July 2, 2020

Dear Parents,

Like you, we are anxious to have definitive answers to the start of the school year.  Along with the illness, loss of life, and economic hardship that have been a part of this pandemic, the unease that comes with the constant uncertainty we are all experiencing is exhausting. We know that definitive information about how the school year will start would help to relieve some of those feelings. Although we are not ready to announce a finalized school re-entry plan at this time, the guidelines from both the Kentucky Department of Education and now also the Archdiocese of Louisville regarding the planning for the start of school allow us to share an overview of the three options which we are considering as our task forces continue to meet and plan in the areas of academics, scheduling, co-curriculars, logistics, facilities, and safety.

Option 1:  All students on campus every day using our traditional schedule.

Option 2:  All students in class daily in a hybrid model of instruction.  In this model,half of the student body attends school in person while the other half of the student body attends classes virtually from home at the same time utilizing Microsoft Teams. Assigned groupings will rotate attendance in-person and virtual learning on a set schedule throughout each week.

Option 3:  All students learn virtually from home attending virtual classes using Microsoft Teams.  As we did in the spring, students will attend classes daily and follow a set schedule for attendance. 

In making decisions surrounding these options, our priority will remain the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff.  It is our plan at this time to wait to make a final determination about which of these options we will utilize to begin the school year by the end of July.  At that time, we know we will have more information about developments surrounding the spread of Covid-19 which could impact other directives from the KDE, the Archdiocese, or the governor. Having the most up-to-date information will allow us to make the best decisions for our students, faculty, and staff. 

We are confident that our students and faculty can successfully handle whatever schedule option is determined and can seamlessly move between these options as needed based on unfolding circumstances over the next several months.  The feedback that we received from students, faculty, and staff from our virtual teaching and learning from this spring confirmed that our faculty and students have the resilience and skills necessary to navigate uncharted territory as we move forward this year. 

Knowing, however, that this situation has unique demands, Assumption is committed to maintaining a high level of support and resources to support students in their academic, social, emotional, and spiritual development this school year.   In the same way, we are also committed to supporting our faculty and staff with continuing professional development opportunities and experiences to enhance their skills to guide virtual learning.  We were so grateful for the extraordinary lengths that our teachers went to in order to provide quality learning experiences for our students in the spring, and we know that these resources will only serve to help them grow in their expertise in this model. 

We will take a one-week break from the Rocket Report next week.  When we return, we will continue to use the Rocket Report to give updates not only on our schedule options but also on the health, safety, and logistical measures we will be implementing to keep our community as healthy and safe as possible as we begin the new school year. 

As always, thank you for your trust and support as we continue to work together to navigate this process.

CLASS OF 2020 – SPECIAL MESSAGE ABOUT GRADUATION: A special message from the president and principal was emailed yesterday, July 1, to parents of graduating seniors giving an update about prom and graduation.  If you are a graduating senior parent and did not receive this email, please click on the link provided to view this important information: SPECIAL MESSAGE – GRADUATION. PLEASE NOTE:  A special message with final details about graduation will be sent during the week of July 13. 

IF YOUR DAUGHTER IS REGISTERED FOR A DUAL CREDIT COURSE FOR 2020 – 2021:  We have received word that the July ACT has been cancelled.  If your daughter has signed up for a Dual Credit (DC) course which has an ACT score requirement, we are waiting for decisions from our partner schools as to whether enrollment into these courses will be ‘test optional’ and are sorry that we do not yet have these answers.  As a reminder, if the DC level is the best level for your daughter, she can remain in the DC course for high school credit even if she is not eligible to earn the college credit from the college/university.  All requirements can be found in our Course Catalog.  If you have any questions, please contact Judy Fieldhouse.

SIGNIFICANT DRESS CODE CHANGES AND UPDATES FOR THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR: You will be receiving more information about our dress code in our traditional back-to-school summer mailing and in the Student-Parent Handbook when school starts, but we thought you might like to have this information now as you begin your back-to-school shopping in earnest and perhaps take advantage of special Fourth of July sales. If your daughter is a returning student, she may have already enthusiastically shared this information with you since we shared it with rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors earlier this week—and we think you will like these changes too! Based on the recommendations of the Student Voice Committee of the Family Council and a special Faculty Dress Code Task Force, we are making the following changes to our dress code for the 2020-2021 school year:

