Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions and their answers. If you have a question about St. Augustin Catholic Schools that isn’t covered below, please contact the school office at (515) 279-5947 or refer to the Student Handbook.
What is a Blue Ribbon School?
St. Augustin Catholic School was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Education. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private K-12 schools that are academically superior in the nation. We are proud of this achievement, and we congratulate the parents, teachers, and most importantly, the students of St. Augustin Catholic School!
What is the Daily Schedule for St. Augustin?
St. Augustin Catholic School begins promptly at 8:15 a.m. and dismisses at 3:15 p.m. Students may be dropped off in the circle drive by the front door anytime after 7:55 a.m. Teachers will not be outside for supervision before 7:55 a.m. The first bell at 8:05 a.m. signals that students may go to their lockers. All students are expected to be in their seats by 8:15 a.m. Anyone not in their seats by 8:15 a.m. will be counted tardy. The school day ends at 3:15 p.m.
Does St. Augustin Catholic School Have an Extended Care Program?
St. Augustin Catholic School offers before and after-school extended care from 7:00 - 8:00 a.m., and after-school care is offered from 3:15 - 5:30 p.m. All students attending the extended care program need registered for the program with the school office.
Does St. Augustin Catholic School Offer Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten Programs?
St. Augustin Catholic School offers enrollment for a four-year-old prekindergarten program, as well as a five-year-old transitional kindergarten program. Please contact the St. Augustin school office for more information.
Where Can I Find the Class Supply Lists?
Class supply lists are available in the school office and on the School Forms page of the school website.
How May I Contact My Child’s Teacher?
Teachers can be reached most easily by email (please allow a 24-hour window for teachers to respond.) If a matter is pressing, call the St. Augustin school office and ask the teacher to call you back at their earliest convenience. Notes can also be sent to school with your student or left in the teacher mailbox located in the school office. The school office is open from 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. during the school year.
Do I Need to Call the School Office or Send a Note If My Child is Absent From School?
All absences should be reported to the St. Augustin school office between 7:45-9:00 a.m. A phone call to the office on the first day of an illness and a written note from the parents when a child returns to school is sufficient. Students should bring notes to their classroom teacher when they return after an absence. Students who are absent three or more days from our Des Moines Catholic school are asked to have a doctor's note upon return.
Are Family Vacations Considered Excused Absences?
A St. Augustin school calendar is published in advance of the Iowa Catholic school year, so future travel plans can be made when school is not in session. Vacations that result in student’s absence from school are unexcused.
Is There a Sign-In/Sign-Out Procedure for Parents and Students Outside of the Normal Arrival and Departure Times?
If you are entering the St. Augustin school building after the start of the school day, you must first sign in at the office. All first-time visitors and parents are required to submit a driver's license to register in our security system. After the first time, you will be in the system and can sign in automatically.
If you are removing your child from school prior to the end of the day for a doctor’s appointment or other reason, you must sign your child out in the office.
Does St. Augustin Catholic School Have a Hot Lunch Program?
Yes, St. Augustin offers a hot lunch program focused on lunches made from scratch to avoid as much processed and pre-packaged foods as possible. Students are also allowed to bring lunches from home. For more information about St. Augustin’s lunch program, check out our Cafeteria Menu.
What is the Lunchroom Procedure at School?
Students can bring their lunch to school or purchase school lunches on their student lunch account. There are four lunch periods, and students eat together grouped by grades. Students are often assigned lunch tables.
11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m: 3/4/5 Lunch
11:30 a.m - 12:00 p.m.: PreK/TK/K Lunch
12:00 p.m - 12:30 p.m.: 1/2 Lunch
12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. 6/7/8 Lunch
How Do I Deposit Money Into My Child’s Lunch Account?
You may deposit money into your child’s lunch account by check, delivered to the school office or through the online JMC Student Information System. Larger deposits are encouraged to avoid a negative balance.
