Fall 2017
Test Prep App Designed to Boost SAT/ACT Scores Ray Dass, a leading expert in test prep, developed the SARA app seven years ago. His program has helped over 50,000 students boost their SAT and ACT scores. SARA is a comprehensive test prep application designed to increase academic performance and achievement and to boost scores on the SAT and ACT. CADEMIC All freshmen began using this highly anticipated D E P A R T M E N T app on August 21 in their math and English classes and will continue to use it through their junior year.
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We anticipate that the freshmen who began the program this year will experience higher PSAT/SAT/ACT scores than we have seen in the past and improve their acceptance chances at top universities. Those students selected to participate in the higher-tiered MERIT program their sophomore year will enhance their chances of qualifying to be a national merit scholar. After integrating test prep practice into our curriculum over the past five years and not seeing the results we had hoped for, we chose to adopt Ray Dass’ program as an additional way to help our students’ test scores go from good to great. Over the past years, our standardized test scores, which are well above state and national averages, have remained relatively constant. We hope to see results like the ones the Sun Sentinel reported for American Heritage, a college prep school in South Florida. In a period of five years, the school’s number of National Merit Scholars catapulted them to a #1 ranking in the state. Freshmen will spend a minimum of 20-30 minutes a week working on language arts and math skills. The work done in the app will count for 5% of each quarter grade in both math and English classes. Feedback is instantaneous; the program allows students to work at their own pace as it moves them through the 32-hour program. Students will have ample opportunity to practice the fundamental skills crucial for mastering all sections of the high stakes standardized tests. More than 400 videos, narrated by Ray Dass himself, are also included to provide students with specific tutorials they may need to successfully answer the questions. Use of the videos ensures consistency of instruction and student accountability is ensured with the grade component. Extra help sessions with Ray Dass personnel via Adobe Connect take place on Thursday nights from 6:00-8:00 pm.
Contact Information Main Office: 904-398-7545 Fax: 904-398-5728 Mailing Address: 1055 Kingman Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32207 Website: www.bishopkenny.org Office Hours: Mon.-Fri. 7:00–3:30
Bishop Paul F. Tanner Chapel Schedule Mass: 7:10AM, Monday-Friday Confession: • Every Wednesday during all lunch mods • Throughout the day on First Fridays Eucharistic Adoration: All day on the First Friday of each month. Students, parents, faculty, and staff are welcome to participate.
Freshmen will take the PSAT this October and again in October 2018. The Ray Dass program will identify those students whose scores indicate they have the greatest potential to qualify as a National Merit Scholar. These students will be invited to participate in an intensive MERIT program held in the spring of their sophomore year. This intensive program, which will require mandatory sessions outside of school hours, entails approximately 30 additional hours of specialized preparation. MERIT will resume in the fall of their junior year in preparation for the PSAT/NMSQT in October 2019. Students will work an additional 40-60 hours to refine work on their verbal and math skills. The students who do not qualify for MERIT during their sophomore year will continue to benefit from using the SARA app Level 2 their sophomore year and Level 3 their junior year, as will the MERIT group. Even after students have taken the PSAT in 2018, they will continue work with SARA using the BOOST track to finish preparation for the SAT and ACT exams so crucial to acceptance at many colleges and for scholarship consideration. The Class of 2021 will, without a doubt, have the best test preparation any school could provide its students. We look forward to the great things to come as we assist our students in reaching their potential and equip them with the skills they will need to be successful in college and life. For more info on the Ray Dass Program: http://raydassprep.com/
FROM THE
Principal’s Desk I extend a special welcome to the parents of the Class of 2021 and the parents of our new upperclassmen. I hope you have had a smooth transition to life at Bishop Kenny. We opened the school year with 1,235 students - our largest enrollment in five years. What a pleasure it has been to share with our returning students, faculty, and staff all that has been accomplished since school ended in June. In case you haven’t seen the improvements first-hand, here’s a brief summary: • • • • • • • • •
John A. Baldwin Athletic Center renovations Robotics Makerspace (A Hands-On Lab) New student restrooms in 100 & 200 buildings New Faculty and Visitors restrooms in 200 building New 100 building faculty lounge New benches, tables, and umbrellas for outdoor dining New desktop computers in Labs 213 & 601 Bandwidth and access point upgrades New waste and recycling receptacles
• BKHS Sailing Team • Standardized test prep with the SARA App (see Academic Department article) • Curriculum Mapping • Schoology Enterprise • Apple Classroom for teachers to monitor students’ iPad use We are blessed by the many contributions of our parents, alumni, members of our Advisory School Board, and all of the other people who so enthusiastically and generously support the mission of our school. Without their support these and future improvements to our program and facilities would not be possible. And finally, please remember that our school chaplain, Fr. Martin, offers Mass daily at 7:10 AM. Students and parents are always welcome in the Chapel for Mass. I look forward to seeing you on campus soon and wish you and your student(s) a very successful school year. Sincerely,
New initiatives this year include: • New bell schedule which includes a Flex mod to preserve instructional time
Principal
We’re Here to Guide and Advise!
file the FAFSA using prior-prior year (PPY) tax data. Prior-Prior Year (PPY) refers to a policy enabling students and families to file the FAFSA using tax information from two years ago. For example, a high school senior planning to enroll in college in Fall 2018 would be able to file FAFSA using taxes from 2016.
