Fr. Tom spotlight

Father Allouez Catholic School Teacher Spotlight

Father Tom Reynebeau, the pastor of Resurrection Parish, is undeniably a good shepherd to the children of Father Allouez Catholic School. His dedication to the students’ spiritual and moral development is a testament to his commitment to their well-being. Father Tom’s compassionate guidance, wisdom, and caring presence make him a source of inspiration in the lives of the young members of the school. He is a true blessing to Catholic Education, fostering not only religious understanding but also values of empathy, kindness, and community service.

Learn more about Father Allouez Catholic School 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.

All of the GRACE school logos.
student spotlight Brecken

Notre Dame of De Pere Student Spotlight

Brecken was new to Notre Dame of De Pere last year and has been such a wonderful addition to the 4th-grade group. Brecken is a good friend to all and always seeks to include others. It is beautiful to see how new students fold into their classes and grow the entire community.

Learn more about Notre Dame Catholic School 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.

All of the GRACE school logos.
Outstanding volunteer Mary Braband

Holy Cross Catholic School Awards Outstanding Volunteer

Each year, schools in the GRACE System select a very special volunteer from their community to receive the outstanding volunteer award. This award was presented at the back-to-school mass. Holy Cross Catholic School is pleased to recognize Mary Braband for the award this year.

Mrs. Braband is a dedicated servant of the Catholic Faith and inspires the community to become more like Jesus himself as she demonstrates her faith and generosity at every turn. Mrs. Braband volunteers her time and talent as a Middle School Math Tutor and she has also volunteered to sub in our Aftercare Program.

Mrs. Braband is not one to submit to challenges, however. This year, she even hopped on virtually to tutor students while she was quarantining prior to surgery and again while she and her husband were traveling. Mrs. Braband truly loves spending time with students and she successfully builds relationships with them all while teaching them how to understand concepts so that they understand them.

Students and staff are all stronger because of her commitment and we are forever grateful for her generous support. Thank you, Mrs. Braband!

Learn more about Holy Cross Catholic School 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.

All of the GRACE school logos.
staff with flowers

GRACE Educator Gets Recognized

We recently celebrated one of our teacher’s five decade commitment to the classroom and The Press Times wrote all about it! Read their full article on Notre Dame of De Pere Catholic School teacher, Jaculin Cramer, here! Congratulations, Mrs. Cramer!


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.

All of the GRACE school logos.
star assessment logo

STAR Assessments

STAR Assessments are short tests that provide teachers with personalized learning data for each student. Students may take a STAR test for early literacy, math, or reading. Teachers analyze the data they receive from STAR Assessments to learn what students already know and what they are ready to learn next, to monitor student growth, and to determine which students may need additional help. These tests are research-based and scientifically proven to help teachers guide each student on their unique path to proficiency.

More information can be found 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.

All of the GRACE school logos.
students with packages

Service Days Around GRACE

GRACE students paid it forward with several service activities in order to brighten up their local communities. Below are just some of the acts of kindness that took place in Green Bay thanks to our dedicated students. We are so proud of them!

Father Allouez Catholic School

The fourth grade at Father Allouez Catholic School was involved in doing service projects for the McCormick Assisted Living this year. There are 55 residents that currently reside at the facility. Students have done one project a month, starting in September and ending in May. The fourth graders learned how important doing service projects are and how even small things can really brighten someone’s day.

In September, they brought the residents SunnyD drinks. The students made some beautiful tags which were lovingly attached to each bottle.

In October, they bagged Halloween treats for residents who each received a bag of candy along with a special student note.

In November, they bagged candy corn for each of the residents. They designed a “Candy Corn Prayer” and wrote a little personal note on the back of the prayer to personalize the gift.

In December, they initiated a blanket drive and collected enough blankets to give one to each resident. The fourth graders were even able to donate some extra blankets to give to future residents! Each of the blankets were wrapped with care and given as a surprise to the residents for Christmas.

In January, the students decided to share Pop-Tarts with the residents. They had heard that they had not had Pop-Tarts since before the pandemic. They knew we had to remedy that for them! They purchased different flavors, labeled the boxes and added notes. It was all Poppin fun!

In February, they made the residents Valentines and attached them to a Valentine bag of pretzels.

In March, all of the residents received Skittles as a treat! The students made little cards to go with the Skittles or “Rainbow Seeds” as they called them. The cards were then attached to the bags of Skittles.

For April, they held a drive at school to collect items for their Easter basket project. The students were able to collect enough items to make a big Easter basket for each of the residents! They were able to take a walking field trip to visit the residents and hand deliver the baskets to everyone’s door! They loved the smiles and conversations that we had with the residents that day!

