Month: September 2021

Ignite Sundays

See below for the list of IGNITE Sundays.  There is no cost or registration required to participate. Come to as many of the opportunities listed below as you are able on IGNITE Sundays.

All are welcome, invite a friend or two or three…. Families are encouraged to participate together.  There are small group activities and family activities at each session.  Those not participating in the family component will remain in their small groups to finish the evening.

Typical schedule for IGNITE Sundays:

• 4:30-5:30pm Mass
• 5:35-6:05pm Meal in the Parish Center
• 6:10-7:15pm Group Gatherings

Ignite Sundays:

• Sept 26:  When Mass feels like going through the motions
• Oct 10:  Why does God let bad things happen?
• Oct 24:  What is hope and why do you need it?
• Nov 7:  Jesus came for all of us
• Nov 21:  What’s my motivation to go to Mass?
• Dec 12:  Finding your place in the Advent story
• Feb 13:  Anawim (Hebrew word meaning “poor one”)  Poverty and the dignity of work
• March 6:  “I thirst” Lent
• March 20:  “I hunger” Eucharist
• April 10:  Family: The foundation of society
• April 24: What does God want me to do?

Other Highlighted Events

Both a summary and detailed school calendars for JFK are available on our website.  Highlighted events are below:

• Sept 28/29:  NET Retreat for 7th and 8th graders
• Oct 1:  JFK day at the pumpkin patch
  • We’re starting to put up our fall-themed decorations at our house!  Regardless of the temperature, fall is here!

Number of Substitutes Decreases Again

Last week, I mentioned that we had gone from a record high number of substitutes available (ten) before the pandemic in the 2019-20 school year to four available now.  Another substitute, however, indicated recently that she would be unavailable, at least for a time, so we are down to three available substitutes.  Our average number of staff members absent per day, unfortunately, has gone in the opposite direction, increasing to 1.6 for the first five weeks of school.  That’s still way better than one of our neighboring private schools which indicated that they were experiencing days with as many as ten staff members absent!

JFK, and all schools, is in need of substitutes for both long-term assignments (like maternity leaves) and short-term assignments (like when a teacher needs to stay home with his/her own sick child).  You do not need a teaching degree to work as a substitute.  A minimum of an associate’s degree may even be enough to qualify.  The process to become a substitute teacher includes completion of a 15-20 hour workshop, multiple background checks, and applications with the Iowa Board of Education Examiners and JFK.  Workshops are being held almost every week throughout the state, and many of them are virtual so geography does not need to be a limiting factor:  Substitute authorization workshops. 

Recognizing the need for substitute teachers, JFK’s board has authorized a $450 bonus at the pay period following the fifth day of substituting at JFK to the first five people to take advantage of this offer. The bonus will essentially cover the workshop fee, license application fee, background check fee, and pay an amount for the workshop time.

For more information about substituting, please contact me.

COVID Guidance for 2021-22

Click on the JFK COVID FAQ, 2021-22 to have your questions answered.  Please note that the information is, however, subject to change.  The latest changes are highlighted in yellow.

Face masks and vaccination mandates continue to be in the news.  As you know, the DCSD, which was named in a lawsuit for not having a mask mandate, enacted one last week.  The Bettendorf school board took no action at its board meeting, and, because there was no second to a motion, board members could not even discuss the issue.  (The public comment section of the meeting did, however, have community members speak.)  I believe North Scott and Pleasant Valley boards meet on Monday.  The Diocese of Davenport is continuing to consider possible courses of action, and the OLV/JFK board meets on the first Tuesday of October.  COVID is a topic at all of our board meetings.

COVID Data and Comments

Below is a link to a .pdf file that shows several graphs for Scott County and JFK.  Below are also some comments related to the pandemic.

