Friday, September 25, 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians, 

On Wednesday we celebrated Mercy Day in union with the Sisters of Mercy across the world.  At our virtual Mercy Day Celebration assembly, we discussed making mercy real with Reshma Aziz Kahn, our guest speaker with expertise in global humanitarian support and diversity.  We also presented the “Who Will Tell the Story?” medal to Dr. Eseosa Ighodaro, a 2007 AHS alumna, medical doctor, and neuroscientist who went on to be the first African American to earn the dual MD/PhD degree from the University of Kentucky. Additionally, we honored three students and two faculty and staff members who were selected by their peers as the 2020 Models of Mercy.  Recognized were Kellyn Daily (sophomore), Carly Fawcett (junior), Riley Stull (senior), Stacy Johnson (faculty), and Mary Lang (staff). Congratulations to all of our award recipients! 

We continue to monitor our number of COVID-19 positive cases associated with our school and we continue to report this information to our school community.  As of today, Assumption’s COVID-19 numbers are as follows:  

  • No active positive Covid-19 cases.   
  • No new positive COVID-19 cases this week.  
  • 22 total positive COVID-19 cases as reported to our local department of health as of August 1, 2020 (19 students and 3 staff).    
  • Since the start of school, no cases of transmission associated with attending school or school related activities.  

The state department of health will continue to publish the number of COVID-19 positive cases at schools throughout Kentucky.  This information will continue to be available on the State’s kycovid19.ky.gov website.    

Starting Monday, September 28, all Kentucky schools will have new requirements for coronavirus reporting.  These new requirements include reporting all new COVID-19 positive cases as well as all new quarantine cases that are the result of attending school or school related activities.   These reporting requirements apply to both students and employees and this data must be reported daily – for every day the school is in session.  The data collected will appear on a public dashboard accessed via www.kycovid19.ky.gov  

In addition, the State has established new metrics for schools related to mode of instruction – specifically when a school would need to move from in person to all virtual instruction due to COVID-19.  After meeting with the Archdiocese last week, we are anticipating further guidance from them on when Catholic schools would need to move from their regular schedule to fully virtual based on the spread of the coronavirus.  Once we receive those additional resources, we will share both the state and archdiocesan directives with you.     

We again want to thank our parents for adhering to our health and safety protocols and for keeping your daughter at home when she is ill or not feeling well and for contacting our school nurse if she:     

  • has tested positive for COVID-19, or     
  • suspects she may have COVID-19, or      
  • has been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or         
  • undergoes testing because she has COVID like symptoms or has been advised by her health care provider to undergo testing; or       
  • if anyone in her home is being tested for COVID-19 due to symptoms or possible exposure.      

Our school nurse, Laura Burnam and can be reached at Laura.Burnam@ahsrockets.org or 271-2507.       

Most importantly, we want to again reinforce that parents limit their daughter’s socialization outside of school.  Only by working together can we limit the spread of this disease.    

Again, we appreciate your understanding and support!    

CALENDAR NOTES FOR NEXT WEEK:  

  • DAILY SCHEDULE:  Next week we continue with our traditional hybrid schedule: 
  • Monday, September 28 – Day 1: In-Person – Maroon Cohort, Virtual at Home – Blue Cohort 
  • Tuesday, September 29 – Day 2:  In-Person – Maroon Cohort, Virtual at Home – Blue Cohort 
  • Wednesday, September 30 – LEAD & Learn Wednesday:  All Cohorts Digital at Home 
  • Thursday, October 1 – Day 3: In-Person – Blue Cohort, Virtual at Home – Maroon Cohort 
  • Friday, October 2 – Day 4:  In-Person – Blue Cohort, Virtual at Home – Maroon Cohort 
  • VIRTUAL ACADEMIC AWARDS CEREMONY:  Our virtual academic awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, September 27, at 1:00 p.m.  At this ceremony, we honor the academic accomplishments of the following groups of students: sophomores, juniors, and seniors who earned a 4.0 GPA during the 2019-2020 school year; newly inducted Beta Club members; newly inducted National Honor Society members; freshman McAuley Scholars and newly inducted McAuley Scholars; and seniors recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Attendees may access the premiere of the ceremony at 1:00 p.m. via our website:  ACADEMIC AWARDS CEREMONY WEBPAGE. Congratulations to all of our honored students!  

