Catholic Schools Week
Saturday, Jan 27:
- 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. Forms to pre-order dinner tickets and the 50/50 raffle tickets went home last week. Volunteers are still needed to help; click HERE to sign up.
Monday, Jan 29:
- Dodgeball for Diapers Day. Forms for this fundraiser are available from Mrs. Tilkens. The tournament will, again, be during the day this year. Third/4th graders will start at 8:00, 7/8 at approximately 9:30, and 5/6 at 1:30. Proceeds from the tournaments held at all of the Scott County Catholic schools benefit Women’s Choice Center, Bethany, and/or Humility of Mary.
- Athletic dress day — out of uniform (but following the out of uniform guidelines in our handbook)
Tuesday, Jan 30:
- Talent Show
- 8:00 Grades 4, 1, 2, 3 in this order. When a particular student or grade performs depends upon the number of acts in each homeroom and the actual length of each act.
- 12:40 Grades K, 5, 6, 7, 8 in this order.
- In the past, we have had an amazing variety of acts: skits, puppet shows, drawing, instrument playing, singing, dancing, joke-telling, sports demonstrations, etc.
- All acts in grades K – 6 must be approved by homeroom teachers, and acts in grades 7/8 must be approved my Mrs. Hinchman. The informational slip went home last week and must be returned no later than Jan 24th. Extra forms can be obtained from a homeroom teacher. Please keep in mind that music, lyrics, movements, and attire of participants should reflect our Catholic values. Anyone having a song with lyrics as part of an act must have a copy of the lyrics approved by the teacher. Approval of acts and music should happen as soon as possible to avoid any last minute changes being required. Students don’t want to practice something for days only to have a staff member require that it be revised or changed when they present it to the staff member for final approval.
- Class dress alike day. Look for information from your child’s homeroom teacher.
- Students may bring a pillow upon which to sit.
- 3 year old PS puppet show during their class time.
Wednesday, Jan 31:
- All School Mass with individual blessings of throats
- 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.
- Look for a lunch note this week to pre-purchase your adult meal. School lunch will only be available through this pre-payment requirement. Lunches should be pre-purchased by January 22nd to allow ample time for us to order enough food for everyone. As adult meals receive no government subsidy, they are $3.55 each.
- Green and white dress day (Mass appropriate)
Thursday, Feb 1:
- All Catholic schools Mass at AHS for grades 2-8. Look for a separate permission slip.
- Everyone will be in uniform/dress code.
Friday, Feb 2:
- Adoration
- 8th grade vs. Staff Volleyball Game, 1:50
- Special activities in grades K-2
- 4 year old preschool
- AM classes: Snack, puppet show, book fair. Adults welcome. 7:45 – 8:30
- PM classes: Snack, puppet show, book fair. Adults welcome. 12:00 – 12:45
Drop-In Conferences on Thursday
Report cards should be available late on Tuesday. Drop in parent/teacher conferences are on Thursday, 4:30-7:00 p.m. Stay for the Home & School meeting to follow at 7:15.
Parishioner Appreciation Dinner
Flu Season
- He/She has had a fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or above within the past 24 hours. Children should be fever free for 24 hours when not using medication such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen to lower the temperature.
- He/She has been diagnosed with a contagious illness and has not yet received medication for at least 24 hours or been released by a physician.
- He/She is too ill to do school work due to conditions that might include diarrhea, pink eye, vomiting, severe rashes, a continuous runny nose, bad coughing spasms, etc.
Children who come to school sick are not productive learners and are often miserable all day. More importantly, they can spread the illness to classmates and teachers. (When school officials worry about having to close buildings due to illnesses, it’s often not because of the number of students ill, but because of the number of staff members absent due to their own illnesses or that of their own children.)
Catholic Schools Week Video Contest
John F. Kennedy Catholic School and the other Catholic schools are sponsoring student video contests for Catholic Schools Week. Prizes include Victory Vouchers (gift cards) and the possibility of the video being on our website and Facebook page.
Guidelines:
- Less than 1 minute in length
- Supports this year’s CSW theme: “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.”
- A video to be used on our website or Facebook page must only include students whose parents have given permission for such posting. (Done at the beginning of each school year.)
- Multiple videos may be submitted by the same student(s).
- Video should be on a USB flash drive.
Late productions are still being accepted.
Evening School Custodian/Janitor
We have an immediate opening for an evening custodian/janitor. Primary duties are cleaning and interacting with others accessing the building during evening hours. 2:30-11:00 p.m. school days, and day shift hours when school is not in session, including summer and school breaks. Abilities to work swiftly and efficiently on one’s feet all shift, lift at least 50 lbs, and operate cleaning equipment are required. A letter, resume and references can be sent to me at chad.steimle@olvjfkmail.com or an application can be picked up at the school office.
Heating Pipes Issue Exemplified
Back in September when I was sharing news about our summer work to replace the boiler and several controls, I said that I was afraid there might be a misconception regarding our HVAC needs. While replacing the boiler was essential for all our needs, it did not resolve all of the potential heating issues we have. Most of our heating pipes in the 1963 part of the building are made from black iron, which has a life expectancy of 20 – 50 years. They are deteriorating. On Thursday, a fitting in a 1″ pipe behind a wall rusted all the way through, and water began flowing onto the floor in a small office across from the art room. Luckily, Mr. Connors heard something unusual as he walked by on his way to lunch and peeked into the room. Through the fast efforts of Mr. Sweeney and a number of staff members, we were quickly able to get the water shut off and everything cleared out of the room. Our timing was lucky, and damage was minimal. Had this fitting burst over the three day weekend, we would have had a huge mess.
The HVAC committee’s recommendation to meet our needs is a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) heating and air conditioning system, which operates like a heating/cooling exchanger. Adding the VRF system allows us to transition away from the need for the hot water circulating pipes as they continue to wear out. As a bonus, we also get efficient air conditioning. The total cost of the three main parts to the HVAC committee’s recommendations, which include the VRF system, the new boiler, and mechanical ventilation, is about $836,000. We have about another $664,000 to go!
Preschool and Childcare Registration for 2018-19
3, 4, and 5 year old preschool and/or childcare registration for parishioners and families with siblings already at JFK begins on February 12th at 7:30 a.m. Open registration for all others begins on February 15th at 8:00 a.m.
Kindergarten Round-Up for 2018-19
Kindergarten Round-Up is on February 15th. Two sessions are available: 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. and 5:45 – 7:15 p.m. Please call ahead so we can have a special package ready for your child. Informational packets will be available soon.
