Friday, February 12, 2021
Dear Parents/Guardians,
In the midst of so much unwelcome weather news this week, we were thrilled to receive some very good news this week for two members of the Class of 2021 and for Assumption High School. We congratulate seniors Amelia Cassin and Sarah Koch on being named National Merit Finalists this week! We are so proud of this academic achievement. Additionally, we would like to thank all of our students for their hard work with standardized test preparation in and outside of the classroom.
Countless hours of preparation planning a meaningful Mission Week for your daughters every year, but this year we’ve taken things to a whole new level! We’ve worked to create experiences that allow each grade to be on campus with their class and to ensure that students have a fantastic experience whether they are in the building or connected virtually from home. Your support and, most importantly, your prayers, are an essential part of our preparation too. The theme of this year’s 14th annual Mission Week is perfect: Brave New World. Through the varied activities students engage in, students will be called to pursue their goals and rise to face the world’s challenges with courage. We invite your participation by holding us all close in prayer– those teaching, those serving, those learning, those reflecting, those planning and adapting plans. Our parent prayer group will not be meeting this week due to the changed schedule, but we invite you to take some time on Monday to offer this prayer for the week:
Be with us, Merciful God, as we seek to be
Your voice, Your hands, Your love
in the world this week.
Help us be open to growth and new opportunities.
Give us the courage to always be people of Mercy.
Amen.
COVID NUMBERS: As we did last semester, Assumption will report our number of COVID positive cases and quarantines for any individuals associated with our school on a weekly basis in the Rocket Report. As of yesterday, Assumption’s COVID-19 numbers for this week are: (2/12 through 2/15 winter break; 2/16; 2/17; and 2/18):
- 1 new positive COVID-19 case (1 student)
- 0 new quarantine cases
- 26 total positive COVID-19 cases as reported to our local department of health as of January 5, the start of this semester (22 students and 4 faculty/staff)
It’s important to note that there have been no known transmissions of COVID here at AHS. As a reminder to our parents, Assumption is required to report positive cases and quarantines of all individuals associated with our school to the State of Kentucky, our local health department as well as the Archdiocese of Louisville.
COVID VACCINE UPDATE AND CHANGE TO LEARNING MODEL ON MARCH 8 AND 9: As previously announced, Assumption’s faculty and staff are scheduled to receive the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on the morning of Monday, March 8. In order to accommodate this time which was assigned to us by the Archdiocese of Louisville and the Louisville Metro Public Health Department, we will need to make changes again to our schedule in March. While we are grateful that our faculty and staff have the opportunity to receive the second dose of the Moderna vaccine on and will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, we are also aware of the fact that according to medical experts, individuals are more likely to suffer stronger side effects after a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine than the first dose. This include headache, fever, fatigue, and soreness. Therefore, we are again implementing our prior COVID vaccine schedule.
On Monday, March 8, we will implement a Digital Learning Day and Tuesday, March 9 will be a virtual learning day for all cohorts. We will keep with our traditional weekly hybrid schedule for this week for consistency as well as to accommodate our Cognia Accreditation visit that, despite our efforts, cannot be rescheduled for another week. We are frustrated with this interruption to our school schedule especially since we unexpectedly had to close the school building for nearly two weeks due to our two winter storms in February. While the week of March 8 appears to be yet another “perfect storm” in this crazy Covid year, we are very hopeful that this is the last adjustment that we will need to make to our schedule to accommodate weather, accreditation, or a pandemic vaccination. We want our students in the building every moment possible! We truly appreciate your support and thank you in advance for your understanding of our commitment to ensure the well-being of our faculty and staff in these unusual circumstances as well as our work to allow students, faculty and staff to plan ahead rather than making last minute changes to our schedule .
MARCH CALENDAR: As noted in last week’s Rocket Report, we will continue under our hybrid schedule until Spring Break where we will once again pause to assess the situation and determine if conditions warrant a change in schedule. We continue to plan all traditional celebratory events safely in person when possible but realize that the spread of the virus and directives from local or state health departments will dictate our plans depending on the circumstances. We are planning for all possibilities. We plan to send a separate special communication to our junior and senior parents about significant class level events traditionally scheduled in April and May once we know more. For now, here is the link to the March website calendar: AHS WEBSITE CALENDAR.
This week, especially, thank you for your flexibility and support as we navigate this most unusual year together!
