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SMCS Style Guide

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Introduction

This style guide has been developed as a reference source for St. Mary Catholic Schools (SMCS) faculty and staff, especially those who write documents for an external or formal audience. Such documents include print and electronic materials designed to promote SMCS, its departments, and its programs; materials providing information about or accountability for SMCS and its activities; and major internal documents. Our goal is to present a consistent and high-quality standard of writing that appropriately reflects SMCS’s standard of excellence. We also address system-related style issues (such as when to capitalize professional titles, the official names of SMCS buildings and programs, etc.). We strongly encourage SMCS faculty and staff to become familiar with these guidelines and to use them whenever possible. SMCS generally follows AP Stylebook. This guide is not intended to replace other writing style guides used for specific purposes or publications. Nor is it intended for use by students or faculty writing academic papers. This guide is not intended to be comprehensive; that is, we have not included field-specific style issues, such as how to present mathematical equations in print. Specialists within departments are better authorities on such matters. We also have omitted lengthy and detailed explanations of most grammatical rules; instead, we have included a list of additional reference sources that users of this guide may consult for more information.

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Purpose of the SMCS Style Guide

This desktop reference is designed to increase the effectiveness of system communication through the consistent use of the SMCS name, logos and commonly used words, phrases and acronyms in all media. This reference pertains to all printed and written materials, including, but not limited to:

• Booklets

• Brochures

• Exhibits/displays

• Business cards

• Email messages

• Flyers

• Letterhead

• Media materials

• Newsletters

• Posters

• Presentations

• Apparel and uniforms

These guidelines generally follow AP Style, which sometimes differs from English Style. AP Style was chosen primarily because it can most easily make the transition from the printed page to email newsletters to a Web page. AP Style is continually updated as language and usage evolve; this guide will be periodically updated to reflect these changes. The latest version of the guide will be posted to the SMCS internet start page.

No doubt there will be situations for which clear-cut answers may not be found in this book. Please get in touch with staff in the SMCS Advancement Department with questions concerning printed and written media guidelines.

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Logo Guidelines

The SMCS logo is an important part of our brand. Wherever it is used, the perception is that the system has sanctioned that document, article of clothing or message. It is also a way of reinforcing that our school system is professional and accountable.

The SMCS logo features a modern cross encompassed by two circles that represent the schools and the parishes that support them. Neither the stylized words “St. Mary Catholic Schools” nor the cross/circle artwork should ever stand alone.

The P3-12 system logo should appear on any printed materials meant for external distribution, unless those materials are exclusive to a particular school. SMCS employees can obtain a copy of the logo on the Q drive in the logos folder. PMS Colors Yellow – PMS 124 / CMYK: C:0 M:28 Y:100 K:6 / RGB: R:238 G:177 B:17 Navy Blue – PMS 288 / CMYK: C: 100 M: 88 Y: 27 K: 19 / RGB: R: 0 G: 44 B: 115

Light Blue – PMS 292 / CMYK: C: 55 M: 16 Y: 0 K: 0 / RGB: R: 103 G: 178 B: 231

Guidelines for Correct Logo Use

• The diameter of the gold circle should be no less than ½ inch.

• The logo is printed in solid colors only – no shading. If the logo can not be printed in the PMS colors (listed above), then it must be black.

• To avoid pixilation and blurriness, use the file format appropriate for your publication.

• Do not “stretch” the logo outside of its proper proportions. Hold down the SHIFT key while resizing to make sure the logo does not get too wide or narrow.

• Allow at least 1/6 of the length of the logo around the entire logo to set it apart from other information.

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For any messages that go out to the public (external audience, outside our system families), the system logo version should be used (e.g., all advertising, donor communication, posters, t-shirts, and flyers). For any messages going to a specific school’s family base (internal audience), the school-specific version should be used (e.g, school newsletters, school fundraising event information, teacher newsletters).

