Dear Parents,

The beginning of the 2019-2020 school year has been a great one.  It has been wonderful to have our faculty, staff, and students return to the building refreshed and excited to start another year.  We are happy to share that we have welcomed 952 students this school year who come to us from 57 different zip codes and 86 grade schools.  Additionally, our average class size is 19 and our student teacher ratio is 9:1.  As we come together from many different paths, we look forward as a community to, as our school theme states, “Find Our Way” to the best year yet!

CALENDAR NOTES:

• 9:05 WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE:  We will begin our 9:05 Wednesday schedule on Wednesday, August 21. 
• BEFORE- AND AFTER-SCHOOL SUPERVISION REMINDER:  The school doors open at 7:15 a.m. each school day, and supervision is provided in the cafeteria before school from 7:15-7:55 a.m. (until 8:55 a.m. on 9:05 schedule days) and after school from 3:15-4:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and until 4:00 p.m. on Friday.     

CAMPUS MINISTRY: 

• FRESHMAN PARENT MASS – Save the date!:  This Mass is a beautiful way to celebrate your freshman daughter’s high school journey as a community of faith.  It will be celebrated on Sunday, September 8, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Raphael Catholic Church.  Please come even if your family isn’t Catholic.  Siblings are invited as well – please bring the whole family!

BEGINNING OF THE YEAR FORMS: 

• BLUE STUDENT INFORMATION FORMS:  Your daughters were given a blue personalized student information form in homeroom Monday morning.  Please check with her if you have not seen this form as you will need to review the information we have on file for your daughter regarding contacts, phone numbers, email address, and home address.  A parent or guardian will need to make any updates or corrections, sign it, and have your daughter sign it.  She can turn it into homeroom or the main office.  It is due today (Friday, August 16), but we will be happy to take it on Monday.
• HANDBOOK AGREEMENT FORM:  The 2019-2020 Student-Parent Handbook is available on the school’s website:  2019-2020 STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK. Parents, please review the handbook carefully as it is part of the legal agreement between you and Assumption High School—it lets you know what you can expect from us and what we expect from you and your daughter. You may want to consider putting a shortcut to it on your desktop so you can quickly find out how to request an early dismissal for a dental appointment, what time detention begins, what time we dismiss on semester exam days, etc. It contains a wealth of information about all things Assumption.  Your daughter will be asking you to sign a Student-Parent Handbook Agreement Form verifying that you have read and agree to be governed by the rules and policies in the handbook. The printed form is on the first page of her Student Planner and must be signed by both the parent and student and returned to your daughter’s homeroom teacher by Friday, August 23.
• BACK-TO-SCHOOL FORMS:  Please be sure to complete and return to school the forms that were mentioned in the summer back-to-school mailing: Parent Directory Opt-Out form, Grandparent Information Form, Retreat Form, and the Rocket Parent Membership Form.  The forms can be found on our website via this link: FORMS. Please have your daughter return these forms to the main office.

TERRIORISTIC THREATENING: State law now requires all schools to inform students and parents about laws regarding terroristic threatening and its potential penalties. Unfortunately, in recent years, Kentucky’s schools (even Catholic schools) have experienced an escalation of terroristic threats being made by students and others with intent to do harm to either other students or school staff members or to disrupt the educational process. Plainly stated, threats have been made to shoot people or detonate bombs with lethal intent. In fact, between January 23 and April 30, 2018, Kentucky schools experienced 294 terroristic threats that caused widespread fear throughout school communities and resulted in total disruption to the educational process–whether the threat was a “serious” one in which the person truly intended to do harm (terroristic threatening in the first degree) or whether it was a “hoax” threat made without any real intention to carry it out but for the purpose of being disruptive to the school and upsetting and causing fear among students, parents, and school personnel (terroristic threatening in the second degree). Regardless of the intention of the person making the threat, school officials and law enforcement officials were forced to close schools to investigate the threats that had been made. School leaders have said that the emotional, instructional, and financial impacts of these acts are incalculable.

