Two Special Dress Days This Week; One the Following
Monday is Red Out Dress Day. For $1, students and staff can be out of uniform if they wear red for the American Heart Association’s Healthy Heart Challenge. Students need to adhere to the Out of Uniform Guidelines in our handbook. If students purchased a Healthy Heart Challenge shirt, they do not need to donate the $1; they can just wear their new shirt. Students can, of course, also show their support as well by wearing red according to the regular uniform policy.
Friday is JFK/AHS Spirit Day. Students may wear any JFK or AHS spirit wear top along with uniform pants/skirts/bottoms.
Thursday, March 7th is Yellow Out of Uniform Day. Yellow is the color associated with the fight against childhood cancer, and our out of uniform day is a follow up to our Pennies for Patients week. Students may be out of uniform, if they are wearing some yellow. (Good luck — I know I may have to look long and hard in my closet!)
Ash Wednesday: March 6
Ash Wednesday Mass times are 7:00 a.m., 8:15 a.m., and 6:00 p.m.
Kindergarten Informational Sessions and Round-Up for 2019-20 Last Week
If you missed the Kindergarten Informational Sessions and Round-Up last week, please contact the school office as soon as possible. You don’t want to miss being put on our list for next year!
Preschool and Childcare Registration for 2019-20
Some of our classes for 3, 4, and 5 year old preschool and/or childcare already have waiting lists forming for next school year. Register now while the classes that meet your family’s schedule still have openings.
New JFK Video
Our first draft of a new video highlighting the JFK Difference is available: JFK Difference. The video is available through multiple routes on our website. The easiest one is under the “JFK Difference” tab.
Tuition Tax Credit
Don’t forget to take advantage of the Iowa “tuition tax credit.” For the first $1,000 spent on each dependent’s education, $250 in tax credits are available on your Iowa taxes. No special forms are required any more. Please remember when doing the calculations, however, that the tax/calendar year actually splits two different school years with different tuition rates.
Assumption Musical: March 1-3
Join the Assumption Knight Players March 1 and 2 at 7:00 p.m. and March 3 at 2:00 p.m. for The Drowsy Chaperone! With the houselights down, a man in a chair appears on stage, puts on his favorite record: the cast recording of the fictitious 1928 musical The Drowsy Chaperone, and watches as the recording comes to life in his apartment. The Drowsy Chaperone is a masterful meta-musical, featuring one show-stopping song and dance number after another!
Reserved seating for The Drowsy Chaperone is now available: https://www.showtix4u.com/events/78
Instrumental Solo Contest
JFK students did an outstanding job at the instrumental solo contest last week. We had 82% of our band students receive the highest “Division 1” rating. There were also 16 students who received perfect ballots: Allie A., Sophia M., Michael L., Ava S., Helen S., Jay W.T., Molly R., Kyle B., Ryan B., Sean B., Matthew M., Macie R., McKay D., Lucy N., Alexis M., and Braeden M.
My personal stories about being a soloist continue. My high school experiences centered around music: concert band, marching band, jazz band, dixie land band, brass ensemble, full orchestra, etc. I spent my summers in marching band going to parades around southeast WI and IL. We even performed in a college bowl game/parade and several televised parades. We had many interesting experiences, including, I kid you not, playing trumpet fanfares as each winning cheese was announced at the Wisconsin Cheese Festival. By the time I was a senior, I had been a featured soloist several times. I still remember, however ,when our jazz band did a Chuck Mangione song where I was up front through the whole thing. I remember telling our band teacher that we needed to build in a break somewhere in the piece as I just knew I would need one. She kept telling me I’d be fine. On the night of the big concert, I was proven right. At right about the point where I thought I’d need a break, my lips dried up, and I started to have difficulty making the buzz for the trumpet. I had to stop. As I stepped back to take a sip of water, everyone started to clap as if the solo was done, and I remember asking my friend, “Why are they clapping? I’m not done. There’s more of this disaster.” Of course, everyone said that they really didn’t notice a problem, and I never had a problem in any other concert or venue in which we played that song again. But I knew both the “agony of defeat and the triumph of victory” or however that ABC Wide World of Sports commercial went.
Boxtops Deadline for Spring Submission
The Boxtops deadline for our spring submission will be in mid-March. We’ll do the actual submission in April but volunteer Katrina Andybur needs time to trim and count the tabs. Boxtops that come in after mid-March will be held until the fall submission.