COVID Data, Sept 24, 2021

• JFK’s data, including the averages for week 5, does not yet include absences for Friday.  My wife was in the hospital for four days for back surgery last week, and I was going back and forth between home, school, and the hospital.  Going over the details of Friday’s attendance data was not accomplished while I was at school.
• Did you know we handle attendance data six different ways?
  • Three are regular:
    • For our regular purposes recorded in our student information system and reported to the Iowa Department of Education
    • For the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program for 4 year olds and reported to the Davenport Community School District (which reports it to the Department of Education)
    • For the local and state health departments
  •  Three are specifically related to COVID:
    • For JFK’s own tracking purposes
    • For the Diocese of Davenport
    • For any adjustments needed for temporary or long-term remote learners

Chad

5th Grade X/Y Coordinates Project

JFK fifth graders were learning about x/y coordinates outside on Friday.  Below is a photo taken from one of two drones that were helping the classes.

Ignite Sundays

See below for the list of IGNITE Sundays.  We are very excited to begin this journey with you. There is no cost or registration required to participate. Come to as many of the opportunities listed below as you are able on IGNITE Sundays.

All are welcome, invite a friend or two or three…. Families are encouraged to participate together.  There are small group activities and family activities at each session.  Those not participating in the family component will remain in their small groups to finish the evening.

Typical schedule for IGNITE Sundays:

• 4:30-5:30pm Mass
• 5:35-6:05pm Meal in the Parish Center
• 6:10-7:15pm Group Gatherings

Ignite Sundays:

• Sept 26:  When Mass feels like going through the motions
• Oct 10:  Why does God let bad things happen?
• Oct 24:  What is hope and why do you need it?
• Nov 7:  Jesus came for all of us
• Nov 21:  What’s my motivation to go to Mass?
• Dec 12:  Finding your place in the Advent story
• Feb 13:  Anawim (Hebrew word meaning “poor one”)  Poverty and the dignity of work
• March 6:  “I thirst” Lent
• March 20:  “I hunger” Eucharist
• April 10:  Family: The foundation of society
• April 24: What does God want me to do?

Other Highlighted Events

Both a summary and detailed school calendars for JFK are available on our website.  Highlighted events are below:

• Sept 14:  Step It Up fundraiser begins.  The success of this fundraiser should allow H & S to reduce other fundraisers and provide support for students and staff.  The culminating event to this fundraiser is a “Day of Awesomeness” for students with inflatables, obstacle courses, games, etc. in the spring.
• Sept 20:  First Reconciliation Parent/Child mtg, 6:00-7:30, cafeteria/gym
• Sept 22:  End of first mid-quarter
• Sept 23:  7/8 Band students in elementary schools perform with the AHS band at homecoming
• Sept 28/29:  NET Retreat
• Oct 1:  JFK day at the pumpkin patch

No Hard Copy Principal’s Posts

In an effort to save paper and reduce office work, the hard copy Principal’s Posts have been discontinued.  Principal’s Posts are written each weekend and posted on our website, available off the front page.  I also send a link via email and post it to the school’s Facebook account.

Occasionally, we will “blast” a text message to families.  A good example of a mass text message would be a last minute school closing due to weather.  If you are not registered to receive text messages from JFK (primarily families new to JFK and/or preschool), type “Y” or “Yes” to 67587.  You will not receive text messages from JFK if you do not take action yourself.  There is no action required to receive email or phone messages.

Lack of Substitutes Seems Widespread and Dramatic

As I was sending some information to The Catholic Messenger for an article they are doing on the widespread lack of substitutes, it became all too apparent just how dramatic of a change it has been at JFK.  Two years ago, before the pandemic, we had ten substitutes, the most we have ever had.  Today, we have four, and some of them are limited in the length or types of assignments they can take.  Our workforce, which is about 40% support staff and whose duties also often need to be covered when staff members are absent, is averaging about 1.3 people gone per day through the first four weeks of school.

JFK is in need of substitutes for both long-term assignments (like maternity leaves) and short-term assignments (like when a teacher needs to stay home with his/her own sick child).  You do not need a teaching degree to work as a substitute.  A minimum of an associate’s degree may be enough to qualify.  The process to become a substitute teacher includes completion of a 15-20 hour workshop, multiple background checks, and applications with the Iowa Board of Education Examiners and JFK.  Workshops are being held almost every week throughout the state, and many of them are virtual so geography does not need to be a limiting factor.

