October 21, 2022

Mary Ann Steutermann, Director of Mission Effectiveness

There are numerous ways for students to develop leadership skills at AHS. One of them involves Leadership Education Opportunities (LEOs) which are 30-minute segments designed to teach a specific set of leadership skills in each of the five research-based “leadership practices” outlined by Kouzes and Posner in The Leadership Challenge. This school year, ALL students will participate in five LEOs during LEAD & Learn time during the school day as part of our leadership development curriculum. They will learn skills like managing difficult conversations, developing an elevator pitch, communication skills, conflict resolution, decision making, managing meetings, and countless others. Students who choose to attend a minimum number of LEOs outside of this required curriculum as well as meet other criteria become eligible for one of our Christian Leadership Distinctions that awarded at the end of the school year. These requirements for these distinctions are outlined in the student/parent handbook.

In addition to these honors, students are invited to complete a Lead4Change project during their junior year. Lead4Change is a nationally recognized program in which students learn leadership skills by implementing a service project in conjunction with a local agency. Winning projects can earn grant money for that agency to support their work. Because we have had winning Lead4Change entries the last two years in a row, we are proud to announce that Assumption has been designated a LEAD4Change Certified School!

Thank you to all of our Rocket parents for their many bags of candy donations for the AHS Halloween Night held last night! We had over 475 trick-or-treaters attend the event (not including parents, who made for over 800 guests in the building) and had plenty of candy for all of our visitors to leave with an incredible experience! It’s because of you that we are able to provide such wonderful hospitality to our alumnae, future Rockets, and our extended Rocket family. We are SO THANKFUL for our amazing students from the Advancement Council and the Recruitment Team who decorated the school, wore costumes, and helped all of our trick-or-treaters have a spooktacular night!

POWDERPUFF FOOTBALL: 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.

ROSE THEATRE PRODUCTION: This fall, Rose Theatre Company is proud to present The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Performances begin next Friday and run on the following dates: 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.

ASSUMPTION PARENT PRAYER: Our parent prayer group will meet on October 25 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 Seniors. 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.

This past week, freshmen and seniors held informational class meetings. Seniors heard about Mission Week plans, and freshmen learned about upcoming international travel opportunities and our aviation program. Additionally, all students learned about domestic violence awareness as part of our Mary Byron Scholars program. Next week, students will engage in bystander empowerment lessons coordinated by our Green Dot Program. Sophomores and juniors will have a class meeting next week. Juniors will hear from Balfour about class rings and sophomores will learn about common technology repairs. On Friday, students will hear the first program from our new broadcast journalism class.

STRATEGIC PLAN SURVEY: All parents were sent an email on Thursday with the subject line “We Need Your Input!” AHS is in the process of developing our next institutional strategic plan and we are seeking your critical input as to what success looks like for AHS in 2028 and beyond. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and provide us your feedback as we work to chart the future course of Assumption. The survey closes on Friday, October 31. Thanks so much!

SOCIAL SECURITY CARD: Please make sure we have a copy of your daughter’s Social Security card on file so we can properly submit each student’s end-of-year grading info to the Kentucky Higher Education Association, which provides scholarship monies (KEES money) to students who qualify. There is a time when it becomes too late for us to submit the KEES report, so making sure we have the copy of the student card on file now ensures the proper documentation can be submitted before a student graduates and the deadline runs out. Please contact registrar KATHY FLEISCHER with any questions or to confirm or verify information we have on file.

SOME REMINDERS ABOUT ABSENCES: Please note that Assumption does not excuse students from school for family trips/vacations unless there are significant mitigating circumstances involved; we have to be especially consistent in enforcing this policy on the Monday and Tuesday prior to our Thanksgiving holidays (November 23-25).

Also, please bear in mind that absences not related to illness/medical appointments need to be approved ahead of time to be excused. To request an excused absence in advance (for something like driver’s testing, a club team competition, a family wedding, a college visit, etc.), you may email your request to attendance@ahsrockets.org. Requests need to be submitted one to two weeks in advance of the planned absence; sending them more than two weeks in advance is too early because we need to check a student’s current grades and attendance to evaluate the request. If you need to know sooner than two weeks ahead of time if an absence will be excused because you need to purchase airline tickets, etc., please contact dean of students Cindi Baughman. Remember to review the handbook for all attendance-related information in the STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK 2022-2023.

And speaking of driver’s testing: We are happy to excuse students for up to a half day of school so they may take permit tests and road tests–as long as their grades are good and they haven’t had too many absences and we receive the request in advance. Apparently, several counties now require people to go to Frankfort to take permit tests; if you live in one of these counties and are scheduling a permit test for your daughter, please be sure to schedule either an early morning or late afternoon appointment so your daughter will be able to attend school for a half day either before or after her test.

