Monthly DB Newsletter

Middle and High School Choir performed the Greatest Showman on October 29!

As you all (hopefully) know, our Mission here at BCSS is with your support, to develop students Spiritually, Academically, Physically, and Socially. I am proud to say that our staff has embraced this Mission and works PURPOSEFULLY to follow it everyday!

Dedication to Mission is what has led to an extremely successful First Quarter!! What defines success? So many things!! We collect data in many ways: attendance, grades, involvement in co curriculars, behavior data, growth on assessments, elopement frequency, Mass attendance, standardized assessments, enrollment in college classes, enrollment in AP classes, engagement in the mentoring program, engagement in the faith buddy program, and other anecdotal data.

We are still in the process of collecting and collating this data but initial numbers in some areas show that we have great attendance and timeliness to class, behavior referrals spiked in weeks three through six of the quarter (after the two week grace period) but significantly decreased in weeks seven to nine, nineteen percent of the high school population signed up to be a mentor and ninety five percent of our students are passing all of their classes! Each of these identified areas align with one or more of our targeted focus areas of our mission statement.

This success exemplifies our habit of Synergy! Without staff, students, and parents, working cooperatively, we would not be seeing such impactful results!

Let’s keep the momentum going!

Go Dons!

Mrs. Douglas

Youth Group will meet November 1st and 8th from 6:15-7:30 this month in the HS FCS Room! All 8th-12th graders are welcomed.

I am Jenna Rohret, the high school theology teacher and campus minister. One of my focuses as a campus minister is to help cultivate Catholicism around the school. As a Catholic school, we should look and feel different than a public school.

Here at BCSS, we are doing that in a variety of ways. One way we are ensuring Catholicity is through prayer in the classroom. Each teacher is able to incorporate prayer into their class in whatever way they prefer. You might be wondering, “Why would I need to have prayer in a science class?”. That is a great question. As a Catholic school, our faith is the foundation of all we do and it should also be incorporated into all we do. Along with this, the Archdiocese has a list of Catholicity initiatives that they want each school in the arch to meet.

One of these initiatives is incorporating prayer or a faith element into each class. The Arch is holding all Catholic schools to this standard and will be following up with us to ensure we are meeting our Catholicity initiatives. We are so lucky to have a great staff that can share the faith in a variety of different ways!

Mrs. Rohret

The Marching Band competed on October 7th with a very successful day. The band performed in three competitions, the Iowa High School Association in Cedar Rapids where they received a 1st rating and score of 65.00, the West Liberty Marching Invitational, where they competed against Class 2A and received 2nd place with a score of 68.3, and then at the Muscatine Invitational, where they also competed against Class 2A receiving 1st place with a score of 68.7.

The band is now working on concert solos and ensembles in preparation for the Perry Band Olympics which will take place on Saturday, February 17th.

Congratulations to the following band students who have been selected to the Augustana University Honor Band Festival in Souix Falls, South Dakota. These students will take part in the Festival on November 9th-11th. It is a prestigious event attended by schools from a 4 state region with highly respected guest conductors followed by the final performance at the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra.

• Cali Weber 1st Horn, Honor Band
• Caitlin Wayson 2nd Clarinet, Honor Band
• Adam Blakeman 3rd Horn, Honor Band
• Vincent Pranger Baritone Saxophone, Gold Mass Band
• Adalyn Hyde 1st Alto Saxophone, Gold Mass Band
• Zach Knepper Percussion, Gold Mass Band
• Cain Kerr Percussion, Blue Mass Band

Mr. Mikita

Technology is integrated throughout our curriculum. We are committed to teaching our students skills for success.

Mrs. Becker

Senior Picture Deadline is Thursday, November 30, 2023.

Parents- please be aware that 3 senior pictures need to be turned in by Thursday, November 30. It is VERY IMPORTANT that we get their pictures by this date. In fact, the sooner, the better. Three wallet sized color senior pictures will be needed by the school. This may be (but does not have to be) three different poses. Please indicate on the back of each picture the student’s name and whether the pose is for the:

• Yearbook-vertical shot
• Senior Spotlight for the Bosco Facebook page- vertical shot
• Class composite (Display in hall)- vertical shot

Please turn in your pictures to Mrs. Rottink. Vertical Shots work much better than horizontal! Sometimes horizontal has to be cropped to fit. DIGITAL images are acceptable, or you can turn in print copies. They can be emailed to: hrottink@boscocatholic.org Most studios already have these specifications but please make sure the picture turned in for the yearbook is:

• Photos must be vertical
• Color photo please

We cannot guarantee your senior’s picture will be included in the yearbook or the class composite if you don’t make this deadline. PLEASE make your photographer aware of the deadline. Don’t assume they know it. Often pictures that are taken in the fall have difficulty making this deadline. Please be aware of this.

We are hosting a penny war to fundraise money for a service project. We will be using the proceeds to shop for underprivileged families from the Cedar Valley. This will be a system-wide fundraiser and all proceeds will be used to buy gifts and supplies for these families. A student from NHS will be visiting your child's classroom and explaining the rules of the penny war next week.

Pennies and paper money will be positive points for their classroom. Silver coins will be negative points for them to give to other classrooms. Competition will be within units (K-2, 3-5, MS and HS) and the winning classrooms will get an ice cream treat. The penny war will begin on November 6th and run through the 10th. Thank you in advance for your contribution and for helping these families have a Merry Christmas!

December is financial aid month for the class of 2024. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is more than just student loans and gift aid (free money), visit the site to learn more!

Parents of all high school students, would you like to meet with me regarding your student success? Please schedule a time to meet.

Ms. Martin

In December the Lighthouse team will be assisting Bosco in hosting a food drive! Watch for information in the December newsletter!

Thursday night's game at 7pm will be live streamed if you are unable to make it in person!

• November 1: Youth Group
• November 3: Teacher PD, No School
• November 3/4/5: Bosco Catholic Fall Play
• November 7: National Honor Society Blood Drive
• November 7: PTO Meeting 6pm in DB room 106
• November 8: Youth Group
• November 22/23/24: Thanksgiving Break, No School

With support from families, we respect and encourage students to reach their potential

• Spiritually by developing a strong relationship with Jesus and knowledge of His church,
• Academically by igniting learning, leadership and life skills,
• Physically by learning about and living healthy habits and
• Socially by becoming active members of the community who serve others as stewards of the Gospel so they are the Light of Christ in the world.

Preparing students to be the Light of Christ in the world!

We've updated our Scrip page and made it easier to find right from the bottom of our homepage. If you're not using Scrip for your everyday purchases, you should be! All you do is purchase gift cards and a percentage of the face value is returned to us. 50% goes to the school and the other 50% may be applied to tuition if you like. Learn more

Please submit newsletter articles to dbhssecretary@boscocatholic.org

by the 25th of each month.

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Physical Address: 405 16th Avenue, Gilbertville, Iowa 50634

Mail Address: PO Box 106, Gilbertville, Iowa 50634

Phone: 319-296-1692