Recognizing the need for substitute teachers, JFK’s board has authorized a $450 bonus at the pay period following the fifth day of substituting at JFK to the first five people to take advantage of this offer. The bonus will essentially cover the workshop fee, license application fee, background check fee, and pay an amount for the workshop time.

If you are interested in being a substitute, please contact me and/or the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency at 563-359-1371.

Free/Reduced Lunch Applications Still Needed

We encourage families to continue to complete applications for the USDA’s National School Lunch Program’s free and reduced lunches.  Even though ALL students are receiving free lunches this year, our “regular” free/reduced lunch counts are used for other purposes.  Examples are below:

• The discount JFK receives on internet services is based upon our free/reduced lunch rate.  Our discount, for example, is supposed to increase from 40% to 50% based upon our increased free/reduced lunch rate.
• Federal Emergency Assistance for Non-public Schools (EANS II) is tied into our free/reduced lunch rate.

Regular free/reduced lunches are approved based upon a sliding scale that takes into account household size and household income.  The regular eligibility needs to be renewed each school year.  Paper copies of the application were sent home to all families.  We will also try to get the .pdf file uploaded to our website for 2021-22.

COVID Guidance for 2021-22

Click on the JFK COVID FAQ, 2021-22 to have your questions answered.  Please note that the information is, however, subject to change.  The latest changes are highlighted in yellow.

As I indicated in my email on Thursday, accredited nonpublic schools were not given relief from following House File 847, which prohibits schools from enacting mask mandates.  Therefore, for the time being, Catholic schools in the Diocese of Davenport will continue to comply with state law that prohibits accredited nonpublic schools from requiring mask mandates.

Many of you may have heard that the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa granted a temporary restraining order to the State of Iowa’s current ban on school mask mandates.  Public school districts are free, at least temporarily, to enact mask mandates, if they so choose.  The Davenport Community School District, as a named defendant of the lawsuit in question, will begin a mask mandate on Monday.   

The temporary restraining order was granted at the request of parents whose students are served with special education services in public schools across Iowa. The court found that there was enough documentation that these students were denied their civil rights guaranteeing a free and appropriate public education (FAPE).

The Diocese of Davenport is continuing to consider possible courses of action.  While we are not applying a mask mandate at this time, we continue to promote and support mitigation strategies such as vaccination, consistent and correct mask use, practical physical distancing, ventilation, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick and getting tested, contact tracing with isolation and quarantine, and cleaning and disinfecting.

COVID Data and Comments

Below is a link to a .pdf file that shows several graphs for Scott County and JFK.  Below are also some comments related to the pandemic.

COVID Data, Sept 10, 2021

• Scott County data remains relatively stable, with slight decreases in some areas and increases in other areas.
• In several of the JFK graphs, I changed the red trendlines to 7 day moving averages, which is what we’re often accustomed to seeing in COVID graphs.  I can’t quite decide whether I should use 7 day averages or 5 day averages, however.  Either way, it should be noted that these are SCHOOL day figures as we don’t have attendance data for weekends and holidays.
• I also added graphs for the JFK PS-8th grade averages each week.

Chad

Ignite Sundays Begin Today

The first IGNITE Sunday is tonight! We are very excited to begin this journey with you. There is no cost or registration required to participate. Come to as many of the opportunities listed below as you are able on IGNITE Sundays.

Come to one, come to some, or come to ALL, the choice is yours. All are welcome, invite a friend or two or three…. Families are encouraged to participate together.  There are small group activities and family activities at each session.  Those not participating in the family component will remain in their small groups to finish the evening.

