Knight Notes

Dear JPII Community,

I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July and you are having a restful summer. It seems like just yesterday that our seniors were graduating, but in a short few weeks, they will head off to top colleges around the nation. The Class of 2019 is an amazing group of men and women, receiving over 12 million in college scholarships and earning the second highest ACT composite score in the history of JPII, 26.3. We recently received our AP scores and it comes to no surprise to us that our seniors had incredible results. In fact, several of them earned enough credits to start college as a sophomore. We are so proud of them.

During the summer our current students have been using their vacation time to do many things but also finding time to serve others. Mr. Elfers and Ms. Gould took a group of students to Ecuador for a Spanish immersion program and a trek into the Andes Mountains. Mrs. Dye, Ms. Mills, and Mr. Diamond led two groups of JPII students on mission trips to Haiti. While there they partnered with Sean Forrest and Haiti 180 to help build a medical clinic and install stoves in a village that they created in our Innov8 program, which will provide a functional and environmentally safe cooking platform and dramatically improve the conditions of their community. Mr. Melcher took a group of students to serve at Bethlehem Farm in West Virginia. The farm is a Catholic Community in Appalachia that transforms lives through service with the local community and the teaching of sustainable practices. Countless students also continue to work this summer with their local parish and community organizations to serve and transform the lives of many.

Although it is July, there is still a lot of activity on campus. The month of June brought hundreds of students of all ages to our facility for a variety of programs for Camp JPII. Since spring, our athletic teams have been busy preparing for another year of exciting Knights athletics. Throughout the summer, our campus ministry, house council, and ambassador student leaders have been busy training, planning, and preparing to lead us through many events in the upcoming school year. Although it has been a busy summer, we are rested and ready for a great 2019-2020 school year.

We still have a few weeks before the first day of school on August 8th, but here are a few mid-summer reminders.

Registration is July 31st from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. This is an opportunity for parents and students to submit necessary paperwork for the school year. Our counselors, academic leaders, nurse, business office representatives, and parent groups will be present to help guide you through the process. If you cannot attend on July 31st, we can help you during our normal office hours prior to the start of school.

Uniform Policy Update
Polo shirts will be an option in 2019-2020. Students in 9th, 10th, and 11th grade will have the option of wearing a navy blue polo and seniors will have the option of wearing a gray or navy blue polo. The polo will have the JPII logo, be available in short-sleeved, and sold in the Armory. Oxfords (blue or white) will remain an option. Students may wear the polo any school day except on Mass days when they will wear their oxford shirts (and ties for boys).

There will be no change in skirts or pants. Both boys and girls may wear khaki pants sold by Mills Uniform. Senior boys also have the option of wearing Mills Uniform navy blue pants.

Any JPII outerwear (with or without a hood) sold through the Armory or BSN for a JPII team/club/program may be worn any day, but must be removed for Mass.

Athletic shoes will be an option in 2019-2020. Students may choose any brand of athletic shoe in gray, black, blue, or white ONLY. The design of the shoe cannot include any other colors but may be a combination of these colors, i.e., black Nike with a white logo. Converse shoes are considered an athletic shoe. Sperry’s will remain an option. We hope this change will give students more choices, help parents manage cost, and provided a more suitable alternative to support the growing young adult and their arches.

Academics
For 2019-2020 we have added AP World History to our curriculum for select freshmen. We have also formalized our computer science program into its own department under the direction of Ms. Haley Topper.

We are happy to announce that we have hired several new teachers to add to our amazing faculty. Libby Byrnes is a Vanderbilt graduate and comes to us from Blessed Sacrament High School in Atlanta. She will teach English and will serve as our Christian Service Coordinator. Christian Carpenter, a Nashville native returns to Tennessee after teaching in Catholic schools in Washington, D.C. We are happy to welcome him home. Christian will teach history. Preston Messer, brings a wealth of experience to his new role after spending most of his career in the public charter school system. He will teach history, theology, and be our Model UN moderator. Debi Akin is no stranger to JPII. She is a current parent and has worked in Catholic education for most of her career. Debi will join our math department. We are very excited about the talent and passion our new teachers will bring to our already superb team of educators at JPII.

Summer assignments in English and math are required for all JPII students. Please check the website for assignments by class.

