On Thursday, January 30th we will celebrate "Community of Knowledge" day as part of our Catholic Schools Week celebration. Vocation and career awareness talks will take place that afternoon for 6-8 grade students from 1:15-3:05.

The vocations will come first. Here are the participants and locations;

• Gr. 8 Girls- Sr. Bobbi Bussan- Benedictine Sisters -- Rm. MS-4
• Gr. 8 Boys- Fr. Schaab-Rm.- MS-2
• Gr. 7 Girls- Sr. Roberta Brich- Humility Sisters-- Rm. MS-3
• Gr. 7 Boys- Fr. Tony Ego- Rm. MS-1
• Gr. 6 Girls- Sr. Kathleen Mullin-BVM- Rm. F-3
• Gr. 6 Boys- Fr. Freehill- Rm. F-4

Careers will be from 2:00-3:05 with two sessions for each career. The speakers are:

• Ben Meiresonne-Police Officer- Rm. MS-4
• Dan Neises- Chiropractor- Science Lab
• Melissa Baker- Nurse- Rm. MS-3
• James Zahara- Meterologist- Rm. F-4
• Margaret Ellis- Music Professor at Augie- Art Room
• Jamie Nonnenmann- Dentist- Rm. MS-2 (He will need a chair to sit on since he can not stand that long)
• Matt Randazzo- Sports Announcer- F-3
• Tony Gasper- Banking Industry- MS-1

DECORAH, IA (01/21/2014)(readMedia)-- 741 Luther College students were named to the fall 2013 dean's list. To be named to Luther's dean's list, a student must earn a semester grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale and must complete at least 12 credit hours with 10 hours of conventional grades (A, B, C, D).

Area students on Luther's dean's list include :

Meredith Bruster, a first year from Bettendorf, Iowa, is the daughter of Eric and Teri Bruster.

Emily Crowe, a first year from Davenport, Iowa, is the daughter of Catherine Hanson and David Crowe.

Solveig Entwistle, a senior from Bettendorf, Iowa, is the daughter of James Entwistle and Siv Brit Saetre.

Molly Eversoll, a senior from Clinton, Iowa, is the daughter of Richard and Sally Eversoll.

Kelli Golinghorst, a junior from Dixon, Iowa, is the daughter of David and Linda Golinghorst.

Chloe Gumpert, a senior from Eldridge, Iowa, is the daughter of Tamra and Joseph Gumbert.

Miranda Gumpert, a first year from Eldridge, Iowa, is the daughter of Joseph and Tamra Gumbert.

Madison Johnson, a sophomore from Clinton, Iowa, is the daughter of Jeff Johnson and Cathy Layton-Johnson.

Blake Letney, a sophomore from Bettendorf, Iowa, is the son of Todd and Robin Letney.

Melissa Lockwood, a junior from Bettendorf, Iowa, is the daughter of Jeff and Lora Lockwood.

Kayla Naber, a junior from Eldridge, Iowa, is the daughter of Glen and Jacqueline Naber.

Kelsey Rose, a junior from Bettendorf, Iowa, is the daughter of Kevin and Mary Ann Rose.

Evan Woodard, a sophomore from Bettendorf, Iowa, is the son of Sonia Sundstedt.

Lauren Gonyier, a junior from East Moline, Ill., is the daughter of Kirk Gonyier and Sheryl Kotula.

Savannah Horn, a first year from Morrison, Ill., is the daughter of Joel and Susan Horn.

Abigail Lobdell, a junior from Sterling, Ill., is the daughter of Brian and Lisa Lobdell.

Paige Lobdell, a sophomore from Sterling, Ill., is the daughter of Brian and Lisa Lobdell.

Kylie Romeo, a sophomore from Moline, Ill., is the daughter of Kelly and Anthony Romeo.

Connor Stanton, a senior from Morrison, Ill., is the son of Paul and Tricia Stanton.

This fall's list includes 741 students; 137 freshmen, 186 sophomores, 203 juniors and 215 seniors.

Luther is a selective four-year college located in northeast Iowa. The college has an enrollment of 2,500 students and offers a liberal arts education leading to the bachelor of arts degree in 60 majors and pre-professional programs.

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today were joined by Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck to highlight the progress made under the landmark education reform package of 2013.

"Lieutenant Governor Reynolds and I are pleased with the progress being made to restore Iowa's leadership position in education following the landmark reform package signed last year, but we know all parties - our administration, the Legislature and local school districts - must be held accountable to maximize our success," said Branstad. "We have a shared responsibility to give our children the best education in the nation.  Iowa's schools are transforming.  As they transform, the state stands ready to assist districts with further implementation to ensure success while we prepare our students for college or career training after high school."

Branstad, Reynolds and Buck highlighted and provided updates for the following portions of education reform:

1) Teacher leadership and compensation system

More than 100 school districts have begun the application process to enter the Teacher Leadership and Compensation System, which aims to transform learning in schools by better utilizing the expertise of top teachers to strengthen the teaching around them.

More than one-third of the school districts in Iowa are expected to submit a plan prior to the deadline on Jan. 31.

The Iowa Department of Education is working closely with the Commission on Educator Leadership and Compensation to develop an equitable selection process.  The goal is to ensure a rigorous selection bar for districts that receive funding and enter the system in the first year and also to ensure that the districts entering in year one reflect the diversity of the size and geography of Iowa's schools.  All school districts will have the option of entering the system over the next three years.

