School News

Important Dates for 2010-2011 Academic Year
1/29/2010
March 12, 2010--Incoming Freshmen $300 tuition installment due to the Mater Dei School Office.

April 22, 2010 - $180 General Fee due for returning students

July 15, 2010—Tuition, Technology Fee, and Activity Fee due in full

Snow Makeup Days
3/1/2010
School will be in session the following days for snow makeup days:
Friday, April 2
Monday, April 5
Friday, April 23

Bishop Names New Board of Trustees
2/11/2010
BISHOP NAMES MEMBERS OF NEW BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF REITZ MEMORIAL AND MATER DEI HIGH SCHOOLS

January 30, 2010. Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger has appointed the members of two newly formed schoolboards, completing the first step in a transition to a new governance model calling for individual boards of trustees at Mater Dei and Reitz Memorial High Schools in Evansville.

The appointments were announced today by the Evansville Catholic Interparochial High Schools Board of Trustees. This board will continue its oversight through the end of the 2009-10 school year. As the new individual boards are being formed for the beginning of the 2010-11 school year, a new Evansville Catholic High School Coordinating Council will also be formed to continue the interparochial relationship of the two schools.

The deans of the Evansville East and West Deaneries, Father Bernie Etienne and Father David Nunning,had received a strong response from the Catholic community of willingness to serve on the boards. The deans made their recommendations to Bishop Gettelfinger, who made the following appointments:

Reitz Memorial High School:
Susan Bell, Memorial '70, Community Volunteer
J.P. Engelbrecht, Memorial '98, Chief Executive Officer, South Central Communications
Sylvia Groves, Mater Dei '81, Supervisor, Psychological Services EVSC
Joseph Helfrich, Mater Dei '84, Financial Advisor/Wealth Planning Investment Consultant, Fifth Third Bank
Dennis Lamey, Memorial '65, Executive Vice President, Norman Backues & Associates
Michael Lloyd, Memorial '76, Director Marketing Research, Old National Bank
Robert Mehringer, Memorial '86, President, Access Partners
Scott Stratman, Memorial '86, Attorney, Meyer Stone & Stratman
Christopher Wolking, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Old National Bancorp

Mater Dei High School:
Judy Blankenberger, retired Principal, Resurrection School
Theo Boots, President, Junior Achievement of Southwestern Indiana
Terrence Clements, Chief Information Officer Info Services & Senior Vice President, Shoe Carnival
Tony Fehrenbacher, Mater Dei '97, Attorney, Kinney Kasha Buthod
Matthew Folz, Mater Dei '91, Vice President, Harding Shymanski
Daniel Hoefling, Mater Dei '78, Vice President Commercial and Light Industrial, Industrial Contractors, Inc.
Marcia Jochem, Executive Vice President Human Resources, Berry Plastics
Dr. James Macke, Mater Dei '76, Medical Director, Stepping Stone
Daniel Niemeier, Mater Dei '80, Associate Director Liquid Manufacturing Operations, Mead Johnson Nutrition
Phillip Stolz, Mater Dei '91, Senior Manager Marketing Analytics, Mead Johnson Nutrition

Each of the Boards of Trustees will also have three ex-officio members: the Dean, the Executive Director of the high school and the Administrator of the Evansville Catholic High Schools Coordinating Council.

Fathers Etienne and Nunning issued the following joint statement of appreciation: “We are extremely pleased with the response from so many people in the community willing to serve in leadership positions. The rich tradition of academic excellence and faith integration will not only continue but will thrive as a result of the updating of our governance/leadership structure. This will provide added strength to the leadership, governance and stakeholder involvement at each school while retaining the interparochial relationship of the high schools.”

The new board members will immediately begin the process of election of board officers, committee assignments and appointment of four members each to serve on the Evansville Catholic High School Coordinating Council. The boards will also be undertaking the process of selecting the Executive Director, Principal and Business Manager for their high school. The process of selecting the leadership teams, beginning with the Executive Director position, is scheduled to be completed prior to the beginning of the 2010-11 school year.

In a related announcement, the ECIHS Board reported that, after extending his service through the end of 2009, ECIHS President Don Rupprecht has retired. His three and one-half years of service to Reitz Memorial and Mater Dei are marked by improved development and fund-raising efforts, updated accounting, procurement, project management and facilities maintenance systems and strengthened operating practices. Rupprecht and his staff, working with the large network of alumni and other supporters and volunteers, grew fund raising results by over one-third from the 2005-06 year and partnered with the leadership of the Catholic Education Foundation to raise the level of needs-based tuition assistance to over $400,000 in the most recent school year from about $140,000 in the 2005-06 school year. “We are very grateful to Don, not only for his accomplishments during his time as President, but also for his work on the new governance/leadership structure, which will further strengthen our schools,” stated Marcia Jochem, current Chair of the ECIHS Board of Trustees.