The Office of Guidance Services staff is excited to begin another great school year working with our students. The counselors perform a variety of roles to assist UIDANCE students, parents, and faculty throughout the E P A R T M E N T year. During their time at BKHS, students can look to their counselor as a resource for: • academic support • selecting appropriately challenging courses that meet their academic, scholarship, and college goals • standardized testing (ACT/SAT) • college major and career choices • the college search, application, and selection processes • searching and applying for scholarships, including Bright Futures
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Mr. Bill Spiers, Director of Financial Aid at Tallahassee Community College, is an expert on the FAFSA and will be presenting information on scholarships and financial aid at Bishop Kenny on Monday, September 18 at 7:00 pm in the Harris Center. We encourage all 11th and 12th grade families to attend. For more information regarding the FAFSA, go to https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa.
Evening Guidance Programs Each year the Office of Guidance Services offers grade level evening programs for parents and students. We encourage you to attend these programs in order to remain current with college planning information. Stepped themes address pre-college actions needed at each grade level. The remaining programs for the school year are:
All students meet with their counselor at least once a year. During this annual appointment, students review current grades, overall academic performance, and plans for the future. These appointments take place throughout the school year. Many students meet with their counselor more frequently regarding college applications, study skills, or any other personal concerns they may have. Our counselors are highly skilled in a wide range of areas and look forward to serving students as an academic advocate throughout your student’s time at BKHS.
September 18: Financial Aid and Scholarship Program (Junior and Senior Class) October 2: Junior Class January 22: Sophomore Class
Working with the FAFSA for the Class of 2018
Note: Freshman and Senior programs were held in August.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has been used for many years by the federal government as a consistent determining factor in assisting colleges in granting financial aid and scholarships. Since October 2016, families have been permitted to
Follow us on Twitter @BKHSGuidance
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Throughout the school year the Office of Advancement offers a variety of ways for parents to get involved in campus events.
O F F I C E
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ADVANCEMENT
BK Boosters Membership Drive A membership application has been sent encouraging you to join, attend a meeting, make some new friends, and get involved. Please take the time to participate. Brief club meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:30 pm in the Demetree Learning Commons.
18th Annual BK Boosters Golf Tournament The 2017 Golf Tournament will be held on Monday, November 13 at Jacksonville Golf and Country Club. If you’re a golfer, we encourage you to participate. If you’re not a golfer, volunteers are needed to help make goodie bags, witness on the course, work at registration, and to help out in general. We need hole sponsors, goodie bag donations, and more. If you would like further information, please call Kathy Parete at 923-1123.
BK Boosters
AUCTION 2018
Mark Your Calendar
Saturday, April 21, 2018 More Information to Follow
The Athletic Department is gearing up for the 2017-18 season and encourages everyone to come out and support the Bishop Kenny Crusaders! Visit www.bishopkenny.org for team schedules. Remember to follow Bishop Kenny Athletics on Twitter @BKHSAthletics for news and updates. We also invite you to come out and see the changes that have been made to many of our Crusader athletic facilities. It was a busy summer with THLETICS significant improvements made to the John Baldwin Athletic Center, tennis courts, softball field, baseball field, and football stadium. Soon to be completed are improvements to the cross country course. We are happy to announce that a major improvement to be completed this winter will be the installation of a new track in time for the spring season.
D E PA R T M E N T
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We encourage everyone to join the BK Boosters. Not only will you be signing up for passes to all home athletic events, you’ll be contributing to ongoing improvements that are being made to our facilities. We look forward to another great year of Bishop Kenny Athletics and hope to see you at our sporting events. Go Crusaders!
D E PA R T M E N T O F
Community Service Requirement
Each year portions of the Parent & Student Handbook are revised. We encourage you to read through the handbook and discuss student-related items with your son or daughter. Particular attention should be paid to the section on Technology (Acceptable Use Policy), the Academic OFFICE OF THE Honor Code, Out-ofSchool Suspensions, the EAN OF New Medication Policy, TUDENTS and Uniform Code Enforcement.
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The entire Bishop Kenny staff will consistently enforce the Uniform Policies outlined in the Parent & Student Handbook daily throughout the school year.
Drop-Off and Pick-Up Students may be picked up and dropped off at the following locations: • 200 building traffic circle • 100 building south parking lot • The two areas marked by green cones along both sides of Kingman Avenue We ask that you refrain from picking up or dropping off students at the brick-paved area of Kingman Avenue. For safety reasons, pedestrians have the right of way in that area of campus. We also ask that parents refrain from parking or waiting for students in the area from the Coca-Cola machine down to the gym as it is a designated fire lane. For your convenience, the back gate to the St. Nicholas neighborhood is open before and after school. Finally, please observe the posted speed limit and refrain from using cell phones while driving through campus.