In May, they sent the residents homemade flower arrangements in coffee cups. They made tags to go on each arrangement.

The fourth graders of Father Allouez Catholic School have learned much about the importance of conducting service for their local community this year, and have made a huge impact on the lives of those residing at McCormick Assisted Living.

Holy Cross Catholic School

The students from Holy Cross Catholic School hosted a donation drive and helped make a meal for a local Green Bay shelter. This is a yearly event that the students always enjoy participating in. From decorating cookies to making soup, they assisted behind-the-scenes in the kitchen. A little food can make a big difference!

St. Bernard Catholic School

St. Bernard Catholic School had students participate in several activities this year on their service day which they deemed “kindness goals.”

The first kindness goal was to make pretty rocks to share joy with someone they know. Students chose a rock to paint and brought it home to share with a neighbor or family member of their choice. Another goal was to make potted flowers to share God’s creation with the local neighborhood surrounding the school. Students got to decorate a cup and then plant the flower inside. The cups and flowers were delivered to nearby Green Bay homes.

Students also created decorations for the elderly to brighten their day and to let them know that someone is thinking of them. Several craft projects were available for students to choose from to create a colorful door decoration. Kindness matters! Students were taught to show kindness to others and know why they were serving with a video read-aloud, kindness sing-a-long, devotion, and a journaling page.

Another kindness goal was to make a toy to show love to pets who need a home. Students created cloth toys for pets. They were brought to a Green Bay area cat and dog shelter for those in need.

The last kindness goal was to make bookmarks for the donated books. The students decorated their chosen bookmark and placed it with a book for a child who may not have many books in an effort to share the love of reading with all.

Kindness is very present in the St. Bernard Catholic School community, among the students and staff who will continue to spread it in many different ways.


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.

All of the GRACE school logos.
adult

Our Lady of Guadalupe Outreach Program

For the third year, GRACE’s Our Lady of Guadalupe (OLOG) Outreach Program was successfully presented to students and families from Father Allouez Catholic School, Holy Family Catholic School, St. Bernard Catholic School, and St. Thomas More Catholic School. A total of 172 children and adults from 56 families were involved and engaged in a series of workshops this past January through April.

Generously funded by Milwaukee’s Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the OLOG Outreach Program is meant to establish family activities and student programming to help both parents and students understand how to work together on issues of school engagement and academic success while fostering cultural integration. Dr. Jamie Tyrrell, principal of St. Thomas More Catholic School, describes the program this way: “From my perspective, the OLOG Outreach Program is designed with Hispanic families first. We want them to feel like an integral part of our Catholic school system.”

Ninety eight percent of the students who attend St. Thomas More are Spanish speakers, so the program was very beneficial to the school.

“Our staff helped plan the workshops and were presenters,” she said, “We had a large portion of our families attend.”

The OLOG Outreach Program achieves all of their goals in the context of empowering families through faith. The topics of this year’s workshops were Faith at Home, Internet Safety and Mental Health, Importance of Early Childhood Literacy and Preparing for High School and Higher Education. Presented primarily in Spanish, each two-hour session included a prayer, presenters speaking on workshop topics, interactive activities, take-home materials for families to use at home, and refreshments. The presence of vocations was evident as priests celebrated Mass and led prayer with Sisters affiliated with our parishes participating as well. Childcare was provided for younger siblings in order to allow students and their parents to attend. Organizations who contributed their time and talents included the Diocese of Green Bay’s Hispanic Ministry, the Green Bay Police Department, the YMCA, and Casa Alba.

In addition, teachers from participating schools provided their integral support at the workshops. The 2022-23 OLOG Outreach Program Team members were Alejandra Beals, Crystal Blahnik, Gabrielle Calewarts, Kim Desotell, Kay Franz, Dr. Jamie Froh Tyrrell, Jere Kubuske, Karlet Negrete, Lisa Niemuth, and Edgar Zaragoza. This team’s role is to plan the workshop topics and participate in the workshops as well as provide evaluation as to the program’s objectives.

Mrs. Blahnik shared, “Over the course of this year’s workshops, families and students have connected and become friends. This program has facilitated a very strong community of Spanish-speaking families who are engaged with their childrens’ education and equipped with tools to help them raise their children to their full potential.”

Through participation in the GRACE OLOG Outreach Program, families:

  • Engage with other families in deepening personal and family faith life.
  • Enhance personal knowledge of community resources for the health, safety and well-being of the family unit.
  • Learn strategies for maximizing at-home support of student learning.
  • Acquire knowledge of technology utilized at their child’s school and how to access key information pertaining to their child’s learning.
  • Receive guidance in deciphering standardized test scores and learn how educators use this information to design instruction.
  • Connect with GRACE school families to deepen the spirit of community and family friendships.

