Parents
We are committed to fostering a strong partnership between the school and our families. To support this collaboration, we offer a variety of parent tools designed to enhance communication and engagement. Listed below, you will find resources for parents/guardians. These tools are aimed at empowering you to stay connected and involved in your child’s educational journey.
West Catholic’s Student Handbook is a comprehensive guide designed to provide students and parents/guardians with essential information about our school’s policies and procedures. Within its pages, you will find details on academic standards, behavioral guidelines and other resources to support student success. We encourage all students and parents/guardians to read through the handbook carefully to ensure a clear understanding of our school’s values and expectations.
Please be aware that the Student Handbook is a living document and may be updated as West Catholic administrators see fit. Be sure to visit the link below for the most up-to-date school policies and guidelines.
West Catholic partners with School Uniforms by Tommy Hilfiger to provide uniforms to our students (partner school number: WEST04). Check out the following links for more information:
School Uniforms by Tommy Hilfiger regularly sends out discounts and special offers to members of its email list. Click here to sign up!
West Catholic strongly encourages the integration and use of technology in all courses by both teachers and students. We strive to meet and exceed all national and state standards. ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) standards are met within technology classes and throughout the building to prepare all students to use technology seamlessly in their education so that they are prepared for the future.
In addition to teaching digital citizenship throughout our curriculum, West Catholic enforces a strict code of conduct in dealing with all usage of technology, electronic transmissions and all digital content. To review West Catholic’s technology policies and procedures, please read the policies and documentation sections below.
iPad Insurance
West Catholic covers all accidental damage and device hardware issues at no cost to families. This includes:
- Accidental Damage
- Drops
- Mechanical Failures
- Liquid Damage
All repairs and billing are handled through West Catholic’s Technology Department. DO NOT attempt self-repair of your device or unauthorized third-party repairs. All damaged devices should be brought directly to the Tech Department. A lender device will be issued if the original device is sent out for repair.
Policies/Documentation
Technology Support
West Catholic embraces the use of technology as an educational tool. However, as with many tools, training, troubleshooting and support are often part of the package. Our school has two full-time employees as well as a Diocesan support team to help with these matters.
Jeff Bailey is our Instructional Support Specialist. Mr. Bailey’s role is to support staff and students in the appropriate and effective usage of technology. He is also available to help support parents/guardians if they have questions or concerns centered around technology.
Tom Kutzli is our Technology Director. Mr. Kutzli’s role is to support the overall implementation and vision for technology at West Catholic. He is also the front line of support for hardware problems, software setup and student devices in need of repair.
Don’t hesitate to reach out directly to our Technology Department with any questions. You can also email our technology support line at: wcsupport@grwestcatholic.org. The technology support line is designed for questions outside of normal school hours. Our team will do its best to give timely responses to all questions.
Contact
| Jeff Bailey Instructional Support Specialist (616) 233-5965 jeffbailey@grwestcatholic.org |
Tom Kutzli Technology Director (616) 233-5907 tomkutzli@grwestcatholic.org |
The wet Catholic Parent Guild is a volunteer organization that provides hospitality, support and service opportunities for parents. The Guild is committed to supporting West Catholic’s mission to form disciples of Christ through a dynamic, excellence-driven Catholic education.
All parents and legal guardians of students enrolled in West Catholic are members of the Parent Guild. Register with the Parent Guild to stay informed and be sure to visit our Parent Guild page! Please contact parentguild@grwestcatholic.org with any questions.
Parent Tech Tools
Infinite Campus provides access to information about grades, attendance, behavior, food service and much more for both students and parents/guardians.
Infinite Campus logins are provided to both students and parents/guardians. Students will receive their Infinite Campus login information at the beginning of their freshman year along with all other account logins. Parents will receive an automated email with an activation code to set up their Infinite Campus account near the beginning of the school year.
Infinite Campus also has downloadable Student and Parent Apps which can be very helpful for quick access to grades and other information. Just search for Campus Student or Campus Parent in the App Store.
Finalsite Enrollment is used to manage your student’s application, complete enrollment or re-enrollment forms, and update household information. Current families can log in to the Parent Portal to access and submit required documents, review enrollment contracts and ensure all information is up to date for the upcoming school year.
