BK Alive
News and Information for BK Families
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THIS NEWSLETTER CONTAINS A LOT OF INFORMATION, AND THE LENGTH OF THE NEWSLETTER CAUSES IT TO BE TRUNCATED.
LOOK FOR THE BLUE LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE EMAIL THAT SAYS "VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE" TO EXPAND THE EMAIL, OR CLICK HERE TO SEE ARCHIVED COMMUNICATIONS FROM BK.
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Next Week
Monday 11/8 - Periods 1-4
8:30 AM Start, 3:00 PM Release
Tuesday 11/9 - Periods 5-7
9:00 AM Start, 2:45 - 3:15 PM Office Hours
Wednesday 11/10 - Straight 7
8:30 AM Start, 3:05 PM Release
Thursday 11/11 - Periods 1-3
9:00 AM Start, 2:45 - 3:15 PM Office Hours
Friday 11/12 - Periods 4-7
8:30 AM Start, 3:00 PM Release
Important Upcoming Dates
Sunday, November 7th - Daylight Savings Ends
Saturday, November 6th - Bishop Kelly Foundation Winner's Choice Dinner and Auction
Thursday, November 11th - Ski and Snowboard Parent Meeting at 6:30 PM on Zoom (See Below)
Friday, November 12 - $2 Jean Day
Monday, November 15 - Winter Sports Officially Begin
Wednesday, November 17 - Parent Book Club at 7:00 PM in the LIbrary
November 22 - 26 - Thanksgiving Break, NO SCHOOL
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A Note from Rich and Mike |
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Dear BK Community,
When we made the decision on September 10th to require masks in all indoor settings on the Bishop Kelly campus, we committed to assess every two weeks if we needed to make any modifications for the upcoming two week period. We have been doing that each week since the start of school.
In this week’s meeting we looked again at the metrics we monitor, with particular focus on what is happening in our school and in our broader community. Once again, the three key internal metrics that we monitor are:
- Number of cases and spread within our school.
- Attendance rates (including # of students in quarantine)
- Percentage of staff out
In addition to the above, we also watch carefully, and are concerned about, what is happening in our community in terms of Ada and Canyon County community spread (incidence rates/100,000 and positivity rates), COVID hospitalizations and capacity, especially ICUs, and vaccination rates here at BK and in Ada County.
Based on our analysis of the above metrics for the past several weeks, we have made the decision to go back to how we started the school year with masks optional but encouraged. As we looked at our data, which we publish daily on bk.org, we have had no new cases this week and only 10 cases for the entire month of October. We have no students or staff out in quarantine. None of the 61 positive cases this year have been due to spread inside our school buildings to our knowledge. Student attendance remains strong at 95% and staff absences for illness have been very low this week. Our vaccination rates are estimated at 70+% for students and 90+% for faculty/staff. Incidence rates for Ada County, while still in the red/high category, have been dropping each week and are at rates not seen since September 10th. Positivity rates, while not yet at the 5% threshold, have been dropping each week and are now below 10% in Ada County. And, while hospitals are still very busy and healthcare workers remain stretched, Covid hospitalizations and ICU admits have dropped significantly.
We believe that, based on the data above, now is time to move back to optional masks. We have been and will continue to focus on our goal of on-campus learning in a face to face model. All students on campus all day every day. Safely. We understand this move is not without risk and we will continue to monitor our metrics every week and will not hesitate to move back to requiring masks should numbers here at BK or in our communities rise. However, we believe the educational benefits of optional masks are significant. In particular, this change will help teachers and students improve verbal and non-verbal communication in the classroom as well as improve student engagement in the learning process. And it will help strengthen the sense of belonging and community for students that is a key area of focus for us this year.
Our detailed analysis and thinking behind this decision, our Covid protocols, and what we need from everyone going forward can be found here. We encourage you to read this two page document. Please know that students must still bring a clean mask to school every day, teachers may ask students to wear them when 3’ of distance cannot be maintained, and masks will still be required for large indoor school gatherings. And it is even more imperative that students, teachers, and staff must stay home when they have signs of any infectious illness, fever, cold, etc.