Schedule for IGNITE Sundays September 12, 2021:

• 4:30-5:30pm Mass
• 5:35-6:05pm Meal in the Parish Center (Menu: Baked Potato Bar and hot dogs)
• 6:10-7:15pm Group Gatherings (Topic: God’s Creation and Stewardship)

Group Locations:

• Babysitting (for children not yet in Kindergarten): ECLC
• K-2nd grade (God’s Creation & Stewardship): JFK Classroom
• 3rd-5th grade (God’s Creation & Stewardship): JFK Classroom
• 6th-8th grade (God’s Creation & Stewardship): Library
• Highschool: Baseball field
• Young Adult: Rectory Patio
• Adult Topic (God’s Creation & Stewardship): Parish Center Carpet
• Prayer (for those participating in IGNITE): Church
• Service Project (Little Food Pantry): Gathering Space
• Adult Other (Game Night with Euchre tutorial): Gathering Space Mtg Rm

Ignite Sundays:

• Sept 12:  God’s Creation and Stewardship
• Sept 26:  When Mass feels like going through the motions
• Oct 10:  Why does God let bad things happen?
• Oct 24:  What is hope and why do you need it?
• Nov 7:  Jesus came for all of us
• Nov 21:  What’s my motivation to go to Mass?
• Dec 12:  Finding your place in the Advent story
• Feb 13:  Anawim (Hebrew word meaning “poor one”)  Poverty and the dignity of work
• March 6:  “I thirst” Lent
• March 20:  “I hunger” Eucharist
• April 10:  Family: The foundation of society
• April 24: What does God want me to do?

Other Highlighted Events

Both a summary and detailed school calendars for JFK are available on our website.  Highlighted events are below:

• Sept 13:  Music Boosters, 6:30 p.m., staff room or cafeteria
• Sept 14:  Step It Up fundraiser begins.  The success of this fundraiser should allow H & S to reduce other fundraisers and provide support for students and staff.  The culminating event to this fundraiser is a “Day of Awesomeness” for students with inflatables, obstacle courses, games, etc. in the spring.
• Sept 16:  Skate Night at the Eldridge skate park, 5:30-7:30
• Sept 16/17:  New WiFi system installed at JFK.  The wiring was done this summer, and the hardware is now available.
• Sept 19:  Catechetical Sunday.  “Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. Catechetical Sunday is an opportunity for all to rededicate themselves to this mission as a community of faith.” (USCCB)
• Sept 22:  End of first mid-quarter

Text Messages and Communications from JFK

Occasionally, we will “blast” a text message to families.  A good example of a mass text message would be a last minute school closing due to weather.  If you are not registered to receive text messages from JFK (primarily families new to JFK and/or preschool), type “Y” or “Yes” to 67587.  You will not receive text messages from JFK if you do not take action yourself.  There is no action required to receive email or phone messages.

Principal’s Posts are written each weekend and posted on our website, available off the front page.  I also send a link via email and post it to the school’s Facebook account.  A hard copy Principal’s Post also gets sent home via via “backpack mail” with the “youngest or only child” in a family at the beginning of each week.  I use the Principal’s Post to reach the whole school community and sometimes highlight happenings in particular grades.  You will also receive numerous email communications from teachers.  Email is probably the number one form of communication in schools.

Immunization Audit

Our immunization audit by the health department has already begun.  While there were no changes in immunization requirements, the state has moved up the audits by about three to six weeks.  Unless students’ immunization records show up-to-date vaccinations, or there are valid exemptions, students may have to be excluded from school.

Substitutes Needed

JFK is in need of substitutes for both long-term assignments (like maternity leaves) and short-term assignments (like when a teacher needs to stay home with his/her own sick child).  You do not need a teaching degree to work as a substitute.  A minimum of an associate’s degree may be enough to qualify.  The process to become a substitute teacher includes completion of a 15-20 hour workshop, multiple background checks, and applications with the Iowa Board of Education Examiners and JFK.  Workshops are being held almost every week throughout the state, and many of them are virtual so geography does not need to be a limiting factor.

Recognizing the need for substitute teachers, JFK’s board has authorized a $450 bonus at the pay period following the fifth day of substituting at JFK to the first five people to take advantage of this offer. The bonus will essentially cover the workshop fee, license application fee, background check fee, and pay an amount for the workshop time.