If your child’s lunch account balance is negative, you will receive an email alert reminding you to put more money into the lunch account. Students who go below a certain amount will be offered a cheese sandwich on whole grain bread and milk until their account becomes positive again.
What Are Out-of-Uniform Days?
Out-of-uniform days are special days when your child may come out-out-uniform and wear appropriate school attire. Students receive an “out-of-uniform” pass for their birthdays or for other special occasions as determined by the St. Augustin Principal or teachers.
What Are Other Special Dress Days?
Throughout the school year, all students are invited to participate in fun special dress days such as crazy sock day, red shirt day, favorite Iowa team shirt day, wear green for St. Patrick’s Day, etc. These days usually fall during Red Ribbon Substance-Free Week, Catholic Schools Week, or for other designated times throughout the year.
What are Blue and Gold Days?
Blue and Gold Days are typically the last Friday of each month. Like many Diocese of Des Moines schools, on designated days students may wear jeans and a school uniform shirt or a St. Augustin spirit wear t-shirt. If your child wears jeans, he or she must bring $1.00 or more to donate to the Mission of the Month. Each Blue and Gold Day at St. Augustin raises money for local causes and Catholic missions around the Des Moines metro area, the United States and the world.
When May My Student Wear Shorts?
Shorts (for boys and girls), capri pants, and skorts (for girls) may only be worn during the months of August, September, May, and June in accordance with the St. Augustin school dress code. Shorts and skorts must be knee length. No skinny shorts or pants for girls are allowed.
What Are Kindergarten Buddies?
Each year, eighth-grade students are matched with Kindergarten students of the same gender, if possible, and sometimes there may be two Kindergarteners to one eighth graders depending on numbers. Throughout the school year, the eighth-grade students do fun activities with their Kindergarten buddies.
When Are the School Masses?
School masses are weekly on Thursdays or on a designated Holy Day of Obligation. Masses for our Des Moines Catholic school are held at Saint Augustin's Catholic Church or in the school gym or chapel. The school calendar will list the location of each week's scheduled mass. Students participate at all the school masses. Each class plans at least one mass during the school year, and teachers ask for volunteers to participate. Students may not wear shorts to the masses at church.
When Does My Child Receive the Sacraments?
Religious Education takes place at school. When your child is in second-grade, he or she will receive the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion. The first-grade class assists with the second-grade sacraments, usually by hosting a luncheon or post-mass reception.
Does St. Augustin Catholic School offer foreign language study?
Yes, foreign language study begins for all students in Kindergarten. St. Augustin Catholic School currently offers the Sonrisas Program one day a week.
What Are “Specials”?
“Specials” are classes such as Physical Education, Sonrisas Program, Music, Art, Library, and Weekly Religious Activities and are included in all students’ schedules.
What Additional Opportunities Exist for My Child in the Areas of Art and Music at St. Augustin Catholic School?
Students participate in the Christmas Program, Spring Program, the middle school musical, choir, and band depending on grade level. With the Des Moines Art Center only a few blocks away, students visit the galleries annually on field trips.
When are Parent-Teacher Conferences Held at St. Augustin?
Parent-Teacher conferences take place in October and February at St. Augustin. Sign-up is done online and families receive information regarding conference sign-up near each conference session. Conference times vary by grade level.
Following the instructions on the online conference site makes it easy to arrange the conference times that work for you. ALL middle-school students are required to attend conferences with their parent/s. No conference will be held without the student present.
How Will I Know When St. Augustin Catholic School is Closed Due to Bad Weather?
St. Augustin Catholic School generally follows the Des Moines Catholic Schools and Public School closings, however, you may want to watch KCCI or WHO TV stations beginning at 5:00 a.m. on bad weather days. Late starts due to weather will be announced on KCCI or WHO TV as well as the automated school communications system.
Families are alerted to early dismissal days due to bad weather through the automated school communications system. Parents will receive either a phone call or text message (depending on their communication preferences established at the beginning of the year), in addition to an email alerting them to the early dismissal.
