Principal’s Post for May 21, 2023

Posted on by csteimle

Middle School Youth Retreat

There’s also a St. Philomena Academy/youth camp on August 11-13 at St. Al’s.  It’s a 3 day overnight retreat for 6th-12 graders and sponsored by Holy Family and St. Al’s.  The enrollment process is still being developed.  More information is available from Hieu Nguyen at davclusterym@diodav.org.

iPads, Chromebooks, and Chargers To Be Returned May 31

The school year will be ending in about three weeks.  Please make sure your student has his/her iPad or Chromebook AND charger to return.  Items are bar coded so we can check them in/out, and we know who is responsible for them, even if students don’t.  Turning in equipment that was checked out to someone else does not eliminate the responsibility for the equipment that was actually checked out to a student.  We will check equipment on May 31st.

Ways To Get Involved

There are three ways for parents to currently get involved:  Board of Education, Home & School, and Policy Committee.

Even as we regionalize to become Scott County Catholic Schools, there will still be an advisory board needed at JFK.  A recent example of the board’s feedback was to help prioritize our next areas of focus in relation to our winter safety/security assessment.  The nine member board meets monthly.  Terms are for three years.  If you are interested, please contact me at chad.steimle@olvjfkmail.com

Our Home & School Association also needs officers and active participants.  H & S plans many of the fun activities for families like the event at the pumpkin patch and Snowstar.  Recently, they provided feedback regarding parameters for a new replacing our entire playground out back.  If you are interested in being active with Home & School, please send a message to JFK.HomeandSchool@outlook.com

ESA Update

The latest information from the Department of Education regarding Education Savings Accounts can be found at the following link:  DE’s ESA Page.  The Questions and Answers section was updated on May 18th and is very useful.  It, for example, contains the 300% of poverty eligibility table, the definition of a household/members, and what line item will be used from one’s Iowa tax form.  (It’s line 26, “Net Income,” on the 2022 Iowa 1040 tax form.)

The application for those eligible for ESAs will open at 8:00 a.m. on May 31st and close on June 30th.  The deadline is established in the law; there will be no extension.  You will want to act quickly once the online application process becomes available.

Who is eligible for an ESA in 2023-24?

  1. All kindergartners
  2. Students who were not in a private school the year prior
  3. All students whose family income is below 300% of poverty

Anyone interested in learning more about the parent/guardian application process can register to attend the training on one of the following dates and times:

The Students First ESA application will be available on May 31 and a link to the application will be provided on the DE’s website.

Tuition Rates for Paying Families and Online SCCS “Tuition Contracts”

 The tuition rates for those not yet eligible for ESAs was contained in an April 27th letter.  It can be found here:  ESA Letter and Tuition Rates for Paying Families Letter, 4-27-23. As anticipated the tuition rates for those not eligible for ESAs increased by about 5% at the elementary level and 3% at Assumption, which is about its historical average.  Please note that the actual cost to educate a student in SCCS is over $8,000.  Tuition covers just over about 50% of the cost.  Parish subsidies and fundraising cover the rest.  The SCCS “tuition contracts” will show the parish discounts applied to students’/families’ accounts.

Scott County Catholic School tuition rates for preschool, with or without wraparound care, are in the linked document:  Preschool Tuition Rates JFK

SCCS online “tuition contracts” will be ready within the next couple of weeks.  These will show the gross amounts on a per child basis.  Once all discounts are applied, including multi-child discounts, FTP awards, and ESAs, what is actually owed is adjusted.

Registration Process for 2023-24

As of 5/21, we have about 92% of current and prospective new K-8 students pre-registered.  Of those that have pre-registered, about 60% have paid the pre-registration fee.