If you are interested in being a substitute, please contact me and/or the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency at 563-359-1371.

Handbook Sign-Off

Please read the parent and student handbook, available HERE, and on our website:  https://www.olvjfk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Parent-Handbook-2021-22.pdf  Then, print off the last page, sign it, and return it to the school office — one per family.  Thank you for helping us to reduce our printing costs.

Free/Reduced Lunch Applications Still Needed

We encourage families to continue to complete applications for the USDA’s National School Lunch Program’s free and reduced lunches.  Even though ALL students are receiving free lunches this year, our “regular” free/reduced lunch counts are used for other purposes.  Examples are below:

• The discount JFK receives on internet services is based upon our free/reduced lunch rate.  Our discount, for example, is supposed to increase from 40% to 50% based upon our increased free/reduced lunch rate.
• Federal Emergency Assistance for Non-public Schools (EANS II) is tied into our free/reduced lunch rate.

Regular free/reduced lunches are approved based upon a sliding scale that takes into account household size and household income.  The regular eligibility needs to be renewed each school year.  Paper copies of the application were sent home to all families.  We will also try to get the .pdf file uploaded to our website for 2021-22.

COVID Guidance for 2021-22

Click on the JFK COVID FAQ, 2021-22 to have your questions answered.  Please note that the information is, however, subject to change.  The latest changes are highlighted in yellow.

COVID Data and Comments

Below is a link to a .pdf file that shows several graphs for Scott County and JFK.  Below are also some comments related to the pandemic.

COVID Data, Sept 10, 2021

• The “epi-curve” is leveling off in Scott County.  The health department is not sure if it will stay there, decrease, or increase as we are now moving into time periods when cases normally rise:  after school has started and after a major holiday.
• Student absences spiked on Tuesday, but lowered again by Friday.  Absences related to COVID (positive tests, high risk or 2 or more low risk symptoms as defined in our COVID FAQ, or quarantining), however, were at the lowest level by Friday than an any point yet this school year.
• At meetings last week, it couldn’t be emphasized enough that vaccination and face coverings are critical mitigation strategies.

On a personal note, I am vaccinated, and I am also wearing my face covering around students, which is the latest recommendation.  For several years now, my family has been pretty cautious regarding the potential to transmit illnesses.  My mother-in-law had COPD and was on oxygen at her house.  It became natural for us to do a health check before visiting and staying away if there was any question.  I even missed the big extended family Christmas Eve gathering one year because I had a cold, and others would do the same.  Then, when COVID came along, my wife and I certainly had concerns about our own health.  I’m probably not as healthy and fit as I used to be, and I know I’m not any younger!  My wife was also visiting her 80+ year old father 2-3 times per week.  Not only did we want to protect him from symptomatic transmission, but we also took precautions so we did not transmit asymptomatically.  As a family, we’ve tried to follow CDC and other health guidelines to the best of our understanding and abilities.  Has it been perfect, or have we been without infection?  No.  When we look at our immediate and extended families, there’s a lot of us.  Some have had COVID.  For most, it was not a big deal.  Others were not so lucky.

Do I like getting shots?  No.  Do I like wearing a face mask?  Not at all.  I am vaccinated and wear a face mask around students for probably the following reasons, although I’m not sure how well I can even think them through or articulate them:

• I don’t like to be sick, and I don’t like to miss work.  Being vaccinated and following the current guidance for where we are during this pandemic will help me.
• I don’t want to unknowingly infect others.
• I want to show support for and solidarity with those who cannot receive the vaccination and those who are wearing a face mask themselves.
• I want to do something.  These are things within my ability to control that I can do.

Chad

Enrollment Increase

While the official enrollment count in Iowa is still about a month away, it looks as if we will have about a 4% increase in K-8 enrollment this year compared to last year.  Three year old preschool will also be up dramatically (45%).  Four/five year old preschool will probably be in the low 50s, about the same as last year, and ECLC is currently down about three students.