CALENDAR NOTES:
MISSION WEEK REMINDERS:
Mission Week is Monday – Thursday, February 22-25. A few reminders:
- ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL/BEFORE-AFTER SCHOOL SUPERVISION: We will begin school each morning at 9:00 a.m. and dismiss each day by 2:00 p.m. Students may arrive or be dropped off on their in-person day(s) from 8:30-8:55 a.m. and go directly to their assigned room or area. Before-school supervision will be available in the cafeteria beginning at 8:00 a.m. and after-school supervision until 2:30 p.m.
- ATTENDANCE: All hybrid students are required to attend and participate in the activities as scheduled throughout the week virtually and in person. Pink cohort students are expected to attend all events virtually as usual but are also welcome to attend in-person events on campus if they so choose. All attendance policies and health and safety protocols apply during Mission Week. If your daughter is ill and/or exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms and unable to participate on a given day, please call the attendance office as usual. If at all possible, please do not schedule medical appointments for your daughter on days when she will be participating in activities both in person and/or virtually.
- STUDENT SCHEDULES: Each class guidance counselor will continue to email students with their schedule for next week as well as reminders the night before during Mission Week. Students will be instructed about attire, lunch, and other details for the week for their particular class level. General schedule is as follows:
- Monday: Juniors – in-person; freshmen, sophomores, and seniors – virtual
- Tuesday: Seniors and sophomores – in-person; juniors and freshmen – virtual
- Wednesday: Seniors and freshmen – in-person; sophomores – virtual/ACTS; juniors – job shadow
- Thursday: Seniors and freshmen – in-person; sophomores – virtual/ACTS; juniors – college visit
- CHECKING EMAIL: Please remind your daughter to check her email daily during Mission Week.
- TABLET PCs: Students should bring their tablet PCs to school each day they are on campus.
- LUNCHES: On their in-person day, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen may bring their own lunch or order from FLIK via www.flikisdining.com. A limited menu will be provided. Seniors should check their schedules for information about daily lunch needs.
- KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: All students will hear from two keynote speakers on Monday: MISSION WEEK KEYNOTE SPEAKER POSTER. We are excited to have them kick-off our Mission Week! Our theme this year is “Brave New World,” and the speakers and activities throughout the week are designed to prepare students to courageously face the challenges of today and tomorrow with courage.
CAMPUS MINISTRY:
- PARENT PRAYER: Parent Prayer will not meet on February 23 due to Mission Week. Parent prayer will resume on Tuesday, March 2.
ATTENTION, FRESHMAN PARENTS – Important Mission Week Note: Freshman parents, you should have received an email from Julia Scudder regarding a very special component for your daughter’s Mission Week. In a typical year, your daughter would receive a letter from her parents on her freshman retreat; however, because we have not been able to do our entire retreat experience, we are making room for the letter during Mission Week. This letter from you is a secret, so please don’t ask your daughter about it, as she probably will have no clue! If you’re unsure whether you received this email, please contact Mrs. Scudder at Julia.scudder@ahsrockets.org and she will get the info to you ASAP. Letters should be turned in via the Main Office or Retreat Mailbox located by the Arts & Sciences wing doors (closest to Bardstown Rd on the St. Raphael side) by Monday, February 22.
FINANCIAL AID and SCHOLARSHIPS APPLICATION DUE DATES. For our next school year, Assumption is proud to offer $1.5M in tuition assistance to help keep Assumption affordable. Please the see information below on due dates to apply for both Financial Aid and Scholarships.
- FINANCIAL AID APPLICATIONS: The due date for priority consideration for Financial Aid for the 2020-21 school year is February 28th. If you have any questions regarding Financial Aid, please reach out to Tammy Finch in our Finance Department. As a reminder, you must file annually to receive Financial Aid. You can access our Financial Aid application through the following link – FINANCIAL AID APPLICATION LINK.
- SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS: The due date for Scholarship Applications for the 2020-21 school year is March 2nd at 4:00pm. If you have any questions regarding scholarships, please reach out to Jackie Bloyd in our Advancement Department. Scholarship winners will be announced at our end-of-year celebration hosted in May. Information on our scholarship program can be found on our website and you can access scholarship applications through the following link – SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS.
