire life-long learning;
Challenge each individual to be a disciple of Christ;
and
Strive to live our Catholic faith through service to
each other and the community.

5. THEME
Be poor in spirit,
Be mournful,
Be meek,
Be hungry and thirsty
for righteousness,
Be merciful,
Be clean of heart,
Be peaceful,
Be committed to Christ.
BE HEROIC
–Matthew 5:4–11

6. OVERVIEW
1. Academic Excellence
2. Spiritual Development
3. Service to Others
4. Miscellaneous

7. Academic Excellence
Fully certified and credentialed teachers
Fully accredited through the Florida Catholic Conference
40% of our Faculty have Masters Degrees (2 teachers are
currently working toward this advanced degree)
All adults working with students are Level II Background
Screened and Safe Environment Trained
Assistant Principal, School Counselor, Support Staff / Aides

8. Academic Excellence, continued
 Emphasis on Higher Order
Thinking Skills (synthesizing,
generalizing, analyzing,
evaluating, creating)
 Focus on student time-on-
task (direct correlation between
student engagement and
student learning) (BTES, 1972 –
1978)
 Student-centered classrooms
(ICS School Garden)

9. Academic Excellence, continued
CORE CLASSES SPECIALS
Language Arts Music
Math Art
Science Physical Education
Social Studies Information and
Religion Communication
Technology
Media Skills
Spanish

10. Academic Excellence, continued
Curriculum = Content (the “what” of education)
From the Florida Sunshine State Standards
Re-written by the Diocese of St. Petersburg
Textbooks = Delivery (the “how” of education)
Only one of many resources used by teachers
Teacher is more important than the “series” of books
we use
Digital age has increased the amount of information
teachers can use

11. Academic Excellence, continued
Superkids Call to Faith
Kindergarten (11 – 12) Religion Series used
Pre-K and 1st (12 – 13) by School and Faith
2nd (13 – 14) Formation
Math (Middle School)
Algebra Track by 8th
grade (McDougal
Littell)

12. Academic Excellence, continued
Our graduates go on to successful high
school and college careers
Academy of the Holy Names, Jesuit, Tampa
Catholic, Bishop McLaughlin, Robinson
International Baccalaureate Program

13. Spiritual Development
Education rooted in Christ:
“Let it be known to all who
enter here that Christ is the
Reason for this school. The
unseen but ever present
Teacher in its classes, Model
to its faculty and Inspiration
to its students.”

14. Spiritual Development, cont.
Daily Prayer – before school, before / after lunch, after school,
before classes
Saint of the Day
Weekly Mass – Student Participation (altar servers, readers, gift
bearers, choir, participation from the congregation)
Prayer Services to celebrate Liturgical Seasons (Advent, Lent)
Reconciliation Services in preparation for Christmas and Easter
Monthly decade of the Rosary
Supplemental Sacramental preparation

15. Spiritual Development, cont.
Catholic Schools are still the most effective means of
forming adult Catholics that are active in their parish.
43% of those who had more than 8 years of Catholic
School attended Mass every week (Fr. Andrew Greely).

16. Service to Others
 Take our knowledge and faith into the world to
make it a better place:
“Its task is fundamentally a synthesis of culture and
faith, and a synthesis of faith and life: the first is
reached by integrating all the different aspects of
human knowledge through the subjects taught, in
the light of the Gospel; the second in the growth of
the virtues characteristic of the Christian.” (The
Catholic School, n. 37).

17. Service to Others
 A Harvard University study
conducted in 2000 (Campbell,
p. 25) reported that Catholic
School students performed
better than other students on
the three basic objectives of
civic education: the capacity for
civic engagement (e.g. voluntary
community service), political
knowledge (e.g. learning and
using civic skills), and political
tolerance (e.g. respect for
opinions different from their
own).

18. Service to Others, continued
Brought in over 500 lbs. of Hope Children's Home
pet food for local animal Christmas Drive
shelters in conjunction with Shoeboxes for Seniors
the Feast Day of St. Francis (Faculty Service project)
of Assisi School supplies and shoe
Generated over $1,200.00 to drives
support St. Joseph's Project Motherhood
Children's Hospital
Donated over 2,000 canned
food items to Messiah
Migrant Ministries in Plant
City

19. Miscellaneous
STUDENTS:
Before and After school care is available
Extra-curricular sports, clubs, and activities (Chess,
Dance, Choir, Art, Student Council, Yearbook)
Daily Recess

20. Miscellaneous
STUDENTS:
Regular and PE Uniforms
Lunch Service

21. Miscellaneous
PARENTS:
Sycamore Education
SchoolReach (Instant Alert)
Weekly Newsletters
Home and School Association
ICS Dads Club
Dynamic website
Facebook
Blog, Catholic Education

22. Miscellaneous
PARENTS:
Affordable.
Low tuition (relatively), no hidden fees, scholarship
opportunities: Step Up for Students, Diocesan Tuition
Assistance, VPK (in process).

23. Incarnation Catholic School
Be heroic. Be who God created you to be.