What Are Early-Out Days?
Early-out days are occasional early dismissal days when St. Augustin teachers have professional development, meetings, planning sessions, etc. Check the school calendar for early-out days.
How Do I Navigate Drop-Off and Pick-Up at the School?
Please always enter the driveway with patience and caution; we want to keep our children safe! Navigating the “car line” can seem tricky, but if you keep a few rules in mind, everyone will move through safely and efficiently in a timely manor.
- Never leave your car unattended in any lane of the school drive.
- Markings on the driveway indicate the entrance and exits for the school drive. On the west drive, the pavement markings indicate two entrance lanes. The right lane is for cars coming all the way up the drive to the front of school for drop off and pick up of students. The left lane is for cars that are entering the school drive to flow around and park in the upper parking lot. DO NOT ever pick up or drop off your children from the inside, left lane. It is very dangerous and disrupts the flow of traffic.
- Keep the flow of traffic moving in the “car line.” Do not cause other cars to have to go around you.
- Please display your car sign with your student(s) last name(s) during afternoon pickup to expedite the car line. Extra signs are available in the school office.
- If you have business in the school or with another parent, teacher, or principal, please park in the upper parking lot and walk to the building.
- If you have children staying after school for any reason and you need to wait, please park in the upper parking lot and do not enter the car line.
- Only older students can be picked up on “Snake Drive” (45th Street west of the school) or 43rd Street. Please be mindful of homeowners' driveways and do not block the stop sign.
When is Catholic Schools Week?
Catholic Schools Week is a national event that commonly celebrated by Des Moines Catholic schools that are part of the Diocese of Des Moines and is the last week of January. St. Augustin follows the theme set by the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) and celebrates with a week of special activities for the students. An open house is also held for the community during that week. If you’d like to join St. Augustin for our Catholic Schools Week events, check the January calendar for more details.
What May I Do For My Child’s Birthday?
Birthdays are a special time, and there are many ways to celebrate your student’s big day, however, no birthday treats – either store-bought or homemade – are allowed at school. Instead, we recommend bringing bookmarks, donating a book to the library in your child’s name, or bringing a pencil for each classmate, etc. It is best to email your child’s teacher to determine what will work best in each classroom.
Administration requests that no balloon bouquets or other disruptive gifts be brought to your child during the school day. Please do not have your child distribute birthday party invitations in the classroom unless every student in the class is invited. St. Augustin is a small school but our students have big feelings.
Your child may be out of uniform for their birthday, as long as the clothing follows the guidelines in the school handbook. If your child has a summer birthday, you may choose any school day during the year to celebrate your child’s birthday. Again, let the teacher know what day your child is choosing.
Does St. Augustin Catholic School Have Sports Teams?
There are many athletic opportunities for students grades 5-8 at St. Augustin Catholic School, and some opportunities start even sooner. Both the Des Moines Area Catholic Athletic League and the Maroon Athletic Club (MAC) sports are available for boys and girls. Visit the Athletics and Activities page for more information on other ways students can get involved with sports.
Although there are usually no formal sports teams for students in Kindergarten through fourth grades at St. Augustin Catholic School, parents often get students together by class to play on supervised teams in the school gym, or to play on YMCA/recreational teams around Des Moines.
Call the St. Augustin school office if you are interested in coaching any of these teams. Only St. Augustin Catholic School teams may use the St. Augustin gym unless you get permission from the school principal. All students participating in Diocese of Des Moines sports must have the required grades (see handbook) to be eligible to participate. The school principal will alert St. Augustin coaches and parents if an athlete is ineligible.
What is Mock Trial?
Students in seventh and eighth grade can participate in the Mock Trial competition, which is coached by attorney parent volunteers. This extracurricular activity begins in September and concludes in November. It is a great opportunity for students to learn problem solving and to practice public speaking.