July 17, 2020

Dear Parents,

As promised, we will continue to update you on our plans for the upcoming school year.  Today, we share with you the steps we are taking regarding health and safety protocols for when we have students in the building.  These protocols come from guidelines published by the Archdiocese of Louisville, the Kentucky Department of Education, the Kentucky Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and are comprehensive and based on the best practices recommended.  We will update them as we continue to plan.

COVID-19 HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICIES

Of course, we know the value of in-person instruction for our students, but we also are prioritizing keeping our entire community safe.  As you know from the Rocket Report we are working on three plans, our traditional schedule, a hybrid model of instruction and full virtual instruction that we can use to begin the year and can then transition to as needed or directed throughout the year.  Our priority is for those plans to meet the best practices of the Kentucky Department of Education and the Archdiocese.  As a Catholic high school sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy operating in the Archdiocese of Louisville, we have control of our school calendar and the ability to make decisions that best fit our school at the local level.  We know how anxious everyone is to know how we will begin the year, but we don’t want to be premature in our decision-making which is why we will make an announcement at the end of July.

We miss our students, and we want them back on campus at Assumption.  But before we open the building this school year, we must have the best plan to keep them safe and healthy. We do know this school year will look very different.  But as we have said before, at Assumption we “do different” very well. No matter which option we choose to begin the year this fall, we are confident that we will continue to provide your daughter a quality, value-added, value-based high school experience. 

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 3:00 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. 

ATHLETICS UPDATE:  The KHSAA released their written guidelines for high school athletics to schools on Sunday. In those guidelines, all tryouts for fall sports including cheer and dance were suspended except for golf which began on July 15. The guidelines extended segment 3 of the COVID-19 Return to Participation in Sports document LINK revised June 15 through August 2  At this time there can be no tryouts or mandatory workouts until August 3 at the earliest for cheer, cross country, dance, field hockey, soccer, and volleyball. The KHSAA will release any new guidelines at the end of July and we will share that information with you once it is received. Please go ahead and make plans to have your daughters physical with her physician. Then complete those forms LINK and turn them into us at school to prepare for potential tryouts in August.

SUMMER SEMINAR PARENT ZOOM SESSIONS:  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 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. 

In addition to the Summer Seminar program offered to freshmen, we want to include freshman parents in the Summer Seminar experience.  We are offering four Zoom sessions and invite you to select the session which best aligns with your schedule.

  • Friday, July 24- 1:30 p.m.
  • Friday, July 24- 5:30 p.m.
  • Friday, July 31- 10:00 a.m.
  • Friday, July 31- 11:30 a.m.

These optional parent sessions will last an hour or less and summarize the Summer Seminar experience, provide information about parental involvement opportunities, and include a Q & A session.  To sign up for the parent session of your choice, please e-mail kim.steinke@ahsrockets.org and she will send you the Zoom link for the session you choose.

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.

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 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.

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 “first name.lastname24@ahsrockets.org” ; i.e. rosie.rocket24@ahsrockets.org or a first initial.last name24@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 is open.  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 – NEW UPDATE:  A new 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. It was our understanding that MBS Direct would have copies for purchase either in paperback or digitally but that has not occurred. The book is available to read electronically, and the English department has updated the summer reading assignment for students to see how they can complete their active reading with the digital version.  Follow this link to the updated assignment:  Updated Freshman Summer Reading Assignment. You can purchase a digital copy through the vendor of your choice, but for your convenience we have included the link for purchase through Amazon:  Digital Version of A Summer of Kings

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. 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.

PHYSICALS FOR INCOMING FRESHMEN, TRANSFER STUDENTS, AND ATHLETES:  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. 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. 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 mailed to Assumption High School, 2170 Tyler Lane, Louisville, KY  40205.

Gratefully,

Martha Tedesco

Principal