Early Dismissal on Friday
There is a two hour early dismissal (12:40) on Friday. There are no am or pm 4 YO preschool classes. Three year old preschool classes and ECLC will still be held. Bus transportation is available. After school/wrap around care is available for registered families.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Parent/teacher conferences are on November 4th and 7th. Conferences for PS-5th graders are scheduled. Your child’s teacher will send a link that you can use to schedule your conference. The link is sent out to families with multiple PS-5th graders first so they have an opportunity to schedule their conferences close to one another in time. This message went out late last week. Then, the link is sent to those who do not have multiple PS-5th graders. This message/link will be sent early this week. PS-5th grade families who do not sign up for conferences will have a time assigned to them. Sixth-8th grade conferences are all drop-in as multiple teachers are involved for each child. Conferences are from 5:00-7:30 p.m. on November 4th and 8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. on November 7th. There are no classes on November 7th and 8th.
No Flu Shots at School
The flu shots that had been made available for free through the Genesis Flu Free Clinics will not be held this year either. Please make sure to get your child’s flu shot at your physician’s office, or several pharmacies offer them. I did both my flu and COVID shots at the same time!
Grading and Report Cards
As I communicated in September, the Diocese of Davenport and Scott County Catholic Schools are continuing to transition to more standards-referenced grading and report cards. Instead of having an overall grade for each subject and grades for specific skills or standards of the subject, students will now only receive grades for the specific skills or “standards.” For example, students will receive grades for things like Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Place Value, and Measurement and Data but not one overall Math grade. Last year, having both overall and standards grades was confusing, and the calculations were even somewhat different. This year, only the detailed standards grades will be used in the diocesan elementary schools, including Scott County Catholic elementary schools.
Here, again, is the link to the instructions for parents to check their students’ “in progress” standards grades. It also includes directions for checking missing assignments and Algebra grades for students taking the class at Assumption. The directions cover how to use both the PowerSchool portal on a computer and the PowerSchool app.
As the transition continues to take place, Lynne Devaney, superintendent of schools in the Diocese of Davenport, after feedback from administrators across the entire diocese, is pushing out updated diocesan grading scales. Assignments will be adjusted to reflect the below scales shortly.
| Grades K-5, K-8 Specials (Art, Music, PE, Band, Choir, Technology Applications), K-8 Faith Formation | Grades 6-8 all other subjects | ||
| E – Exceeds | 90-100% | A | 90-100% |
| M – Meets | 80-89% | B | 80-89% |
| Dev – Developing | 70-79% | C | 70-79% |
| Beg – Beginning | 60-69% | D | 60-69% |
| IE – Insufficient Evidence | 0-59% | F | 0-59% |
Building Vocabulary
Good readers need strong vocabularies. First/second graders need to add 2-3 words per day on average, and third/fourth graders need to add 6-8 words per day. If just left up to schools, that rate doubles as students are only in school for about 174-180 days per year. What are you doing at home to help students grow their vocabularies?
Youth and Family Engagement
Substitutes Needed at JFK and SCCS
Are you looking for a way to make a meaningful impact at JFK? Becoming a substitute teacher is a powerful opportunity to inspire and guide the next generation! As a substitute, you play a key role in keeping classrooms engaged, helping students stay on track, and supporting full-time teachers. It’s flexible, rewarding, and allows you to connect with young minds, all while keeping control of your own schedule. Whether you’re passionate about education or simply want to make a difference, being a substitute teacher lets you step into a role where you can shape the future.
Substitutes are needed for both long-term assignments (like maternity leaves) and short-term assignments (like when a teacher needs to stay home with his/her own sick child). Although a teaching degree is the most ideal qualification, you do not need one to work as a substitute. A bachelor’s/associate’s/60 hrs of college course work meets the educational qualifications. The process to become a substitute teacher includes completion of a 15-20 hour workshop, multiple background checks, and applications with the Iowa Board of Education Examiners and JFK. The easiest way to progress toward the teaching authorization license is to take the self-paced online course. Substitutes are needed in all of our Catholic schools, especially at the elementary school level. You can agree to work at just one building or multiple buildings. We have also had people who requested only certain grade levels.
Highlighted Events
The following events are highlighted. For all of our events and more information, please see the calendars on our website and communications from individual teachers:
- Oct 22: 7th to AHS. 3rd Grade Book Character Day. SAU Honor Band
- Oct 23: AHS Fall Info Knight. Girls Volleyball Pictures
- Oct 25: End of 1st Qtr. No 4/5 YO am or pm PS Classes. 12:40 Dismissal. Jersey Day.
- Oct 31: Black/Orange Dress Day for Student Hunger Drive. All Saints Holy Day Vigil Mass
- Nov 1: All Saints Day Masses
- Nov 3: “Fall back” time change.
- Nov 4: Evening parent/teacher conferences
- Nov 5: 8th to AHS
- Nov 7: Day/Evening parent/teacher conferences. No Classes. ECLC open.
- Nov 8: No classes. ECLC open
- Nov 9/10: Bazaar
- Nov 11: No buses. Red, White, Blue Out of Uniform Day. Veterans’ Day Event at JFK, 1:30. H & S.
- Nov 14: Civic Oration Rough Drafts Due. Jump for JFK at FunStation
- Nov 15: H & S Ladies Bingo Night
- Nov 27-29: Thanksgiving Break. ECLC is open on the 27th.
Chad
