COVID Data
Below is a link to a .pdf file that shows several graphs of Scott County and JFK data.
I’ll add a few comments below as well.
- The Scott County 14 day positivity rate the Department of Education uses is inching its way downward. It was at 15.3% on January 6th, 14.5% on January 13th, 12.5% around January 20th, and has been at about 12% now for the last 2-3 days. Hopefully, the downward trend will continue. Maybe we’ll even be at the level where we can remove face coverings in the classrooms again! (If you recall, our current rubric calls for the positivity rate to be at 10% or less for a week before we return to removing face coverings when at our desks in classrooms.)
- Most conversations this week focused upon vaccination. The Iowa Department of Public Health and Scott County Health Department have indicated that phase 1B, which includes educators, will take quite a while. Meanwhile, they are emphasizing that even with vaccinations rolling out, there are no changes yet to mitigation practices like face coverings, social distancing, contact tracing and quarantining, etc.
Stimulus Funds for JFK? January/2nd Semester Tuition Payments Due
Use your stimulus funds to pay the January monthly tuition payment or the second payment for those doing their tuition in two payments or to get caught up if your financial situation this summer/fall caused you to fall behind. All paid up? Consider a donation to our capital campaign. I’m sure parish leaders will be looking to see how many JFK families are willing to financially support the campaign too. We hope to do the HVAC work to the school this summer. It includes heating pipes mitigation, mechanical ventilation, and air conditioning. We are also now examining an option for air purification. For more information about the campaign, use the following link: capital campaign.
Upcoming Dates
- Jan 15 – 29: Diaper drive. Student council is collecting diapers, baby wipes, or cash donations for diapers.
- Jan 29: End of 2nd Quarter
- Jan 30 – Feb 6: Catholic Schools Week
- Feb 11: Kindergarten Round-up
PS, ECLC, and Kindergarten Round-Up for 2021-22
“In-house” registration for 3, 4, and 5 year old preschool and daycare for OLV parishioners and current JFK community members begins on February 8th. Registration opens to the general public on February 11th. Make sure you register right away as spots fill up fast, especially morning preschool spots.
Kindergarten Round-up will be adults only this year on February 11th. The information session and round-up begins at 6:30 p.m. when it will be socially distanced in the gym. This session is intended for those who have never been to a kindergarten round-up at JFK. For those who have been to a JFK round-up in the past, round-up with forms only will take place any time between 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the cafeteria.
See the flyer for more information: K, pre-school, daycare roundup flyer, 2021
Catholic Schools Week
Below is the tentative schedule for the week of Feb 1-5:
- Saturday, Jan 30: Smokin’ Butt BBQ. See separate flyer: CSW Special Outside Events 2021
- Sunday, Jan 31: Donuts & More. See separate flyer: CSW Special Outside Events 2021
- Monday, Feb 1: Movie day with gourmet candy suckers
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- Pajama day
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- Tuesday, Feb 2: Bingo day
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- Class choice dress day
- H & S event at Snow Star. Reservations are required, and space is limited. See separate flyer: CSW Special Outside Events 2021
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- Wednesday, Feb 3: Uncle Bill’s Pizza and Virtual Field Trip Day
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- Every student will receive 2 slices of cheese pizza and a bag of chips for lunch. Students may bring in an 8-16 oz. can or bottle of pop or other beverage as well. The lunch program will not be providing lunches today. Students, of course, can opt out and bring their own sack lunches and drinks.
- JFK spirit wear and/or green/white day
- Feast of St. Blaise with blessing of the throats
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- Thursday, Feb 4: Minute to Win It Day
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- Wacky dress day
- 4/5 yr old PS conferences are scheduled. No 4/5 yr old PS classes
- K-8 evening parent/teacher conferences. Drop in. Face coverings and social distancing required.
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- Friday, February 5: Class Act (recorded), Human Scrabble, and Custard Cup Day
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- Hat and crazy sock day
- The custard cup provider uses a nut-free facility/process, and there should not be a cross-contamination issue, which is so often experienced with ice cream providers
- 4/5 yr old PS conferences are scheduled. No 4/5 yr old PS classes
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In many previous Catholic Schools’ Weeks, families spent or donated quite a bit at the spaghetti dinner, book fair, bring a guest to lunch day, and even for Dodgeball for Diapers. Without the large gathering events, families may be able to keep the costs down significantly this year. However, we still want EVERY student to be able to benefit from something extra during CSW. Please see a separate flyer (CSW Week Celebration Flyer, 2021) that shares how you can help JFK and H & S by “sponsoring” your child, several classmates, or the whole homeroom for various items like the gourmet suckers, pizza meal, bingo prizes, and/or custard cups.
Confirmation Retreat Options
We have two dates and both in-person and Zoom options available for the Confirmation candidates’ retreat, which is applicable to 7th and 8th grade students. The retreat options are March 4th and March 10th at 6:00 p.m. and will be 1 1/2 hours in length. The in-person event will be socially distanced inside the church. Parents are also invited to the retreat – come gain insight into your child’s spiritual journey and feed your own soul, too! We will have a streamed option available for families who aren’t comfortable gathering together. You can sign up for both in-person and live-stream options by following this link: Sign Up
Chad
