Dear Parents,
The community of Assumption wishes all of our families a blessed Easter. Director of Campus Ministry, Mary Ann Steutermann, shares with us this Easter prayer:
Good and gracious God,
We praise you and thank you for the gift of new life in the Risen Jesus. May we be like the women at the empty tomb and the disciples on the road to Emmaus who welcome Christ into our homes and hearts even when we are confused or afraid. Help us to be open to the Paschal Mystery at work in our own lives so that we may truly be people of the Resurrection.
Amen.
VIRTUAL LEARNING SURVEY – please complete by Tuesday morning, April 14: Thank you for your support and patience as we have implemented virtual learning at Assumption. We would like to know how our virtual learning has been for your daughter(s). Please take 5 minutes to complete this brief survey by Tuesday morning, April 14: PARENT VIRTUAL LEARNING SURVEY
ATTENDANCE UPDATE – SLEEPY STUDENTS NEED YOUR HELP: We continue to have students every day who are oversleeping and missing classes. Some aren’t submitting their attendance surveys, and some submit their attendance surveys and then fall back asleep. Others seem to be taking a nap during the lunch break from11-12 but oversleep and miss their 12 o’clock classes. And some are napping during their study blocks and then missing their next classes. If they fall asleep when we are in the school building, we wake them up, and, of course, there’s a lot more movement and noise going on around them then that helps keep them awake to start with. Many of us are experiencing the challenges of working from home, and the lack of human interaction is one of the things people say they miss most. If you are working from home during the day, your daughter might benefit from some additional interaction with you and other family members, especially if she is doing her virtual learning in her bedroom—maybe have her come to a common family area to do her virtual learning if that’s feasible given the number of folks in the house also working from home, or you could take a break from you own work every hour or so just to check in on her if she’s one who’s prone to napping, If you aren’t working from home right now, maybe you could touch base with her a few times a day to see how she’s doing and make sure she’s awake and showing up virtually for her classes. Anything you can do to help keep your sleepy daughter awake and in class would be greatly appreciated by her teachers.
SENIORS – MOTHER/DAUGHTER BREAKFAST VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE: Although we weren’t able to have the Mother/ Daughter Breakfast in person last month as originally planned, we can do the next best thing! On Saturday, April 18 at 10:00 a.m., we invite all seniors and their mothers/mother figures to celebrate with us virtually for a special mother-daughter experience! Your daughter received an email this week from Mrs. Tedesco and Mrs. Steutermann with details about the event and how it will work. Celebrating this way is definitely different, but we know how well the community of Assumption does different…together. Most importantly, it’s a great way to celebrate with your daughter before she embarks on a new and exciting chapter in her life!
LETTERS FROM COLLEGES: Attention, senior parents! Please have your senior daughters submit ALL letters received from colleges regarding admissions decisions, scholarship offers, and admission to special programs and honors colleges to the Guidance Office. The majority of colleges DO NOT provide this information directly to high schools, so your daughter is often our only source of information about this. Her timely sharing of this information is vital to the Senior Honors Ceremony as we work to make sure we have all the correct information to celebrate your daughter and the class of 2020. These letters can be emailed directly to COLLEGE.LETTERS@ahsrockets.org. We ask that students submit all of this information by Thursday, April 23.
JUNIOR RING CEREMONY: We know that juniors and their parents have had questions in regard to how we will address the Junior Ring Ceremony and the distribution and celebration of senior rings in light of the fact that our building will not open until May. Also at this time because of the business closure of Balfour’s production plant due to Covid-19, all of the rings are not ready for distribution through Balfour. As a result of this, we know you understand that our April 26 ring ceremony will not be held as scheduled. We are working to get more information about when the rings will be available, and when we do, we will explore other ways to make meaning for the Class of 2021 receiving their senior rings. We promise to update you when we have more information to share.
40 BOOKS CHALLENGE: The deadline for this year’s 40 Books Challenge has been extended until Monday, May 4. This challenge encourages students to read for enjoyment and rewards them for meeting goals for independent reading. Our goal is for our students to read at least 40 books during their four years at Assumption, with incentives awarded for meeting the yearly goal of ten books and the ultimate goal of 40 books. With more time at home now, this is an opportunity for your daughter to relax with a good book as an alternative to being entertained by electronics.
AP EXAMS: As AP has already informed your daughter and her teacher: For the 2019–20 exam administration only, students can take a 45-minute online free-response exam at home. Educator-led development committees are currently selecting the exam questions that will be administered. For the most up to date information, please visit: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/coronavirus-update.
NATIONAL ACT for JUNIORS: The National ACT for Juniors that had been rescheduled for April 21 has now been postponed until Tuesday, June 2. Assumption plans to administer this national ACT at no additional cost to you on this day and we encourage each student to take advantage of this opportunity if they are able. Our college counselors are sending your daughter emails each day with the most up-to-date information about how colleges and universities will be adjusting on their end to the cancellation of ACT and SAT testing dates. Please make sure your daughter is paying close attention to this information.
ROCKET PARENT NETWORK (RPN) NEWS: Operation Parent of Oldham County recently hosted a webinar entitled, “Helping Teens Cope with Anxiety during COVID 19.” This webinar is available on-demand using the link below. Please know that there are some brief audio difficulties about midway through the recording due to the number of participants: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/1341880680399206145
WHAT WE DO MAKES A DIFFERENCE: During this pandemic, we know that it may feel isolating while abiding by social distancing guidelines. However, we also know that even while we are apart we can continue to find ways to make a difference both individually and collectively. So, we ask, “What are you doing to make a difference?” Please share what you are doing to make a difference on social media! Tag @ahsrockets in your Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter posts and pictures and use the hashtags #AHSMakesADifference, #HealthyAtHome and #RocketsAtHome. Or simply email your pictures and tell us what you are doing to make a difference at maggie.ising@ahsrockets.org. We are stronger together, and we will get through this united as a community. We hope that by sharing how you make a difference, it will bring a much-needed connection to our entire Assumption family. Although, we may be physically apart, we remain the community of Assumption!
#RivalsUNITE4Girls: The fifth annual #RivalsUNITE4Girls giving campaign is happening next week, April 14-17. For the past four years, Assumption, Mercy, Presentation, and Sacred Heart alumnae have participated in this annual fund campaign between all four Catholic girls’ schools in Louisville. As we face the challenges posed by COVID-19, we know many of our current and future families will face financial hardships, and we want to continue to provide the quality education each student deserves at all our schools. We know there will be a growing need for financial assistance in the days and months ahead. Because of this, all four schools have decided to UNITE in support of education and take out the competition element of this campaign as in past years. We also want to extend this invitation beyond our alumnae and invite all our community to participate in the #RivalsUNITE4Girls campaign this year. We understand that you may be experiencing economic hardships yourselves and understand that right now you may not be able to participate. However, if you are able, we invite you to stand with us as all four schools come together with one goal – to support Catholic education for girls in Louisville. All funds raised will benefit the AHS Annual Fund, which currently provides tuition assistance to more than 200 students and will continue to help current and future families. For more information about #RivalsUNITE4Girls, please click here.
Gratefully,
Martha Tedesco
Principal