Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians, 

We had a very successful Testing Day today with incredibly strong attendance!  Thank you, again, to our parents for your understanding and support as we made the unexpected change to the PreACT this week.   

We would like to thank all of our parents who scheduled and attended Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences on Tuesday night.  We are so appreciative of your time and effort, and we value the opportunity to work together for your daughters.  Whether you attended last night or not, this is a great time in the school year to have a conversation with your daughter about her academic progress.  Is she meeting her goals?  Does she need to make adjustments to her study habits? What does she need to do to have a successful end to the semester?  There are many resources to help her achieve her goals.  Encourage your daughter to take advantage of these resources as she needs them. 

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 yesterday, Assumption’s COVID-19 numbers for this week are:  

  • 1 new positive COVID-19 case this week. 
  • No new quarantine cases this week.   
  • 25 total positive COVID-19 cases as reported to our local department of health as of August 1, 2020 (21 students and 4 staff).     

Our one positive case was a student but since she was exposed outside of school and was not on campus after her exposure, no school wide notification needed to be sent.  It’s important to note that there have been no known transmissions of COVID here at AHS.   

As a reminder, in addition to the above, and as part of our Student Return to School under COVID-19 policy,  all students and their families are asked to comply with Kentucky’s travel advisory and refrain from visiting those states with a 15% or more positivity rate at any time during the school year.  Currently, those states include: South Dakota, Idaho, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas.  In addition to those states listed above, Florida was recently added due to their removal of public health restrictions which in turn poses a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 while visiting the state.  Therefore, Kentucky recommends a 14-day self-quarantine after travel to Florida. We recognize that this change may impact fall break plans.  If you do choose to travel to Florida over fall break, your daughter will need to self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to school.  Your daughter will to be able to participate virtually from home while self-quarantining so she won’t miss school or suffer any loss in learning.  If this is the case for your daughter, then you must contact the school nurse at laura.burnam@ahsrockets.org.  

We hope that everyone enjoys a safe and relaxing fall break! 

CALENDAR NOTES FOR NEXT WEEK:  

  • FALL BREAK:  Thursday, October 15 – Monday, October 19 – On our fall break holidays, school will not be in session.  Classes will resume on Tuesday, October 2O.  
  • DAILY SCHEDULE:  Next week we will not have a LEAD & Learn Day due to our Fall Break Monday holiday:  
    • Monday, October 19 – Fall Break Holiday: No School 
    • Tuesday, October 20 – Day 1:  In-Person – Maroon Cohort, Virtual at Home – Blue Cohort 
    • Wednesday, October 21 – Day 2: In-Person – Maroon Cohort, Virtual at Home – Blue Cohort 
    • Thursday, October 22 – Day 3: In-Person – Blue Cohort, Virtual at Home – Maroon Cohort 
    • Friday, October 23 – Day 4: In-Person – Blue Cohort, Virtual at Home – Maroon Cohort 
  • CALENDAR CHANGE FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 26:  As communicated in the special message to the parents of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors on Monday, we were unable to offer the PSAT today due to a shipping issue with the College Board.  We will be offering the PSAT to our juniors and indicated sophomores and freshmen (sophomores in H1, Adv. and AP English; freshmen in Advanced English; and any other sophomore and freshman by request to her guidance counselor) on the next national testing date, Thursday, October 29.  We will adjust our schedule that week to move the LEAD & Learn Wednesday scheduled for October 28 to a LEAD & Learn Thursday on October 29 for all students so that we can administer the PSAT and not interrupt classroom instruction for the week.  This change has been reflected on the website CALENDAR. 

FROM CAMPUS MINISTRY:   

  • ALL SOULS REMEMBRANCE:  The Catholic Church celebrates All Saints Day on Sunday, November 1, and All Souls Day on Monday, November 2.   In theology classes on November 2 and 3, students will have a prayer experience designed to honor family members of anyone in the AHS community who have died during the past year as well as the names of ALL Assumption alumnae who have passed on at any time.   We will ask students to share the names of any family members they may have lost this past year so they can be part of this special remembrance, and we invite you to do the same.  If you have lost a family member sometime since last November, please send this person’s full name to GAIL KING  by Monday, October 26. 
  • 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 for 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. 

We CAN Do It!:  We CAN Do It!, formerly known as Canstruction, is happening right now and we are off to a great start collecting only cash or checks made out to Dare to Care.  Dare to Care is especially in need of donations this year because of the pandemic.  Additionally, as is tradition, this will be a family competition. Families will compete to raise the most money AND create the most fun and unique collection basket/bucket. Since Dare to Care can provide three meals with a donation of just $1, we have set our goal in terms of “meals.”  If we raise enough to provide 20,000 meals by October 23, everyone will be able to wear a costume on her assigned cohort date surrounding Halloween (Oct. 27 or 30).  Additionally, if we reach 25,000 meals by October 23, then everyone will also get to wear spirit wear for a full week in November! We are looking forward to having the Assumption community help the Louisville community through our partnership with Dare to Care!  Families of virtual students:  Remember that it is easy for you to participate, too, and we need your help!  You can either mail your donation to Assumption High School with a check made out to Dare to Care or drop it by Assumption between now and next Friday, October 23.  If you are mailing, please mark your envelope “Canstruction.”   

