Friday, August 14, 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians, 

As stated in the special message this week, we do need to postpone the start of school next week due to our unexpected construction-related delays. There was an issue with the transformer connected to the part of the school that houses our technology servers.  We found out Wednesday afternoon that the electricity had to be shut down for Thursday and Friday of this week which meant no access to our wi-fi, phones, and many programs such as PowerSchool which are run through our server.  With this unexpected occurrence and inability to fully function in the school at the end of this week, we needed to delay the start of school by two days in order for us to have time to continue preparing the building for the first day of orientation and also continue the professional development for our teachers.  We are so sorry for the inconvenience and deeply appreciate the flexibility of our parents during this trying time. 

CALENDAR NOTES FOR NEXT WEEK:   

  • REVISED ORIENTATION SCHEDULE:  Our slightly revised calendar for the start of the school year can be found here: WEBSITE CALENDAR.  We chose to revise our orientation schedule so that we could still begin our full academic hybrid schedule as planned on Monday, August 31.  On Friday, August 28, all students will attend all eight blocks of their schedule via Teams at home virtually so that they can meet each of their teachers. We will include specific details for each upcoming week in the Rocket Report each Friday.  
  • FRESHMAN ORIENTATION – August 19-21:  We are excited to welcome our freshmen to campus beginning next week! All hybrid freshmen should be dropped off along the CAC in the carpool lane and enter the building through the CAC/gym doors for all orientation days. Students can arrive 30 minutes prior to their orientation session and must be picked up when their session ends. Please be sure to follow the traffic flow procedures in this document:  CARPOOL PROCEDURES AND TRAFFIC FLOW 
  • Wednesday, August 19 – Class Orientation: All hybrid students will report to campus on their designated class day and time according to their last name cohort.  They will meet in homerooms for orientation on beginning of school year information, handbook rules, all new building safety procedures, hybrid schedule, etc.  All students should be in full uniform, wear masks, and bring their tablet PCs, chargers, headphones, and water bottles with them. Students who have chosen all virtual instruction should attend the orientation assigned to their last name via their homeroom Teams page (invitations will be sent via email). Students will receive class schedules, planners, and name badges/lanyards. Arrangements will be made and communicated to virtual students to receive these items.  
  • 8:30-10:30 a.m. – Freshman Last Names A-K 
  • 12:30-2:30 p.m. – Freshman Last Names L-Z 
  • Thursday, August 20 & Friday, August 21 – Hybrid Orientation:  Hybrid freshmen will attend two days of class hybrid orientation.  Hybrid students will attend in-person or virtually according to their last name cohorts.  Students who have chosen all virtual instruction will attend both days virtually. Students will meet all 8 classes/teachers and practice health and safety protocols for moving to and from all classes. All students should be in full uniform, wear masks, and bring their tablet PCs and chargers, headphones, and water bottle with them on their in-person day. When students are learning virtually, they should join their course’s Teams page by the time the class is scheduled to begin. A special schedule for the hybrid orientation will be shared with students at the prior orientation and will be emailed to students.  
  • Thursday, August 20:  8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.:  In-Person A-K, Virtual L-Z 
  • Friday, August 21:  8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.:  In-Person L-Z, Virtual A-K 

COHORT CHANGE REQUESTS: Parents/guardians who requested that their daughters’ cohorts be switched in the parent survey were sent emails confirming the change on Thursday this week. Because we are committed to following the recommended best practices as students return to the building (assigning specific seats in every classroom, limiting the number of students in a classroom, keeping students physically distanced, etc.), please note that students may not switch back and forth between cohorts.  

COMMUNICATION TO VIRTUAL ONLY STUDENTS:  Communication to all virtual only students regarding picking up materials to begin the school year including planner, schedule, senior spirit wear, and other items, will be emailed on Monday.  This communication will also include an invitation to a Teams meeting on Tuesday, August 18, at 1:00 p.m. with the administration for a brief orientation and welcome to the school year. The meeting will be recorded and a link will be emailed to all virtual students if a student needs to view it later.  

