Category: General

We are pleased to announce that Dana Vance has been selected as Principal of St. John the Baptist School. She was selected from an extremely talented candidate pool in a competitive process that included input and participation from St. John the Baptist School staff, faculty, families, and GRACE Leadership. Dana will work with the current principal, Mr. Drew Mulloy, to ensure a smooth transition in leadership and will officially start as principal on July 1.

Dana has served as Principal at St. Helen School in Chicago, Illinois for the past two years, and prior to that was Assistant Principal at Sacred Heart School in Winnetka, IL for five years. Before serving in school leadership positions, Ms. Vance was a classroom teacher for 18 years in Catholic schools. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from DePaul University, a Master’s in Administration and Institutional Policy from the University of Chicago, and will complete her Master’s in Educational Leadership from DePaul in June 2022. Dana brings an excellent reputation as a faith-filled leader and skilled instructor to the principalship role. 

When asked what she was most looking forward to when coming to St. John the Baptist School, Ms. Vance said, “I am most excited about continuing the good work that Drew (Mulloy) has started. He has put so many great systems in place and has such high expectations for St. John the Baptist students, I want to keep amplifying this and take it to the next level.” Speaking about her educational vision, Ms. Vance shared, “my philosophy is to impart in our students the confidence to build the behaviors, habits and skills to interact with each other, to act in the community, and to know when to ask for help; I look forward to bringing my experience and building on the practices and faith traditions that have been implemented at St. John the Baptist School.”

“We are delighted to have Dana Vance join our GRACE St. John the Baptist community in this leadership role,” GRACE President Kim Desotell stated. “As a Catholic school educator her entire career, her faith leadership and skills will carry on the rich traditions of faith formation and academic rigor in all we do!”

When she’s not at school, Ms. Vance loves to spend time with her two sons, Cameron and Patrick, her Mastiff-Rottweiler Sam, and her house rabbit Miller. She loves to bake and you can always catch her reading a fantasy/science fiction novel or participating in a book club. A Chicago native, she is thrilled to embrace the friendly Green Bay community and the Wisconsin way of living. 

Please join GRACE in congratulating Ms. Vance upon her selection as the next Principal at St. John the Baptist School.

We are so proud of these students who were selected to participate in CatholicLink’s second annual Middle School Leadership Conference, hosted at Titletown Tech. This dynamic program is developed for students by students and is aimed at growing the next generation of young leaders. Notre Dame Academy juniors and GRACE eighth-graders will lead participants through faith-forward activities involving teamwork, collaboration, reflection, and discovery. Keep our students in your prayers as they embark on their leadership development journey! #WeAreGRACEgb

Are you looking to spruce up your dining table for your Easter meal? Or perhaps give the gift of an Easter Lily, Easter Cactus, or Begonia to a family member or friend? Please join us in our Easter Bloom fundraiser! All the ordering is completely online. Simply place your order by March 31st and pick up your gorgeous, fragrant flowers in the gym on April 14th from 3-5 PM. (or by appointment)

Click here to place your order! Questions? Contact Kim Story. 

Congratulations to the following SJB students who performed live at Notre Dame Academy for the GRACE Solo and Ensemble Festival on Saturday, March 5.

Natalie W. – 1st – Clarinet solo

Jakob L. – 1st – Clarinet solo

Kathryn F. – 1st – Alto Saxophone solo

Julia G. & Kathryn W. – 2nd – Flute/Clarinet duet

Adrien E. – 1st – trumpet solo

Colin M. – 1st – trumpet solo

Please click here to view the recent “Special Edition” newsletter- An Old Fashioned Auction, for information on tickets, registering to bid (in-person OR from home!), raffle tickets and MORE!

To read the entire article, please click here!

Credit: The Compass News Inc. The official newspaper for the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

So far this school year, I’ve given about 25 tours to prospective families; that is slightly higher than a typical year. In each of these tours, I ask why they are interested in SJB. Interestingly, very few families are talking about test scores or teaching methods this year. Instead, families share that the most important thing they are looking for in a school is traditional Catholic values, where their kids can grow up to be kind. 

Our school aims to do just this. We are in year two of implementing Friendzy, our bible-based friendship curriculum. We are blessed to have Mrs. Kelly working as a counselor on staff. And this year, we have a teacher committee reviewing our behavior expectations and the way we handle discipline in our school. I’m very proud of how our teachers handle student issues and work together to share Jesus as the reason for kindness and love.

This endeavor is something that we can only succeed in with your help. Raising kind, well-disciplined children is a lifelong effort and done most successfully through a home-school partnership. 

I’ve often referred to the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s reference to parents being the child’s primary educator. That quote reads: Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues. (Paragraph 2223)

The Second Vatican Council document, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes n. 48) elaborates on this: With parents leading the way by example and family prayer, their children… will find it easier to make progress in natural virtues, in salvation, and in holiness. Husband and wife, raised to the dignity and the responsibility of parenthood, will be zealous in fulfilling their task as educators, especially in the sphere of religious education, a task that is primarily their own.

As we celebrate our Catholic school next week, I thank you for choosing SJB as a place to raise your children, and I humbly ask for your continued partnership as we raise kind children together.

St. John the Baptist Catholic School is excited to offer new preschool options for the 2022-23 academic year!

View more information on our preschool program by clicking here! Contact us to set up a tour!

3-Year-Old Program

• 2 Half Days (Monday/Wednesday): 8:05-11:05 a.m.
• 2 Half Days (Tuesday/Thursday): 8:05-11:05 a.m.

4-Year-Old Program for 2022-2023

• 3 Full Days (Monday/Wednesday/Friday): 8:05 a.m.-2:45 p.m.
• 5 Half Days (Monday-Friday): 8:05-11:05 a.m.
• 5 Full Days (Monday-Friday): 8:05 a.m.-2:45 p.m.

The Christmas story we share with our children is about following God’s messengers and traveling towards Christ. Mary and Joseph both said, “Yes” to the angel’s request and brought Jesus into the world. The shepherds followed the angels’ proclamation and went to Bethlehem to meet Jesus. Last, the three kings followed a star to find our newborn king. Each of these people listened and followed God’s messengers which led them to meet and worship Jesus.

Parents and teachers at St. John the Baptist School are called to be God’s modern-day messengers to our children. It’s not an easy task, the world is far louder today than it was 2000 years ago when Jesus was born. Because of this, we must make sharing the message of Jesus a priority. Prayer is a daily practice at St. John the Baptist School, as I know it is in many of your homes. I ask that each of us make an extra effort to be true messengers of Our Lord this season. We want our children to know and worship Jesus in this world so they can one day join Him in heaven.

Bishop David Ricken summarizes it well: “If we don’t share our faith with our children, what will the world share with them instead? If we don’t pray for them, with them and teach them how to pray, where will they turn in difficulty and who will they turn to?”

I can’t think of a better gift to share with our children this Christmas than a love of and for Christ.