System logo

____________________________________________________________________________________

High School

____________________________________________________________________________________

Middle School

_________________________________________________________________________________

Elementary Schools

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Zephyr Train logo: The Zephyr train logo is used for co-curricular ‘spirit’ events, clubs, athletics and activities. This is not the formal school system logo, and should be used only in situations pertaining to the aforementioned organizations and events. Font: Gills Sans Bold Yellow: PMS 124 Navy Blue: PMS 288 Light Blue: PMS 292 Zephyr Train – 2-color

Zephyr Train – 1-color

Graphic Color Bar

This graphic is used at the top and/or bottom of all collateral pieces. It can be resized to fit any piece.

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Apparel Guidelines The following are guidelines for anyone designing SMCS apparel. All orders must be approved by the SMCS Advancement Office.

The front of every top or bottom must have at least one of the following: Zephyr Train logo Any SMCS logo “Zephyr” (adjective) “Zephyrs” (noun) “St. Mary Catholic” (may add “Middle School”, “High School” or “Schools”) “St. Gabriel Elementary” “St. Margaret Mary Elementary” “St. Mary Elementary”

Print color for these items must be in black, navy, white, Columbia blue or yellow

Apparel item color must be navy, Columbia blue, gray, yellow, black or white. Other colors may be approved on a case-by-case basis (e.g. pink t-shirt for breast cancer awareness month).

There must be at least one Zephyr color (Columbia blue, navy or yellow) in either the print or apparel item.

PMS colors for above reference: Navy Blue (PMS 288), Columbia Blue (PMS 292), Yellow (PMS 124) Any articles of clothing used by any SMCS group must be approved by the SMCS Advancement Department. This includes t-shirts for school plays and musicals, athletic and co-curricular groups and events, system-related fundraisers, etc. SMCS Uniform Guidelines: When entering the process of ordering new athletic uniform, you must cooperate with the following: 1) Use Columbia Blue (PMS 292) for away and White for home uniforms.

-A Yellow (PMS 124) or Navy Blue (PMS 288) can be used as accent colors.

2) When using a name on the uniform, you must have one of the following: -Zephyrs -SMC -St. Mary Catholic

3) If using a number and a name, fonts must be consistent.

4) All designs must be approved by the SMCS Activities Director and SMCS Advancement Department

Brand Manager.

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Official School Names System:

St. Mary Catholic Schools 1050 Zephyr Drive Neenah, WI 54956 920-722-7796 smcatholicschools.org

Not St. Mary’s

Not District

Not Saint

Not SMC System

Not SMCS System

St. Mary Catholic Schools is a singular proper noun and therefore should be followed with the correct verb (e.g. St. Mary Catholic Schools strives…, values… congratulates…, welcomes…., etc.).

High School: St. Mary Catholic High School

1050 Zephyr Drive Neenah, WI 54956 920-722-7796

• When informally referring to the high school, SMC can be used. Middle School:

St. Mary Catholic Middle School 1000 Zephyr Drive Neenah, WI 54956 920-727-0279

Elementary Schools: St. Gabriel Elementary 900 Geiger Street Neenah, WI 54956 920-725-4161 St. Margaret Mary Elementary 610 Division Street Neenah, WI 54956 920-729-4565 St. Mary Elementary 540 Second Street Menasha, WI 54952 920-725-5351

**The elementary schools are referred to collectively as St. Mary Catholic Elementary Schools. When referring to a single school, the term “elementary school” is used (e.g. St. Gabriel Elementary School), unless referring to the location, in which case “campus” should be used (e.g. St. Gabriel Campus).

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SMCS Facility Names (for use in external

communications)

black box theater: forensic theater in the Jane Bergstrom Fine Arts Education Center

The Commons: dining/gathering areas in both the middle and high school

Jane Bergstrom Fine Arts Education Center: Theater facility

Abbreviation: FAEC Reviere Tennis Center: tennis courts on SMC campus Abbreviation: none

Technology and Engineering Center: VEX robotics and technology center

Abbreviation: TEC

Zephyr Fields: Football, soccer, baseball and future softball field structures

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Font and Typography Guidelines

Font choice is important. It can dramatically change the feel of your document and its perceived mood or importance.

Two primary font families are suggested: Garamond (used in this stylebook) and Times New Roman.

