Category: General

GRACE staff met last week for a retreat. They began with Mass hosted by St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish, followed by a talk on the Eucharist with Mother Mary Catherine of the Divine Word, M. W., and then they took some time in breakout sessions to work and reflect. The morning ended with Eucharistic Adoration and an opportunity for confession.

Thank you to Rev. Jim Lucas, Mother Mary Catherine, Jenny Johns, Katie Westhoven, Deacon Dan Gray, Rev. Mike Brennan, O. Praem, Rev. Adam Bradley, Gary Guevara, Monica Daos, and Tomerot Lambert for your contributions to our meaningful morning together.

Today, we’d like to spotlight an outstanding educator from St. Bernard Catholic School.

Mrs. Alvarez is the new librarian at SBS where her two daughters proudly attend. She believes that her job is not just about books; it’s about igniting a passion for reading in young minds. Reading is the secret gateway to learning, imagination, and endless adventures. When she isn’t at school, her life revolves around her family.

You’ll often catch her racing around to keep up with her daughters’ adventures and nephews’ soccer games. She is also a catchiest at St. Philip’s, helping first-year students prepare for their confirmation. Whether Mrs. Alvarez is at home with her family, on the field, in the library, or nurturing young minds in faith…she believes that her life is one big, fun, and incredibly meaningful adventure!

Learn more about the school on their website.

The Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System consists of nine schools. We focus on the development of each student grounded in our foundation of Catholic faith for grades PK3-10.

Our mission continues to evolve in these unique times as we embrace new technologies, deliver innovative teaching and learning strategies, and hire exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to the vocation of education. Our current GRACE Strategic Plan outlines action steps in the areas of faith, academics, vitality and experience that have assisted us to enjoy enrollment growth over the past five years.

Please know you are always welcome to visit our schools to learn more about our offerings and the culture that makes each of our GRACE schools unique. The rewards of a Catholic education are endless. The gift of a Catholic education prepares your child and will remain with them throughout their life. Learn more about us here.

St. Bernard Catholic School is rooted in the life and works of Jesus Christ and our patron saint, providing a peaceful, prayerful community while inspiring each student to become a lifelong learner. We believe that by living the message and participating in the community, we are able to choose effective ways to make a positive impact on the world in which we live.

To learn more or to schedule a tour, please visit their website.

The Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System consists of nine schools. We focus on the development of each student grounded in our foundation of Catholic faith for grades PK3-10.

Our mission continues to evolve in these unique times as we embrace new technologies, deliver innovative teaching and learning strategies, and hire exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to the vocation of education. Our current GRACE Strategic Plan outlines action steps in the areas of faith, academics, vitality and experience that have assisted us to enjoy enrollment growth over the past five years.

Please know you are always welcome to visit our schools to learn more about our offerings and the culture that makes each of our GRACE schools unique. The rewards of a Catholic education are endless. The gift of a Catholic education prepares your child and will remain with them throughout their life. Learn more about us here.

Today we’d like to highlight an outstanding student in the GRACE community, this time from Notre Dame of De Pere Catholic School!

Joel is truly the nicest student you will ever meet. He greets everyone with a warm smile and goes out of his way to help our younger students. When Joel attended our aftercare program, he would make sure the youngest students were included in the bigger kids’ games of basketball and that everyone was fun and safe while doing so.

Learn more the school here.

The Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System consists of nine schools. We focus on the development of each student grounded in our foundation of Catholic faith for grades PK3-10.

Our mission continues to evolve in these unique times as we embrace new technologies, deliver innovative teaching and learning strategies, and hire exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to the vocation of education. Our current GRACE Strategic Plan outlines action steps in the areas of faith, academics, vitality and experience that have assisted us to enjoy enrollment growth over the past five years.

Please know you are always welcome to visit our schools to learn more about our offerings and the culture that makes each of our GRACE schools unique. The rewards of a Catholic education are endless. The gift of a Catholic education prepares your child and will remain with them throughout their life. Learn more about us here.

We are so blessed by dedicated and talented leaders such as Principal Sharkey from Holy Family Catholic School! Join us in thanking her for her commitment to Catholic Education!

Here’s a fun question-answer we did with her:

Q: Principal Sharkey, why do you choose to work for GRACE/Holy Family Catholic School?
A: I am blessed to be here to serve the students and families of HFS/GRACE through the morals and values of the Catholic church. I find joy and purpose in enhancing the spiritual and academic lives of our school community
Q: What is a fun fact about you?
A: I eat popcorn every single night!

Learn more about HFS here.

The Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System consists of nine schools. We focus on the development of each student grounded in our foundation of Catholic faith for grades PK3-10.

Our mission continues to evolve in these unique times as we embrace new technologies, deliver innovative teaching and learning strategies, and hire exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to the vocation of education. Our current GRACE Strategic Plan outlines action steps in the areas of faith, academics, vitality and experience that have assisted us to enjoy enrollment growth over the past five years.

Please know you are always welcome to visit our schools to learn more about our offerings and the culture that makes each of our GRACE schools unique. The rewards of a Catholic education are endless. The gift of a Catholic education prepares your child and will remain with them throughout their life. Learn more about us here.

Today we’d like to highlight an outstanding pair of volunteers in the GRACE community: Jim and Kelsey Christensen!

The Our Lady of Lourdes (OLOL) Volunteer Award went to two individuals that are involved in just about everything that is being done at OLOL.

This family is involved as GRACE Board Member, Site Advisory Chair, OLOL marketing committee member, OLOL grade level parent mentor, OLOL Parish Council Member, OLOL Light Up Lourdes Committee Member, OLOL Homecoming Committee and most importantly they are the biggest cheerleaders of the OLOL Vision and Mission.

To summarize, if OLOL Catholic School is doing something, one or both are involved. The OLOL Volunteer award for 2023-24 was awarded to Jim and Kelsey Christensen!

Learn more about St. John the Baptist Catholic School here.

The Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System consists of nine schools. We focus on the development of each student grounded in our foundation of Catholic faith for grades PK3-10.

Our mission continues to evolve in these unique times as we embrace new technologies, deliver innovative teaching and learning strategies, and hire exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to the vocation of education. Our current GRACE Strategic Plan outlines action steps in the areas of faith, academics, vitality and experience that have assisted us to enjoy enrollment growth over the past five years.

Please know you are always welcome to visit our schools to learn more about our offerings and the culture that makes each of our GRACE schools unique. The rewards of a Catholic education are endless. The gift of a Catholic education prepares your child and will remain with them throughout their life. Learn more about us here.

Today we’d like to highlight an outstanding student in the GRACE community, this time from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School!

Addie is always happy. She has a smile on her face and enjoys talking with anyone. Addie is a great friend and willing to help anyone who needs it at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School. 

Learn more the school here.

The Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System consists of nine schools. We focus on the development of each student grounded in our foundation of Catholic faith for grades PK3-10.

Our mission continues to evolve in these unique times as we embrace new technologies, deliver innovative teaching and learning strategies, and hire exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to the vocation of education. Our current GRACE Strategic Plan outlines action steps in the areas of faith, academics, vitality and experience that have assisted us to enjoy enrollment growth over the past five years.

Please know you are always welcome to visit our schools to learn more about our offerings and the culture that makes each of our GRACE schools unique. The rewards of a Catholic education are endless. The gift of a Catholic education prepares your child and will remain with them throughout their life. Learn more about us here.

The Holy Family Comets 8th grade boys basketball team traveled down to Madison last weekend to compete against other Wisconsin school teams in the State Basketball Championship. The team was made up of students from Holy Family and St. John Paul II. Our first two pool-play games were against much larger teams from the southern part of the state, Evergreen (Kenosha) and Dodgeville. The Comets persevered from falling behind in both games, sometimes by as much as 15 points, to taking the lead with under two minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, but were unable to hold onto their lead. To see the fight from these boys was impressive.

With the two losses on Saturday, the Comets were placed in the consolation bracket where they played two teams. After the team sacrificed and sat in an ice bath for 10 minutes each, the boys had fresh legs and were ready for the next opportunity to play together. Many of the boys on the team have been playing together since 3rd grade, so we mentioned in the huddle that this was going to be the last two games that they would all play together – the boys did not disappoint. They played incredibly well and played the type of basketball that they have been known to play: fast, up-tempo, scrappy, and opportunistic defense with incredibly unselfish passing. They went on to beat Watertown before losing their final game against Pardeeville.

Besides basketball, all the families had such a great time spending time together. Whether it was watching the boys make diving catches in the pool, saying a team prayer after our last game, or everyone hanging out in the lobby to eat tacos that we all combined to make, it was a joyous celebration of our time together and watching the Comets end their Holy Family basketball career.

Tournament Results

• Pool Play
• vs. Evergreen, L 52-58
• vs. Dodgeville, L 48-51
• Bracket Play
• vs. Watertown, W 58-44
• vs. Pardeeville, L 28-51

The Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System consists of nine schools. We focus on the development of each student grounded in our foundation of Catholic faith for grades PK3-10.

