Communications
Are You Registered to Receive Text Messages from JFK?
If you are not registered to receive text messages from JFK (primarily families new to JFK and/or preschool), type “Y” or “Yes” to 67587. You will not receive text messages from JFK if you do not take action yourself. There is no action required to receive email or phone messages.
Principal’s Posts are written each weekend and posted on our website, available off the front page. I also send a link via email and post it to the school’s Facebook account. It then gets sent home via hard copy via “backpack mail” with the “youngest or only child” in a family at the beginning of each week. I use the Principal’s Post to reach the whole school community and sometimes highlight happenings in particular grades. It does not replace the many communications you will receive from your children’s teachers.
We also utilize a JFK Facebook page, and there is a closed Facebook group, JFK Moms & Dads, where people can post to others in the group. JFK’s Facebook page can be accessed from the front page of our website. If you’d like to be a member of the JFK Moms & Dads group, please let Angie Hillebrand, in the school office know via a Facebook request or even via email. Social media is not the best venue for voicing a concern, and posts that appear to do so will be removed while we try to reach out to address the concern through a better means. Social media, including our Facebook pages, are great ways to share your photos and connect with other JFK families. Photos from an event are often posted to these pages by families before we can even get photos taken by staff posted. Make sure you “like” us on both Facebook pages!
Highlighted Events and Headlines on the front page of our website also tend to be updated each weekend.
Take advantage of the calendars on our website. We have eight: School, Parish, Lunch Menu, Lunch Duty, Faith Formation, Youth Ministry, Gym & Athletic Fields, and Room Reservations.
Enjoy the NCEA Parent News “Play Like a Champion” flyer. It seems appropriate as we gear up for fall sports.
Art Room Renovation:
Did you see the art room yet this year? Below are some before/after photos:
Altar Server Trainings
All boys and girls of the parish in 4th grade and up who are interested in being an altar server are invited to attend training in the church on Saturday, September 14th from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. At least one parent is needed to complete the necessary paperwork. If you have any questions, please contact the Parish office at 563-391-4245.
Confirmation Parent Meetings for 7th and 8th Graders
OLV’s Confirmation preparation is considered a two year process. The 7th grade parent meeting is at 6:00 p.m. on September 5th in the parish center. The 8th grade meeting follows at 7:00 p.m.
Parish Picnic
The OLV parish picnic is Saturday, September 21st after the 4:30 p.m. Mass. Golf carts will be available to take people from the parking lot to the school grounds and handicap seating will be available. Bring your lawn chairs and your appetite as we will be serving BBQ catered by Smokin’ Butt BBQ, iced tea, lemonade, coffee and water. Beer and wine coolers will be available for purchase. Music and fun for all! Tickets are $1 each and free for children 5 and under. (Children still need tickets so we can get an accurate attendance count.) Tickets will be sold each weekend until September 14 in the Gathering Space. Tickets may also be purchased at the parish and school offices. In addition to your ticket you are asked to bring a dish to share. Please bring a serving utensil and mark all dishes and utensils with your name for return:
Last name ending in:
A – H bring Desserts I – P bring Vegetables Q – Z bring Salads
Plenty of volunteers are also needed. Click HERE or use the following link/url to sign up to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0d4ca5a62da4fc1-parish1
Handbook Sign-Off
Please read the parent and student handbook, available HERE, and on our website: https://www.olvjfk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/JFK-Parent-and-Student-Handbook-2019-20.pdf. Then, print off the last page, sign it, and return it to the school office — one per family. Thank you for helping us to reduce our printing costs.
Reminder: Smart watches are in the same category as “cell phones and other electronic devices” and prohibited from use between 7:00 a.m. and until students leave the building. Because staff members are not able to tell which Smart Watches and FitBits are connected to data plans or phones in one’s locker, all such devices will be prohibited.
OLV parish bulletin: Click HERE or use the following link/url: https://www.olvjfk.com/olv/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/1032800040C-090119.pdf
Open Positions
Due to the part time teaching position created by the open counseling position, we also have a part time teaching position available. This position is for 5th grade and/or as a reading interventionist.
We also have a 6-8 hours per week Title I funded interventionist position available to provide math support for elementary-age students. The teaching positions require K-6 IA licenses. Finally, JFK’s board of education authorized additional instructional aide hours to assist students and teachers in elementary classes and supervisory duties. All of the positions can be filled independently or combined.
Labor Day Weekend
I hope you enjoyed the long weekend. After gearing up for the start of a new school year, I am always relieved to have a little extra time to relax.
Lynn and I were able to visit my oldest sister, Dawn, and her daughter’s family in Argyle, WI on Sunday. Dawn’s four children are all exactly ten years older than my four. She had three boys and one girl, while we had three girls and one boy. The “singletons” are even in the same order in our families: the second child. Dawn has lived in northern Alabama for over 30 years. Her daughter, Bonnie, is a large animal veterinarian who specializes with dairy cows. With the focus on dairy cows, there were really three main states in which to have a career: Wisconsin, California, and New York. She chose to work in southwestern WI. While she didn’t know anyone in that area herself when she started, it didn’t take long for the farmers to realize that she was related to my mother who spent her earliest childhood years on various family members’ farms in that area. Bonnie and her husband now also operate an organic dairy farm themselves, and their two little boys, ages 3 1/2 and 1 1/2, show no fear!
Chad