 The information below is about the new state law addressing “hoax threats” and is included in the Student/Parent Handbook and was shared with all students during class orientation sessions on Wednesday. Please review it carefully and discuss it with your daughter. According to Kentucky state law (KRS 508.078), a person is guilty of terroristic threatening in the second degree when he or she intentionally makes false statements by any means, including by electronic/online communication, for the purpose of:

• Causing evacuation of a school building, school property, or school-sanctioned activity;
• Causing cancellation of school classes or school-sanctioned activity; or
• Creating fear of serious bodily harm among students, parents, or school personnel.

A threat directed at a person or persons or at a school does not need to identify a specific person or persons or school in order for terroristic threatening to occur. Use this link to read the full text of KRS 508.078. Terroristic threatening in the second degree is a Class D Felony punishable by one to five years imprisonment and/or a $1,000-$10,000 fine for adults (KRS 532.020) or, for juveniles, a fine not to exceed $500 (KRS 635.085), with fine assessed at the court’s discretion in lieu of commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Terroristic threats cause widespread fear throughout a school community and totally disrupt the educational process. Any such threats to Assumption students or employees are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The administration, in coordination with responding law enforcement agencies, will pursue legal charges for felony terroristic threatening in the second degree, to the absolute fullest extent of the law, against anyone who makes such threats, including students. Moreover, the administration will strongly advocate that the prosecution of these individuals be swift and their punishment be severe. A student suspected of making terroristic threats may be placed on home study pending the results of an investigation; appropriate disciplinary action (suspension, dismissal) will follow if warranted.

CARPOOL LINE: PLEASE AND THANK YOU: The carpool line and traffic flow went especially well during our first week of classes–thank you! At the Freshman Parent Orientation, we shared some tips that will make the process even better and faster and we would ask all those who drop off and/or pick up students from Assumption to please keep them in mind:

• If you can, please come earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon; we begin supervising students at 7:15 in the morning and provide after-school supervision until 4:30 in the afternoon (4 p.m. on Fridays). If you arrive before 7:30 in the morning or after 3:15 in the afternoon, the traffic is much lighter and you can breeze through the carpool line.
• If you come early in the afternoons, you absolutely may not wait/park on Tyler Lane. It’s against the law to park in the middle of the street and there’s no shoulder there for pulling off the road; it also can be a source of accidents and actually hurts our flow of traffic. Students have been notified that if they are picked up (or dropped off) on Tyler Lane, they will receive detentions.
• When traveling to/from campus for drop-off and pick-up, avoid Bardstown Road and Tyler Lane as much as possible. For example, instead of turning left from Bardstown Road to get in the carpool line, use the neighborhood streets to get to Bardstown Road north of Tyler Lane and then head south on Bardstown Road so you can turn right into the carpool lane. Here’s an annotated map of our neighborhood streets that can help you work out an alternate route that will help you avoid Bardstown Road and Tyler Lane and save you time:  Street Map
• When you are exiting campus, TURN LEFT on TYLER, instead of turning right and going to the light at Bardstown Road. When you turn left, go to Eleanor Avenue, the first cross street, and then turn left (to take you down to Gardiner Lane for easy access to the Watterson Expressway) or right (to take you up several blocks before making another right to access Bardstown Road away from all the traffic).
• You can avoid the carpool line all together by making a quick stop at Gardiner Lane Shopping Center to drop off or pick up your daughter. They don’t mind as long as it is a quick stop and you don’t use the parking spaces near the stores that they need for their customers. It’s very short block and a safe walk for your daughter from the shopping center to Assumption.

CARPOOL LINE “NO IDLING” REMINDER:  A message to parents from the ECC:  The Environmental Concerns Committee has made many changes over the years to help AHS be a more sustainable community.  Several years ago, a no idle sign was put by the main entrance to the CAC so in the afternoon drivers would turn off their cars while they waited to pick up their students. The no idle zone is so important because car exhaust can damage not only the environment but our health. Idling puts off hazardous pollutants such as carbon dioxide and can cause serious health problems such as asthma, heart disease, chronic bronchitis, and cancer. It also causes serious environmental issues; carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming. If you idle for one hour, you waste about $2 on gasoline, and the more you do it the more it adds up. Instead, we invite parents to shop at the campus store or simply arrive just a few minutes before school dismisses. We thank everyone for helping the earth and invite everyone to take part in a greener community.

