Principal’s Page

Dear Parents,

It is hard to believe that the school year is over. I want to thank all of the Saint Timothy School families for their generous outpouring of support this past year. Thanks so much for making my first year as principal at Saint Timothy Catholic School such a memorable and productive one. At the beginning of the year we promised to deliver a number of programs, activities and initiatives, and I am pleased to share with you what we have achieved in this first year and what initiatives will be underway for the 2013-2014 school year. As is the case with all of our investment and program decisions; all are designed to benefit our school students in and outside the classroom and provide a safe learning environment.

There are 4 Areas that we focus closely on, that set us apart from other schools. I’d like to mention them and let you know some of the strategic initiatives and, or programs that we are introducing in these areas: (Catholic Identity / Academic Excellence / Extracurricular Programs and School Safety).

Catholic Identity:

• Family Rosary
• Intercessory Prayer Intention book placed in front lobby.
• Visiting Virgin Pilgrim Statue
• Angelus (recited everyday at noon)
• Enthronement Ceremony at Back to School Nights
• Joint Partnership with Youth Ministers in presenting the Diocesan Chastity Program
• New Vocations component added to Catholic Schools Week
• Prayer Buddies (pairing of older and younger students).
• Year of Faith Shirts and Student essay Contest.
• Established new “Saints Awards” Ceremony for 8^th graders.
• Numerous Service Projects that give students the opportunity to put their faith into action.
• Participation at the annual March for Life and the Children’s Prayer Hour at the Basilica in Washington DC.
• Our little ones singing at one of the local retirement homes. 

Academic Excellence: We are committed to providing an individualized approach in educating each of our students. To accomplish this goal, we utilize instructional technologies in the classroom, hire tutors to provide remediation for those students in need, have instituted gifted and talented programs in Math and next year in Language arts and invested in teacher training programs that assists teachers to accomplish this goal.

Here are some of the strategic initiatives currently underway at Saint Timothy Catholic School.

• Purchased 100 Laptops, beta testing  i Pads in the 3^rd grade
• Campus-wide Wireless Access
• Gifted & Talented Math Program
• GMU Teacher Professional Development Partnership. Next year we will focus on Learning styles (of teacher, students & parents)
• Grants Procurement Initiative – (one of our parents led this effort and submitted a STEM grant. We are waiting for the final award decision to be announced).
• Lab Learner – This hands-on science lab will be added over the summer and will be ready for use next year.
• Fall High School Placement Prep Program – 5 students participated this fall – Reading scores increased by double digits.
• After School Tutoring Program – Rolled out to 5 different grade levels. We added an after school Algebra remediation program.
• Teacher Prep Partnership with Trinity College and Mary Mount
• New STS Honor Code Introduced 
• New Terra Nova Prep Program (Daily & Weekly Contests)

• New elective choices for middle school and specialized middle school teacher positions.

•  New Administrative Walkthrough program instituted (i Pads) – The STS administration has been in each classroom at least 5 times this year to observe teachers.

• New Floating Instructional Assistant added to help in classes with special learning needs and classroom management challenges.

• Enhanced Parent Communications – Teacher communications instead of demerits / next year Parental access to grade information, lesson plans and home work.
• A focus was placed on Mathematics enrichment for all students – via the implementation of interactive programs such as Pi Night, Math Fair, student made posters placed around school to increase student awareness of math terms, and an on-going Advanced Math Program for qualified students. Next year we will also offer Math Competitions to encourage student to think outside the box.

• Smart Boards added throughout the Pre-School.

•  Capped Classes – As part of this year’s re-registration process, we are committed to capping our classes for next year (30 Max) and (29 Max for 2014 -15 school year). There are currently waiting lists for several classes for next year.

After school Extra Curricular Programs:

• Expand Afterschool Extracurricular Offerings – Added after school Chess Program, Soccer Skills, Running Tigers Track Program, LEGO STEM program and Pro-Life Club. We are looking to add a debate club and a Math club next year.
• Girls Varsity Soccer – No interest in a girls Soccer Program, based on an interest survey, we are looking to establish a girls volleyball team in the fall of 2013.

School Safety Programs:

• Student Mentor Program – Currently in place; effective student leadership and behavior modeling program.

• Updated School-wide Allergy Action Program

•   Updated security measures implemented by the Safety Committee- Some of these are in place; others are coming this summer; including, Security Cameras, Reception Area Emergency Alert Technology, enhanced lighting throughout the campus and Visitor management system.

• School rekeyed
• Partnered with police, EMT, fire professionals and Diocesan experts for safety audits, reviews and recommendations.
• Enhanced Communication capabilities – New, state of the art walki-talkies.
• License verification Machine is being installed this week.
• Father Weymes has commissioned structural changes to the campus; including a new waiting room (by the school entrance) and a new walkway that will connect the primary school building and the middle school.
• Change in  dismissal procedure starting next year (Placard based system, with students in Gym & Cafeteria – details forthcoming).

As is the case with all of our decisions, all of these programs are designed to benefit our students and help then grow spiritually, academically and socially.

God Bless you,