We are grateful for all you (students, faculty/staff, and parents) have done to allow us to reach this point of returning to optional masks. Thank you for your support, understanding, feedback, and trust.
God bless,
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Mike Caldwell
Principal
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Partnership Mass for November
St. Mark's Catholic Church
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Our Chaplain, Father Vance, will be celebrating Mass once a Month at a local area parish.
On November 14th
Father Vance will be celebrating Mass at
St. Mark's Catholic Church
at the 5:00 PM Sunday Mass
St. Mark's BK students and families are invited to attend that Mass. Students are encouraged to wear Bishop Kelly Spirit Wear! Let's represent BK!
Following Mass there will be an opportunity for parishioners to talk with Fr. Vance and BK student leaders.
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Confirmation Classes at BK! |
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St. Mary's Church, led by Father Worster, will hold Confirmation Classes at Bishop Kelly. This is open to any St. Mary's Parishioner or any student that is unaffiliated with a parish.
Classes will take place in the morning, before the start of school. Classes will begin in January.
If your student is interested, please complete This Google Form so that St. Mary's may get in touch with you.
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Each week Bishop Kelly faculty and staff nominate students, and students nominate faculty and staff, who have demonstrated the BK Way attributes of Faith, Safe and Caring Place, Academic Excellence, Activities, Honor, Generosity, Community, and Partnership.
Congratulations to this week's Knights of the Week!
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Francesca Shepherd
Community
Francesca lived out the BK way during lunch. She noticed a fellow student sitting alone at lunch and invited them to sit with her and her friends. Now they all sit together, a great way to be a Knight!
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Cecilia Furioso
Safe and Caring Place
Cecilia is one of the nicest and gentle students I have in my classes. She treats EVERYONE with a gentleness and a sense of caring. All seem to like and trust her.
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Amelia Crawford
Academic Excellence
Amelia has been coming in often after or before school to get more help on her HW, ask for additional problems, to get ready for our test. I'm super proud of her.
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BK Staff of the Week
Mr. Carl Krutz
Academic Excellence, Safe and Caring Place
- Mr. Krutz is very helpful and explains the material very well and wants his students to succeed.
- Mr. Krutz makes everyone feel welcome within his class. He makes sure we each feel safe, and that our ideas are accepted. His class is one that always makes me and my classmates feel excited to learn new things.
- I want to nominate Mr. Krutz for BK staff of the week because he was willing to help me in Physics when I was very confused and always has an upbeat attitude.
- Mr. Krutz makes every student feel cared for and welcomed in his classroom. He makes it so we know that we, along with our ideas, are accepted and appreciated. I, along with my fellow students, always enjoy being in that class and he makes us want to come back and learn each day.
- He cares about my grades and is a very cool dude.
- Mr. Krutz is one of the most kind and considerate teachers I have ever had. He makes sure that each student feels cared for and they feel safe and not judged in his classroom. I have loved being a part of his class and he makes it so each student and their ideas feel welcomed and accepted.
- He really cares about my education and puts in effort
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2021 Winner's Choice Dinner & Auction
Saturday, November 6th
Doors Open at 5:30 p.m.
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We are excited to see everyone on Saturday! Here is the itinerary for the evening:
Cocktails & Conversation - 5:30 p.m.
Silent Auction, Balloon Sales & Photo Booth - 5:30 p.m.
Blessing & Dinner Served - 7:00 p.m.
Order of the Knight, Introductions- 7:30 p.m.
Silent Auction Closing - 8:00 p.m.
Live Auction Auctioneer: Larry Flynn - 8:15 p.m.
Knights for Scholars - 9:15 p.m.
Winner’s Choice Car Drawing - 9:45 p.m.
Dancing & Check Out - 10:00 p.m.
Attire is Western Formal or Cocktail Dress with Black Tie Optional.
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Update on BK President Search - The President position is now being advertised! |
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We have officially begun to advertise the President position at BK, in the hopes that we can have a new President in place well before Rich's official retirement date. Please help us find someone who can fill Rich's very big shoes by sharing this with anyone who might be a great fit for BK!