Times New Roman

Times New Roman

abcdefghijkl

ABCDEFGH

123456789

Times New Roman italic

abcdefghijkl

ABCDEFGH

123456789

Times New Roman

abcdefghijkl

ABCDEFGH

123456789

Times New Roman

abcdefghijkl

ABCDEFGH

123456789

Times New Roman Bold

abcdefghijkl

ABCDEFGH

123456789

Times New Roman

Bold italic

abcdefghijkl

ABCDEFGH

123456789

GARAMOND

Garamond abcdefghijkl ABCDEFGH 123456789 Garamond Italic abcdefghijkl ABCDEFGH 123456789 Garamond Bold abcdefghijkl ABCDEFGH 123456789 Garamond Bold Italic abcdefghijkl ABCDEFGH 123456789 Garamond Semibold abcdefghijkl ABCDEFGH 123456789 Garamond Semibold Italic abcdefghijkl ABCDEFGH 123456789 Garamond Titling abcdefghijkl ABCDEFGH 123456789

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Composition & Layout Guidelines

Consider the following when composing any document:

• White space – Readers need a break and white space is like a breath for the eyes. Make sure there is a good border of white space around the copy, but not so big that the readers’ eyes fall asleep.

• Go easy on the clip art – A well-chosen image can help reinforce your message, but remember to use clip art sparingly. Too many images can make your document look unprofessional. The same is true for using mismatched clipart. If the drawing style doesn’t match your message, don’t use it.

• Don’t use WordArt – Microsoft Word and other word processing programs come with tools that can turn your heading into a 3-D, arcing rainbow of text. It looks very unprofessional.

• Keep charts and graphs one-dimensional – Three-dimensional graphs and charts can visually skew the data, making the values look larger or smaller than they really are.

Use of letterhead

When writing directly to parents, vendors and others in the community, prepare a letter on approved letterhead.

• An approved online template is available on the SMCS Q drive in the folder named letterhead templates.

• Always download letterhead from the SMCS Q drive rather than a version you may have saved to your computer to ensure you are using the most recent copy.

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Communication Guidelines

Email

System email is a tool to be used for business and school communication. It should not be used to promote political, religious or commercial activities. Any email from an SMCS account is considered public record and can be requested by any person or organization. Employees should understand that any email related to district business – including on private email accounts – is available to anyone upon a public record request unless it contains information specifically made private by law. Think before you hit send! Sample email signature Sally Employee Science Teacher, St. Mary Catholic High School St. Mary Catholic Schools mgriffin@smcatholicschools.org www.smcatholicschools.org 1050 Zephyr Drive Neenah, WI 54956 Phone: 920.722.7796 ext. 803 Fax: 920.722.5940 SMCS ▪ Faith ▪ Academics ▪ Service

Do … • Use the approved email signature • Use the BCC field when sending to large groups, especially when individuals outside of SMCS are included. Note that a “reply all” to a list of BCC recipients will not go to the entire group. • Let recipients know when the BCC field has been used to reduce unnecessary forwarding. • Keep your inbox clean by promptly deleting unneeded messages. • Use a descriptive subject line. • Maintain professionalism - proofread emails for accuracy and grammatical correctness. Use the spell-check feature to automatically check prior to sending a message. • Use the out-of-office tool to let people know when you are unavailable and who to contact for immediate help. Don’t … • Add any additional quotes or phrases to your signature line • Overuse differing font types, colors or size • Use clip art or photos unnecessarily • Write in all capital letters • Send unnecessary attachments • Pass along unsolicited email messages or chain emails • Use your personal email account for system use • Use your system account for personal use

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Words, Acronyms and Initialisms Commonly Used at SMCS When using acronyms or initialisms (series of first letters that don’t spell a pronounceable word), always spell out the first reference in the document and use the acronym thereafter. a.m./p.m.: Designation of time of day; after numbers, preceded by a space; not AM or PM

Alumni/Alumna/Alumnus/Alum: Alumni is plural; alumna is singular feminine; alumnus is singular male

or female; alum is informal, not spelled “alumn”

AP: Advanced Placement

Black box theater: Not capitalized; the smaller, specialized forensic theater in the FAEC

Booster Backers: Name of group of parents who support the SMCS Booster Club by donating a certain

dollar amount or more

Booster Club: Parent organization that raises funds to support athletic and co-curricular activities at the

middle and high schools

BOT: SMCS Board of Trustees, not school board (not board of directors)

