January 22, 2021
BK Alive
News and Information for BK Families
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.
NEXT WEEK AT A GLANCE

Monday 1/24 - Periods 1-4
8:30 AM Start, 3:00 PM Release

Tuesday 1/25 - Periods 5-7
9:00 AM Start, 2:45 - 3:15 PM Office Hours

Wednesday 1/26 - Straight 7
8:30 AM Start, 3:05 PM Release

Thursday 1/27 - Periods 1-3
9:00 AM Start, 2:45 - 3:15 PM Office Hours

Friday 1/28- Periods 4-7
8:30 AM Start, 3:00 PM Release


Important Upcoming Dates

Sunday, January 23rd - PASTA FESTA! (See below for times and tickets)

Monday, January 24th - Girls LAX Parent meeting at 6:30 PM in the BK Cafeteria

Tuesday, January 25th - Senior Out To Lunch

Wednesday, January 26th - Sophomore Parent Night in the Fraser Library at 6:30 PM

Monday, January 31st - Virtual Information Knight for Prospective BK Students and their Families at 6:30 PM on the BK YouTube Channel.

Tuesday, February 1st - Senior Out To Lunch

February 1st and 2nd - Spring Play Auditions

February 3rd-5th - Junior Retreat at Trinity Pines Camp in Cascade

Thursday, February 10th - All School Mass at 10:30 AM in the Carley Center
A Note from Rich and Mike
Dear BK Community,

We are delighted to see this current inversion break for at least a while. It seems an appropriate metaphor for the current state of COVID-19 in our area and country - dark and cold days to hopefully be followed by sunshine and warmer temperatures. But the threat of another inversion is still out there.

In this BK Alive, we will share an update on COVID-19 here at BK, and provide a midyear assessment on how we did as a school community against our four 2021-22 School Objectives.

Please also remember that this Sunday is the annual Pasta Festa dinner at BK. And January 31st is our annual New Student Information Knight, which will be happening virtually this year. Please see below for more details about both of these events.


COVID-19 at BK
It has been another busy week for our nurse, attendance office, and our COVID-19 assessment team. Here is an overview of the internal metrics and external metrics we watch to determine what we should do as a school to stay in person, keep our students and faculty/staff safe and healthy, and mitigate community spread:
  • BK Internal Metrics
  • Positive cases among students and faculty/staff - we have had 40 student positive cases and 4 faculty and 1 staff/admin (non-faculty) positive cases this week. That follows the 28 student positive cases and 3 staff (non-faculty) positive cases in the first week back from Christmas break. 24 students are still out in isolation with many students having returned to school under our new CDC/CDH isolation protocols. 
  • To help improve the speed and efficiency of communication for both parents and our COVID team here at BK, we would ask that you fill out this (+) COVID form should your child test positive for COVID-19. It will also help you and your child know when they can return to school.
  • Attendance - last week was 92.5%, with this week a bit better as students have returned from isolation or other illnesses. We have had to cancel three basketball games since the start of school with not enough players to compete. We are hopeful both teams will be able to play games next week. 
  • Faculty/Staff Out - currently 1 staff/admin and 3 teachers are out in isolation and a handful of others are out for a variety of reasons. We are fortunate that we have not had any issues having a teacher in every classroom this week as many schools have had. Let’s pray it stays that way.
  • External metrics:
  • COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions are increasing with larger increases expected in the next week or two. As of yesterday, St. Luke’s had around 140 patients in hospital for or with COVID. This is twice what it was in early December when it was around 70. But that is significantly less than during the heights of the Delta variant when there were 320 patients with COVID in St. Luke’s hospitals. Staffing challenges due to illness are forcing clinic closures, reduced hours, and stressing hospitals already very busy with other non-COVID cases.
  • Positivity rates have jumped once again in Ada County to 26.7% from nearly 20% this past week - and are still climbing. 
  • Community spread in Ada County has risen from around 140 cases/100,000 in early December to over 700 cases 100,000 this past week.

Bottom line, it is imperative that we continue with required masking indoors at BK for the coming week. We are pleased that we have only had 4 faculty to-date test positive and only 4 staff/admin, but that could change as you read this. Thanks for all you are doing to stay safe and healthy. We will continue to reassess next Thursday as to what we do for the following week, but we are likely to continue with requiring masks until our cases here at BK significantly decline and community spread is much lower.

Midyear Report on BK 2021-2022 School Objectives
As a reminder, we set four objectives for the school year. In assessing how we are doing against these objectives, we looked at three things: 1) our own analysis of our key metrics and initiatives; 2) parent survey on the fall semester; and, 3) faculty/staff survey on the fall semester.