2) Update on taskforces

The Council on Educator Development was created to recommend statewide systems for evaluating teachers and school administrators. The council has met three times and will reconvene on Feb. 13. To date, the council has engaged in conversations that define the legislative language in HF 215 as it pertains to the council's primary task, has examined data around current evaluation practices in Iowa districts, and has reviewed the Iowa Teaching Standards in comparison to national standards known as the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium Standards.

Iowa schools are still required by law to administer the Iowa Assessments for accountability purposes; however, the Legislature created the Assessment Task Force to study testing options for the future. This task force has met three times and is on track to make a recommendation as early as this fall. So far, the task force has defined the scope of its work based on requirements in House File 215, completed a request for information from all major test vendors in Iowa and nationally to identify assessments that would meet those legislative requirements, and is building a mechanism to rate those potential assessments.

3) Year-long student teaching pilot

Five higher education institutions applied for the student teaching pilot project, which will provide students in participating teacher preparation programs with a one-year student teaching experience. Student teachers in Iowa currently train typically for 14 consecutive weeks.

All three regents universities and two privates colleges, Morningside College and Dordt College, applied for the project. The awards went to the University of Northern Iowa and Dordt College.

The Iowa Department of Education is now developing the award documents in order to disburse the money and establish the reporting, communication and accountability procedures.

4) TeachIowa.gov job postings

All 346 public school districts and nine area education agencies have access to TeachIowa.gov, a new statewide education job posting system. There are 23 nonpublic schools or school systems using TeachIowa.gov.  Each Catholic Diocese and five higher education institutions are posting jobs or are set up to post jobs.

By the numbers:

•             More than 2,000 jobs have been posted since the system was launched.

•             There are currently 1,486 jobs posted to TeachIowa.gov.

•             There are 3,500 applications in the TeachIowa.gov system.

5) Iowa Learning Online

The education reform package includes an expansion of Iowa Learning Online, a state-run system that has provided high-quality courses online and through the Iowa Communications Network since 2004. The goal is to provide a full array of course options, including language arts, social studies, math, science, health, physical education, fine arts, foreign language, and vocational education online.  The Iowa Department of Education should have most of these options available in the fall.

Lt. Gov. Reynolds took the opportunity to highlight the Teach Iowa Scholar Program, which was also part of the education reform package of 2013. The program is designed to provide tuition reimbursement to top students who commit to teach in Iowa schools for five years.

"Governor Branstad and I believe the key to a quality education is having an excellent teacher in every classroom. In Iowa, we're fortunate to have excellent teachers in every corner of the state," said Reynolds. "The Teach Iowa Scholar Program aims to attract more top students into the teaching profession and into hard-to-fill positions - such as math, science and special education. This program will benefit K-12 students, school districts and the teaching profession as a whole."

Starting with the Class of 2014, subject to an appropriation, selected teachers will receive $4,000 a year for up to five years - $20,000 total - for teaching in Iowa schools.

Reynolds concluded, "We have high expectations given the recent reforms adopted and the collaborative work under way by the Iowa Department of Education, area education agencies, school districts, the Iowa College Student Aid Commission, and higher education institutions to reach the goal of giving Iowa children a world-class education. Iowans know we must chart a path that makes steady progress possible on every measure."

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Jordan Catholic School

"Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service"

Sunday--- January 26, 2014- Communities of Parish Faith

• 8^th graders are invited to visit Alleman High School for an Open House from 12:00-2:00

• Jordan students will participate at a Sunday mass in each of our supporting parishes.

Monday---January 27, 2014-Our Heritage

• Students in Grades 6, 7, & 8 are invited to Alleman High School for Mass at 9:40

• Former Jordan students will be invited to visit classes during the day to share their school experiences with the students.

• Students may wear "Comfy/Cozy" clothes of sweatpants and sweatshirts

Tuesday----January 28, 2014-Community of Service

• Living Rosary in gym at 8:30 for all grades

• Each grade level will donate items to community organizations and facilities, such as the animal shelter, homeless and battered women shelters. In addition, all students will bring cans of food for the St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry.

• Home and School Book Fair- 2:45-3:45pm

Wednesday-----January 29, 2014-Community of School Faith

• Dress up day- Students will dress in "Colors of the Faith"- Gr. PS, K, &1- yellow (for God's perfect light), Gr. 2 & 3- white (for purity), Gr. 4- green (for new life in Jesus), Gr. 5 & 6- blue (for baptism into God's family), Gr. 7 & 8- red (for the blood Jesus shed)

• 1:30 Mass with Fr. Freehill at St. Pius Church. Parishioners are invited.

• Home and School Book Fair-1:00-3:00pm

Thursday-----January 30, 2014- Community of Knowledge

• Open House for parents and prospective families from 10:00-11:00

• Parents may take their children to lunch from 11:00-12:15

• Parents invited to classrooms to speak on their careers

• Gr. 6, 7, & 8 will have speakers on religious life and career topics from 1:15-3:00

• Open House for parents of preschoolers 4 Yr.-AM & PM- 5 day & 3 Yr. AM & PM-10:00 and 2:00

• Home and School Book Fair

Friday-------January 31, 2014- Community of Believers

• Open House for parents of preschoolers 4 Yr. AM- 3 day-10:00

• Movie afternoon- Each teacher or grade level will select a movie to share with their class. Treats will be provided by the teachers.

• Students may wear jeans and non-uniform shirts

• Home and School Book Fair-8:30-1:30 and 2:30-3:30pm

Saturday---February 1, 2014

• Home and School Basket Raffle will be held this evening from 5:00-9:00pm at Farrell Hall. Basket Raffle drawing begins at 7:30pm.