  • Students may use one personal bag (purse OR backpack) to carry items for school (like on an airplane—they may carry ONE personal item).
  • Students may wear athletic, casual, or dress shoes of any color; shoes are no longer being limited to black, white, gray, brown, tan, or maroon; fluorescent and neon colors are allowed. Shoes no longer have to be solid in color, and patterns, logos, and embellishments (such as mesh) are okay.
  • In addition to socks and tights, students will have the option of wearing leggings. Black leggings may be worn under the uniform skirt, but not in place of it; leggings must be ankle-length and worn with socks; leggings must be plain and solid in color with no see-through panels, designs/patterns, or visible logos; sheer or athletic-style leggings are not allowed. Note: Leggings have been added to the uniform code to address temperature variation issues in the building—teachers will no longer give students permission to wear sweatpants because they are cold.
  • The uniform skirt is to be worn at or near the waist and should be of moderate length (all the way around, front and back) at least an inch longer than the student’s fingertips when her relaxed arms are down at her side. Note: this change is being made so skirt length can be checked quickly without using anything to measure or invading the personal space of students and to individualize skirt length for each student (tall girls not penalized; arms are usually proportional to legs).
  • Seniors may wear their senior class T-shirt in place of the uniform polo shirt and their senior class sweatshirt in place of the sweater/quarter-zip sweatshirt–senior T-shirts may now be worn year-round.

Please take a few minutes to review the requirements involved in these dress code items by using this link to the PowerPoint slides that were shared with the students. Parent/guardians of incoming freshmen and transfer students, please note: these are also changes to the uniform/dress code information provided to you when you registered your daughter. If you have questions about the dress code after reviewing the PowerPoint, please contact dean of students Cindi Baughman.

INCOMING FRESHMEN AND TRANSFER STUDENTS – PARENT TABLET PC ORIENTATION:  All students who are new to Assumption, both incoming freshmen and transfer students, and their parents are required to attend an orientation session to introduce them to the functionality of the tablet PC that is an integral part of student learning in our 1:1 program prior to their receipt of the device.  The mandatory new student parent Tablet PC orientation for the class of 2024 and transfer students for the 2020-2021 school year will be online this summer. Parents will be emailed a Zoom invitation to both sessions closer to the dates. There is no need to register for the Zoom session. You simply need to click the link you are emailed and log in at one of these two times. Mrs. Fieldhouse and Mrs. Schuhmann will take roll online during the sessions to confirm your attendance.  Session dates and times are:

  • Wednesday, July 22 from 11:00 a.m.  – 12:00 p.m.
  • Thursday, July 23 from 6:30 p.m.  – 7:30 p.m.

Parents of students new to Assumption this year must register their daughters for a time for students to come to campus to pick up their laptops. Here is the link to the Signup Survey for you to choose her pick-up time.  Additional training will be implemented throughout first semester.

SUMMER SEMINAR FOR THE CLASS OF 2024: Freshman Parents- Summer Seminar is our orientation program for incoming freshmen sponsored by the AHS Guidance Department.  We hope that your daughters enjoyed receiving informational e-mails during June from their Summer Seminar student leaders.  We are excited to announce that we will hold in-person Summer Seminar sessions in small groups in July.  The sessions are scheduled based on your daughter’s AHS family.  For more information on dates, registration, and the COVID-19 health requirements for this event, please follow this link:  https://assumption.wufoo.com/forms/w1k731lb1imp33f/.  Our priority for Summer Seminar is for incoming freshmen to meet each other, to learn about Assumption, and to feel more comfortable on their first day of school.  We want our newest Rockets to have a smooth transition to Assumption and we look forward to working with your daughter(s) over the next four years.  If you have questions, please contact Kim Steinke, Guidance Office Assistant, at 502-271-2539 or kim.steinke@ahsrockets.org 

CLARIFICATION ON CLASS OF 2024 EMAIL ADDRESSES: Parents of incoming freshmen, please note that when we ran the list of classes for the class of 2024 to send earlier this month, we were unaware that the report would generate with a typographical error in the student email address.  You may have noticed that the period or “dot” (.) between “ahsrockets” and “org” was missing.  The correct email address for freshmen should read as follows “firstname.lastname24@ahsrockets.org” ; i.e. rosie.rocket24@ahsrockets.org or a firstinitial.lastname24@ahsrockets.org; i.e. r.rocketsarelaunching24@ahsrockets.org for a student whose first and last names with the “24” exceeds 24 characters.  Using the correct format is critical so that your daughter may receive the information needed by email from MBSDirect. 