We are grateful for your feedback and partnership. We feel we are on track to accomplish our four school objectives for the year and are committed to address issues that arose in the fall semester such that we can have a very successful school year for all - students, faculty/staff and parents!
Final Thoughts
These continue to be tricky times to navigate. Please know we are doing our best to balance the multitude of factors that go into our decisions with the primary goal to ensure we have in person learning every day this semester. We do not want to close school or revert for even one day to remote learning. Period. We believe masks reduced the spread of COVID-19 from occurring in our school and the new isolation and quarantine policies are minimizing the amount of school days any student or faculty/staff member is out and at the same time minimizing the spread in our school.

Let us continue to partner together - students, parents, faculty and staff - to make this semester a success for all stakeholders! Thank you for all you do for our school!
God Bless!
Rich Raimondi
President
Mike Caldwell
Principal

Reflections from Father Vance
Over the Christmas Break, I succumbed to watching a show that I had been resisting for a while. I watched both seasons of “The Chosen,” and I absolutely fell in love with it. While there are a great many things I could share with you about this, I want to focus on a spiritual connection I have made between the show, and the way the spiritual tradition of Saint Ignatius of Loyola teaches one to pray with the Scriptures.

The key to praying with the Gospels for Ignatius was the imaginative ability to place oneself into the story from Jesus’ life and ministry. For me, this has taken years of practice and false steps, but it has also borne great fruit in my life. For example, say I am praying with a Gospel story of Jesus healing someone who is sick in body or in spirit. Will I imagine myself as the person being healed, as one of the Apostles witnessing the healing but not completely understanding what they are seeing, or as some other person merely present at this moment by accident? This is an important question to answer, because it reveals what is deepest in me at the moment, and how I wish to companion Jesus in this time of prayer. Also, the intensity with which I can conjure the surrounding sights, sounds, smells and emotions of the chosen Gospel passage in my imagination can also help my relationship with Jesus Christ increase in its intensity and quality, because I am making every effort to understand how this might have looked and felt to those originally witnessed his ministry.

Over the years, I have grown to love this kind of prayer, and it has become a daily part of my life, as I take the Gospel for Mass that day and apply this imaginative exercise to it as the first preparation for my homily. Those of us with unusually (abnormally?) vivid imaginations learn over time what images to pay attention to, and what images to let go of because they are simply a distraction from the central desire to be as close as possible to Jesus Christ. Jesuits and those trained in this kind of prayer call it “Contemplation,” and I think that at least some of the creators of and contributors to “The Chosen” have had some experience with it as well. The show takes Scriptural accounts (Nicodemus, the Wedding at Cana, the call of the Disciples, the healing of Mary Magdalene, etc.) and “fleshes them out” through an imaginative and creative process very similar to what I have done in my prayer for almost 40 years since entering the Jesuits and learning this style of praying.

Being the curious person I am, I have done some internet digging on the philosophy of this show, and the word that continually arises is “plausibility.” The Scripture scholars who consult and advise the show are always asking themselves “is this plausible?” given the biblical and extra-biblical information we have. If the proposed scene, montage or interaction meets the criteria of plausibility, they include it, and if it doesn’t, they don’t. No one is making the claim that this is how it “really” happened, but simply that this imaginative interpretation is consistent with our Scripture and our Faith. I realize that this is the same idea that I have when I apply Contemplation to the Gospel passage each morning.
I cannot recommend “The Chosen” highly enough! There are so many options for TV time in our lives that certainly don’t support or encourage our faith in Jesus Christ, and it is wonderful to have this option. That being said, the show is also an engaging and entertaining drama, precisely because of the plausibility of its characters and their relationships. It will get you thinking about Jesus and the Apostles in new and gently challenging ways! And, it might just return your attention to the Gospels with deeper appreciation for what great stories are between those sacred lines! A simple Google search will show you how to watch the show free of charge. Here at school, I heard that Deacon Rick is beginning to incorporate the show into his curriculum. The creators of “The Chosen” have one stated goal, and that is to encourage a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. What a wonderful opportunity to fill our minds and imaginations with good images, especially in the midst of all the challenges we continue to face!
Father Vance is celebrating Mass once a month at a local parish!

on Sunday, January 30th
Father Vance will be celebrating the 10:30 AM Mass at Risen Christ Catholic Church

Risen Christ BK Students and their families are invited to attend that Mass and to wear their Bishop Kelly Gear! Let's represent, BK!

Following Mass there will be an opportunity for parishioners to talk with Fr. Vance and Bishop Kelly student leaders.
Pasta Festa!
The Bishop Kelly Parent Ambassadors Presents:

PASTA FESTA
Sunday, January 23
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Bishop Kelly High School in “The REG”

Enjoy a delicious Italian Dinner prepared by BK’s talented parents!

MENU INCLUDES:
Antipasto- Marinated artichokes, kalamata olives, various cured meats & cheeses

Main course- Bolognese – Meat sauce over Cavatappi * Pesto Alfredo over Cheese Ravioli
Vegetable Marinara over Spaghetti * Garlic Bread * Caesar Salad

Admission at the Door
$50 for Families (up to 6 people)
$10 for Adults
$8 for Students (ages 11-18) & Seniors (age 65+)
$6 for Children (ages 6-10)
Free for Children 5 and Under!

