October 7, 2022

Manager of Annual Giving & Alumnae Relations, Abby Martin

This week, we were thrilled to welcome back nearly 70 AHS alumnae representing the classes of 1980-2022 for our 6th annual Alumnae Career Day! We appreciate our alums dedication to our mission and for taking time away from their workday to spend time with our students.  It was an excellent opportunity for students to learn from women who were once in their shoes and walked these halls. 

Each grade participated in activities that allowed them to think about college and career planning. Freshmen had the opportunity to assess their strengths using SCOIR’S YouScience Inventory and how those strengths can tie into careers. YouScience is a comprehensive career assessment program that combines aptitudes, interests, and 21st century careers to make career and educational recommendations. They also heard from two alumnae from Bellarmine University’s Career Center and Center for Community Engagement on the importance of finding your interests and building on those in high school and college. Sophomores and Juniors participated in our Alumnae Career Fair, alums shared their career path and experiences. We had 56 alumnae attend the fair representing over 30 different career fields including Aerospace Engineering, Chemistry, Dentistry, Entrepreneur, Event Planning, Finance, Government, Law, Marine Science, Marketing, Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work, Veterinary Medicine, Video Game Design, and many others. Seniors were given the gift of time to work on college applications, scholarships, and time-sensitive tasks. Additionally, Seniors heard from a panel of recent alums about college planning, degree selection, and what steps to take to be ready for higher education. 

There always seems to be excitement and a buzz after Career Day with students sharing what they learned with faculty and staff and hopefully you, their parents and guardians. We know our students will excel in their futures and hope that by giving them the tools they need to succeed at Assumption, they will be well-prepared for college and beyond.

We are excited to share the intramural program is back in action with the start of volleyball. Twelve teams, and over 100 students, are participating in volleyball to compete for the intramural championship! Next up will be the flag football league in November and the 3v3 basketball league in January.  All students are encouraged to come out for this great opportunity to be part of a team and have some fun! 

GRANDPARENTS MASS: All Assumption students and their families are invited to celebrate a special Mass with their grandparents on Sunday, October 9, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Raphael Church. We hope our school families will extend the invitation to all grandparents, and the whole family is welcome for this special celebration.

PARENT/TEACHER/STUDENT CONFERENCES: Conferences are scheduled for Tuesday, October 11, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in order to give students and parents the opportunity to meet with teachers about students’ progress. We will be offering the opportunity to schedule either an in person or a Teams conference with your daughter’s teachers. Please use this link: Fall Conference Signup to schedule a conference with your daughter’s teacher. All parents are invited to attend, but parents of students with a D or F in in a class or classes as of October 11, the date of the conferences, are required to attend. We recommend that you check your daughter’s grades on PowerSchool between October 1 and October 11 to make plans to attend if needed. If you have any questions that cannot be addressed at parent/teacher/student conferences, please contact your daughter’s dean – JUDY FIELDHOUSE (students whose last names begin with A-K) or THERESA SCHUHMANN (students whose last names begin with L-Z).

TESTING DAY: Wednesday, October 12, is the National Testing Day for all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. We will have a regular 8:15 arrival on this Wednesday. We will dismiss at approximately 12:00 p.m. So as to not disturb any testing, we wait for all rooms to finish before we dismiss. If your daughter is in our Learning Differences program and qualifies for extended time testing, please ask her what time she will finish.  Juniors will be taking the PSAT by reservation, sophomores will be taking the PreACT or PSAT (depending on her English class), and freshmen will be taking the PreACT test. Please encourage your daughter to maximize the benefits of this day by getting a good night’s sleep, eating a healthy breakfast, and bringing her calculator and pencils with her on Testing Day. There is no make-up day for these tests and no replacement for the valuable feedback they provide for both the school and your daughter, so attendance on this day is very important.Please help your daughter get a good night’s sleep, eat a protein filled breakfast and remember her calculator.

UPCOMING FALL BREAK – Thursday, October 13 – Monday, October 17: On our fall break holidays, school will not be in session.  Classes will resume on Tuesday, October 18, for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors.  Juniors will take the National ACT at school on this day.

ASSUMPTION PARENT PRAYER: Our parent prayer group will meet on October 11 from 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. in the AHS chapel and will continue to meet each Tuesday morning throughout the school year. Please park in any open space and enter the school through the main entrance. During the year, we pray for every student by name twice. Next week, we will be praying for the BOOTERSTOWN Family Sophomores and Juniors. Please join us for any or all of these opportunities!

ALL SAINTS DAY AND ALL SOULS DAY:  The Assumption community will celebrate All Saints Day with a Mass at St. Raphael at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, November 1.  At this Mass, we will honor the saints who have come before us as well as those in our own lives.  Because November 2 is All Souls Day, we will also prayerfully recognize the family members of anyone in the AHS community who has died during the past year as well as ALL Assumption alumnae who have passed on at any time during a prayer service in students’ theology classes that week. 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 in the past calendar year, please send this person’s full name to GAIL KING by Monday, October 24.

