As we finish the third quarter and head off for spring break, I wanted to first of all thank each of you for your support of your students and our school.  It has been a very busy and successful year so far and it is hard to believe we are three-quarters of the way through the school year and graduation is just a little more than two months away.  Communication with our community is so important, especially during such hectic times, and I wanted to update you on several topics that I believe are of interest to you:

–        2014/2015 School Calendar – the school year calendar was approved by the BK Board of Governance and will soon be posted on our www.bk.org/ web site.  We will start school with registration on August 18 and the first day of classes on August 19.

–        Enrollment for 2014/2015 – thanks to Kelly Shockey and our students, staff, parents and teachers for the excellent New Student Information Night last month.  The only unfortunate part is that we had 20 less students come, with most of the shortage from public schools.  We have had nearly 60 shadows so far and they have gone very well but we would like to see a few more prospective freshman and also some potential transfers visit our school this coming month.  We do have some room in each class.  We are continuing with more advertising this coming month, but, in the end, the best “marketing” is parents and students recommending to a friend to consider Bishop Kelly.  Please let any friends considering BK know that we have space and more need-based financial aid than ever.  We are benefiting greatly from a record BK Foundation Winner’s Choice “Knights for Scholars” paddle raise and we also will continue to make financial aid a budget priority for the upcoming year.  We want anyone who wishes to come to BK to not have financial means be a barrier.  Finally, have your friends check out the “My BK” web pages for a great overview of what our current students think of their school: https://www.bk.org/my/index.html.

–        East Classroom Wing, Tennis Complex and Library Renovation/Expansion – we are very excited to report that we have received BK Board of Governance approval to commence next week the construction of the east classroom wing (which will add 7 new classrooms and get us out of the portables) and the expansion and renovation of the library in late May.  The new tennis complex’s first phase is well underway with the excavation and site prep for the 8 new courts and the adjacent parking lot and access road to Allumbaugh nearly completed.  Regarding funding and cash flow, we are still working on raising funds for the tennis complex, where we are 71% funded, and the classroom wing, where we are 74% funded.  The library is fully funded with a very generous gift from Tom and Joan Cooney (St. Teresa’s Academy, ’39).  Please contact Mark Jaszkowski (mjaszkowski@bk.org), our new Director of Development, Mike Russell (mrussell@bk.org) or me if you are able and interested in helping us close the funding gap.  We would love to share our vision for “BK 2020” with you and get your feedback.

–        580 AM/KIDO Broadcast from BK– This morning, from 6:00 – 9:00 am, Bishop Kelly was featured on Kevin Miller’s morning show on KIDO.  We are the first school featured as part of a new spring campaign called “Promote our Schools – Secure our Future”.  The campaign will highlight the positive things happening in our local high schools.  This morning Kevin interviewed several memebers of our community:

President, Rich Raimondi

ASB Vice President, Tom Parry

Faculty Member, Larry Crump

Junior Class Representative, Betsy Sabala

Assistant Principal, Tammy Emrich

Assistant Activities Director, Jeff Carpenter

Thanks to those individuals for representing BK this morning!

–        Bishop Michael Driscoll Room Dedication – Wednesday morning we had a very special dedication of the Bishop Michael Driscoll Room in our Student Services/Administration Wing.  Bishop Mike, members of the Diocesan team and our faculty and staff gathered in the room to honor and thank Bishop Mike for his strong and unwavering support of Catholic education and Bishop Kelly in particular during his 15 years as the Bishop of Boise.  He has led and overseen the transformation of our school over that time – construction of the Carley Center, the $10M Campaign for Bishop Kelly, new governance structure, two strategic plans,  and the total renovation and expansion of our school. His thoughtful and prayerful leadership has enabled us to serve more students and families and to improve our facilities, programs and financial strength.  Thank you, Bishop Mike!

–        Annual Fund – our Annual Fund has had great success so far with many of you participating.  Thank you to each of you who have donated so generously and, if you have not, please consider participating in our Annual Fund.  Our goal is for every parent to participate.  Every gift, however large or small, makes a BIG difference at Bishop Kelly – especially yours.  Every dollar will help keep tuition low and support our academic, spiritual and activities programs here at BK.

Thank you again for sending your incredible sons and daughters to Bishop Kelly and for your support of our school.  Please let us know how we can get better in serving your and your student’s needs.

Kind regards,

Rich