Campus Security Please be reminded that for the safety and well-being of all students, parents are asked to arrange for their children to be picked up by 4 pm as there is no campus-wide after-school supervision.
Service hours completed during the summer months must be submitted to religion teachers no later than September 5 in order to receive credit for these hours. Please encourage your student(s) to complete and submit a community service verification form for service completed during the summer months. For more information visit www.bishopkenny.org and follow the link to spiritual life.
Students are not allowed to remain inside buildings after 3:45pm unless they are involved in a supervised activity or sport. All buildings are locked at 3:45 pm daily.
March for Life Pilgrimage
The Office of the Dean of Students will continue the mandatory substance abuse prevention workshop for all new BK parents. Brooke Brady will present information at the workshop that is specifically designed to educate parents about Current Trends/Risk Behavior/Social Media Issues/Current Laws. The workshop is mandatory for the parents of all freshman and transfer students. It will take place on Thursday, September 25 from 6:30 - 7:30 pm in the Carla Harris Performing Arts Center. Information regarding this workshop will also be listed on the school website.
CAMPUS MINISTRY
Registration is open for students interested in participating in the 2018 March for Life pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. Travel dates for this year’s pilgrimage are January 17-20. Space is limited to 30 students. First come, first served so pre-register early.
Kairos Retreat #5 - December 1-3, 2017 Juniors and seniors are invited to attend this annual overnight retreat to be held at Camp Saint John, at the Marywood Retreat and Spirituality Center. Students interested in registering for the retreat should see Mrs. Alex Maples in the campus ministry office. Registration forms and permission slips will be available October 1.
Marian Consecration Members of the Class of 2021 will begin their preparation for their Marian Consecration to Jesus through Mary on November 5 in preparation for their consecration on December 8 when Bishop Estévez will be here to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Upperclassmen are encouraged to join in preparing to renew the consecration they made as freshman. 3
Parenting for Prevention Seminar
NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 1984 JACKSONVILLE, FL
Bishop Kenny High School 1055 Kingman Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32207
AT A GLANCE*
*Until the next edition of FYI
September 1 Jostens - Class Rings Delivered Performing Arts Center 10:30 am 12:30 pm
October 2 11th Grade Guidance Seminar: Planning for College - Performing Arts Center 7:00 pm
Jostens - Graduation Announcement Orders Performing Arts Center 10:45 am - 12:30 pm
October 4 Jostens - Junior Class Ring Orders Performing Arts Center 10:45 am - 12:30 pm
September 4 Labor Day – No Classes September 6 BK Boosters Meeting Demetree Learning Commons 5:30 pm September 9 ACT Testing Doors Open for Check-In at 8:00 am September 15 Varsity Football Game (Homecoming) BK vs Terry Parker 7:00 pm Homecoming Dance Performing Arts Center 9:00 - 11:30 pm September 18 Guidance Financial Aid & Scholarship Program Parents & Students - 11th & 12th grades Performing Arts Center 7:00 pm September 20 Jostens - Graduation Announcement Orders Performing Arts Center 10:45 am - 12:30 pm September 25 Parenting for Prevention Seminar (Freshmen & New Upperclassmen Parents Only) Performing Arts Center 6:30 - 7:30 pm October 2 Jostens - Junior Class Ring Orders Performing Arts Center 5:30 - 6:45 pm
October 4 BK Boosters Meeting Demetree Learning Commons 5:30 pm October 7 SAT Testing Doors Open for Check-In at 8:00 am October 9 Professional Development Day - No Classes October 11 Testing for 9th,10th & 11th Grades Dismissal at 11:45 am 12th Grade students - No Classes October 19 Parent/Teacher Conferences Classrooms 1:00 - 6:00 pm October 20 School Holiday - No Classes November 1 BK Boosters Meeting Demetree Learning Commons 5:30 pm November 10 Diocesan In-Service Day - No Classes November 13 BK Boosters Annual Golf Tournament Jacksonville Golf & Country Club 10:00 am Registration /11:00 am Shotgun Start
November 22-24 Thanksgiving Holiday - No Classes December 2 SAT Testing Doors Open for Check-In at 8:00 am December 6 BK Boosters Meeting Demetree Learning Commons 5:30 pm December 6 Jostens – Junior Class Ring Delivery Performing Arts Center 10:45 am - 12:30 pm Jostens - Deadline to Order Graduation Announcements 10:45 am - 12:30 pm December 12-15 Mid-Term Exams December 18 - January 1 Christmas Holiday - No Classes January 2 Professional Development Day - No Classes January 3 Classes Resume January 3 BK Boosters Meeting Demetree Learning Commons 5:30 pm January 15 Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday - No Classes January 22 10th Grade Guidance Seminar: High School to College Performing Arts Center 7:00 pm