POWERSCHOOL LEARNING INVITATION:  On the afternoon of Friday, August 16, we will be emailing parents an invitation to join our PowerSchool Learning Management System (LMS).  Your daughter uses the LMS to access information about each of her classes, such as daily class agendas, upcoming due dates for tests and assignments, and electronic documents that her teachers have prepared for her classes. The email invitation will have a URL link for you to click and an eight-character code you will need to register for your particular daughter. Once you have completed the registration for the LMS, you will be able to log in and see her class information too. Here are a couple of links that you may find helpful. How do I accept an invitation as a parent? and What can parents see and do in a class?.

DROP/ADD DEADLINE:  Our drop/add period for classes ends on Tuesday, August 20.  If you or your daughter has questions about her schedule, please contact the appropriate dean of studies: Student Last Name A-K:  JUDY FIELDHOUSE,  Student Last Name L-Z:  THERESA SCHUHMANN

COLLEGE INFORMATION NIGHT FOR SENIORS AND PARENTS:  Leigh Jackson and Kimberly Habich, college counselors, will be visiting every senior English class August 23 through August 29.  Our counselors will provide detailed information about the college application process to every senior.  To further assist seniors and their parents with the college process, there will be a college information night for all seniors and parents on Wednesday, September 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the theater.  Admission representatives from a variety of colleges and universities will discuss the college application process.  This panel will provide helpful hints and advice to seniors as they begin their own college process. If you have any questions, please contact LEIGH JACKSON.

MOCK SCHEDULE NIGHT:  We will have our annual Mock Schedule Night on Thursday, August 29, beginning at 6:30 p.m.; parents should report to their daughter’s homeroom for opening prayer and announcements. We are asking your daughter to text you a picture of her schedule and her HR number by the end of the school day on August 29 so you can have it handy for Mock Schedule.

SCHOOL PICTURES:  School pictures for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will be held on Thursday, August 29, and Friday, August 30, during study halls.  There is NO uniform break for school pictures.  Pictures will be made in your daughter’s school uniform.  Please help your daughter make sure her uniform is clean and in good repair for her school portrait.  All students must have their pictures taken for our yearbook. Students will receive envelopes with purchase information in their homerooms.

TRACKING SERVICE HOURS:  We track students’ community service hours with x2vol, and we would like to notify you that the school will have access to each of our students’ accounts so that we may assist your daughter with reporting and monitoring her service hours. Mrs. Moore, our Service Learning director, is on maternity leave until Sept. 3.  She will be visiting all freshman theology classes in September to instruct students on how to use x2vol, and copies of all needed materials can be found on the LMS page for your daughter’s theology class.  Please contact KATELYN MOORE if you have any questions.

ATHLETICS:  Please join us at The Assumption Green Sports and Education Complex for field hockey and soccer games, at the gym for our volleyball home games, and at the courses for our cross country meets and golf matches.  All of our athletic team schedules can be found on the Athletics page of our website:  ATHLETICS.

AUGUST BUS SCHEDULE FOR TRANSPORTATION TO THE GREEN: Below is information for our fall sports athletes regarding after-school transportation to practices/games at the Green.

PARENT ORIENTATIONS:  Special thanks to our freshman, sophomore, and junior parents – we had wonderful attendance at our parent orientations.  If you were unable to join us for the informative evening, you may access information from the orientation sessions through this link: PARENT ORIENTATIONS. Thanks, also, to our administrators and staff who presented on these two important evenings.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

FLIK LUNCH ACCOUNTS:  MySchoolBucks, the company that handles the Flik online deposits, is accepting online payments now at www.myschoolbucks.com. All of the balances that were left from last year have been carried over to the new school year. If you plan to write a check for your daughter’s lunch account, please be sure to make the check payable to FLIK and to include your daughter’s name and ID number in the memo line, especially if your last name is different than your daughter’s. Your daughter can drop off the check in the cafeteria drop box during school hours.  Thanks for your help with this!

ALUMNAE, FACULTY, AND STAFF ART SHOW: Members of the Assumption community are invited to come view the Alumnae, Faculty, and Staff Art Show! Pieces will be on display in the Performing and Fine Arts Center (AHS theater) from August 19-September 6. Visitors can view artwork Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Sincerely,

Martha Tedesco

Principal