🆕New/Updated Information
No Buses Monday
There is no bus service on Monday, October 19th. The DCSD is not in session.
Receive Text Messages from JFK
If you would like to receive text messages from JFK, including the Principal’s Post, type “Y” or “Yes” to 67587. Families must opt in to receive text messages.
Opus Honor Choir Selections
Congratulations to Annie W and Luke S for being selected to participate in the 2026 Opus Honor Choir. Festival in Ames, Iowa. These students were among 3,000 students who auditioned via a recording. The festival is on November 19th.
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.
ESAs and Iowa’s Governor’s Race
Below is some information about each candidate’s position in relation to ESAs.
Iowa Has Always Invested in Students. Now It Includes Every Student.
By the Superintendents of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Dubuque and the Dioceses of Davenport, Des Moines, and Sioux City
Educating every Iowa child benefits all of Iowa. Public or private, all schools in Iowa share this mission to promote the common good.
Funding isn’t for schools. It’s for students. By investing in every student, Iowa invests in its future and a network of public and private schools that serve a common good.
This is nothing new. Iowa Tuition Grants, Pell Grants, and the GI Bill cover tuition at private, faith-based universities. SNAP is used at grocery stores. Medicaid follows patients to the hospital they choose, including nonprofit, Catholic systems.
Iowans have long agreed on the principle behind these programs. When a public investment serves a common good, we fund the person and trust families to choose. Education Savings Accounts bring that principle to K-12 education. Investing in all students benefits all of Iowa.
With the Students First Act, the state supports every student attending accredited public and non-public schools. For Iowans who believe more state dollars should be invested in students, ESAs have provided an answer.
The State Auditor’s Office found no irregularities in the ESA program. The audit projected that ESAs allowed 8,838 new students to enroll in non-public schools by 2025-2026. About $70 million followed them to their school of choice. Same students. Same funding.
More than 41,000 students received an ESA last year. For each, the state will send an average of $1,656 in annual supplemental funding to the student’s local public school district, even if they’ve never set foot in the public school.
In this way, ESAs are generating $68 million in new supplemental funding for public schools, essentially offsetting money that followed students to non-public schools. It’s not zero sum. Iowa increased investment in education while minimizing the net impact on public schools.
For perspective, “millions” sounds big, but ESAs account for less than 4% of total government funding to Iowa education.
What’s truly big is the impact on underserved students. Our enrollment rose about 3% this year. Free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility grew 10%, English learners 10%, and students of color 6%. We welcome diverse learners with academic, behavior, and special education needs. ESAs help pave their path.
Accredited non-public schools educate roughly one in 10 Iowa students, and we take that trust seriously. We’re educating one in 10 future scientists, doctors, artists, business owners, neighbors, and parents. Catholic or non-Catholic, we educate the full child: mind, body, and spirit. We teach respect, courtesy, morality, and the value of every person as children of God.
To ensure accessibility, Catholic school tuition has always been among the most affordable, but the landscape and our cost to educate have changed. Facilities need updates, classrooms require new technology, and when Iowa’s public schools raised teacher pay, so did we.
It’s difficult not to take offense at suggestions this money is being used inappropriately, but ESAs ensure the state’s network of schools remains strong.
We’re proud to serve alongside our public school colleagues to develop the future citizens of Iowa, and that’s worth investing in.
Amy Conlon,Superintendent of Schools, Archdiocese of Dubuque Donna Bishop,Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Des Moines Lynne Devaney,Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Davenport Dora Jung,Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Sioux City
📌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.
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
Reading Beyond Schoolwork
When did reading become something we do because we have to, rather than because we want to?
As children get older, reading can gradually become associated with textbooks, assignments, and requirements. Reading becomes something to finish rather than something to enjoy or explore.
But reading isn’t just a school skill. It’s how we learn about things that interest us, explore new ideas, find answers to questions, and sometimes simply enjoy a good story.
How can families encourage reading beyond schoolwork?
PK–2
- Read together for enjoyment, not just to practice reading skills.
- Let children choose books that make them laugh, wonder, or ask questions.
Grades 3–5
- Encourage reading about hobbies, sports, animals, science, or whatever sparks curiosity.
- Remember that graphic novels, magazines, and nonfiction count as reading, too.
Grades 6–8
- Encourage students to explore topics they care about through books, articles, and other written material.
- Occasionally ask what they’re reading because they’re interested, not because it’s assigned.
Reading shouldn’t become something students leave behind when their homework is finished. Reading for school is important, but reading for ourselves is even more important.
🗓️ 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:
- Oct 19: No buses
- Oct 20: H & S. 7th Choir to SAU.
- Oct 22: 7th Choir to SAU. Jump for JFK @ Funstation
- Oct 26: 7th to AHS.
- Oct 27: Coffee & Crumb Fundraiser.
- Oct 29: 8th Grade Pumpkin Drop
- Oct 30: Black/Orange Dress Day. End of 1st Qtr. 2 Hr Early Dismissal. No 4/5 YO PS Classes. Trunk/Treat
- Nov 1: “Fall” Back Time Change.
- Nov 3: SAU Honor Band
- 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 25-27: Thanksgiving Break
- Nov 30: No buses
💭Personal Sharing
Removing the lockers was like opening a time capsule. There was a graded paper of Sara Nicoletto when she was a student in 1988 and the south portion of the building had just opened. There were play tickets from 1997, and a fancy locker decoration promoting my daughter’s campaign for a student council officer position. Although it was sad to see the memories go, the new lockers look fantastic!
Chad