State of our SchoolMuskegon Catholic Central 2012 Annual Report

Faith. Moving. Forward.

2012

Morse Challenge concludesThe Jim and LeahRae Morse Endowment for Scholarship Fund, also known as the “Morse Challenge,” ended in April, 2012 having raised close to $5 million in scholarship funds for students attending MCC.

These funds, as well as other scholarship funds available, are restricted to scholarships only, and provide yearly assistance for MCC families. We are incredibly thankful to each of you who contributed to the Morse Challenge. And, of course, we are eternally grateful for the generous and well-planned gifts of the Morse family. Our endowment fund is near $9 million – what a gift!

Student Dream GardenWhen asked by a donor to “dream big,” art teacher Jane Stoepker dreamed of a place of beauty and inspiration for her students – a Dream Garden.

Over the last year, Mrs. Stoepker and her students have transformed the lawn outside the cafeteria to a beautiful garden

filled with bushes, flowers, student-created benches, bird houses, and other works of art.

Students are responsible for planting, weeding, and creating new ideas for the garden. They will be adding to the garden as projects are created, and they take pride in helping the project expand for future generations of students to enjoy.

Some of the most noticeable changes brought about in the first year of the strategic plan took place in the move to a 4x4 schedule for students in grades 7-12. Under this model, students attend only four classes per day, but have the time to go into depth and develop new learning strategies in each subject area.

Four school days per week are complemented with Advisory sessions led by mentor teachers during which students plan for their futures by creating individual Education Development Plans, preparing for standardized testing, and attending tutoring sessions in order to remain on track for graduation. Teachers in the elementary school are working toward a fully-implemented Common Core curriculum for next year.

Curricular Advancements

Overall Strategic GoalsWe will continually enhance our curriculum with goals of our students attaining the highest ACT scores in the Muskegon area and requiring our students to be accepted to one college or university before graduation.

Our overall goal is to lead the Muskegon community with a premier Catholic school that uses 21st century educational research and curricula so that our students are offered cutting-edge academic pursuits within a warm Catholic setting.

New One-to-One LearningThe elementary school computer lab was updated with 33 new zero client network monitors, and each elementary classroom now includes a document camera. These technology updates were made possible by the financial gifts of several donors.

In revitalizing its technology program, MCC has gone to a one-to-one computing device system for all students in grades 7-12. These students were issued Acer Aspire One netbooks in late August and use them both in the classroom and at home to access software and files through the MCC server and filters. The fifth and sixth grade classes each have a complete set of netbooks for use in their classrooms.

New Annual Fund Raisingto raise these yearly funds needed beyond the tuition and scholarships which provide basic school funding.

Join in the Crusade for Muskegon Catholic Central today by donating or following our progress with monthly updates at www.muskegoncatholic.org

The Morse Challenge ends…. The Crusade begins….

The Crusade for MCC Annual Fund Drive kicked off in the fall with the goal of raising $1 million in unrestricted funds to be used during the current school year to support technology, curriculum improvement, and strategic plan initiatives.

A team of more than 25 volunteers drawn from all areas of the MCC community are leading the effort

Muskegon Catholic Central • 1145 W. Laketon Ave. • Muskegon, MI 49441 • 231.755.2201 • www.muskegoncatholic.orgFind us on Facebook: Muskegon Catholic Central – Faith. Moving. Forward.

Mission Statement:Muskegon Catholic Central educates each student in spirit, mind, and body

by fostering personal excellence within the Catholic tradition.