  1. All preschool, kindergarten, returning, and new families will need to enter information through the pre-registration/application survey.  A QR Code and link/url are available on the front page of our website.  Submissions are time/date stamped.  For those unable to complete the pre-registration/application survey online, physical copies will be available at school.
  2. Pay the registration fee for K-8, three year old preschool, or “non-qualifying” four/five year old preschool* OR the extra time fee for an “IA preschool” four year old preschool.  The registration fee is regularly $125 per PK-12 student for a maximum of $375 per family.  The early bird fee rate has been extended until May 1st.  If paid prior to May 1st, the early bird amount is $100 per PK-12 student for a maximum of $300 per family.   The extra time fee for four year old preschoolers is $250 per child.  These fees can be paid online by following the link in the pre-registration/application survey.  You can also go directly just to this payment link, without having to pre-register your child, which is especially handy if you already pre-registered but did not make the payment initially.  Scroll down to the one time payment option to pay registration or extra time fees.  Checks can also be made payable to JFK and sent to the school office.
    1. *A non-qualifying preschooler is a non-Iowa resident or student who turns 5 on or before Sept 15th.  Tuition is charged for this student, and there is a registration fee.  There is no extra time fee.
  3. Complete a more detailed online process that will take the place of the collection of paper Student Information Sheets in August.  The computer application being developed is in test phase now and should be available within one to two weeks.
  4. Online tuition contracts to establish the payment plan agreement will be made available to those who have completed the pre-registration process.  The availability of the online tuition contracts is targeted for May.  Being in good-standing with one’s tuition and fees may also impact the timing of receiving a tuition contract and finalizing enrollment.  Those families who agreed to one or two tuition payments should be finished paying.  Those who are on the ten month payment plan should finish in April.  (The payment period began in July.)  Please remember that, in addition to tuition, payments should be up to date for all fees, like aftercare, band, athletics, etc. and for lunches. 

You will want to be up-to-date on your 22-23 tuition and fees as well as have paid the pre-registration fee for 23-24 before you are considered for the issuance of a 23-24 tuition agreement.

Family Tuition Plan Financial Assistance

Current families who do not qualify for ESAs should apply for financial assistance through our Family Tuition Plan Application.  When applying, please make sure you use the drop down menu to select the 2023-24 school year.  There may be more financial assistance available for next year or more families may be able to receive assistance as ESAs may provide assistance for our families who are below 300% of poverty.  (There are still income guidelines and other restrictions to stay within the legal parameters of the Student Tuition Organization rules that will apply.)

Current families who know they are not eligible for ESAs or who might be on the edge should apply for the Family Tuition Plan.

JFK’s Summer Leaps & Bounds and Vacation Bible School

Due to federal funding, Leaps & Bounds will be free again this summer.  We have three sessions on the calendar.  Each two week session runs from 8:00 – 11:30 a.m.  Two hours are for reading, one hour is for math, and 30 minutes are for recess and other fun.  Leaps & Bounds is for those students currently in kindergarten through 5th grade.

June 19 – June 30

July 17 – July 28

July 31 – August 11

Vacation Bible School will be held July 10 – 14.

Registration materials were made available via email.  They will also be posted on our website soon.

Jump Start Kindergarten

On July 31 – August 4, Melissa Zeimet and Caitlin Putnam will host Jump Start Kindergarten at JFK.  There will be a review of letters and sounds, basic math concepts, and literacy skills.  Story time and hands-on activities will be abundant during the 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. time slot.  The cost is $55 with a $5 discount for early bird registration.  A minimum number of students is required for us to offer Jump Start Kindergarten.  Registration materials will be emailed to those families for whom a kindergartner has been pre-registered.

Suggestion Box

There is a digital suggestion box for students, parents, and community members on the Contact Us page on our website.  Suggestions will be reviewed and considered regularly.

Teaching Positions Open at JFK for 2023-24

JFK will have at least two teaching positions open for the 2023-24 school year.  If interested, please send me a cover letter, resume, copy of one’s Iowa license, and references.  The hiring process will also involve Scott County Catholic Schools, but these steps would good first ones.

Accounting Process Slows Down

With only about six weeks before all accounting switches to the Scott County Catholic Schools’ business office, we are limping along with understaffing at OLV/JFK.  Fr. Jake, Ann Lotspeich, Lisa Willows, Megan Masterson, and SCCS business office representative Rose Strickland are all doing various pieces of OLV/JFK accounting to close out the rest of the fiscal year.

Highlighted Events

See the calendars on our website for more complete information as the below are only some of the highlights.

  • May 22:  Band to Adventureland
  • May 23:  8th Field Trip
  • May 24:  8th Manners Unit at Outing Club
  • May 25:  3 YO PS Conferences
  • May 26:  4th Field Trip
  • May 28:  AHS Graduation
  • May 29:  Memorial Day.  No Classes.  ECLC Closed
  • May 30:  3rd Field Trip
  • May 31:  Computer/iPad Turn in.  3 YO PS Program.  4/5 YO PS Program.  Last Day of PS Classes
  • June 1:  Last Day of K-8.  Field Day.  12:40 Dismissal.  8th Grade Graduation Mass
  • June 2:  Last Day of ECLC

 

Chad