COVID-19 Communication

Dear Xavier Catholic School families,

As you may have seen yesterday, the Iowa Senate and House have agreed to waive the requirement for Iowa schools to reschedule days canceled following Governor Reynolds’ recommendation, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Iowa Department of Education has provided guidance that states schools "may choose to use online learning options, but may not require student participation."

Xavier Catholic School administrators met today with the Archdiocese of Dubuque and then met as a group. Both meetings were conducted via web conference. As Xavier Catholic Schools, we are committed to moving forward with learning opportunities to ensure that students are prepared for when they return on the week of April 13th (as currently scheduled), keeping in mind that closure may extend beyond that time. We will communicate more details after families return from Spring Break.

A large portion of our schools' annual budget is dedicated toward teacher salaries. As such, our teachers depend on those budgeted tuition dollars. In accordance with Archdiocesan guidance received earlier today, families are still asked to fulfill their 2019-2020 tuition commitment. We understand that families have been negatively impacted financially by this crisis. With this in mind, if you are encountering financial hardship and are experiencing difficulties, please contact Amy Conlon at aconlon@stmatthewcr.org. 

In our planning for next week, please know that we will be allowing students/families the opportunity to pick up belongings. This will take place on Wednesday, March 25th with times and procedures to be shared.

Early Learning/Childcare

Per guidance from the CDC and Governor Reynolds', the St. Matthew Early Childhood Center will remain open. However, the St. Matthew Jaguar Xtension program for school-aged children will no longer be offered effective Monday, March 23. Should you have any questions, please contact Jackie Luzum at jluzum@stmatthewcr.org.

As mentioned in previous communications, we continue to meet on a daily basis and work collaboratively to keep you updated as new information becomes available.  We ask for God's continued blessing on your family and our school community.

Sincerely,
Brian O'Donnell, Principal, St. Pius X 

Megan Boomgarden, Principal, All Saints 

Amy Conlon, Principal, St. Matthew

Casey Kettmann, Principal, St. Joseph

Heather Williams, Principal, St. Jude

Zach Zeckser, Chief Administrator, Holy Family 

Josh Gredys, Principal, Regis

Angela Olson, Principal, Xavier

Chris McCarville, President, Xavier
Cathy Walz, Associate Director of Catholic Schools

Kim Hermsen, Superintendent, Archdiocese of Dubuque