Canvas is a learning management system (LMS) that allows teachers to provide instructional support, class calendars, assignments and resources for students in a safe online environment. West Catholic hopes that this resource will provide you with specific information about your student’s curricula so you have a better understanding of the work that teachers and students are doing.
Parents/guardians are listed as “Observers” in their student’s Canvas account. Observers have limited permissions that allow them to see what is going on in a course and a calendar of assignments. Like students, Observers cannot view a course until it is published and the course has started. For assistance with Assignments, Test Dates, Quizzes or other Canvas course content, please contact your student’s teacher.
Note: Using the web browser to access your Canvas account will give you a fuller experience with greater access to your child’s resources. The Canvas Parent app is a great resource for understanding homework and due dates, but it will not allow observers to view all documents and links that are available in the web browser.
Canvas Parent Setup
Getting setup on Canvas is a great way to stay current on curriculum, course work, and due dates. Student information can be viewed from a web browser or from an iOS or Android app. To view your student(s) course information in Canvas you will follow three steps:
1) Get a Pairing Code from your student(s)
2) Create a Canvas Parent Account
3) Login as a Parent
Each of these three steps are explained in detail below for web browser, iOS, and Android access.
Step 1: Get Pairing Code
When creating an account in the Parent app, you will need to enter a pairing code, which is generated from your
student’s account. View the lesson below to learn how your student can generate this code:
● How do I generate a pairing code for an observer as a student?
● Additional information about pairing codes
Step 2: Canvas Parent Account Creation
Parents can be paired with their student(s) Canvas accounts with observer credentials by following the instructions below.
Note: When searching for our Canvas school you will type: Diocese of Grand Rapids-Parent
● How do I create an account from a web browser?
● How do I create an account in the Canvas Parent app on my Android device?
● How do I create an account in the Canvas Parent app on my iOS device?
Step 3: Parent Login
Parents can login to Canvas from any web browser or an iOS or Android app. For more information on logging in to the web browser or Parent app, view the following instructions:
● How do I log in from a web browser?
● How do I log in to the Canvas Parent app on my Android device?
● How do I log in to the Canvas Parent app on my iOS device?
● How do I pair 2 children’s Canvas accounts to the same parent account?
Things to keep in mind:
● Using the web browser to access your Canvas account will give you a fuller experience with greater access to your child’s resources. The Canvas Parent app is a great resource for understanding homework and due dates, but it will not allow observers to view all documents and links that are available in the web browser.
● For more information about the Parent / Observer role in Canvas, Click Here.
Naviance is an online platform that allows schools to set goals and priorities for individual students, track their progress and measure student outcomes to improve college and career readiness. Naviance also manages electronic transcripts and recommendations.
Naviance accounts are managed by the School Counseling Department. Contact our Registrar if you have login questions:
Lauri Ford, Registrar
(616) 233-5909
lauriford@grwestcatholic.org
We are excited to share with you the availability of JAMF PARENT, an app that will give you an optional additional layer of control over your son/daughter’s school-issued iPad from your own device. In addition to the school safeguards that are already in place for all student devices, this app allows you to restrict content and apps, set up rules on devices and create timeframes for access. This functionality is available to parents/guardians only outside of school hours. (Monday-Friday before 7 a.m. and after 4 p.m.).
The Jamf Parent App is free to download from the Apple App Store; simply search JAMF PARENT. Connecting your student’s device is simple, and setting up your chosen controls takes very little time. Here are step-by-step instructions for downloading and connecting your devices.
Once you have devices connected to your account, you may set up the controls and restrictions you want to put on the device outside of school hours. Here is a Parent Guide that will help guide you in setting up your selected controls and restrictions. If you’d like a video guide to setting up the app, check out this video from YouTube. Please note that West Catholic employs the Jamf Pro product. Some features in the Jamf School product are not available in the Jamf Pro product and vice-versa.
All West Catholic students are setup with a school-managed Google Account. This account gives users a free platform for document creation, document storage, collaboration and email.
All Google accounts follow a set format: [firstnamelastname@dogrschools.org] (ex. johndoe@dogrschools.org)