The school office is open for the next three weeks from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm so if you have questions or need help, please call or stop by.

Have a great rest of the summer.

Sincerely in Christ,

Mike Deely

QUICK VIEW of UPCOMING EVENTS

7/14-7/18 Volleyball Camp

7/14-7/20 Cross Country Camp

7/17 Cambridge Host Parent Orientation

7/23 Cross Country Tryouts

7/25 Diocesan In-Service for New Faculty

7/26 New Faculty In-Service at JPII

7/27 House Council Planning Retreat

7/28-7/31 Camp Agape

7/29 Administrative Day

8/1 C.H.A.R.G.E. for New Students

8/5 Faculty and Staff Retreat / KAC Meeting

8/6 Coaches’ Meeting

8/6-8/7 Faculty and Staff In-Service

8/8 First Day of School

8/13 International Student Dinner / FFE Chair Meeting

8/14-8/16 Fall Production Auditions

8/17 JPII Model UN Training Conference

**New & Updated Announcements are in Blue** 

For Summer 2019, our week-long Learn-to-Row camps will be held on three different weeks, with Saturday’s practice each week being open for parents to come out and see the lake and watch their kids take a few strokes to showcase what they have learned! With a rise in registration last summer, we have decided to add the 3rd week of LTR camp to help meet that demand.

Weeks will be capped at 24 future rowers, so please fill out the Google Form below for the week you are interested in. Please note that we will send an invoice for the cost of camp, and their spot will be not reserved until payment is received. All camp attendees must be paid in full by the first day of camp to participate. Contact Emily Caflisch at emily.caflisch@nashvillerowing.org with questions. You can also visit Nashville Rowing’s website.  Sign Up Form HERE

BUSINESS OFFICE

Excess Accident Insurance Policy

Please take a moment to read about our Excess Accident Insurance Policy covering students during school-time and school-sponsored activities.  Please follow the links: Parent Letter and Insurance Instruction Sheet.

CAMPUS MINISTRY

No announcements.

CHRISTIAN SERVICE

CLUBS/ACTIVITIES

COUNSELING

Sign up for text message reminders for college visits at JPII

Text to 81010 the message @jp2college and you will automatically receive updates for each college visit happening at school.

KNIGHT’S ATHLETIC CLUB (KAC)

KAC Meeting Schedule for 2019-2020 

Mondays: 7/8, 8/5, 9/9, 10/14, 11/4, 1/6/20, 2/2, 3/3, 4/6, 5/4, 6/1. All meetings will take place in the KAC room at 5:30 p.m. Contact Tammy Bolyard at 615-397-1740 with questions. 

KAC Board Members 2019-2020

TheThe Knight Athletic Club would like to welcome back the re-elected 2019-2020 Board Members.  This is for the term beginning July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020.

President – Greg Glenn

First Vice President – Pamela O’Neill

Second Vice President – Amy Watts

Treasurer – Kathleen Bender

Secretary – Tammy Bolyard

Alumni – Anthony Mantegani

Members at Large – Lee McNair, Duffy White, Jenn Sutton, Kristi Huffine, and Jackie Campbell

NURSE’S OFFICE

Flu Guide for Parents

For current information provided by the CDC regarding the Flu, please visit THE FLU: A GUIDE FOR PARENTS.

PARENT ASSOCIATION (PAC)

No announcements.

STUDENT LIFE

No Announcements.

TRAVEL

No Announcements.

STUDENT EXCHANGE

JPII is seeking Host Families

Open your home to an international student! Pope John Paul II High School is working with gphomestay to find host families for students. Families should please submit an inquiry at www.gphomestay.com or contact Anekka Bajrami (Host Recruitment Coordinator) at anekka.bajrami@cambridgenetwork.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow JPII on Social Media

To stay up to date on current events at JPII and future activities, please follow us on our many social media outlets!  We will let you know when games are postponed or canceled and if event times and dates are changed.  This is a great way to stay connected to the JPII community throughout the day. Twitter: @JPII Knights and @JPIIAthletics Facebook: Pope John Paul II High School (Facebook Page) and JPII Alumni Page (Facebook Page) Instagram: @JPIIKnights YouTube: JPII  

GREATER COMMUNITY

  GO KNIGHTS!