Andy Goebel, retired President and COO of Vectren Corporation, and a long-time member of the ECIHS Board of Trustees, will assume Rupprecht’s responsibilities during the transition to the new governance/leadership model. Goebel and Rupprecht worked closely on the development of the new structure. Goebel will continue to serve on the ECIHS Board of Trustees as an ex-officio, non-voting member.

Goebel commented, “The quality of our two Catholic high schools - ranking among the state’s best in several areas, including graduation rates, performance on standardized tests and percentage of graduates pursuing post secondary education, along with highly competitive co-curricular outcomes at both schools - is the result of the efforts of our many stakeholders working together to provide an outstanding educational experience for our young people. The new Boards of Trustees at Mater Dei and Memorial will enable our schools to be even more successful in preparing young people in the Evansville community not only to make a living, but to make a life.”

For more information contact Andy Goebel, 812-474-2943 ext. 308, agoebel@evdio.org
SAT Preparation Course
1/29/2010
My name is Joel Claycomb and I teach Spanish at Mater Dei.  I am also a very experienced SAT instructor.  Each year four teachers, who are truly experts in their fields, and I offer a preparation course for the SAT.  Last year, our course for Mater Dei and Memorial students was very successful.  Because of the positive feedback from the students and parents, we are going to offer the course again.

The course for this year will begin the on April 7th  and run through April 29th.  There is an SAT scheduled for May 1st.  The classes will take place at Mater Dei and Memorial.  Also, we will offer several free workshops and diagnostic exams.  If you would like more information, please call or email: 453-9684 jclaycomb@evvmaterdei.org.

Mater Dei Art Show
12/18/2009
The Mater Dei Art Department is forming a partnership with Pine Haven Nursing Home to share the visual artistic talents of our students with the clients at Pine Haven and the public.

In the new section, they have a space that can be converted into a gallery to display our art work. Being able to show our work with a neighbor like Pine Haven is a great opportunity. The schedule for the next few months is as follows.

January -   Computer Graphics self- portrait show and 3D mask show

February - Advanced 2-D and Advanced 3-D linoleum block and silk screen print show

March -     Works not accepted into the High Sschool Art Show

April -       Feeder Schools Art Competition Show
Summer Science Camp
1/29/2010
The Mater Dei Science Camp for the current school year's 5th and 6th grade students will be held the week after Memorial Day on May 25, 26, and 27, from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. each morning.

The camp, which is in its third year, will allow students a hands-on opportunity to learn physics from Mrs. Richardson, chemistry from Mr. Schleter and Mr. Jewell, and biology
from Mrs. Wannemuehler and Mr. Voegel. Students will rotate through the various disciplines each day while learning various concepts and performing labs.

Camp registration forms will be available in the April newsletter.

EVANSVILLE CATHOLIC INTERPAROCHIAL HIGH SCHOOLS SUMMARY OF MODIFICATIONS TO THE LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE FOR MATER DEI AND MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOLS
12/10/2009
The Evansville Catholic Interparochial High School (“ECIHS”) Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the upcoming transition to an updated governance/leadership structure for Evansville’s two outstanding Catholic high schools, Mater Dei and Reitz Memorial.
 
Frequently Asked Questions about the new governance/leadership structure

Board of Trustees Application
Organization Chart


While retaining the interparochial relationship of the schools, the current ECIHS Board of Trustees will transition into two new Boards of Trustees, one at each school.  Members of the respective boards of trustees and leadership teams, which will include an Executive Director serving as the leader of the school, a Principal, a Business Manager/Controller and an Office of Institutional Advancement, will be announced early in 2010.   

Collaboration between Mater Dei and Memorial will continue through academic, extracurricular and fundraising activities.  While each school will have an individual board and leadership team responsible for their school, a common Evansville Catholic High School Coordinating Council will serve both schools.  The Coordinating Council will have direct responsibility for assuring common practices in the areas of tuition, faculty and staff compensation, financial recordkeeping and reporting and personnel and payroll policies and practices.   In addition, the Coordinating Council will administer the parish assessment process whereby selected parishes in the greater Evansville area will continue to participate in providing financial support to the two schools.  

