What's New at Dubuque Community Schools

Due to inclement weather, all events and activities in the Dubuque Community School District are postponed for Friday, Jan. 17, and Saturday, Jan. 18.

This includes the following:

Friday, Jan. 17

• Hempstead and Dubuque Senior JV Wrestling at Western Dubuque
• Dubuque Senior Boys and Girls Bowling vs Prairie High School
• Dubuque Senior vs. Hempstead Boys Sophomore and Boys Varsity Basketball (This has been rescheduled for Monday, Jan. 20 with the sophomore game beginning at 5 p.m. and the varsity game beginning at 6:30 p.m.)
• Dubuque Senior vs. Hempstead Girls JV and Girls Varsity (This has been rescheduled for Saturday, Feb. 1, with the JV game beginning at 5 p.m. and the varsity game at 6:30 p.m.)

Saturday, Jan. 18

• Hempstead Freshman Boys Basketball vs Iowa City at Hempstead
• Dubuque Senior Freshman Boys Basketball vs. Cedar Rapids Jefferson at Senior
• Hempstead and Senior Boys and Girls Bowling vs Clinton (Schools will not be traveling due to the winter storm warning.)
• Boys City Swim Meet
• Aquatic Center Grand Opening (This event has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 5 p.m. before the planned 6:30 p.m. swim meet).
• Hempstead and Dubuque Senior Wrestling (Schools will not be travelling on due to the winter storm warning.)

The Dubuque Community School District will make a splash when it officially unveils its new Aquatic Center with a grand opening and open house of the new facility. This event has been postponed for January 18 due to inclement weather and rescheduled for 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

The Aquatic Center, located on the Hempstead High School campus, will serve as the district’s main competition swimming and diving venue. The $9.57 million facility replaces the district’s outdated pool, which was decommissioned last year after it became unusable.

The Dubuque Area Swimmin’ Hurricanes (DASH) also contributed $1 million to the project, which expanded the number of lanes available in the facility. The Aquatic Center will serve as the main DASH practice facility and home competition venue.

A short program will be held at 5 p.m. on January 21, with community members being able to view the facility during an open house after the program. At 6:30 p.m., the district will host a swim meet in the facility featuring teams from both Dubuque Senior High School and Hempstead High School.

Registration for free four-year-old preschool in the Dubuque Community School District will begin on Monday, Jan. 13. This includes 12 Dubuque public elementary schools offering preschool through the Statewide Voluntary Free Preschool Program. (Please note that due to space constraints, Hoover Elementary School will not offer preschool programming for the 2020-2021 school year.)

Parents and guardians may register students in person at the selected site, beginning at 7 a.m. on Monday, January 13. Proof-of-age, preferably a birth certificate, is required to register a student. Other accepted proof-of-age documents include a passport or signed immunization record.

Preschool registration paperwork is available online or in-person at all elementary schools. You can also find registration details and forms, as well as additional preschool information, online at www.dbqschools.org/preschool.

Free four-year-old preschool is open to students who are four by September 15. For additional registration questions, individuals should contact the school they are interested in registering at.

Space may be limited in some facilities and registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Enrollment for preschool is not based on geography and all sites are open to residents within the Dubuque Community School District.

In addition to spots in Dubuque’s public schools, a variety of community preschool partners also offer free four-year-old preschool.

The Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program for Four-Year-Old Children is funded by the State of Iowa and facilitated locally by the Dubuque Community School District.