Firefighters Visit K-2
Students in grades K-2 had a visit from the fire department on Friday.
Highlighted Events
Both a summary and detailed school calendars for JFK are available on our website. Highlighted events are below:
- Oct 11: Butter Braid Bread sales begin
- Apple, Cherry, Blueberry with Cream Cheese, Cinnamon, Raspberry, Strawberry with Cream Cheese, Caramel Rolls with Caramel Glaze. All come with a frosting packet. These are sold individually for $15/package. Also returning this year is the Four Cheese & Herb Bread for $16/package. The bread is frozen and must be allowed to rise 8-12 hours before baking. To order, contact a band/choir student or the school office. (Nearly every 5th-8th grader seems to be in band or choir.) The bread will be delivered on November 19th, in time for Thanksgiving.
- Oct 18: JFK’s participation in the Student Hunger Drive begins
- Oct 22: End of 1st Qtr. Special dismissal at 12:40. No afternoon preschool classes
- Oct 23: Trunk or Treat, 5:30-7:00. H & S’ outdoor movie night, 7:15 (food available for purchase from 6-7)
- Oct 25: Full day in-service. No classes. ECLC open.
- Oct 29: Black/orange dress out of uniform day
- Nov 1: All school Mass with “parade of saints”
- Nov 2: Evening parent/teacher conferences. Look for an email the week of October 18th to schedule PS-5 conferences. 6-8 conferences are all drop in.
- Nov 4: Parent/teacher conferences. No classes. ECLC open.
- Nov 5: No classes. ECLC open
Morning Drop Off
Students should not be dropped off prior to 7:10 a.m. Most staff members are not required themselves to be at school prior to 7:10, and the supervision we have available should be reserved for those students who may have to arrive on a school bus prior to 7:10.
Genesis Flu Free Quad Cities
The free flu shots for K-8 students will be administered on Monday for those who completed the online registration process. These shots are only for K-8 students, and any preschoolers who were registered will not receive shots at school.
Did you get your flu shot yet? I’ve been getting seasonal flu shots for over 20 years now. Walgreens was a little crowded on Friday evening so I went on Saturday morning and received my shot for this year. In and out in under 15 minutes!
Hourly Paid School Positions
JFK has multiple aide positions available for the remainder of the school year. These positions have flexible duties working with 3-14 year olds in classrooms, at recesses, and during lunches. Helping with food preparation and cleaning may be included. “Full time” and part time positions may be available. Candidates must be available between 7:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Aftercare is free for employees working. Tuition, childcare, and other fee reductions are included, and the rate of pay is typically between $11 and $13 per hour. Letter, resume, references can be sent to me at chad.steimle@olvjfkmail.com or an application can be completed at school.
Projects for October 25
We have at least two special projects planned for October 25th, when there are no classes:
- Window are conditioning units will be removed, and glass panes will inserted into the openings.
- Final work for transitioning to the new wireless network should be completed.
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:
- Oct 24: What is hope and why do you need it?
- Nov 7: Jesus came for all of us
- Nov 21: What’s my motivation to go to Mass?
- Dec 12: Finding your place in the Advent story
- Feb 13: Anawim (Hebrew word meaning “poor one”) Poverty and the dignity of work
- 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?
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. We did make several changes this week, including the following:
- Teachers, not students, distribute snacks/treats, which is what should be happening already, but we wanted to more explicitly state it as we approach Halloween.
- We pulled information from our general parent/student handbook into the COVID FAQ where it talks about when a student should stay home from school.
- We corrected an error about bell/instrument covers. We do not have bell/instrument covers in band. A replicated study has indicated that any particles blown into an instrument essentially stay within the instrument.
- Beginning Monday, we will more broadly notify families of students when there is a positive COVID case to include everyone within the same homeroom. We have been notifying close contacts identified through seating charts, video of lunchroom seating, work pods, etc. We are missing the students who are hugging one another on the playground, trying to walk arm in arm down the hallway, and may be just in each others’ faces when not seated at their desks and not being reminded by an adult to maintain some distance. We, therefore, will send the letter to everyone within the same homeroom. There will be some other limited contact tracing as outlined in our COVID FAQ.
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.
- COVID rates in Scott County seem to be declining since recent highs in mid-September.
- COVID related absences at JFK, however, peaked on Friday. These absences include students who have tested positive, students who have COVID symptoms and are awaiting test results, and students who are quarantining as close contacts. A few “larger” families can have a significant impact on the data!
- Families have been experiencing frustration with testing results for the last 1-2 weeks. In many cases, families are getting both rapid and lab analyzed PCR tests at the same time. The rapid COVID tests are coming back negative, but PCR test results received several days later are coming back positive. This frustration is affecting both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases.
- Student absences on Friday were particularly high, 12%. That figure, however, also included a peak high of students (almost 6%) who were out of school for reasons other than illnesses, COVID, or quarantining or for unknown reasons.
Chad