APPLIED DIGITAL SKILLS COURSE FOR FRESHMEN AND TRANSFER STUDENTS:  Freshmen and transfer students are completing the first assignments of their Applied Digital Skills online course that began after their tablet PC training.  By Monday, students should have completed the first three lessons and assignments.  On Monday, two new video lessons will be emailed that will teach students how to join a Microsoft Teams call and a basic overview of Teams. Freshmen and transfer students should complete these lessons prior to their orientation beginning on Wednesday, August 19.  Parents – please check with your daughters to make sure assignments are being completed in a timely fashion.  

IMPORTANT LINKS:  Please be sure to review and complete required information through these important links prior to the start of school: 

IMPORTANT MEDICAL FORMS:  These important medical forms are also needed prior to the first day of school:   

  • 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. 

FRESHMAN PARENT MASS – Each year we celebrate the beginning of your freshman daughter’s high school journey as a community of faith with our Freshman Parent Mass.  This special liturgy is scheduled for Sunday, September 13, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Raphael Catholic Church.  The church can host up to 200 people at this time.  In order to plan for appropriate social distancing, we need to know who plans to attend in person.  We also hope to have a live stream of the Mass available for those who wish to participate from home.  Freshman parents, please complete the Freshman Parent Mass RSVP by Friday, Aug. 28 so that we can prepare the best possible experience for you and your family.   

GUIDANCE CONNECTIONS:  The Assumption Guidance Department invites you to join them on Facebook and/or Twitter to stay up to date with deadlines and guidance programming for students of all grade levels.  On Facebook, “like” the Assumption Guidance Parent Page.  On Twitter, follow @AHSGuidanceDept.  For Parents of Freshmen, please watch the Rocket Report next week for additional information about our upcoming Freshman Parent Mandatory Drug/Alcohol Education Nights.  This program will be offered on Zoom on Wednesday, September 9 at 6:30 p.m. and on Monday, September 14 at 6:30 p.m. Please select the session that works best with your schedule.  Our featured speaker will be Mark Parrish from Innerview Counseling.   

PARENT POWERSCHOOL AND LMS CREDENTIALS: Parent usernames in PowerSchool for the 2020-21 school year will be synced with our PowerSchool Learning Management site, also called the LMS. This will allow parents to use the same username in both portals and not need to set up an LMS account since the system is setting it up for you. 

  • PowerSchool is where you will find your daughter’s grades and teacher comments.  
  • The LMS is where her teachers will post each class’s agenda, assignments, upcoming tests, and due dates. 

If you set up an LMS account last year, it will no longer work. You need to log in with the same username you use in PowerSchool. The first time you log into the LMS this school year, you need to use the password, rockets, and then change that password in your account. We suggest you use the same password that you use in PowerSchool for consistency.  

MONITOR AND MANAGE YOUR DAUGHTER’S TABLET PC: On Monday, August 3, our IT Director sent an email to parents of new students regarding apParent, a mobile app available to you at no cost so you can monitor and manage your daughter’s school-issued tablet PC after school hours. This app, if you want to install it, will allow you to 1) View screen images of your daughter’s device; 2) Lock your daughter’s device with a custom message; 3) View 24 hours of your child’s web browsing history. Your daughters’ teachers can control their computers from 7:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. You can use the app outside of those hours on school days and all day on weekends and holidays.  All you need to do is to click the link in the email that was sent to you to install it. If you did not receive that link and did not set up your account last year, but want to do so this year, please email Brent Miller your daughter’s name, so he can send your specific activation link.  

ATHLETICS:  From the Athletic Office: The KHSAA Board of Control decision made on July 27 approved for sports to begin on Monday, August 24. This is the earliest date that soccer, field hockey, volleyball, cross country, cheer, and dance can have tryouts. Once tryout dates are set, we will update the Fall Tryouts page on our website. Please continue to monitor this link for further information. The board also approved for games to begin as early as September 7. We are busy working on schedules and should have those pages on the website updated soon. Please realize that these decisions and dates can be adjusted at any time.  

MAIN OFFICE AVAILABILITY:  To adhere to state mandates in response to COVID-19 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.   Assumption’s Main Office will be open from 7:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday starting Monday, August 3. In line with Assumption’s Re-opening and Learning Plan, visitors to the school will continue to be limited.  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.   

Gratefully, 

Martha Tedesco 

Principal