Kindergarten Round-up and Pre-registration
Please contact the school office right away, if you missed Kindergarten Round-up and pre-registration. These pre-registration figures are used to help determine whether or not there will be one section or two sections next year and/or how many classroom aides we’ll need.
Pre-school and Daycare Registration
Registration for all sections of 3 year old preschool, 4/5 year old preschool, and ECLC is underway for all families. Morning classes fill up quickly, in particular, so do not delay PS registration.
See the K, pre-school, daycare roundup flyer, 2022
Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit
As you prepare your 2021 income taxes, don’t forget that Iowa doubled the tuition/textbook tax credit. The maximum one can now receive is 25% of the first $2,000 per child ($500). The only trick is to remember that tax years run from Jan 1 – Dec 31, while school years run from roughly July 1 – June 30. If using tuition amounts paid, you need to look at what you paid in 2021, which splits the 20-21 and 21-22 school year.
Dress Code
Following the dress code continues to be pretty lax, and reminders are not having much of an impact. At Wednesday school Masses the last two weeks, for example, approximately 25%-33% of the 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders can be seen to be out of dress code with shirts not tucked in or skirts too short. Below are some things for which we need to do better. Some are perennial issues, and some are more recent issues. Note that the below is not the entire dress code; it’s parts of the dress code for which we need to do better:
- Skirt lengths should be no shorter than 2″ above the knee
- Shirts should be tucked in
- No hooded clothing is allowed to be worn inside the building
- Belts are worn in grades 4-8 with clothing that has belt loops
- Grades 5-8 when they have PE: Non-white solid colored plain t-shirts or t-shirts with a JFK or AHS logo. Over their t-shirts, students may also wear sweatshirts, fleeces, and long-sleeve dry fits that meet the regular uniform policy.
Dress code demerits in grades 5-8 do lead to detentions.
Upcoming Events
- Feb 27: First Communion meeting
- Mar 2: Ash Wednesday
- Mar 14-18: Spring Break. No classes. ECLC is open.
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. Families are encouraged to participate together. There are small group activities and family activities at each session.
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:
- 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?
Assumption High School Musical
Assumption’s production of Howard Ashman’s and Alan Menken’s Little Shop of Horrors will be presented on March 4, 5, and 6. Meek floral assistant Seymour Krelborn can’t seem to do anything right- until he stumbles across a new breed of plant. The growing plant attracts a great deal of business for the struggling store, but it unfortunately comes at the price of the plant eating people! Will Seymour be able to stop the plant before it achieves global domination? While Little Shop of Horrors does have a PG-13 rating (assigned by Music Theatre International) for language, mild violence, and dark themes, some language has also been omitted or changed for Assumption’s production.
Tickets are officially on sale! The link is: https://www.showtix4u.com/events/78
Tickets are $10 for Adults, $8 for students and Senior Citizens, and free for AHS students and staff with their IDs. There is also a “Flexpass” that can be purchased at the above link for $20, that is good for 3 “seats.” It’s a great option for parents who want to see all 3 performances
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.
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.
- The health department provided us with another week of data/graphs so I’ve included my usual graphs through the above link. With data collection changing in Iowa, I do not know what information I’ll have in the future. Things in relation to COVID are, indeed, winding down. The weekly meetings of Scott County school administrators and health department officials have been discontinued. COVID-19, in Iowa, will now be reported and handled similarly to illnesses like strep throat, influenza, fifth disease, chicken pox, etc. We will also start to look at our remaining COVID mitigation strategies at JFK and determine when/how to bring them to an end.
- One challenge at JFK is that we are not yet really seeing student absences at desired levels. The goal for schools is always to have absences below 5%. Our average last week was 8.6%, with about 5% being due to “other” reasons: vacations, appointments, headaches, or unknown. Our absence rate due to illnesses, including COVID, is about 3.6%. The good news, so to speak, is that the student illnesses are not due to positive COVID tests lately. Only about 4.4% of student absences due to illnesses are because of positive COVID tests. We have influenza, fevers, sore throats, stomach aches, congestion, etc., but not many positive COVID cases. The percent of students with positive COVID cases, with two or more COVID symptoms or a new cough, or who are quarantining because they are close contacts averaged 0.4% this week.
Chad