Federal Funding/Services at JFK

Since spring 2020 through June 2022, OLV/JFK is on track to receive as much as $1.3 million or more in federal funding or services, most of it related to COVID relief.  Some of the benefits include the following:

• Payroll was supported during the shutdowns of the school and parish during the spring/summer 2020
• School lunches were/are free to all families for two years
• JFK finished becoming 1 to 1 with Chromebooks in grades 3-8 and iPads in K-2
• Reading interventionist services and instructional aide time were retained/increased
• School-based therapist services are free for students for the next two years
• Leaps & Bounds summer programming should be free next summer
• Other purchases were made, including the following:
  • Webcams, microphones, and document cameras
  • Zoom and other software licensing
  • Science supplies/equipment
  • PE and recess equipment
  • Coordinated clocks and a bell system
  • Additional two way radios for use by staff
  • Portable air purifiers and fans
  • Cleaning supplies and equipment such as more than $11,000 in Chlorox-wipes types of products, $6,000 in hand sanitizer, and electrostatic sprayers

Communications

Principal’s Posts are written each weekend and posted on our website, available off the front page.  I also send a link via email and post it to the school’s Facebook account.  A hard copy Principal’s Post also gets sent home via via “backpack mail” with the “youngest or only child” in a family at the beginning of each week.  I use the Principal’s Post to reach the whole school community and sometimes highlight happenings in particular grades.  You will also receive numerous email communications from teachers.  Email is probably the number one form of communication in schools.

We also utilize a JFK Facebook page, and there is a closed Facebook group, JFK Moms & Dads, where people can post to others in the group.  JFK’s Facebook page can be accessed from the front page of our website.  If you’d like to be a member of the JFK Moms & Dads group, please let Angie Hillebrand, in the school office know via a Facebook request or even via email.   Social media is not the best venue for voicing a concern, and posts that appear to do so will be removed while we try to reach out to address the concern through a better means.  Social media, including our Facebook pages, are great ways to share your photos and connect with other JFK families.  Photos from an event are often posted to these pages by families before we can even get photos taken by staff posted.  Make sure you “like” us on both Facebook pages!

Occasionally, we will also “blast” a text message to families.  A good example of a mass text message would be a last minute school closing due to weather.  If you are not registered to receive text messages from JFK (primarily families new to JFK and/or preschool), type “Y” or “Yes” to 67587.  You will not receive text messages from JFK if you do not take action yourself.  There is no action required to receive email or phone messages.

Accounting Transitions with Regionalization

Parking Lot Drop-Off/Pick-Up

Here’s a few tips from what we’ve seen with the new parking lot pattern:

• Use the driving lanes rather than cutting through parking spaces.  No one is expecting cars to be driving through parking spots.
• Kindergarten parents, in particular, should park, get out of their cars, and greet the kindergarten teachers as the students are released to those picking up the students.  Without yet knowing all of our parents, grandparents, daycare providers, etc. that are picking up the kindergarteners, in particular, dismissal time is a little harrowing.
• Pull all the way forward in the green-coned area before loading or unloading.  We should be able to load/unload about 3-4 cars at the same time.
• Stop before and proceed cautiously across the crosswalks.
• Parking and waiting in pick up areas inhibits a smooth flow of traffic.  If you must park and wait, please do so in a parking space.

Please observe the parking lot traffic pattern on the north side of the parking lot.  By shifting the car line for dropping off/picking up to go past the church and along the divider and concrete barriers, the line will not back up onto 42nd or Division streets.  A low quality photo is below.  For a better view, use the following link:   Parking lot traffic patterns, 2021

• Red arrows are the drop off/pick up zones.  Note that the main one is at the north, but there is also one that can be used at the south.
• Blue arrows are the one-way pick-up lanes.  
• Orange arrows are one-way lanes.
• Green arrows indicate where traffic goes in both directions.
• Note that in some areas there are two lanes going in the same direction:  one lane is just driving through (orange arrows) and the other lane is the pick up lane leading to the drop off/pick up zone (blue and red arrows).