HOMEROOM/LUNCH ATTENDANCE WHEN STUDENTS ARE ATTENDING VIRTUALLY:  Attendance is taken during lunch when students are in homeroom.  In order to keep accurate records for students who are attending in person each day and also to help ensure our all-virtual students’ connectedness to homeroom, during lunch block, teachers are taking attendance by doing the following:  students who are present in person in the classroom are marked PRESENT; those who attend the lunch period virtually are marked PRESENT VIRTUALLY; and those not in attendance, either in-person or virtually, are marked ABSENT.  These are the only options available for our teachers to use when recording attendance in PowerSchool.   This means that although students in the hybrid model are not required to check in virtually at lunch time and those in our all-virtual model are only required to do so on Days 1 and 4, they will appear in the system as absent.  We want to reassure you that this will not impact their overall attendance and students will not be penalized or disciplined in any manner as a result.  Thanks for your understanding as we address this additional wrinkle this school year!

ROSE THEATRE PRODUCTION:  Rose Theatre Company will host an outdoor production of Spoon River Project based on the work of Edgar Lee Masters at 7:00 p.m. on October 30, October 31, November 6, and November 7. We are pleased to announce that Rose Theatre’s fall production will take place at Historic Farmington’s Brand Pavilion, just down the road from Assumption! Tickets are available through Showtix4u and go on sale October 16. Spoon River Project tells the story of a small town through a series of monologues delivered by deceased town members coming back from the dead to share their stories. The play, set in a fictional graveyard in the town of Spoon River, was able to be rehearsed remotely for much of the process. The event will be an outdoor production. Seating is socially distanced, and masks will be worn at all times. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are non-refundable but fully transferable. If you need assistance with accessibility or have questions, contact Colleen Murphy at colleen.murphy@ahsrockets.org. 

COMPETITIVE SUMMER PROGRAMS:  Parents of juniors interested in applying for the Governor’s Scholars Program (GSP):  All juniors were sent a narrated PowerPoint last week covering the program’s purpose and application process. Students were also invited to attend one of two virtual Q&A meetings on September 30 and October 1. These virtual meetings held on Teams provided students the chance to ask questions about the information covered in the PowerPoint.  Applications are due to the Guidance Office the week of November 9. Due dates are dependent on a student’s cohort. Maroon Cohort – due Tuesday, November 10, by 8:25 a.m.; Blue Cohort – due Thursday, November 12 by 8:25 a.m. Any student in the Pink Cohort (all virtual learners) needs to contact kelly.kirwan@ahsrockets.org to schedule a drop-off by Thursday, November 12, by 8:25 a.m. Click on GSP POWERPOINT and TIMELINE to access the information shared with students. Please contact KELLY KIRWAN regarding any questions about the application.  

ROCKET PARENT NETWORK (RPN) NEWS – UPCOMING ZOOM EVENT – Mental Health and Teens During the Pandemic: We want to invite all parents to attend a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, October 27, at 6:30 p.m. Our guest speaker for this meeting will be local therapist Eric Baker, who will present “Mental Health and Teens During the Pandemic.”  We hope that you will join this informative conversation with Eric Baker.  A Zoom link will be emailed to all parents the week of the program.    

NOTE FROM ATHLETICS – Winter Sports Tryouts:  Please click visit the athletics page of the school website at this link Winter Sports Tryout Information for more information on archery, basketball, and swim and dive. To try out for any sport at Assumption 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 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 

NOMINATE A DESERVING AHS FACULTY OR STAFF MEMBER FOR THE ROSE AWARD: The Rose Award is a $5,000 grant endowed by an anonymous donor to recognize an Assumption employee who serves as a role model and is a positive influence in our community. Alums, current parents, past parents, students, faculty, and staff are invited to nominate a current administrator, faculty, or staff member who has made a significant difference in their lives. Past winners are Katie Caswell Hughbanks, Cindi Baughman, Kelly Kirwan, Kathy Fleischer, Dawn Deweese, Angela Lincoln, Barry Hayworth, Jackie Metry, Doug Sumey, Mary Margaret Ralph, Judi Erskine, and James Sutherland. These individuals cannot win again. Nominations are due by Friday, October 23, and must include a description (two paragraph minimum) supporting your nomination. The award will be presented at the Thanksgiving Celebration on Tuesday, November 18. If chosen, your nomination submission may be read at the prayer service.  Click here to submit with your nomination:  https://assumption.wufoo.com/forms/rose-award-nominations/ 

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 Reopening 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