RESCHEDULED – VIRTUAL MOCK SCHEDULE NIGHT:  Parents – you will have the opportunity to participate in a mock schedule of your daughter’s classes to meet her teachers and learn a little bit about each of her classes. We will host our Virtual Mock Schedule Night on Wednesday, September 30, beginning at 6:30 p.m.  To attend via Teams, you will need to know your daughter’s email address and her email password.  You may access Teams by using your daughter’s tablet PC, a mobile device, or your personal computer.  Please see directions below for each method as well as the brief, two-minute informational video. We look forward to seeing you virtually at Mock Schedule next Wednesday! 

FROM CAMPUS MINISTRY:   

  • FRESHMAN HEART TO HEART GROUPS:  Retreats are an integral part of the Assumption experience. At this time, we are not able to host in-person retreats; however, beginning next week, our freshmen will start meeting with senior “Heart to Heart” leaders virtually. These seniors were selected to be retreat leaders this year and will meet with their small groups each week on LEAD & Learn Wednesdays.  These groups will allow our freshmen to connect with the seniors and create new friendships and mentorships. The “curriculum” will be retreat based, and while it is not mandatory for the freshmen to participate, it is highly encouraged. Our seniors are excited to meet with the freshman class and help them navigate their first year at AHS.  It is our hope to offer in-person retreat opportunities later this school year, but in the meantime, we’re ready to make new connections virtually! 
  • PARENT PRAYER: The Parent Prayer group meets each Tuesday morning from 8:30-9:00 a.m. in the chapel at St. Catherine’s Convent, which is right across Tyler Lane from AHS.  Parents should park in the AHS lot in a visitor space or in any open space.  Parking is no longer available at the McAuley Center itself, so parents will need to cross Tyler Lane from the AHS lot to enter the McAuley Center. If you are unable to attend but would like them to pray for a particular intention, please email it to our campus minister at maryann.steutermann@ahsrockets.org. We hope you find comfort in knowing that we are praying for your intention even if you can’t be present. New Zoom option for parent prayer: If you are unable to join us in person, please consider joining us via Zoom on Tuesdays @ 8:30 a.m. by using this link and ID/Password:  Join Zoom Meeting: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75488139027?pwd=UDQrM3BDWlZRbElEbWdUL1FQRE4wZz09, Meeting ID: 754 8813 9027, Passcode: prayer. 

DUAL CREDIT SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE– OCTOBER 1:  Mrs. Fieldhouse invited all first semester dual credit students to a meeting on LEAD & Learn Wednesday this week to show students how to apply for the Dual Credit Scholarship on www.KHEAA.com.  If your daughter is enrolled in a dual credit class this semester, please ask her to show you her KHEAA account to show you that she has set her preferences for this scholarship.  Information about dual credit at Assumption and directions for applying for the KHEAA scholarship can be found through these links:   

TESTING DAY INFORMATION: All students will be provided the opportunity for standardized testing in October.  There is no need to register your daughter for any of these tests in advance; they have been registered through Assumption and each testing day will begin at 8:30 a.m.  Each student will test with her English class divided into cohort rooms.  Each student in the All-Virtual Pink Cohort has or will be contacted by her guidance counselor to let her know that she is welcome to come to campus for testing day as there are not any virtual standardized testing options available. Pink cohort students will be assigned to a room with the Maroon or Blue cohort.  All students will receive their room assignment from their English teacher on Monday and Tuesday, September 28 and 29.   

  • Tuesday, October 6 – National Test ACT for all current Juniors and Seniors: The National ACT is being given on this state’s assigned ACT date to all members of the classes of 2021 and 2022.  We are so very thrilled to be able to offer this testing opportunity to BOTH our juniors and seniors during this time when testing opportunities are scarce.  This test score can be used for college admission for both juniors and seniors and will also serve as a great benchmark score for our juniors.   Dismissal will be at 12:45 p.m.  Students can bring a small snack for the break.  Information for ACT Examinees 
  • Wednesday, October 14 – PSAT for ALL current juniors, sophomores in H1, Adv and AP English, freshmen in Advanced English and any other sophomore and freshmen by request to her guidance counselor:  The PSAT is the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation scholarship program and gives students a baseline score that can be used for SAT prediction scores.  Dismissal will be at noon.   
  • Wednesday, October 28: – PreACT for all current freshmen and sophomores: The PreACT provides each student and the school baseline data to help advise students in class choice and standardized testing.  Dismissal will be at noon.   