Soft drinks, beer, wine, and dessert available for purchase!

Dinner can be ordered to go!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!! This is a fun event for couples to volunteer together, and for students to gain service hours.


Virtual Information Knight for Prospective BK Students and their Families
We have made the decision, based on the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, that New Student Information Knight will be a virtual event on Monday, January 31st. We will be broadcasting live from BK starting at 6;30 pm that evening. It will still be a fun and informative evening for families who are considering Bishop Kelly for the 2022-2023 school year. We invite you to watch the event from the comfort of your home rather than coming to Bishop Kelly.

If you have an incoming freshman or a student who wishes to transfer, please plan to join us! And if you know of a family who is considering BK for next fall, please encourage them to attend New Student Information Knight!

We would ask that you register via the link below for this evening. Please know we are still scheduling personal tours and shadow days for prospective students.


Questions? Contact our Admissions Director, Kelly Shockey, at (208) 375-6010 or kshockey@bk.org
Girls Lacrosse Parent Meeting
If your daughter is interested in playing Spring Lacrosse at Bishop Kelly, please plan to attend a parent meeting at 6:30 PM on Monday, January 24th in the BK Cafeteria.
Spring Play Auditions - February 1st & 2nd
It's time to shine! Auditions for our BK spring play, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 1st and 2nd from 3:30 until 5 in the Music Room. 

Students should bring a pencil and your after-school schedule from February 7th through April 8. No experience is needed. There are lots of great roles in this truly wonderful stage version of an American classic.

Being in a play at BK is a great way to make new friends and have more fun than you may ever have at BK!  Everyone is welcome!
Host Family Needed for BK Student
Looking for a host family for a junior boy from China. This is his third year at BK. He would like to exercise and do activities with the family. Host fee is $800 or more upon discussion.   
 
For questions or more detailed information, please contact Ying Donegan @(208) 853-8542 or ying@7eie.com.


LAST CHANCE to register for the
Junior Class Retreat - February 3-5
2022 Junior Retreat:
February 3-5, 2022
Trinity Pines Retreat Center, Cascade

  • Cost: $95 to be added to your BK account – there are scholarships available. See Mrs. Horn for more info.
  • Transportation: Bus will leave BK at 3:30 PM on Thursday, February 3rd and return to BK at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 5th
  • Meals: Provided
  • What to Bring: warm, comfortable clothes for the retreat as well as outer gear and shoes appropriate for outdoor activities. Jeans without holes are permitted. Participants will also need a sleeping bag, pillow, towel and toiletries, and a notebook or journal. See the printable retreat flier for a full packing list. 
  • Lodging: Students will be sleeping in dorm-like lodging. (Separate dorms for boys and girls.) Dorms have twin beds, and bathrooms with showers.
  • Cell Phones: There is no cell reception at the camp. Students will be asked to either leave phones at home, or have them turned off for the entire retreat. We will give parents land line phone numbers in case of emergency.
  • Registration due TODAY, January 21st.
LAST CHANCE to order a Senior Ad in the Yearbook
Even though the deadline has passed, there is a limited amount of senior recognition ad space left in this year's 2022 yearbook. If you are still interested, please don't delay and submit your senior's ad ASAP. The last day we will be able to accept late ads is January 23rd or until the available space runs out, whichever comes first.

Don't miss out on this once-in-a lifetime opportunity. For more information or to submit, please visit TheYearbookCompany.

New Date for Prom - April 2nd
In order to avoid a conflict with the State Speech and Debate Tournament, we are moving BK Prom to Saturday, April 2nd.

The plan is to have Prom on the Lachiondo Family Plaza, with an indoor backup in case of weather.
College and Career

2/1 @ 11:10-11:45 Lewis-Clark State College 
2/10 @ 11:10-11:45 Texas A & M 

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 

Catholic Community Events
Registration is now open!
The Idaho Catholic Men’s Conference will take place on Saturday, January 29, 2022 at St. Paul's in Nampa and online. The conference theme is "Chosen For Such A Time As This" and will feature dynamic national speakers including Fr. Don Calloway, Deacon Adam Curtis, and Matt Harte. Bishop Peter Christensen will be celebrating the opening Mass. The early bird registration fee is just $49 before January 16 and online is $29. For all the details and to register go to www.IdahoCatholicMen.org or call 208-484-0898.

Employment Opportunities
The Bishop Kelly Board of Governance is now accepting applications for the position of President at Bishop Kelly High School. 


Additionally, Bishop Kelly is currently taking applications for the following positions for the 2021-2022 academic school year.

Kitchen Assistant
Activities Bus Driver
Substitute Teacher

For more information and to apply, please visit the Employment Page on BK.org.
Important Links
Contact BK
  • 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.