🆕New/Updated Information
ESA Application Site Now Open
The ESA application site is now open! Applications for the 2026-27 school year are now being accepted. As of Saturday, there were 238 completed applications in Odyssey or about 53% of the registered families for 2026-27.  You must apply every year, even if you are already receiving an ESA.Â
7th Grade Shark Tank
Congratulations to our 7th graders for completing their ELA/Science Shark Tank projects this week.
The top three were:
#1 EZ Rake: A rake that converts to be able to pick up the piles of leaves: Payton S, Gabbie U, Nevaeh M
#2 Rainguard: A backpack with an umbrella: Liam S and Elyas R
#3 OO Fragrance: Perfume/cologne with a petroleum jelly (Vaseline) base: Olivia R and Olivia T
Our other finalists, in alphabetical order:
FlavoFork: A fork with a reservoir and tube for applying sauces/condiments to each bite: Aria E and Levi F
Pathfinder Gloves: Gloves with a compass and flashlights attached: Jace H, Logan S, and Austin L
Singing Water: A water bottle with speaker that plays music at intervals to remind you to hydrate: Mia V and Arianna R
Called by Name
“I have called you by name: you are mine” Isaiah 43:1b
Ever feel like someone you know or have met would make a good priest, sister, brother or deacon? Know someone who might need a nudge or someone else to validate what they may feel themselves? Being in community means we share in the resposibility to help one another recognize and live out their vocation. Don’t be afraid to reach out to Fr. Andrew Rauenbuehler and send him the name: rauenbuehlera@diodav.org. I sent him two names a couple of weeks ago and nearly 30 names today.
đź“ŚStill Relevant
Teaching Job Open at JFK for 2026-27
There is one teaching position now open at JFK for 2026-27. Adjustments of teaching assignments will take place so we are currently looking for someone to fill a position in grades 1-5 or work as a reading interventionist. To apply for a teaching position at JFK, please submit your resume and transcripts to Logan Ahnquist at logan.ahnquist@sccsiowa.org. You can find more information and the online application that needs to be completed at the following website https://davenportdiocese.schoolspring.com/
I-Ready Math Requirements
I-Ready use can help your child’s math skills.Â
I-Ready Math is an online program we use to better understand each student’s math strengths and learning needs. It begins with a short diagnostic/screener that helps identify what skills a student has mastered and where additional support or challenge is needed. Based on those results, i-Ready provides personalized math lessons that adjust to each child’s level, allowing students to work at an appropriate pace while building confidence and understanding. At school, students use i-Ready Math for at least 30 minutes per week as part of their regularly scheduled instructional time. That should be enough time to at least do one i-Ready lesson per week. Students not finishing the lesson at school will have it assigned as homework. In addition, students who scored below benchmark in math at both the fall and winter screenings will be required to work with i-Ready outside of school hours, reinforcing the school/home partnership. Upper grades are having the greatest challenges in completing their minutes, and we would really like to prevent large numbers of students having to stay after school. Students may always voluntarily do i-Ready lessons at home as well.
Leaps & Bounds Summer 2026
Leaps & Bounds focuses on reading and math for students currently in K-5th grade. About two hours is used for reading, one hour for math, and 30 minutes for recess/snack. Space is limited, and a minimum number of students is also needed in order for it to be viable. Currently, ESA funds are not able to be used for it. This summer’s two week session is July 13-17 and 20-24. Registration materials can be found online.
Altar Server Training
Altar Server Training will be held Saturday, May 30th from 9:30am-11am in the church. Children who will be entering the 4th grade and up, who are interested in altar serving at Mass, are invited to attend this training. One parent/adult needs to attend with the student.
Possible Summer Projects at JFK
It’s already time to get summer projected set up. Here’s some of the possibilities we’re working on for JFK this year:
- Replacing lockers and cork bars in the hallways
- Adding more sound diffusing/absorption to the band/music room
- Replacing flooring in some of the smaller work spaces, like interventionists’ offices
- Work on our fields
- Bathroom handicapped accessiblity
- Fencing along the parish center roof
- Installation of new outdoor basketball poles, backboards, etc. and the installation of new backboards in the gym
- Sidewalks, bollards, and concrete planters and barriers to support security and new parking lot traffic patterns
Checking Students’ Grades and Missing Work
Below is a link to the instructions for parents to check students’ “in progress” standards grades. It also includes directions for checking missing assignments and Algebra grades for students taking the class at Assumption. The directions cover how to use both the PowerSchool portal on a computer and the PowerSchool app.