IMPORTANT 2021-2022 REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
- 2021-2022 REGISTRATION – DUE TODAY: Registration for classes for students wishing to return to Assumption next school year is due today Friday, February 19. We hope you and your daughter have been able to use this time to have a conversation about her classes for next year and to review the course offerings in the 2021-2022 Course Catalog. As mentioned above, the deadline to submit your daughter’s courses is today but if you have not finalized and submitted her course selections, please do ASAP this weekend so we may begin working on our master schedule. If she still has some questions or concerns about courses, have her contact her dean of studies. If you have forgotten your parent username or password for PowerSchool, when you go to the login screen for PowerSchool, just click on the link “Having trouble signing in?” and follow the directions to obtain a forgotten username or forgotten password. If you have any questions about this process, please contact registrar Kathy Fleischer at Kathy.Fleischer@ahsrockets.org. If your daughter does not plan on returning next year, contact Kathy Fleischer for an official withdrawal form.
- REGISTRATION FEE AND TUITION SELECTION VIA MYSCHOOLBUCKS – DUE MARCH 15: Parents or guardians of current freshman, sophomore, or junior students were emailed a letter from Mary Lang announcing our tuition for the 2021-22 school year on Wednesday, January 27. Parents/Guardians will need to log into their PowerSchool Parent Portal (direct link: PowerSchool) and pay their $225 registration fee using MySchoolBucks, which can be found on the left-hand side library of the parent portal. This is a credit/debit, non-touch payment in which MSB receives a transaction fee that is included in the $225 registration fee. Contact Brent.miller@ahsrockets.org or Kathy.fleischer@ahsrockets.org if you encounter difficulties with logging into PowerSchool and MySchoolBucks. If you are unable to pay the online $225 registration fee or have other arrangements with our finance office, please contact TAMMY FINCH. The registration fee and tuition selection need to be completed no later than March 15.
SAVE THE DATE FOR A SPECIAL EVENING FOR FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS: We urge our students and their dads or important father figures to mark their calendars now for Saturday, March 13, as we do not want you to miss a night designed especially for you! Although current restrictions related to COVID-19 will prevent us from hosting our traditional Father-Daughter Dance this March, our senior Ambassadors are hard at work planning an experience you will not want to miss! On Saturday, March 13 from 6:30-9:30 p.m., we invite all Assumption fathers and daughters to spend a special night together. “Dinner & a Movie with Dad” will begin at 6:30 p.m. Students will be sent an email with more details, but dads/daughters can look forward to an evening that will open with prayer from campus minister, MaryAnn Steutermann, and include recipe ideas for a homemade pizza dinner, a movie list, and suggestions for movie treats as well as an opportunity to interact with other Assumption daughters and dads via social media. The night will even include an opportunity to honor our traditional king and queen! Make sure to save the date for a fun and memorable night!
CLASS OF 2021 GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENTS – Senior Parents: Balfour has extended the order deadline for graduation announcements and senior class mugs to Sunday, February 21. Parents can call the store at (502)499-7100 or go online at www.kyanabalfour.com to place your orders. Please click on this link to see more details: BALFOUR FLYER. Please contact STACY JOHNSON if you have any questions.
REMINDER ABOUT COHORT CHANGE REQUESTS: Now is the time to request a cohort change for your daughter. Parents of students in the Pink/All-Virtual Cohort, you should have received an email yesterday with information about moving your daughter to hybrid learning (attending school in person two days a week) if you would like to do so. Please note that the deadline for your daughter to submit the request form (which you have to sign off on) is Wednesday, February 24. Parents of students in the Maroon Cohort and Blue Cohort, if you need to switch your daughter’s in-person learning days, please email dean of students Cindi Baughman TODAY if you haven’t already done so to request the change. Cohort changes will go into effect when we return to school after Mission Week on March 1. In requesting a cohort change for your daughter, you are committing to her remaining in that cohort until Spring Break, when the next opportunity to change cohorts will be offered.
RPN (Rocket Parent Network) NEWS: Our Rocket Parent Network wants to invite all parents to attend a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, February 23, at 6:30 p.m. Our guest speaker for this meeting will be local therapist Amy Greenamyer who will present, “Talking to Your Teens about Drugs and Alcohol.” We hope that you will join this informative conversation with Amy Greenamyer. An email with a link to the Zoom meeting will be sent out on Thursday, February 18.
UPCOMING CLUB OPPORTUNITIES: Be sure to ask you daughter to take some time to check out the upcoming club meetings that will continue to be posted regularly on the website calendar linked here: https://www.ahsrockets.org/events/event/
Gratefully,
Martha Tedesco
Principal