PURCHASING BOOKS FOR 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR:  Assumption’s MBS Direct bookstore will open on Monday, July 6, and our free shipping week will be July 6 – 12, 2020.  When you log onto MBS via this link to purchase textbooks with your daughter’s student ID number, it will provide her list of books.  Book titles and ISBN numbers will be available for purchase through MBS.  You are welcome to use this information to shop via other sources (ex. Amazon) if you would prefer.  Please pay special attention to any “student message” listed at the top of the page regarding digital versions of texts.  Most courses allow for student choice.  Also, all course fees for art and any other courses must be paid via MBS Direct. Please note:  MBS Direct is the official supplier of textbooks for AHS students and works closely with the school to have all textbooks to the students by the start of school. If you choose to order books from a different online source, this needs to be done early enough to make sure the student has her books prior to the start of school; a student will not be excused from having a textbook if it was ordered late or from a vendor other than MBS Direct.

FRESHMAN SUMMER READING:  An update about the freshman summer reading novel, A Summer of Kings:  It has come to our attention that availability of A Summer of Kings is limited in bookstores and online. We are happy to report, however, that MBS Direct will have copies available for purchase when the bookstore opens on July 6 if you are unable to obtain a copy prior to that date.  Ordering in July will provide ample opportunity for your daughter to read and complete the summer reading assignment for this engaging and thought-provoking novel.  MBS Direct did ask us to note their shipment of the novel is arriving on July 6 so for those who get into the bookstore early, it is possible that you will initially see a note with the A Summer of Kings that says “This item is temporarily out of stock.”  MBS Direct assures us that you should still go ahead and place the order as they anticipate that they will have the book in hand the week of July 6. 

MAIN OFFICE AVAILABILITY:  To adhere to state mandates in response to the coronavirus and to continue to keep our entire community safe and healthy, we are continuing to recommend that parents email or mail any school-related items instead of dropping them off at school.  If you do need to drop off an item off to school, Assumption is now open from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Please come to the Tyler Lane doors, ring the buzzer, and a staff member will meet you at the entrance. Any visitor who has an appointment that requires them to come into the building should come to the Tyler Lane door, ring the buzzer, and will be met there.  Visitors must wear a mask, undergo a temperature scan, and complete a health screening before entering the building.  Please feel free to contact Amy Schelb at 502-458-9551, option 0, or email at amy.schelb@ahsrockets.org for questions regarding the above or if you need assistance during this time. 

IMMUNIZATION CERTIFICATES:  ALL STUDENTS (returning, incoming freshmen, transfers) are required by state statute to have a current Commonwealth of Kentucky Certificate of Immunization Status on file with the school by the first day of classes on August 13. Immunization certificates may be faxed to the school at 502-454-8411 or snail mailed to Assumption High School, 2170 Tyler Lane, Louisville, KY  40205. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the school office at 502-458-9551, option 0.

PHYSICALS FOR INCOMING FRESHMEN, TRANSFER STUDENTS, AND ATHLETES:   If you haven’t already submitted a current physical form (dated April 2020 or later), please be sure to do so ASAP.  Parents of Assumption athletes: KHSAA requires that your daughter have a current physical on file with the athletic office before she may participate in tryouts or practice of any kind (even virtually). This physical must be submitted on the KHSAA PHYSICAL FORM. If your daughter is planning to participate in athletics at Assumption (or in cheerleading at one of the boy’s school), please call today and make an appointment for a physical with your daughter’s primary care physician if she hasn’t had a recent physical. No group physicals will be offered here at school. All incoming freshmen and transfer students need to have current physicals for the 2020-2021 school year on file with us by the first day of classes on August 13.   You can use this link to access the AHS PHYSICAL FORM if you need one. If your daughter is a student-athlete, please use the AHS Physical Form, which incorporates the KHSAA form so it can be used for athletics, but also contains other information needed by Assumption personnel. Completed physical forms may be faxed to the school at 502-454-8411 or snail mailed to Assumption High School, 2170 Tyler Lane, Louisville, KY  40205. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the school office at 502-458-9551, option 0.

INCOMING FRESHMEN – CLASS OF 2024 IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Please continue to reference the special Class of 2024 website page for updates on important information for our freshmen.  You will still receive emails as communication, but you can always check back to the site for reference and any documents you may need.  PLEASE NOTE: All forms from registration that need to be turned in should be scanned and emailed OR sent by snail mail.  We cannot accept pictures of forms or accept drop-offs at school at this time. If you have any additional questions or she did not receive her delivery, please feel free to contact the Main Office at 502-458-9551.

Gratefully,

Martha Tedesco

Principal