This past November, all schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit were asked to develop a new Strategic Plan for their schools. The purpose behind this endeavor is to strengthen and refocus Catholic Education in the Archdiocese of Detroit. Using Archbishop Vigneron’s “Unleash the Gospel” as a guide, Pastors and Principals were asked to put together a team and begin looking at how St. Clare School presently functions. Our Strategic Planning Committee includes parish members, a current family member, alumni, former teachers, a current teacher, alumni parents as well as our principal and pastor. Since December, we have been meeting twice a month and will continue to do so until our planning process is completed. At this time, we feel strongly that we will be finished by the end of July! 

St. Clare School is in the process of preparing to open a preschool classroom in the main school building.  We have had many telephone calls asking if we provide full-day preschool classes. It became clear that there is a need for a full-day program. Our purpose in opening a new classroom for 3 and 4-year-old preschoolers is to support parents in early childhood education within an affordable Catholic environment. St. Clare School has always been committed to working closely with parents toward the spiritual growth and welfare of their children. Opening this new classroom will allow us to reach our younger children and make their first learning experience, both spiritual and academic, fun and exciting.

The results are in! St. Clare of Montefalco's School Strategic Planning Committee would like to extend a sincere "Thank you" to all who participated in the Catholic Identity Program Effectiveness Survey.

Please join the St. Clare of Montefalco PTO and the St. Clare School community at this year’s Annual Auction! It will be “out of this world.” Tickets are $50 in advance and $75 at the door. Donations and advertisements will be accepted until April 2nd to be included in the auction catalog.

The St. Clare of Montefalco School Scholastic Book Fair is being held from March 4 to March 9.  The Book Fair will be in the Teacher’s Lounge in the School building.  The fair is “open to the public” and the Parish after the 9:00 and 11:00 Masses on Sunday March 4, and from 6:30 to 8:30 Monday evening, March 5. There will be books from pre-school though Middle-School reading levels.  The book prices for the fair are discounted; Scholastic publishing is very generous to the schools that host the fairs.  The Teachers will fill out wish lists of books for their classroom for anyone who would like to donate books to the teachers.  As always, the proceeds of the fair are returned to the St. Clare of Montefalco library and school.

Open House and Curriculum Fair will be held on April 26, 2018. Open hours are from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. Students will be presenting their work ~Individual Tours will be available ~Meet the Principal ~Talk with Teachers ~Meet school parents and families ~School Groups and Activities ~Registration Information will be available.

After an extensive search and evaluation of multiple candidates, we are pleased to announce the selection of the new principal for our school Ms. Ann Tonissen.  The search committee believes Ms. Tonissen  is the best qualified and most appropriate candidate to guide our St Clare students to be the leaders of tomorrow.  She comes to us most recently from St. Frances Cabrini Middle School in Allen Park with glowing reviews, and has spent the majority of her career in the Catholic School system for the Archdiocese of Detroit. Ms. Tonissen brings to St. Clare a new perspective and fresh outlook while having a strong understanding of the Archdiocese and Catholic Education.  She is excited to lead our teachers and students in the mission of our school and truly believes in a faith-based education in a diverse setting and the importance of a close-knit school community like ours.  Ms. Tonissen has an uncompromising view that all students can learn, given a positive learning environment that welcomes discovery and enhances student confidence. (click story for more)

We will celebrate by participating in “one book one school”. The entire school will be reading Frindle. We will also have various celebrations of reading throughout the month. March 2nd is reading with a buddy, and foxiest socks (fun). March 9th wear red/white/black with your uniform. March 17th wear the Grinchiest Green with your uniform. March 23rd dress as your favorite book character. March 30th will be a surprise. There will also be other reading activities planned throughout the month of March.

The Season of Lent begins on March 1st. The students will attend mass at 8:15. All are welcome to join us. On this day, we are marked with ashes to show that we are followers of Christ. The students will also be participating in the Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. Every Monday during lent (except for Ash Wednesday) there is a simple supper of soup and bread in the church social hall from 5:30-7:00.

Reading for pleasure unlocks the power of information and imagination and helps children discover who they are. Here’s what you can do to help children develop stronger reading skills and a love for reading...

Each family has been asked to perform 15 volunteer service hours for the Books Sale and the Annual PTO Auction. Some have done above and beyond this number. Some have done some of these hours, while others have not done any. The auction is coming up, and this is a great opportunity both before and during the event for service hours. If you wish to inquire about helping at the auction please contact Sonya Zakolski, sazakolski@aol.com

This week we celebrate hearts! We have St. Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, and Friday is jump rope and hoops for heart. The students will jump rope and shoot basketballs with their grades. The money raised will be donated to the American Heart Association. There will also be some mini lessons about being heart smart and heart healthy.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our Catholic Schools Week a success.  This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Besides highlighting Catholic Schools, it gives our students a chance to step out of the ordinary and to continue to grow.

Catholic Schools Week Mass will be on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at the 4:00 mass. We need school families to be present at this mass. We also will be sending home a slip for choir members to sing. All families who are registered at St. Clare need to attend this mass. We also will need parent greeters/hospitality. Contact Mr. Fisher or Jen Durham for more information.

Thank you to those who are following our parking lot safety rules. A reminder that nobody should drive past the orange cones or pull into spaces past the orange cones, even if the weather is wet. When dropping off or picking up children ALL cars should pull into a space. The parking lot also has a speed limit of 15 MPH. Parking is ONLY in the back two rows by Mack or in the alley. NO cars should be in the area in front of where the teachers park. This is for the safety of all students.