Our mission continues to evolve in these unique times as we embrace new technologies, deliver innovative teaching and learning strategies, and hire exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to the vocation of education. Our current GRACE Strategic Plan outlines action steps in the areas of faith, academics, vitality and experience that have assisted us to enjoy enrollment growth over the past five years.

Please know you are always welcome to visit our schools to learn more about our offerings and the culture that makes each of our GRACE schools unique. The rewards of a Catholic education are endless. The gift of a Catholic education prepares your child and will remain with them throughout their life. Learn more about us here.

Miss Monica Daos teaches music at St. John Paul II Classical School. She brings a depth of knowledge to our Ward Method-based music classes and the strings program, which is new this year! The students are drawn to her beautiful singing, humor, and kindhearted nature. Her many God-given talents are always on display at SJPII!

Learn more about the school on their website.

The Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System consists of nine schools. We focus on the development of each student grounded in our foundation of Catholic faith for grades PK3-10.

Our mission continues to evolve in these unique times as we embrace new technologies, deliver innovative teaching and learning strategies, and hire exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to the vocation of education. Our current GRACE Strategic Plan outlines action steps in the areas of faith, academics, vitality and experience that have assisted us to enjoy enrollment growth over the past five years.

Please know you are always welcome to visit our schools to learn more about our offerings and the culture that makes each of our GRACE schools unique. The rewards of a Catholic education are endless. The gift of a Catholic education prepares your child and will remain with them throughout their life. Learn more about us here.

It is with immense joy and a spirit of anticipation that we announce the appointment of Mr. Francis Dempsey as the new Principal of Father Allouez Catholic School, commencing July 1, 2024 before the start of the 2024-2025 academic year.

Mr. Dempsey brings with him a wealth of experience and a profound commitment to Catholic education. In recent years, he has served diligently as the principal of St. Dominic Catholic School in Brookfield, WI, under the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Prior to his principalship, he began his career right here at GRACE’s St. Thomas More Catholic School and St. Matthew’s Catholic School (now known as Father Allouez Catholic School) before he dedicated over seven years to teaching Social Studies in both public and Catholic schools in the Milwaukee area.

A proud alumnus of St. Norbert College, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and holds a Secondary Education Certification, Mr. Dempsey continued his academic journey at Marquette University, attaining a Masters of Education in Educational Policy and Leadership. His educational background, coupled with his devotion to Catholic values, makes him an exceptional choice to lead our Father Allouez Catholic School community.

Mr. Dempsey and his family are eager to return to the Green Bay area, bringing with them a renewed enthusiasm to serve our beloved GRACE community. A fun fact about Mr. Dempsey is that he also works with the National Football League as a Real-Time Entry (RTE) Statistician, providing real-time statistics from the field during Green Bay Packers home games!

GRACE President Kim Desotell remarked, “As distinguished principal Kay Franz retires after a long standing career of service, we are thrilled to announce Mr. Dempsey as our new principal. With his unwavering dedication to Catholic values, commitment to fostering academic excellence, and passion for nurturing a supportive school community, he possesses the foundational skills essential for guiding Father Allouez Catholic School into its next chapter.”

Mr. Dempsey shared, “I am overjoyed and humbled to (re)join the Father Allouez Catholic School Community after a few years away. I believe in a strong partnership between school families and our administration and teachers so that, ultimately, our students succeed. Together, I know that we will do wonderful things that will continue to make the FACS community strong and serve as an exemplar in GRACE and the greater Green Bay Area. I am looking forward to meeting you all and partnering together on this journey. God bless you all!”

As we embark on this new chapter together, let us extend a warm welcome to Mr. Francis Dempsey and his family. With faith as our guide and education as our mission, let us unite in prayerful support as we continue to nurture the hearts and minds of our students.

Learn more about FACS by visiting their website.

The Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System consists of nine schools. We focus on the development of each student grounded in our foundation of Catholic faith for grades PK3-10.

Our mission continues to evolve in these unique times as we embrace new technologies, deliver innovative teaching and learning strategies, and hire exceptional faculty and staff dedicated to the vocation of education. Our current GRACE Strategic Plan outlines action steps in the areas of faith, academics, vitality and experience that have assisted us to enjoy enrollment growth over the past five years.

Please know you are always welcome to visit our schools to learn more about our offerings and the culture that makes each of our GRACE schools unique. The rewards of a Catholic education are endless. The gift of a Catholic education prepares your child and will remain with them throughout their life. Learn more about us here.