What's New at Senior High School

The Dubuque Community School District has again been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.

This is the fourth consecutive year the district has received the honor.

Now in its 22nd year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students.

To qualify for the Best Communities designation, the district answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

“The district has long recognized the value of music education in our schools, and music remains an integral part of our curricular and extracurricular offerings,” said Stan Rheingans, superintendent of schools. “Our district commitment is underscored by tremendous partnerships throughout our community that support our work to expose students to music education. This honor is truly a community honor.”

About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,400 members around the world. The foundation advances active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs.

We are pleased to present the 2021 Dubuque-Area K-12 Virtual Art Exhibition, a way to highlight student work in a year that makes in unable to do so in person.

The exhibit features the ability to virtually walk through a curated gallery of work — and we hope you’ll enjoy immersing yourself in the exhibit as the vision of these talented student artists comes to life.

VIEW THE VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

HOSTED BY:

SPONSORED BY:

The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) will utilize HomeTown Ticketing as the exclusive ticket provider for postseason lead-up events and select state tournament events.

Therefore, tickets for postseason basketball games hosted by Senior and Hempstead WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE through HomeTown Ticketing.

This includes the following games:

• Dubuque Senior Boys Basketball on Monday, February 22
• Hempstead Boys Basketball on Friday, February 26

Each school will provide a link to participants where family members can purchase a limited number of tickets for the game. Additionally, students will be provided with a separate link where they can purchase a ticket for the game.

Due to spectator limitations we anticipate that there will be NO general admission tickets available to the general public.

• If general admission tickets would become available, the district will put a HomeTown Ticketing link on the official district Facebook and Twitter pages on game day for individuals to purchase a ticket.

NOTE: The digital ticket purchased through HomeTown Ticketing is the only ticket that will be accepted for these contests.

The Dubuque Senior High School Color Guard competed in the Marching Auxiliaries Classic Regional Competition in Sioux City, Iowa, on February 6, and returned with a host of awards and accolades.

The team earned a “Superior Rating Banner” for achieving a Superior Rating on all routines and also earned the “Outstanding Choreography Banner.” The team also earned two out of the five total Judges Choice Banners awarded to five performances out of the competitions 84 performances. The team is directed by Anna Barry.

Honors included:

Category: Color Guard Flag/Rifle

Performance: Let It Grow
Award: Judges Choice Award, 1st Place and Superior Rating

Category: Prop

Performance: Friend Like Me
Award: 1st Place, Superior Rating

Category: Quartet

Performance: Lorelei Walker, Maddie Wright, Jacob Brimeyer, Bailey Simon
Award: Judges Choice Award, 1st Place and Superior Rating

Category: Duets 15/16

Performance: Lorelei Walker and Bailey Simon
Award: 1st Place

Performance: Anna McClain and Gretchen Henry
Award: 2nd Place

Category: Solos 15/16

Performance: Bailey Simon
Award: 1st Place

Performance: Alec Viner
Award: 2nd Place

Performance: CJ Stuart
Award: 3rd Place

Performance: Kiki King
Award: 4th Place

Performance: Lorelei Walker
Award: 5th Place

Category: Solos 17/18

Performance: Jacob Brimeyer
Award: 1st Place

Performance: Maddie Wright
Award: 2nd Place

Category: Solo Collegiate

Performance: Anna Berry, Director
Award: 1st Place

In November, the team also earned a Division I Rating and 1st Place in Class III Color Guard at the ISDTA State Championships. At that event, soloists Jacob Brimeyer earned a Division I Rating and 1st Place in the Large School Color Guard Competition, and Bailey Simon earned 2nd Place. Maddie Wright, Lorelei Walker and Kiki King all earned Division I Ratings.

On Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, the Dubuque Community School District Board of Education approved the school calendars for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.

VIEW THE APPROVED CALENDARS

The Dubuque Community School District has released draft calendars for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.

The online feedback form for these draft calendars is now closed.

The district Board of Education will host a public hearing about the calendar on Monday, December 14, at 5:30 p.m. at the Forum, 2300 Chaney Road.

View the DRAFT 2021-2022 School Calendar

View the DRAFT 2022-2023 School Calendar

Ram Fam:

Over the past few weeks, we have had countless meetings (some in person, many through Zoom) on how to safely and effectively open up for learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the Dubuque Community School District has opted for HYBRID learning. At the same time, approximately 23% of the student body is learning from home, VIRTUALLY. On any given day, approximately 600-650 students are in the building (compared to around 1600 pre-Covid).

As a result of the learning options, in addition to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to CANCEL the Fall 2020 Homecoming activities. The pandemic requires that NO large group assemblies can take place, and other traditional events during Homecoming (such as a dance, hall of fame ceremonies, and parades) are subject to very limited attendance.

Given all considerations surrounding the pandemic, we felt the best course of action at this time is the cancellation of the Fall 2020 Homecoming activities. We look forward to a time in which we are able to gather again, without limitations, to honor our Hall of Fame inductee

Dear Students and Families of the Class of 2020,

We are pleased to share that we plan to move forward with holding graduation on Saturday, June 27, at Dalzell Field, pending any significant changes to the COVID-19 situation in our area.

Hempstead’s graduation will be at 10 a.m. and Dubuque Senior’s will be at 3 p.m. Due to social distancing measures in place, each graduate will be limited to four (4) tickets for family members/friends, who will be required to sit together at the event.

INFORMATION ABOUT TICKET PICK-UP WILL BE FORTHCOMING.

While we know that limiting the number of tickets is not ideal, doing so will allow us to hold the celebration in person.

The event will also be live-streamed for family and friends unable to attend. Information about accessing the live stream will also be forthcoming.

Last week, the district met with public health officials to ensure that we are putting proper safety plans in place to minimize the risk of COVID-19 spread. In accordance with public health guidelines, we suggest that older individuals and especially those with underlying health conditions not attend.

Complete safety protocols as well as door opening times and arrival procedures will be shared with families prior to the event. We understand that not everyone will feel comfortable attending the ceremony, and we respect that decision. We will still read the names of each graduate in the class of 2020 regardless of whether or not the student attends.

Again, additional details will follow. We are excited to celebrate the Class of 2020 in a few short weeks!

Sincerely,
Stan Rheingans
Superintendent

Here are the latest updates from the Dubuque Community School District:

WEEK 10 ELEMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES NOW POSTED
Week 10 of educational materials developed by the district’s Educational Support Team are now available on our EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES WEBPAGE. This week’s resources again include Suggested Learning Resources + Activities, a Social Emotional Learning Guide, and a variety of Student Handouts and Worksheets.

As a reminder, the district’s team has worked to be sure these resources meet the needs of learners across grade levels and of all abilities. Activities not marked with a specific grade level can be used by a wide range of students – look in the accommodations section of the resources for tips on making the learning accessible to your student!

This will be the final elementary educational resources packet for the school year. Printed copies of these packets will be available at meal delivery sites on Friday, May 29.

MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADING
At the conclusion of the scheduled school year, middle school students and families will receive report cards that include grades for trimesters one and two. Because learning occurring after the school closure was ungraded, third trimester courses will show a grade of “Ex” to indicate that the class was excused due to the closure.

Families with additional questions can reach out to their school directly.