Last week, students prepped for their Career Day and then attended Career Day on Tuesday. Be sure to ask your daughter about her Career Day experience!  Homerooms also had some unstructured/mental break time to work on a festive Halloween door for our upcoming Assumption Halloween Night sponsored by the Alumnae Association.  Next week, students will be in homeroom on Monday for a Diversity Club planned event celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Students will also hear on Monday some additional information about exciting intramural opportunities coming up soon!

WORK IT WEDNESDAY – OCTOBER SCHEDULE: There will be NO Work It Wednesdays for the next two weeks due to Testing Day and a faculty meeting. However, the Achievement Center will be hosting a Work It Wednesday on October 26. Students are invited to come to the Media Center from 7:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. to receive extra support in their classes. We ask students to please RSVP in advance to ensure we can meet everyone’s needs.

ROSE THEATRE PRODUCTION: This fall, Rose Theatre Company is proud to present The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. In this musical, an eclectic group of spellers vie for the championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the group of tweens spells its way through a series of words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves! Performances will be October 28 and 29 at 7:00 p.m.; October 30 at 2 p.m.; November 3, 4, and 5 at 7:00 p.m.; and November 6 at 2:00 p.m. November 3 will be a Rocket Night with special features for future Rockets and alumni! Tickets are available at www.showtix4u.com. If you or anyone in your party needs assistance with handicap accessibility, please contact Colleen Murphy at colleen.murphy@ahsrockets.org or by calling Assumption x2559.

RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE: Assumption is hosting an American Red Cross blood drive on October 20-21. Interested student donors must be at least 16 years old and may sign up to donate during their study block. Students who are 16 must have parental permission; students 17 and older may give without parental permission. We encourage you to talk with your daughter if she plans to donate and ensure that she understands the importance of eating well and drinking lots of fluids several days prior to donation day. The Red Cross provides more information for students at this link: Red Cross Student Guide to Blood Donation.pdf. If a parent of a student is interested in donating at this drive, we do have some open appointment times. Please contact diane.darst@ahsrockets.org for scheduling. Thank you.

FAMILY COUNCIL NEWS:

  • FAMILY T-SHIRTS & SWEATSHIRTS: Family Council is selling family t-shirts and sweatshirts through the Campus Store.  Order one for your daughter so she can wear her Assumption family colors on spirit wear Mondays, family celebration days, and other AHS family events. Once you have chosen the right t-shirt or sweatshirt, be sure to type your student’s first and last name and homeroom number into the notes section of your order. The webstore closes on October 10 at 11:59 p.m., so order now! Make your purchase using this link.  
  • POWDERPUFF FOOTBALL:  Save the date! Family Council is partnering with Athletics for our first AHS Family Powderpuff Tournament on Sunday, October 23, at 1 p.m. at The Green. Family and friends are welcome to come cheer on their Rockets as each family competes in the tournament. Admission is $3 for kids and $5 for adults with all proceeds being donated to local nonprofits supported by our Family Compassion Connections. Interested in living out your NFL coaching career dreams? Contact Julia Scudder if you may be able to help our teams on the field on October 23!

FRESHMAN-SOPHOMORE SEMI-FORMAL DANCE We hope that our freshmen and sophomores are looking forward to attending this year’s dance for their classes on Saturday, November 19. This dance is a traditional semi-formal school dance, and students may choose to bring a guest if they wish. We are aware that many students who are excited about attending have started shopping for the dance!  With that in mind, our dean of students, Cindi Baughman, emailed information about the dress code for the dance to the freshmen and sophomores this week.  That information is linked here: DRESS CODE INFORMATION.  Please take a few minutes to look it over and to review and then to discuss with your daughter so you can help her know what is expected if she is making plans to attend and deciding what to wear to the event.  As the dance gets closer, we will share information about our usual dance policies and expectations along with information about the theme and ticket details in a class meeting and with reminder emails and announcements.   

CANDY DONATION REQUEST & ASSUMPTION FAMILY HALLOWEEN NIGHT: The Assumption Alumnae Association and Marketing & Admissions office have teamed up to host the annual Family Halloween Night on Thursday, October 20, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. This event is open to all AHS alumnae, families, faculty, staff, and future Rockets of all ages! There will be free activities including trick or treating, character stops, face-painting, cookie decorating, coloring, and more. Parents are invited to donate a bag of candy that would be used to support the event. Click here to sign up to donate candy.  For more information about the event, please contact ABBY MARTIN. 

ROSE AWARD NOMINATIONS: Current parents, past parents, alumnae, students, faculty, and staffare invited to nominate a current administrator, faculty, or staff member who has made a significant difference in their lives or the lives of their daughters.  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. Past winners are Katie Hughbanks, Cindi Baughman, Kelly Kirwan, Kathy Fleischer, Dawn Deweese, Angela Lincoln, Barry Haworth, Jackie Metry, Doug Sumey, Judi Erskine, James Sutherland, Mary Ann Steutermann, and Janet Adkins along with several other retired faculty and staff members.  These individuals aren’t eligible to win again. Nominations may be submitted HERE and are due by Friday, October 21. Nominations must include a detailed description (three-paragraph minimum) supporting your nomination.  The award will be presented at the Thanksgiving Celebration on Tuesday, November 22.  If chosen, your nomination submission may be read at the prayer service.

