Chaplain's Corner
Dear Northwoods Catholic School Parents,
I wanted to share with you an initiative that the formation team has implemented this week in the Middle School. It’s called the “Formation Blitz”. The Blitz is designed to help the upper school students take responsibility for their own formation through the healthy competitive spirit inherent in the adolescent.
This week’s Formation Blitz is focused on the area of personal presentation. As we know, personal presentation is an important element of human formation and entails things like posture, the words and tone of voice we use in 
our dealings with others, our facial expressions, the dignity with which we carry ourselves as God’s children, etc. Our personal presentation is a reflection of our interior—if we are disordered on the inside, it will show on the outside and vice versa.
Each class, 6th through 8th, discussed and formulated the criteria by which they will strive to improve their personal presentation. Each student casts his/her ballot each morning in homeroom, naming which student he/she thinks made the best effort the day before to work on personal presentation, based on the criteria chosen by the students. A student council representative is keeping a tally of the votes and the winner of the competition will receive the “Faith Under Pressure” bracelet which he/she may wear to school throughout the following month until the next Formation Blitz.
Feel free to ask your son/daughter how the Blitz is going; I would appreciate any feedback you may have. Future Blitz’ will focus on “Lunchroom Etiquette” and “Classroom Behavior”. My hope and prayer is that the Middle School students will grow in their desire for “self-formation”. Formation which is imposed from the outside will only last as long as the threat of punishment is present. But if our students leave Northwoods with a habit of self-formation, this will help them succeed in all areas of life.
Please know that you are all in my prayers in a special way, and let us all continue to ensure our school is striving “always higher” (semper altius)!
Sincerely Yours in Christ Jesus,
Fr. Michael Vanderbeek, LC
Chaplain