The Bishop Kelly Board of Governance is now accepting applications for the position of President at Bishop Kelly High School starting the 2022- 2023 school year.
The President is the chief executive officer of BKHS. In that capacity, the President provides executive leadership directing the operations of BK consistent with BK’s mission and Catholic identity. The President is hired by and accountable to the BK Board.
The President’s responsibilities include oversight of business operations; marketing and enrollment; public relations; strategic planning and implementation; fundraising; supervision of school principal and administrative staff; and serving as the BK Board’s liaison to internal and external stakeholders.
He or she is responsible for the school’s Catholic identity, educational direction, and financial viability.
More detailed information about the position and Bishop Kelly High School may be found at www.bk.org/about-bk/employment. The deadline to receive applications is December 13, 2021.
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NEW - Parent Book Club at BK!
Who Gets In and Why - by Jeffrey Selingo
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Join the BK Counseling Department for a 3 part parent book club discussing New York Times best-selling author, Jeffrey Selingo’s Who Gets In And Why
Nov. 17 7pm-8pm Library
Part One Fall: Recruitment Season
Dec 15 7pm-8pm Library
Part Two Winter: Reading Season
Jan. 19 7pm-8pm Library
Part Three Spring: Decision Season
For questions email Julie Klover, College and Career Counselor
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Parents of Spring Break Travelers - PLEASE READ |
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Dear Parents of Spring Break Travelers,
We are excited for the opportunity to travel with students during Spring Break to Normandy, Peru, and Scotland/Ireland. It is an important investment that has positive academic benefits and helps students learn about new cultures. While we remain optimistic about these opportunities, the Covid-19 pandemic has made travel extremely challenging and we are writing with some important information:
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BK Ski and Snowboard Team
Parent Meeting
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BK Ski and Board team parent meeting will be held via Zoom on November 11th at 6:30 pm. All parents are encouraged to attend. This is a great time to get information about the team and meet the team advisers (Mr. Franklin and Mr. Schwehr). Zoom meeting room and password:
Franklin
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It's time for seniors to submit their quote for the yearbook. The link for the form is posted for seniors on Schoology, and quotes are due by midnight on November 30th. Please remind your senior that the quotes should represent what he/she values, believes in, or words that he/she lives by.
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Our Apologies to the JV Volleyball team, we ran the wrong photo last week. Congratulations to these JV District Champions! |
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11/8 @ 11:10p11:45 Boise State University
11/11 @ 11:10-11:45 Grand Canyon University
11/12 @ 11:25-12:00 Seton Hall University
To attend, sign up using SCOIR or come to the Counseling Center
College & Career Fairs
Registration for the NACAC Virtual College Fairs are now open!
Virtual College Tours
Student-driven virtual college tours
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Catholic Community Events |
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Saint Mary's Candy Cane Crawl
Kick off your holiday festivities with St. Mary's 1 mile family fun run! The course will be 3 laps around Lowell Elementary field, combination of grass and concrete. We will have three separate races: Competitive wave- see how fast you can run a mile, or pick someone to race! Family wave- run or walk the 1 mile course, strollers welcome. Kids race- kids will run 1 lap (1/3) mile, parents are welcome to assist and cheer as needed. Candy Canes awarded to all finishers! Prizes for Competitive wave! T-shirts may be worn for St. Mary's spirit days. All proceeds will benefit St. Mary's School, so crawl on out to join us for a great time!
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Employment Opportunities at BK |
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Bishop Kelly is currently taking applications for the following positions for the 2021-2022 academic school year.
President
Kitchen Assistant
Activities Bus Driver
Substitute Teacher
For more information and to apply, please visit the Employment Page on BK.org. |
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Our website at www.bk.org is a wealth of information for parents and students alike!
Check out some of the cool tools that are just a few clicks away:
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- Front Office: 375-6010
- Fax: 375-3626
- Business Office Manager: 947-1209
- BK Development Office: 947-1325
- BK Foundation Office: 323-4789
To add, remove, or change your email address, or to remove your name from our regular mailing lists, please contact Chrissy at cbeckner@bk.org.
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Bishop Kelly High School | (208) 375-6010 | www.bk.org |
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