Important notes:
- There are some things that just cannot be done on the app. You will have to use a computer for them.
- There is a message that says “Grades disabled by school.” IGNORE this message. It references a certain type of grade and not the standards-referenced grades we are using.
đź“šLearning Habits Matter
Re-Reading Builds Fluency
Sometimes the best next read… is the same one.
Students sometimes think that once they finish a book or passage, they should immediately move on to something new. In reality, re-reading is one of the most effective ways to strengthen reading skills.
When students revisit a text, several important things happen:
- Words become more familiar and are recognized more automatically
- Reading becomes smoother and more expressive
- Understanding deepens as new details and connections are noticed
Re-reading supports students at every grade level, just in different ways:
PK–2
Re-reading favorite picture books builds early word recognition, confidence, and a sense of story.
Grades 3–5
Re-reading more challenging passages helps develop fluency and allows students to focus more on meaning.
Grades 6–8
Re-reading complex texts leads to deeper understanding, stronger analysis, and better retention of key ideas.
Re-reading is not a sign that a text is too easy. More often, it is a sign that a student is doing the work required to become a stronger reader.
🗓️ Highlighted Events
Multiple calendars are available on our website, www.olvjfk.com. On the school side of the website, a one-page summary calendar is on the front page. Detailed calendars can also be reached by clicking on the calendars heading toward the upper right corner of the website. Anything underlined on the calendar can be clicked on, and more details will open for you. Below are a few highlighted events:
- Apr 28: Last Student Council Supply Store
- Apr 29: Mid-Qtr
- Apr 30: H & S. Papa Murphy’s Dine & Donate. Purple/Orange Fundraiser
- May 3: First Communion
- May 4: Reading/Math Screening begin. 5E Golfing
- May 5: 5C Golfing.
- May 6: Staff Luncheon
- May 7/8: Crusader Theater School Performances
- May 7: Youth & Family Engagement
- May 8/9: Crusader Theater Perfomances
- May 12: JFK Band Concert at AHS
- May 13: 8th Gr Band Field Trip
- May 15: JFK Night at the Steamwheelers
- May 16: Youth & Family Engagement Event
- May 29: Last Day of K-8
đź’Personal Sharing
I woke up at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday from a dream I hadn’t had in years. I was back in junior high.
In the dream, I was trying to stand up for another student who was being picked on—while also trying not to become the next target myself. It felt familiar in a way I hadn’t expected.
The early part of junior high was not easy for me. In elementary school, I was a strong student. Teachers had me working on different math, different spelling, and independent projects. I was used to feeling confident.
That changed when I got to junior high. I remember struggling in math for the first time. I remember putting so much pressure on myself in shop class that I couldn’t move forward on projects and ended up with the lowest grade I ever received – a D. In shop class! I remember having books knocked out of my hands on the stairwell by older students I didn’t even know.
I also remember something quieter, but just as significant: going from a close group of friends in sixth grade to feeling like I was starting over. Expanding friendships wasn’t as easy as I had assumed it would be. It felt isolating at first.
Looking back, I don’t recall many adults at my school recognizing what that transition felt like for me personally. They may have understood junior high students in general, but I’m not sure they really knew me.
Thankfully, with support from my family—and over time—things improved. By ninth grade, I had regained my footing academically. A PE teacher who had me two years in a row (and whom I didn’t always appreciate at the time) pushed me hard and helped rebuild my confidence in ways I didn’t fully understand until later. By the time I entered high school, I was back on track and enjoying school again. I became a leader in band and the valedictorian of my high school class.
That experience came back to me this weekend.
And it made me notice a few things I see every day:
- A sixth grader holding the hand of a younger sibling while walking into school.
- A seventh grader confidently presenting a Shark Tank project to an audience and the judges.
- An eighth grader stopping to give a quick high five or hug to Mrs. Poster or Mrs. Maxwell.
- Students gathered around Mrs. Nicoletto and Mrs. Thomas in the hallway.
- Fr. Patrick greeting students by name as they head out for the day.
- Students stopping by the office for what really seems to just be the need to talk to other people who care.
Moments like that don’t seem like much on their own. But taken together, they reflect something important:
Students being known.
Students being connected.
Students feeling like they belong in a place where they are recognized—not just as students, but as real people.
It’s easy to take that for granted when you see it every day.
This weekend was a good reminder not to.
Chad