Wellness Policy Review
We recently completed the latest review of our Wellness Policy. The “strength” of the policy itself is analyzed, and the implementation is reviewed. Below is a table that shows our “strength” analysis in 2018 and 2015. It also shows how JFK’s policy is “stronger” than the national average. To access the complete documents, follow two separate links: Strength Analysis and Implementation.
| Area
| 2018 | 2015 | ||
| Comprehensiveness Score | Strength Score | Comprehensiveness Score | Strength Score | |
| Nutrition Education | 86 | 71 | 100 | 17 |
| Standards for USDA Child Nutrition Programs and School Meals | 70
| 30 | 50 | 43 |
| Nutrition Standards for Competitive and Other Foods and Beverages | 92
| 25 | 56 | 33 |
| Physical Education and Physical Activity | 100 | 40 | 11 | 0 |
| Wellness Promotion and Marketing | 67 | 42 | 13 | 7 |
| Implementation, Evaluation & Communication | 75
| 50 | 64 | 45 |
| Overall Policy Score | 82 | 43 | 49 | 24 |
| National Averages | 54 | 33 | ||
Changes to JFK’s 2018-19 School Calendar Repeated Below
The changes to the remainder of our school year calendar are summarized below. I will update everything on our website calendar as soon.
K-8
- Starting Monday, March 4th, the JFK K-8 student day will be 10 minutes longer in the afternoon with bus transportation. Our bell time will be 7:25-2:50. This schedule is DIFFERENT than the DCSD, which is also adding 10 minutes at the front of the day. For those students who ride the bus in the morning, expect a 10 minute earlier pick up time as we cannot control the bus times. We will supervise bus riders at JFK at the earlier time but not start classes for everyone until 7:25.
- Beginning Wednesday, March 6th there will be no early release on Wednesdays for the remainder of the school year. The K-8 bell time will be 7:25-2:50. There will be bus transportation. Again, morning bus riders should expect the bus route to be 10 minutes earlier.
- JFK will not have classes on Good Friday or Easter Monday. This is DIFFERENT than the DCSD ,which is going to school on Easter Monday. The Triduum is the most important part of the liturgical year in the Church. It ought to be recognized as such in a Catholic school and allow ample time for families to gather to celebrate the Resurrection. JFK will not have classes on either Good Friday or Easter Monday.
- March 7th is drop-in parent/teacher conferences for K-8.
- April 5th is the new end of the 3rd quarter. There is a two hour early dismissal for K-8. JFK’s bell time will be 7:25-12:50 with bus transportation.
- Thursday, June 6th is the last day of K-8 classes. There is a two hour early dismissal for K-8. JFK’s bell time will be 7:25-12:50 with bus transportation.
- Field day for K-8 is now Wednesday, June 5th. There is no Mass this Wednesday.
- Our last all school Mass is Thursday, June 6th.
- 8th grade graduation is Friday, June 7th.
Preschool
- Starting Monday, Marth 4th, preschool morning classes for four year olds will change to 7:25-10:30 a.m. Afternoon classes will change to 11:45-2:50. Each class is 3:05 in length, and morning drop off and afternoon pick up will still match K-8. There are no changes for 3 year old preschool classes.
- Beginning Wednesday, March 6th the Wednesday schedule will be the same as the other days of the week. Preschool classes for four year olds will be 7:25-10:30 a.m., and afternoon classes will be 11:45-2:50.
- JFK will not have classes on Good Friday or Easter Monday. This is DIFFERENT than the DCSD ,which is going to school on Easter Monday. The Triduum is the most important part of the liturgical year in the Church. It ought to be recognized as such in a Catholic school and allow ample time for families to gather to celebrate the Resurrection. JFK will not have classes on either Good Friday or Easter Monday. For this year only, ECLC is open on Easter Monday.
- April 5th is the new end of the 3rd quarter. Due to the two hour early dismissal for K-8, there are no afternoon preschool classes.
- The last day of 4 yr old PS and 3 yr old PS classes is Wednesday, June 5th.
- The 4 yr old PS programs are in evening of June 5th.
- The 3 yr old PS family activity is June 6th.
- The last day of ECLC is June 7th.