Re-Scheduled K-8 Conferences and Other Events
K-8 drop in conferences are January 31st from 4:30 – 7:00 p.m. We’ll see what the weather does this time. Re-scheduling is sometimes an even bigger challenge than scheduling something the first time.
If a Catholic Schools Week event is cancelled, we will look to reschedule it far enough out that parents have some advance notice.
Catholic Schools Week Summary
Below is a summary of events for Catholic Schools Week. For more details, please see the January 13th Principal’s Post.
Saturday, Jan 26:
- All school Mass, 4:30. Attendance is expected. Students are encouraged to wear JFK spirit wear and/or green and white.
- Spaghetti Supper and Open House, 5:30 – 7:30. Book fair is open as well.
Monday, Jan 28:
- Dodgeball for Diapers Day. Forms for this 3rd-8th grade fundraiser were emailed and sent home in “backpack” mail.
- Athletic dress day — out of uniform (but following the out of uniform guidelines in our handbook as all our special dress days must)
Tuesday, Jan 29:
- Talent Show
- 7:45 Grades 4, 1, 2, 3 in this order.
- 12:25 Grades K, 5, 6, 7, 8 in this order.
- All acts and music must be approved by homeroom teachers.
- Forms due January 22nd.
- Music must be submitted by Jan 24th so we have time to make sure it will work.
- Class dress alike day. Look for information from your child’s homeroom teacher.
- Students may bring a pillow upon which to sit.
Wednesday, Jan 30:
- All School Mass with individual blessings of throats, 7:40
- Bring a Guest to Lunch Day
- Visit the book fair after lunch
- 10:40 – 11:10 K and 1Y
- 11:10 – 11:40 1E and 4th grade
- 11:40 – 12:10 2nd and 3rd grades
- 12:10 – 12:40 5th and 6th grades
- 12:40 – 1:10 7th and 8th grades
- Parents may take their students home after lunch. However, both a child’s homeroom teacher and office need to be informed.
- A lunch note went home last week to pre-purchase your adult meal. School lunch for adults will only be available through this pre-payment requirement so we had time to order enough food for everyone.
- Green and white out of uniform dress day (Mass appropriate)
Thursday, Jan 31:
- All Catholic schools Mass at AHS for grades 2-8. Look for a separate permission slip yet to be sent home and emailed.
- Everyone will be in uniform/dress code.
Friday, Feb 1:
- Adoration
- Crazy Socks and Out of Uniform Day
- 8th grade vs. Staff Volleyball Game, 1:30
- Special activities in grades K-2
- 4 year old preschool
- AM classes: Snack, puppet show, book fair. Adults welcome. 7:25 – 8:15ish for special activities.
- PM classes: Snack, puppet show, book fair. Adults welcome. 11:40 – 12:30ish for special activities
- After attending the puppet show and book fair, parents (and preschoolers) are also invited to drop by one of our kindergarten class rooms.
- Kindergarten Informational Sessions and Round-up are right around the corner. Parents will have an informational session, and students will get to be kindergartners for the “day.” Find out how the difference in us will make a difference in your child’s education.
- Feb 19: 8 – 9:30 a.m. in the parish center, or
- Feb 19: 6-7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria
How Many Days Will We Make Up and When?
Something tells me that we may not yet be done with school cancellations due to the weather. Wind chills this week might be worse than last week. So far, we’ve cancelled three school days. I suspect that we will make up at least some of these school days. We’ll wait until the DCSD makes a decision so we know what the busing will be, and then our board will make its decision.
$22,260 Donation
Prior to Christmas, JFK received a $22,260 donation. The anonymous donors designated the funds for the following:
- Art room renovations to include cabinetry and sinks, flooring, storage, and a new kiln. Much of the work for the art room will be done over the summer.
- Portable sound system: Small, wireless unit for gym, PC, outdoors, etc.
- Music for our new middle school choir
If you would like to donate for a particular school purpose, please contact me. We have projects ranging from a few hundred dollars to the air conditioning and ventilation system for the school estimated at $665,000.
Students Grow
As we move into the third quarter, it is a good time to make sure that school uniforms still fit. Are shirts still long enough that they can be tucked in? Are shorts and skirts long enough to be no shorter than 2″ above the knee? Double-checking on these things at home prevents teachers from having to be the “bad guys” at school.
QCTimes Big Story on Child Care ‘Crisis’
This Sunday’s QCTimes Big Story was on the “Child Care ‘Crisis'” citing a 45 percent loss in licensed child care programs in Scott County since 2013. Parents experience the problem in a difficulty of finding child care at rates they can afford. Providers face difficulties in providing employees with fair wages (usually without benefits at all) that lead to a quality, stable workforce that can meet the increasing level of regulations. I’ve experienced all of these problems both as a parent and as an employer.
As parents, Lynn and I have used a family member for childcare, an in-home childcare, and institutional childcare as we’ve raised our four children. Sometimes we used a combination all in the same year. We “paid for the spot” even though, as educators, we didn’t need childcare during Christmas, spring, or summer breaks. We gave our formal notice to terminate in the spring so we wouldn’t have to pay for childcare during the summer and immediately began to look for a spot so we’d have childcare in August again. We have dealt with transportation issues when preschool and childcare were not in the same building. My heart goes out to parents.
As an employer with our Early Childhood Learning Center and before and after school care, I have also experienced childcare challenges. We have been blessed with good employees, and we want to make sure we compensate them fairly. We have had to search for employees to work after school hours, a time when many people are wanting to be getting off work so they can greet their own children at home. We have experienced an incredible increase in license requirements, regulations, and paperwork. We have experienced the discrepancy between what state aid is available for some families and what our costs actually are. We have struggled deciding whether or not to offer childcare during the summer when our numbers fall to six to eight children but our labor costs (at least two employees on site at all times) remain the same. (I’ve also experienced my own daughters working as nannies during the summer so I understand the value of those arrangements too.) With each weather event, we are also in a quandary as we try to be a childcare for those families who have to work regardless of weather conditions and cross our fingers that our own staff can make it to work safely. With Iowa leading the nation in the percentage of households with two working parents and declining childcare spots, it takes the whole community to understand and respond to the issues.
At JFK, we are proud to offer four childcare arrangements: before school care for morning preschoolers, full day childcare for preschoolers, after school care for preschoolers, and after school care for JFK students through and including the age of 12. If you would like to learn more about our childcare options, please contact the school office or Mrs. Temming.
Bulletin Link: January 27, 2019
Chad