FROM THE GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT – National Suicide Prevention Month:  September is National Suicide Prevention Month and we wanted to let you know that students will have a 30-minute program on our LEAD & Learn Wednesday, September 30, during their homeroom.  Our focus for this program will be on destigmatizing mental health and providing students with a roadmap for resources and help.  As you continue to dialogue with your daughter on the topics of mental health and suicide prevention, we wanted to provide you with some helpful resources: 

In addition to these resources, please reach out to your daughter’s guidance counselor if we can provide any support or assistance in the area of mental health.  

SCHOOL SAFETY DRILLS:  It is an understatement to say that this year has presented numerous challenges in terms of school safety. Of course, our Hybrid model is based on protecting the health and safety of all in our community in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, but we are also adapting our various emergency drills so our students and staff will know what to do in the case of a true emergency while also minimizing their risk of exposure to COVID-19 by incorporating physical distancing to the greatest extent possible. We will be following the guidelines provided by the state and local health departments, the Kentucky Center for School Safety, the Kentucky Department of Education, and the CDC as we practice all of our required safety drills over the next three weeks. This is a good time to remind you that in the case of a true emergency/disaster, parents will be notified and kept informed via Emergency Alerts; students will be released only to their parents or other authorized guardians and will have to be signed out before leaving;  students who provide their own transportation to/from school must have parent/guardian permission to leave verified by school personnel prior to leaving, provided it is safe for them to do so; if it is safe to enter the school building, parents will gather in the school theater to await the release of their daughters; and if the building is not accessible, parents will gather in the back parking lot of on our east campus (former American Legion property) to await the release of their daughters. Please be sure that you are signed up for Emergency Alerts in PowerSchool and that we have current and accurate contact information for you and others we could call upon if there would ever be an urgent situation involving your daughter. Also, please note that the person you designate as an emergency contact is the person we would contact only if we cannot get in touch with a student’s parents/guardians—the name you provide as the emergency contact should not be the same as either the first or second contact because we will attempt to get in touch with them first/before going to the emergency contact. 

ROCKET PARENT NETWORK (RPN):  Hello, Freshman Parents!  My name is Amanda Mossholder and my daughter, Emma, is a junior at Assumption this year.  I am a member of the Rocket Parent Network, and I would like to invite you to get involved in this organization during your daughter’s years at AHS.  Our mission is to support and advocate for the health and well-being of our daughters by partnering with Assumption families and the leaders and staff of Assumption High School.  The RPN provides education and resources regarding healthy lifestyle choices.  On the RPN website, you can find resources pertaining to drug and alcohol prevention, emerging drug trends, positive body image, self-esteem, etc.  In addition, RPN families receive a special designation in our annual Parent/Student Directory and members receive their directory for free in their first year of membership. The money we raise throughout the year provides scholarships to two rising seniors.  Previous events, such as our used uniform sale and Mother/Daughter Bunco, will be reimagined for this year. If you are interested in learning more and getting involved with the Rocket Parent Network, please contact Dawn Deweese at dawn.deweese@ahsrockets.org.  If you would like to get involved in the leadership of this group, please email Dawn Deweese for a link to an upcoming Zoom meeting on Wednesday, September 30, at 6:30 p.m.  Welcome to Assumption!   

NOTE FROM ATHLETICS – Winter Sports Tryouts:  The KHSAA recently released information about winter sports seasons. They have pushed back the start of basketball until October 26 and swimming and diving until November 3. Please click this link Winter Sports Tryout Information for more information on basketball and swim and dive. Archery will begin open shoots around October 13. We will supply more information on archery as it becomes available. Also, a current, complete physical is required to try out and participate in any Assumption sport. Documentation can be found here: KHSAA Sports Physical. Please note: two parent and two student signatures are required on this form in order for it to be considered complete.  In addition, an athletic fee of $200 is required for participation.  If you have questions regarding the physical, please contact Christy Hulsewede at (502) 271-2555 or Christy.Hulsewede@ahsrockets.org 

FUTURE ROCKETS:  With a successful return to school utilizing our Healthy at Assumption plan, we are excited to offer a variety of virtual and in-person events for our future Rockets and their families. This includes personalized tours, a Night at the Drive-In, an app to hear about AHS straight from our students, Open House, and more! If you know or have a future Rocket in your life, be sure to check out the various opportunities for her to get to know AHS on our website: PROSPECTIVE STUDENT AND PARENT EVENTS 

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 is 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.  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 requiring 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