Brewfest: fundraiser for St. Gabriel Elementary

Buses: Use one ‘s’ like in bused and busing

Canceled: One ‘l’ is preferred use; not cancelled; cancellation does have two ‘l’s

CAPP: Cooperative Academic Partnership Program

Child: Use this term when communicating with parents about their own children; don't use the word

"student"

COA: Celebration of the Arts, program displaying musical and visual fine arts talents of K-12 students

Co-curricular: refers to non-academic activities; not “extracurricular”

Confucius Classroom: Designation at SMCHS by Hanban (Chinese education ministry) as a school that

promotes learning about Chinese language and culture

Connect 5: Organization of volunteers from all five supporting parishes that supports SMCS

Early childhood education—our program for children in classes prior to kindergarten; not “preschool”; the

levels are known as pre-3 and pre-k (pre-kindergarten)

Elementary Enrichment: Co-curricular program for preschool and elementary students providing after

school and evening enrichment opportunities

Email: One word, not hyphenated; lowercase except at beginning of a sentence

ESL: English as a Second Language

FAEC: Jane Bergstrom Fine Arts Education Center

Fundraiser; fundraising: one word, no hyphen

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GPA: Grade point average

Graduation: refers to graduation from high school only; kindergarten, fifth and eighth grade ceremonies are

recognitions

GZO: Greater Zephyr Open, a fundraiser for the SMCS annual golf outing, sponosored by the SMCS

Booster Club

HA: Honorary alumnus or alumna

HOF: SMCHS Athletic Hall of Fame

IEP: Individualized Education Plan

Jumbo Gumbo: system-wide fundraiser

Kindergartner: Lowercase

MAP: Measures of Academic Progress, the standardized test used by SMCS

Meet Me in the Middle: fundraiser for SMCMS

Multimedia: One word, no hyphen

Online: One word, no hyphen

School-year notations: Use 2013-14; do not use 2013-2014 or ’13-’14

Scrip: An ongoing fundraiser that allows families to reduce the cost of their own tuition

SMCS Foundation: Formerly known as TCCES/SMC Foundation

STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

STEPS: Summer Training for Endurance, Power, Strength and Speed, a for-credit class offered at the high

school during the summer

Student: Use this term when writing for a broad audience; use "child" when communicating with parents

about their own children

TCCES: Twin City Catholic Educational System, previous name of SMCS

The Commons: a public gathering area at the high school and middle school that also serves as the cafeteria

Website: One word; lower case

Wines Around the World: fundraiser for St. Margaret Mary Elementary

Winter Escape: fundraiser for St. Mary Elementary

World languages: Not foreign language, always use plural of languages; lowercase

WPCP: Wisconsin Parental Choice Program, also called “school choice” ; not to be referred to as vouchers

Zephyr Connection: The semi-annual newsletter mailed to SMC alumni

Zephyr Express: The monthly newsletter sent via email to SMCHS parents

Zephyrfest: fundraiser for SMCS

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General Suggestions

Capitalization Official names and proper nouns are capitalized. Common nouns and various shortened forms of official names are not capitalized. Use the full, official name the first time it appears in a document or section of a document.

Do Not Capitalize:

city of Neenah, the

classes: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior

degrees: doctorate, doctor’s, master’s, bachelor’s, baccalaureate

department, the

form names, unofficial (e.g., admission form, drop/add form)

orientation

program, the

school, the

spring break

spring, summer, fall, winter

state of Wisconsin, the

system or schools, the (when it stands alone in reference to St. Mary Catholic Schools)

Job and Position Titles Capitalize job titles only when they immediately precede the individual’s name or when they are named positions or honorary titles (as in the last example).

It’s common knowledge that President George W. Bush loves his ranch in Texas.

The president, George W. Bush, took the oath of office under cloudy skies.

The president of the United States serves a four-year term of office.

Have you taken a course from Professor Sherman?

Sherman, a music professor, does not teach in the summer.

John Sherman, professor of music, does not teach in the summer.

Titles in Addresses and Display Format When a title appears in an address or other display format (such as list of administrators in an annual report), as opposed to running text, the title can be capitalized even if it appears after the name.

