Principal Post

Principal Post

January 15, 2025

Dear Parents,

My email today is long, but it has a lot of important information in it. If nothing else, please skim the topics so you don’t miss something that pertains specifically to you and your children.

January is filled with many fun activities including Men’s Euchre Night, Christian Experience Weekend Retreats, Catholic Schools Week and Coffee with the Principal. Details for some of the activities and some will be in upcoming emails.

Men's Euchre Night

Thursday, January 16 ~ 7 pm

Denning Hall

A great way to meet other men and ​it's free to play! Sign up before the event on our parish website at stpaulcatholicparish.org or just drop in. 

Celebrate St. Paul's 

Saturday, January 25

Join us for a party celebrating our patron saint! We will begin with Mass at 4:30, followed by a family style dinner in Denning Hall at 6 pm. Live Music by The Moonshiners will be in Denning for the adults, and Inside Out 2 movie night for kids ages 5 and up. We will offer babysitting for those under 5. 

IMPORTANT - ESA Funds for 2^nd Semester

Tuition amounts for the second semester have been uploaded to Odyssey. Please log in to your account and approve the tuition. It should only take a few minutes. This will allow the State of Iowa to pay Scott County Catholic Schools (SCCS) for your students’ 2^nd semester tuition. This needs to be done by January 31, 2025. So, do this important step as soon as you are able. If you have any questions, please call the SCCS finance office at (563) 326-5313 ask for Martha Korneisel, and she will be happy to help.

Home and School Membership and Volunteer Opportunities

Did you know every family is a member of St. Paul’s Home and School? As members, all families are invited to attend the monthly meetings on the 2^nd Monday of the month at 6:00 PM in the Media Center. At meetings we plan events for the students and families like the upcoming skate night at the Eldridge skating rink on Tuesday, February 18 from 6-8PM. We invite you to come share your ideas and get involved! We are looking for some volunteers to take on a few small projects.

Coffee with the Principal

Covid derailed our Coffee’s with the Principal, and it’s time to bring them back! Join me for coffee and donuts on Wednesday, January 29 from 8:00 – 9:30 AM in Denning Hall. I will come with a few agenda items to share, and there will be open discussion and time for your questions. I’m looking forward to shar​ing a cup of coffee and great conversation!

Lockdown Drill

Thursday we are planning a lockdown drill. Teachers have been talking to students about this​ the past few days and many have sent emails home already to parents. Reasons for a lockdown in the past have been:

·      A medical emergency that require us to keep hallways clear for EMT’s

·      An unarmed stranger in the building

·      An event in the neighborhood that involves a weapon

·      A non-custodial parent on campus trying to gain access to their child

·      A suspicious vehicle parked near the school

In some of these instances police have been called to assist us. When we have an actual lockdown, we inform teachers the reason for the lockdown, so they are aware of the level of security needed. A medical emergency requires a different level; keeping kids out of the hallway, whereas an unarmed stranger requires us to keep kids in locked classrooms, out of sight while we locate the person. This ​has end​e​d up being someone who has checked into the office, but their visitor badge isn’t visible, and a staff member reports an unidentified person in the building. This has happened once in the past 16 years. A suspicious vehicle lockdown consists of keeping students in the building and not moving between the main school and ELC. Police are always called in this situation. Overall, we may only have 1 or 2 lockdowns in a school year. I always inform parents when this occurs.

In the case of an armed intruder, we use “Run, Hide, Fight”. We will be doing that type of drill in the 3^rd and 4^th quarters . We call that an evacuation drill when we do the drill. Teachers will talk with the students about “Run, Hide, Fight” before our evacuation drills. When those conversations occur, we will inform parents. The most important concept to impress upon your children is to listen to their teacher and follow their directions.

January Mid-Year Assessments

Students are currently taking the mid-year assessments. The assessment window began on January 6 and goes through January 24. It is important for students to be present for these assessments. We use the results to monitor student growth from the beginning of the year and they are required by the state of Iowa Department of Education. Please do not schedule vacations and appointments on these days if possible.

Date Change for Catholic Schools Week Mass and Open House

Due to the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on January 25, and the scheduled parish activities, we are moving our Catholic Schools Week Open House and Mass to February 2. Instead of kicking off the week, we will culminate our celebration with Open House and Mass.

Please add it to your calendar.

Preschool and Kindergarten Round Ups

Please put the following dates on your calendar if you have children entering one of our preschool programs or Kindergarten. More information will be sent out after the holidays.

February 11, 6:00 PM Denning Hall – Kindergarten Round Up Parent meeting (student assessments will be in May.)

February 14, 8:00 – 10:00 AM in the Preschool classrooms.

January/February Dates

January 7-24

·      Mid-year iReady and FAST testing

January 18

·      Spruce Up the School 7:00 – 11:00 AM

January 25

·      Celebrate St. Paul’s, 6:00 PM in Denning Hall

January 29

·      Coffee with the Principal, 8:00-9:30 AM in Denning Hall

January 26-February 2

·      Catholic Schools Week Celebrations – more information to come

February 2

·      Catholic Schools Week Open House and Mass, Scouts Pancake Breakfast

February 7, 8, 9

·      Women’s Christian Experience Weekend (CEW)

February 11

·      Kindergarten Round Up Parent Meeting, 6:00 PM in Denning Hall

February 14

·      Classroom Valentine Celebrations and out of uniform

·      Preschool Round Up, 8:00 – 10:00 AM in the Preschool Classrooms

February 21, 22, 23

·      Men’s Christian Experience Weekend (CEW)