GRACE will again offer the OLOG Outreach Program during the 2023-24 school year in January through April. Information will be available during the Fall 2023 semester.


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.

All of the GRACE school logos.
HC outdoor classroom

Holy Cross Going Green Program Launches Outdoor Classroom

Outdoor classroom for preschool at Holy Cross Catholic School.

Back in 2018, Holy Cross Catholic School began their green and healthy initiative. Now officially titled the Holy Cross Going Green Program, it is led by a team of innovative and resourceful staff from the school, including Michelle Anderson, Jodi Sullivan, Tara Wildenberg, and principal Kari Peterson.

The plain aims to promote a child’s healthy development and connect learners to the natural and human communities they live in. This will be achieved through a new outdoor classroom which will be utilized each day by the new Abundant Blessings preschool program, led by preschool teacher Jessica DeGroot, in the 2023-24 school year.

Preschool children attending will be encouraged to participate in play-based learning while engaging in the world around them both indoors and out. These children will be connected to nature as they develop their environmental literacy and awareness. The natural surroundings at Holy Cross will provide opportunities for discovery, creative problem solving, and growing in and appreciating God’s creation. This program will follow the Early Learning Outcomes Framework and the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards while integrating the Catholic faith throughout the instruction.


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.

All of the GRACE school logos.
students in science class

Project Lead The Way

This has been a big year for GRACE science curriculum for both students and teachers! The 2022-23 school year marked the introduction of the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) science program for K-5 and the iScience program for grades 6-8. GRACE teachers participated in numerous trainings to prepare for the new programs, especially the cutting edge PLTW program.

What’s new about these programs?

PLTW is a STEM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program that promotes critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and resiliency – all skills that students will need to be successful in life and future careers. In the past, science classes were teacher-led but in PLTW, students take charge of their own learning, participate in engaging experiments, and experience the science process in real time. In middle school, students started to use the iScience program purchased for the 2022-23 school year. The iScience program uses “Project-Based Learning activities and hands-on investigations that focus on real-world situations.” Sixth grade students will focus on Physical Science, seventh grade will focus on Life Science, and eighth grade will focus on Earth and Space Science. This type of format supports the type of teaching our GRACE middle school teachers have found to be the most successful in setting students up academically for high school and beyond.

What can be expected at home with these new programs?

With PLTW in K-5, science material that comes home will look a lot different! Traditional worksheets are not used in PLTW but rather focus is on critical thinking skills using lab reports. Homework will also not involve simple yes/no or true/false questions. PLTW promotes high-level thinking skills and therefore will include questions that are more open-ended and ask students to provide evidence to support their answers. For example, in a first grade classroom at Holy Family Catholic School, students worked to design their own “ears” after learning about the different ears animals had and how they helped the animal survive. For each part, the students added to their own ear model and were required to provide a reason why that element was added.

iScience includes both a physical textbook copy as well as an online learning portal that students can access at all times. More assignments, classwork, and assigned readings may be done online through this portal compared to past years for science class. The order of science themes (Physical, Life, Earth & Space) remains consistent though and has not changed with the new program. The implementation of both these programs into GRACE classrooms was a huge leap in terms of bringing science education and instructional practices into the 21st century. GRACE is excited to see the impact these new programs have on students and their academic achievement in the years to come.

PLTW logo

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.

All of the GRACE school logos.
tech tote

Technology Team Rolls Out Tech Totes

GRACE’s Technology Integration Team has successfully rolled out their first “Tech Tote” this year!

Since the inception of our Integration Team in 2020, we have been working toward the goal of providing the tools and training to help our educators successfully teach their students through integration of technology within the classroom. Over the past few years our team researched the best tools to help master our technology standards, secured funding through the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Green Bay to purchase these tools through various grants, created lesson plans and assembled totes.

This year our goal was to plan our strategy to introduce our first tote: Adafruit (coding circuit boards). After sharing an introductory video about Adafruit to teachers, the team scheduled a two-day presentation with every fourth grade class in GRACE. Day one included a discussion about “what is coding”, an introduction to the block coding software.

Students created their first block code so the circuit board would light up and make a siren sound. Day two was a software review, creation of a “lucky wheel” block code and transfer of the code to the actual circuit board. Students were thrilled to see their code work. Teachers learned along with the students and began generating ideas on how to incorporate Adafruit into other subject areas for next year.

The team has also begun to pilot several other tech tools to create additional totes for the 2023-24 school year with other grade levels. These tools include 3D Pens/Printers (Middle School), Spheros (Grades 3 & 5) and Beebots (K-Grade 2).


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.

All of the GRACE school logos.