As always, be careful in the parking lot.  Even though our younger students must be accompanied to/from the barriers by parents when parents are parked in the lot, there are a lot of people and cars moving at the same time.  Drive slowly, pay attention, and keep the cell phones put away.  Parents who are waiting for their little ones should stand on the school side of the barriers this year.

COVID Guidance for 2021-22

Click on the JFK COVID FAQ, 2021-22 to have your questions answered.  Please note that the information is, however, subject to change.  The latest changes are highlighted in yellow.

COVID Data and Comments

Below is a link to a .pdf file that shows several graphs for Scott County and JFK.  Below are also some comments related to the pandemic.

COVID Data, Sept 3, 2021

• Although cases continue to increase in Scott County, the good news this past week was that the growth was linear, not exponential.
• With things moving back more to “normal” this year, almost every positive student case has close contacts at school.  Although no longer required to do contact tracing, we are still trying to do it at JFK so we can inform parents, and parents can then make decisions about testing and/or quarantining their children.  Positive cases are required to be out of school, but students, in Iowa, who are close contacts are not.
• Guests may attend school Masses this year, but seating is limited due to the spacing we are utilizing for students and staff.  There may be some seats available near the St. Joseph statue/piano side of the church or in folding chairs along the perimeter.  We are not livestreaming school Masses this year, except on special occasions like a holy day.
• I have been asked a couple of times about how many students and staff are wearing face coverings and staff vaccination rates.  We do not have any formal counts.  Based upon walking through the building, I would estimate that there’s probably about 2-4  students (10%-20%) in each homeroom that are wearing face masks when in the classroom and more when moving through the halls and when within 4 feet of one another inside the building.  There’s probably about a similar percentage of staff wearing face masks when around other people.  An estimate of the staff vaccination rate would be purely speculative.

Immunization Audit

Our immunization audit by the health department has already begun.  While there were no changes in immunization requirements, the state has moved up the audits by about three to six weeks.  Unless students’ immunization records show up-to-date vaccinations, or there are valid exemptions, students may have to be excluded from school.

Substitutes Needed

JFK is in need of substitutes for both long-term assignments (like maternity leaves) and short-term assignments (like when a teacher needs to stay home with his/her own sick child).  You do not need a teaching degree to work as a substitute.  A minimum of an associate’s degree may be enough to qualify.  The process to become a substitute teacher includes completion of a 15-20 hour workshop, multiple background checks, and applications with the Iowa Board of Education Examiners and JFK.  Workshops are being held almost every week throughout the state, and many of them are virtual so geography does not need to be a limiting factor.

Recognizing the need for substitute teachers, JFK’s board has authorized a $450 bonus at the pay period following the fifth day of substituting at JFK to the first five people to take advantage of this offer. The bonus will essentially cover the workshop fee, license application fee, background check fee, and pay an amount for the workshop time.

If you are interested in being a substitute, please contact me and/or the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency at 563-359-1371.

Highlighted Events

Both a summary and detailed school calendars for JFK are available on our website.  Highlighted events are below:

• Sept 7:  FAST screening in reading and math and for SEB needs begins for K-8.  FAST reading results are shared with all families and used to determine additional targeted supports.
• Sept 9:  Confirmation parent meetings (6:00 for 7th graders, 7:00 for 8th graders)
• Sept 10:  Double D Diner Restaurant Night.  Picture retakes.
• Sept 11:  Double D Diner Restaurant Night.
• Sept 13:  Music Boosters
• Sept 14:  Step It Up fundraiser begins.  The success of this fundraiser should allow H & S to reduce other fundraisers and provide support for students and staff.  The culminating event to this fundraiser is a “Day of Awesomeness” for students with inflatables, obstacle courses, games, etc. in the spring.

Handbook Sign-Off

Please read the parent and student handbook, available HERE, and on our website:  https://www.olvjfk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Parent-Handbook-2021-22.pdf  Then, print off the last page, sign it, and return it to the school office — one per family.  Thank you for helping us to reduce our printing costs.

Chad