Jean Warren, Director

John Smith, Associate Director

Seasons and Semesters Seasons, semesters, and terms should all be lowercase.

spring semester

fall 2006

the summer 2007 term (no commas)

summer session

spring break

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The Case for Lowercase These style guidelines for system-related terms may differ from what you have been using. In general, this guide recommends a lowercase style, for several reasons:

When too many words are capitalized, they lose their importance and no longer attract attention.

Standard style guides, including the Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law and The Chicago Manual of Style, require lowercase letters in running text for things like job descriptions and unofficial department names.

Copy is more easily read when it isn’t peppered with initial caps or all caps.

Using lowercase letters in no way diminishes the stature or credibility of an individual’s position or a department’s reputation. After all, even the title “president of the United States” is lowercased in running text when it doesn’t immediately precede the president’s name.

When writing promotional or marketing materials (such as brochures or print ads), emphasis can be achieved more effectively by the skillful use of white space, typeface, and typestyle than by excessive use of initial caps or all caps.

Keeping everything except full, official names lowercase also simplifies decisions about when to capitalize shortened forms of official names.

Athletic/Athletics – Use ‘athletic’ as an adjective, as in “David is not an athletic person.” Use “athletics” when talking about a sports department or official: The athletics department, Athletics Director Joe Sports. Department/School names

Formal – Capitalize the formal names of any SMCS departments or schools.

Informal –Informal references, such as “our science teachers” or “science department,” should be lowercase. Zephyr teams — When used as an adjective to refer to a specific team, such as football or baseball, it should be without an “s”-- the Zephyr football team. When used as a proper noun, Zephyrs, with an ‘s,’ should be used, as in “The Zephyrs will take on the Knights in September.” Names – Check every new name printed for possible alumni status.

Hyphenated names – If alphabetizing a list of names (classmates, for instance), alphabetize a hyphenated last name according to the name before the hyphen. For example, Anna Huber-Ricker should be alphabetized under “H” for “Huber.”

Couple order – Put name of alumnus first; if neither is an alum, list man’s name first unless requested otherwise

Photo credits – use photographer name and business name, separated with a slash. When a single photographer has shot an entire spread, use the phrase “Photography by Joe Photo.” If a photo was provided by someone, state “Courtesy of Joe Photo.” Telephone numbers Use figures. The forms: 212-621-1500, 621-1500. Do not use parentheses (a change in AP style). If extension numbers are given use “ext.”, as in ext. 2, ext. 364, ext. 4071. Use a comma to separate the main number from the extension (e.g. 920-722-7796, ext 803). Ampersand (&) Do not use the ampersand (&) as an abbreviation for and. Use the ampersand only when it is part of an official name of a company, product, or other proper noun; or on covers and display matter, at the discretion of the designer.

Students Do not capitalize freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, or first-year student, unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence or in a headline. Freshman is singular; if you are tempted to use “freshmen,” check for proper use by substituting the plural “sophomores” (e.g. the sophomores class). If it doesn’t make sense, use “freshman.”

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Inclusive Dates Use an en dash (or a hyphen, if an en dash is unavailable) for continuing or inclusive numbers, but do not use a hyphen as a substitute for the word to.

She taught in the chemistry department from 2000 to 2006; not She taught in the chemistry department from 2000–2006.

Punctuation with Dates No comma is needed between a month and a year. Commas are required before and after a year when month, date, and year are used.

She began her studies in September 2003 and completed them in May 2007.

She began her studies on September 1, 2003, and completed them on May 12, 2007.

She began class on Tuesday, September 1, at 8:00 a.m.

Numbers

Spell out one to nine. Use numerals for 10 and above.

Exceptions: Use numerals for percentages, decimals, credit hours, GPAs, book sections and pages, quantities combining whole numbers and fractions, and when symbols rather than abbreviations are used for units of measure.

Use the word percent in formal running text. Use the percent sign in tables, charts, scientific and statistical copy, and some informal and promotional copy. Whichever you choose, be consistent throughout a document.

In the following table, 3 mi. and 75 ft. are approximations.

Spelling out large round numbers is preferred. o She gave the museum more than two hundred thousand artifacts.