The new governance/leadership model being implemented at Mater Dei and Memorial is the predominate model in use in Catholic high schools in the country today.   This 21st century approach to optimizing the Catholic secondary education opportunities for our young people, now in place in nearly two-thirds of the nation’s Catholic high schools, will provide added strength to Mater Dei and Memorial and concentrate the leadership and community support at the individual school level, while preserving the benefits of the interparochial nature of the schools.   

Mater Dei and Memorial high schools will continue their record of excellence in academic achievement, faith integration and the generous support and involvement of parents, alumni and friends.  Don Rupprecht, current President of ECIHS, in discussing the transition to the new leadership/governance structure, stated, “Thousands of graduates have benefited in many ways as a result of the life preparation received at Memorial and Mater Dei high schools, as well as the former Rex Mundi High School.  We are blessed with outstanding support from our many stakeholders, a dedicated faculty and a greater Evansville community that understands the important role that the two schools play in the lives of so many young people and in the overall advancement of the community.  It is our sincere belief that the new model is the most appropriate approach to further advancing these outstanding Catholic schools.”

The 2009-10 school year marks the 85th and 60th years of educational excellence for Memorial and Mater Dei, respectively, in the Evansville community.  The schools have operated under a number of different governance models over the many years of their existence.   Since the late 1990’s, Mater Dei and Memorial have been under the governance of a single Board of Trustees (the ECIHS) with a single President serving both schools and with certain business and institutional advancement functions centralized and academic leadership at the individual school level.   That structure will operate through the end of the current school year with the new model in place prior to the beginning of the 2010-11 school year.  Attached is an organization chart depicting the new leadership/governance structure and a listing of “Frequently Asked Questions” to assist in further explaining the transition to the new structure.  

Memorial and Mater Dei high schools have a combined enrollment exceeding 1,300 students.  Graduation rates are 99%, with 97% of graduates continuing some form of post secondary educational opportunity.   The two high schools are part of the Evansville Catholic Diocese School Corporation that has consistently achieved ISTEP scores ranking at or very near the highest in Indiana.    More than 60% of Memorial and Mater Dei graduates live in the Evansville metropolitan area.   

Catholic Education Foundation Tuition Grants
12/18/2009
The Catholic Education Foundation (CEF) is announcing that applications for tuition assistance
for the 2010-2011 school year are available at the school offices of Mater Dei High School and at Catholic grade school offices (where 8th graders are enrolled) and at parish offices.
 
To download, type and print an application from Mater Dei High School website, www.materdeiwildcats.com, select “About MD” tab, then “Tuition and Fees”.

Students wishing to attend Mater Dei High School may apply.  CEF tuition awards are based entirely on financial need.  Complete confidentiality is assured.  Deadline for applying is March 12, 2010.  Most of the grant funds will be awarded to those who apply on time.  Appeals and late applications will be accepted until July 1, 2010 provided funding remains available.    

Beginning early in 2010, a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) will be established under the leadership of the Diocese of Evansville to allow “school choice,” or tuition assistance for students who qualify financially, and who wish to transfer from public school to private school.  Parents can also apply to an SGO for tuition assistance for a child who will be entering kindergarten.  

Businesses and individuals are allowed a fifty percent Indiana tax credit in addition to the usual federal deduction for contributions made to an SGO.  It is recommended that qualified parents of high school students apply to an SGO first, then to CEF if additional funding is needed.

For more information please call Margaret Angermeier:  402-6700 Ext. 302.  Email:  cef@evdio.org.

Student Absence
11/30/2009
Parents, this is a reminder as stated in the handbook, that with any planned absence (college visit, surgery, family trips) the Attendance Office must receive a note from the parent one week in advance.

The Attendance Office has a form that must be signed by the student's teachers and returned to the main office.  If the student has a doctor's appointment, please send a note and include in the note what time the student should leave school if they are driving or what time the student will be picked up. Students should bring the note to the main office the morning of the appointment before school, and Mrs. Scott will give the student an early dismissal slip to leave their classroom.

Any questions please call the Attendance Office.  

Attention Senior Guys
8/28/2009
Registering with Selective Service must be done within 30 days of your 18th birthday. Selective Service is a government agency whose job is to provide untrained manpower for the Armed Forces if there is a national emergency. Go to www.sss.gov to register online.

Search


Upcoming Events

Current Weather

weather forecast

Local News Resources