🆕New/Updated Information
Voting on Tuesday
Tuesday is election day. Don’t forget to vote. The first Tuesday of a month is usually pretty busy for me so Lynn and I did in-person early voting last Saturday. Early voting is still available on Monday at the Scott County Administrative Center downtown from 8:00-4:30 p.m.
More Students, Stronger Faith?
Since Iowa introduced Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), JFK’s enrollment has grown by more than 100 students and reached record levels. We can celebrate that more families than ever have access to Catholic education! But it also raises another question: Are we simply enrolling more students, or are we also connecting more kids with Christ?
One important way our Catholic Catholic families connect with Christ is through receiving the Eucharist at Mass. Yet, despite our enrollment grown, the percentage of OLV parishioners attending Sunday Mass has remained relatively steady, between about 26%-30%. That observation isn’t meant to diminish the importance of our enrollment growth or the families who have joined us. Rather, it reminds us that enrollment growth and growth in faith aren’t necessarily the same thing.
Catholic schools exist for more than providing an excellent academic education in a safe, supportive environment. We exist to help students know, love, and serve God. We teach the Catholic faith, pray together, celebrate Mass, and encourage students to live out the Gospel. Families do the same thing in their homes and through participation in their faith communities.
Let’s keep working together to raise the next generation of young people who experience the preaching, teaching, and healing of Christ.
📌Still Relevant
Save the Date: “Made for More: Visions of the Promised Land”
OLV is hosting the multimedia event, “Made for More: Visions of the Promised Land,” featuring national author/speaker Christopher West and musician Mike Mangione on Thursday, November 12, 2026 from 7:00-9:30 pm in the church. Cost is $30 per person.
This program explores life, love, and human destiny through the lens of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. It weaves together live music, spoken word, sacred art, and video clips into a reflective multimedia experience. CLICK HERE for a video clip.
ESAs and Iowa’s Governor’s Race
Below is some information about each candidate’s position in relation to ESAs.
Music Program Poinsettia Fundraiser 
The music program’s poinsettia fundraiser has begun. Order sheets were sent home last week. Families may either return the paper order form or scan the QR code to complete the online form. All order forms and payments are due to Cris in the office by Thursday, November 12th.
Altar Servers Needed
Sign your student up to altar serve at a weekend Mass.
I-Ready Math Requirements
I-Ready use can help your child’s math skills.
I-Ready provides personalized math lessons online based on each student’s needs. Students use I-Ready for at least 30 minutes per week at school, enough to complete at least one lesson. Unfinished lessons will be assigned as homework.
Students who are not proficient in math based upon screeners or ISASPs will also be required to use I-Ready outside of school hours, reinforcing the school/home partnership. All students may complete additional lessons at home.
Checking Students’ Grades and Missing Work
Use the instructions below to check in-progress standards grades, missing assignments, and Assumption Algebra grades in PowerSchool. Directions are included for both the computer portal and app.
Please note:
- Some features are only available on a computer.
- Ignore the “Grades disabled by school” message. It does not apply to our standards-referenced grades.
📚Learning Habits Matter
When Reading Doesn’t Make Sense
Ever finish reading a page and realize you have absolutely no idea what you just read?
It happens to adults, too. Our eyes move across the words, but our minds are somewhere else. We reach the bottom of the page and realize we haven’t really understood or remembered much of anything.
For children, an important reading habit is learning to recognize when they’ve lost track of what they’re reading. Good comprehension isn’t just about understanding the words. It’s also about noticing when something doesn’t make sense and knowing what to do about it.
Parents can help children develop this habit:
PK–2
- Occasionally pause while reading together and ask, “What’s happening in the story?”
- If something is confusing, look back at the words or illustrations together.
Grades 3–5
- Encourage children to stop and reread when they realize they’ve lost track of what’s happening.
- If a passage is confusing, look for unfamiliar words or break longer sentences into smaller parts.
Grades 6–8
- Encourage students to identify where their understanding broke down rather than automatically rereading an entire chapter.
- Try summarizing a difficult passage in their own words or looking back for information they may have missed.
Finishing a page isn’t the same as understanding it. Sometimes the most important reading skill is knowing when to stop and go back.
🗓️ Highlighted Events
Multiple calendars are available at www.jfkcatholic.org/. A one-page summary calendar is on the school homepage, with detailed calendars available under Calendars at the top of the website. Click any underlined event for more information. Below are a few highlighted events:
- Nov 3: SAU Honor Band
- Nov 5: Youth & Family Engagement Mtg
- Nov 6: JFK Night at QC Storm
- Nov 7/8: OLV Bazaar
- Nov 9: Bubbas 33 Dine & Donate
- Nov 10: 1st Reconciliation Retreat
- Nov 11: No Buses. Red, White, Blue Out of Uniform. Veterans’ Day Event
- Nov 12: Made for More Mission. 8th to Career Fair
- Nov 16: 8th to AHS
- Nov 17: Home & School
- Nov 18: AHS Fall Info Knight
- Nov 20: Ronald McDonald House Out of Uniform fundraiser. H & S Ladies Trivia Night
- Nov 23: 5-8 Festival of Trees
- Nov 25-27: Thanksgiving Break. ECLC Open on the 25th.
- Nov 30: No buses
- Dec 19 – Jan 4: Christmas Break
- Jan 5: Classes resume
💭Personal Sharing
The nostalgia I shared last weekend regarding Halloween was tempered by Halloween events spanning two weekends with a full moon in between this week. We didn’t even need costumes for things to get spooky crazy!
What doesn’t have to be spooky is routine health screenings for adults.
Last week, I had blood drawn for a PSA test. September was Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men, and approximately 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with it during their lifetime. I had no symptoms when I received my diagnosis almost six years ago. If it hadn’t been for a PSA test during my regular physical, my cancer might not have been discovered at such an early stage.
Men aren’t the only ones who benefit from routine screenings. October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer diagnosed in women. Most women are advised to begin regular mammograms at age 40.
I also had a colonoscopy last week. Yes, the preparation is unpleasant, but I’d rather put up with 24 hours of unpleasantness than risk losing years of my life to a cancer that might have been caught early.
These screenings aren’t enjoyable. But perhaps rather than viewing them as an unpleasant reality of getting older, we should change our perspective. We’re blessed to be old enough to need screenings that can help ensure we have many more years ahead of us.
Chad