ASSUMPTION ROCKET MEN (ARM) NEWS: The Assumption Rocket Men will host the First Annual Assumption Cornhole Invitational on Sunday, October 23, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the Assumption Green. Students and their dads or a significant Assumption RocketMAN in their life can come and enjoy an afternoon of cornhole, music, snacks and fun! RSVP by Wednesday, October 19, through this link: https://assumption.wufoo.com/forms/rocketman-cornhole-invitational/ If you have any questions, please contact Tricia Ferree tricia.ferree@ahsrockets.org or Chad Dierken at 502-939-3175.

TESTING DAY FOR SENIORS: Since seniors are not involved in taking standardized tests on Testing Day, Wednesday, October 12, they are excused from coming to school on this day. We strongly encourage seniors to use this day for making college visits. Since Thursday and Friday of that week and Monday of the following week are Fall Break days, this is a great opportunity of make a visit to an out-of-town college.

FAFSA FORM:  The 2023-2024 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is now available. An email was sent to your daughter last week with specific information about completing the FAFSA. If you were not able to attend our Financial Aid Information Night session, you can view the recording here. If you have any questions, please contact Kim Habich.

CLASS OF 2023 INFORMATION CONFIRMATION MAILING:  Parents of the Class of 2023:  The week, a hard copy memo was sent to your daughter via homeroom.  It contained a form asking for confirmation of the spelling/accuracy of your daughter’s name for official graduation documents and programs.  It is due in the school office by Wednesday, November 9.  Even if no changes need to be made, please make sure to return a signed copy to the main office by November 9.

JUNIOR TESTING DAY ATTENDANCE FOR JUNIORS: Please remember that if you filled out the survey saying that your daughter will be taking a college day instead of taking the PSAT, she will need verification of her college visit for the absence to be excused. You do not need to call her in absent if you filled out the form.

ADDITIONAL ACTS SURVEY: Thank you so much to those of you who filled out the survey sent about your daughter’s ACTS agency placement. Your information and insights will be so helpful in matching your daughter to a meaningful service experience. On Wednesday, you should have received a special email message explaining that many of our ACTS agencies have  new policies regarding vaccinations, immunizations, and TB testing. To place your student in an appropriate agency, we need to gather some information from you regarding these matters. In the email was a link to THIS FORM. Please complete by Friday October 21. If you do not feel comfortable sharing all or some of this information, please still complete the survey. There is a “prefer not to answer” option for every question on the survey. If we do not have this information about your student, we will have to place her in an agency that does not have a vaccine or immunization requirement. As was previously shared with both you and your student, we will do our best to honor what you have said in your survey and what she has shared about her preferences, but her vaccination and immunization status could influence her agency placement. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Katie Culver at katie.culver@ahsrocket.org.

Congratulations to juniors Emma Reidy and Anna Sullivan whose writing was selected for print editions of Teen Ink Magazine. Emma’s poem “Could Have Been Me” was published in the August edition, and Anna’s flash fiction piece “Missing” was selected for the October issue. Only a tiny fraction of Teen Ink’s submissions are chosen for print, so this is a big honor for both of these Assumption writers!

Congratulations to:

  • The soccer team for winning the District Championship!
  • The field hockey team who defeated Male 10-0 and lost a tough fought game to Christian Academy 2-0.
  • The volleyball team who defeated Holy Cross.

Next week in Athletics:

Friday, October 7th

  • Dance will be performing @ Trinity Football game
  • Field hockey @ Ring of Champions- VA Beach
  • Cross Country @ Manhattan Invitational

Monday, October 10th

  • Soccer regionals begin @ Assumption Green – opponent TBD

Tuesday, October 11th

  • Volleyball vs. Paul Dunbar (Freshman 5:00 p.m., JV 6:00 p.m. and Varsity 7:00 p.m.) *Senior Night*

Wednesday, October 12th

  • Field hockey vs. North Oldham 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, October 13th

  • Volleyball @ Notre Dame (Freshman 5:30 p.m., JV 6:30 p.m. and Varsity 7:30 p.m.)
  • Soccer regional Semi Finals TBD

Saturday, October 15th

  • Field hockey regional semifinals TBD
  • Soccer regional Semi Finals TBD

Winter Sport Tryout Information:

Archery: Tuesday, November 1, at Highland Hall from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Student athletes must attend to be on the team. Parent meeting to follow tryouts at 7:00 p.m. Please email archery@ahsrockets.org with questions.

Basketball: Freshman tryouts in the Assumption gym on Tuesday, October 18, from 3:30-5:00 p.m. and Wednesday, October  19,from 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Please follow Rocket Sports on Social media for schedule updates and scores!