Shadow Stations
Here is a photo from Holy Thursday’s Shadow Stations of the Cross presented by the 8th graders. What an amazing activity! The 8th graders did a fantastic job, and, as usual, students in all grades responded and behaved so well at the service.
Last Week for Plant Sale
Did you order your spring flowers and plants yet from Home & School? (Yes, I know it’s hard to think spring when ten inches of snow is falling!) Home & School is conducting a plant sale this spring. Sales end on April 6th. Pick up will be on campus on May 3rd and 4th from 2 – 7 p.m.
Gala Needs Volunteers
The Gala needs people who can help with many different activities — everything from making phone calls to setting up a stage for the band and decorating to just donating funds. Please contact Angie Hillebrand at the school office. The Gala is the largest fundraiser of OLV and JFK and supports all of our educational needs. This year we’re trying to do a “super Gala” with funds raised above our normal net of $25,000 – $30,000 to go toward establishing the seed money for an air conditioning project. The Gala is May 5th beginning at 5 p.m. at the Elks’ Lodge on Central Park Avenue near Emeis Golf Course. The Gala includes fun and fellowship with live and silent auctions, a live band, and dancing.
Survey from the Iowa Department of Education
Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) requires states to report the percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with IEPs. The Iowa Department of Education is gathering these data as a census for both students with and without an IEP using a brief (four question) survey. The survey should be completed once for each child in the family. Attached electronically is the letter from the Department of Education or you can click here for the survey itself: IDEA Parent Survey – Letter to Parents. The survey is open through June 30th.
Campus Safety Review: School Update
The Campus Safety Review: School document was updated with the latest quotes and distributed to parish council and finance council. In every setting where it has been discussed, it is clear that a formal process for gathering feedback and for making decisions will be needed, and I will be asking the board of education to appoint an ad hoc committee to help lead this process. (The possibility of a hard surface play area away from the parking lot for about $55,000, for example, is generating a lot of discussion.)
Two grant applications were submitted during spring break:
- SCRA: Request for $21,700 toward a $24,130 security camera project with 12 exterior and nine interior cameras
- RDA: Request for $5,300 toward a $6,305 windows and doors project, which would include changes to the band room doors so they can be locked from the interior, an electronic lock and access system for the upper south stairwell door, and safety film/frames for windows around the doors and vestibule.
We have also received a commitment to a multi-year anonymous donation of about $12,000 for safety purposes.
Tuition Contracts for 2018-19 and Kindergartners Still Being Accepted
Take advantage of an early bird registration discount by returning your family’s tuition contract ASAP. Kindergarten spots are also still available. Please contact the school office, to reserve your spot for next year.
Preschool and Childcare Registration for 2018-19
3, 4, and 5 year old preschool and/or childcare registration has begun. Please contact the school office before the spots you want are no longer available.
Civic Oration: Who Advanced to Tuesday’s PC Round?
Congratulations to the following students who have advanced to Tuesday’s parish center round of competition:
5th/6th Grade Division: Elexa A., Matthew M., Cole M., Macie R., Emerson S., Max S.
7th/8th Grade Division: Allie A., Alison B., Isabella K., Sophia M., Anastasha M., JJ S.
2018-19 School Calendar
The DCSD has posted its calendar for next school year. Click HERE or use the following link/url: http://www.davenportschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/2018-19-FINAL-ACADEMIC-CALENDAR-2.pdf. JFK’s board voted to accept this calendar with two minor changes that only affect staff.
National Speaker: Silent Strength
National speaker Doug Reavis will share his Silent Strength presentation with middle school students in the Catholic schools of Scott County on April 27th. A high school presentation will be held on the 26th, and a parent presentation is in the evening on the 26th (6:30-8 in the AHS auditorium). Silent Strength centers on kindness and, in faith-based settings, seeing God in every other person. It has been said that he gives the best anti-bullying message out there without ever using the word “bullying.” Many thanks to AHS for sponsoring Doug Reavis and providing transportation to the Catholic elementary schools.
Bell and Bus Times for Next Year
I’m sure you received my mid-week emails with bell times that the DCSD is proposing for next year in order to save on transportation costs. JFK has approximately 40% of its students registered to ride a bus in the morning and/or the afternoon. Actual ridership counts are currently being taken but are more in the 20% – 30% rate.
Andy Craig, president of AHS, Lee Morrison, superintendent of the Diocese of Davenport, and I met with Mike Maloney, DCSD Director of Operations on Friday after watching the video of the issue being discussed at the DCSD board meeting on March 26. Click HERE for the video; the bell time issue is at about 1:22 – 1:34 of the video.
While Mr. Maloney indicated that the bell times are still open for discussion, the DCSD does need to cut expenses, including transportation expenses, as its enrollment continues to fall. The bell time proposal will allow the DCSD to cut five bus routes and save about $300,000 per year. The DCSD does do some things that are very good to our families but also cost it quite a bit. For starters, and for all of Davenport, the DCSD provides free busing for K-5 students if they live 1.5 miles or more from their school of attendance. Because the law uses 2.0 miles as the cut off for elementary and middle school students, the DCSD is actually providing busing for more students than required. The DCSD also sends multiple buses into the same neighborhoods and doesn’t require a mixing of students from different schools. In one neighborhood, for example, the DCSD may be running a Harrison route, a JFK route, an ASCS route, a Trinity route, and a SPS route. The DCSD also runs routes for our faith-based schools throughout the entire city, which is probably more than they do for their own schools. For example, the DCSD likely does not run a bus to southeast Davenport even if a Harrison student were to live there. The DCSD will, however, run a bus there to pick up a JFK, ASCS, or Trinity student (or three buses, if necessary).
Mr. Maloney indicated that he would go back to the consultant they hired to see if there are other options, particularly options that keep the faith-based schools relatively close to our current bell times. We will meet again this Friday. Stay tuned.