Use a combination of numerals and words with numbers in the millions and larger. o The population increased by 2.3 million.

Use a comma for numbers with more than three digits unless they represent SAT scores or years. o Resident tuition for 2007–08 was $3,317 per semester. o The book, which was published in 2007, has 1,229 pages. o His combined SAT score was 1235.

Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence or rephrase the sentence to avoid beginning with a number.

o Forty-nine students received the new degree at the May commencement. Dates The U.S. preference is for styling dates as month, day, and year. Do not use ordinal numbers in dates.

New parking permits go on sale January 8, 2007.

NOT New parking permits go on sale January 8th, 2007.

NOT New parking permits go on sale 8 January 2007.

Time Use numerals with a.m. or p.m. (small caps or lowercase letters) to indicate specific times. Use noon and midnight in place of 12:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m., respectively, for clarity.

Sentence spacing Use only one space after end punctuation (periods, exclamation points, question marks) and after colons and semicolons.

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Apostrophes When indicating the possessive for names, use an apostrophe followed by an s even when the person’s name ends in s or another sibilant.

Kansas’s team

Jones’s theorem

Marx’s ideas

Quotation Marks Commas and periods always go inside quotation marks. Colons and semicolons always go outside quotation marks. With question marks and exclamation points, it depends: If the punctuation is part of the quotation, put it inside the quotation marks; if it’s not part of the quotation, put it outside. Use quotation marks:

to indicate the exact words that someone spoke or published

the first time you refer to a nickname

the first time you use a term or phrase ironically or sarcastically (don’t overuse)

Religious References

Capitalize the proper names of monotheistic deities (God, the Father, the Son, the Son of God). Uppercase pronouns referring to the deity (He, Him, His, Thee, Thou) (modified for SMCS).

Life of Christ: Capitalize the names of major events in the life of Christ in references that don’t use his name (the Last Supper, the Crucifixion), but lowercase when used with his name (the ascension of Jesus…).

Rites: Capitalize proper names for rites that commemorate the Last Supper or signify a belief in Christ’s presence (the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, Holy Eucharist).

Capitalize Benediction and Mass, but: a high Mass, a requiem Mass).

Holy Days: Capitalize the names of holy days.

Other words: lowercase heaven, hell, devil, priest, apostle

Religious titles: the first reference to a clergyman should include a capitalized title before his/her name, specifically the Rev. or the Reverend is the designation that applies for priests on first reference. On second reference, use only a last name or Father _____. If known only by a religious name, repeat the title (the pope, the pontiff).

Nuns: Always use Sister before a name.

Officeholders: The preferred first-reference form for those who hold church office but are not ordained clergy is to set apart the title from the name by commas. Capitalize the formal title of an office if it is used directly before an individual’s name.

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Required Elements in Printed Materials

Printed materials such as brochures, flyers, guides, handbooks, newsletters and posters MUST contain the following required elements:

• Correct spelling and grammar – do not rely solely on spell check • An approved version of the SMCS logo • The SMCS website address, smcatholicschools.org • Name of the school or department responsible for the document • Contact information for the school or department creating the document

Other elements to include as appropriate:

• The SMCS system mission statement: St. Mary Catholic Schools, in partnership with family, Church and community, provides a quality Catholic education that is focused on faith, academics, service and personal development from preschool through high school to influence a rapidly changing world.

• Mailing address and phone number • Staff names • Nondiscrimination clause

Proofreading and Approval Processes The SMCS Director of Communications should review and approve communication publications and print items that will be viewed by the general public, including by guests at performances. These items include music performance programs, programs for system-sponsored competitions and events, seasonal sports programs, graduation programs, system newsletters, event posters and all school yearbooks. Printing & Publication Services Contact the SMCS Advancement Department for recommendations regarding printing resources.

Business cards can be ordered through the SMCS Advancement Department. Once approval from the employee’s supervisor is received, the cards will be ordered and then delivered through interoffice mail.

SMCS cannot violate copyrights. If something on the document is copyrighted by another party, it cannot be reproduced without written permission from the copyright owner. If you have questions regarding copyright issues, contact the SMCS Director of Communications.

Edition 1 – 6.29.15