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES ON OCTOBER 31: We are so proud of the student body for not only meeting but exceeding our stretch Rocket Raffle ticket sales goal for the 40^th annual Walk for Assumption—and thus earning the privilege of wearing Halloween costumes to school on Monday, October 31. As with every privilege, this one comes with some responsibilities! Students will be expected to follow the costume rules, which will be emailed to each of them, posted on student SharePoint, and reviewed via announcements during the weeks prior to our Halloween Dress Up Day. Some key highlights of these rules include:

Students must be in full costume or full uniform (or full spirit wear since it’s a Monday).
Costumes need to be “real” costumes.
No big inflated costumes will be allowed: they get too hot to wear all day, they make it difficult to walk up and down the steps safely, they are impossible when a student needs to go to the bathroom, and kids seldom can sit in a desk when wearing one. They were fine for the Walk for Assumption, but they won’t work on a day when students are going to be having a regular day of school and going to classes.
Students may not wear costume masks over their face or eyes (minimal face paint and makeup/accessories are okay, though). Students opting to wear disposal face masks due to COVID may, of course, wear these with their costumes.
Costumes must be appropriate for a Catholic school and must cover the student “from neck to knees.” No bathing suits or undergarments may be worn over clothing, and tights/leggings/yoga pants may NOT be worn unless they are worn under a skirt or shorts.
Costumes must be respectful, should not support stereotypes, and should not offend or make anyone feel uncomfortable because of their sex, race, ethnic background, or cultural heritage.
Our regular school shoe policies apply (for safety reasons).

As noted above, detailed rules will be shared in advance for the students’ planning purposes. If your daughter has questions after reviewing the rules, please encourage her to email either THERESA SCHUHMANN or CINDI BAUGHMAN.

FAMILY T-SHIRTS & SWEATSHIRTS – ONE LAST CHANCE TO ORDER: We are offering one last chance to order a family t-shirt or sweatshirt for your daughter through the Campus Store. Your daughter 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 web store closes on Sunday, October 23, at 11:59 p.m., so order now!Make your purchase using this link.

WORK IT WEDNESDAY – OCTOBER SCHEDULE: The Achievement Center is hosting a Work It Wednesday next week 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.

2021-2022 YEARBOOK DISTRIBUTION: Yearbooks have arrived and will be distributed next week! Students will have a chance to pick up their books during their lunches on the following days: seniors – October 25, juniors – October 27, and sophomores – October 28. Students cannot pick up books for friends or students who are absent; everyone must pick up her own book. If your student is absent on the day she is supposed to pick up her book, then she will be able to get one from the Media Center starting Monday, October 31.

ASSUMPTION PARENT ORGANIZATION (APO) NEWS – ROCKET SPECTACULAR SPONSOR OPPORTUNITIES: We are excited for our 42^nd annual Rocket Spectacular Benefit Dinner and Auction on Saturday, February 4, 2023.  All proceeds benefit the financial needs of our students, and there are many ways you can support this effort!

Sponsorships: Several levels of support are available, and with your sponsorship, you will receive promotional opportunities and tickets to the event. Interested in sponsoring? Contact Tricia Ferree: tricia.ferree@ahsrockets.org before November 14.
Donations Needed: We are currently collecting donations for our live and silent auctions. In the past, donors have asked if there are any specific items that were needed, or if they could purchase and donate. For this reason, and to simplify the process, we have created a “Wish List” on Amazon https://bit.ly/AHSRS23. Please know that all donations will be appreciated. Any questions, contact Tricia Ferree: tricia.ferree@ahsrockets.org

ROSE AWARD NOMINATIONS – DUE TODAY: 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.

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.

GOVERNOR’S SCHOLARS PROGRAM: Juniors should have received an email in September inviting them to join a group for Governor’s Scholars Program (GSP) applications on Microsoft Teams. Students were invited to attend a virtual meeting about the application process. Applications are due via Microsoft Teams no later than Tuesday, November 22, at 8:15 a.m. Please contact COLLEEN MURPHY regarding any questions about the application.

ADDITIONAL ACTS SURVEY – DUE TODAY: 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 today, 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.

Our Teen Read Week Contest Winners sponsored by the Library Advisory Council. The faculty/staff winner of the Get Caught Reading drawing was science teacher Mr. Michael Blum. The winners of the Bookmark Creation Contest were: 3^rd place – senior Sophia Kukla, 2nd place – freshman Grace Bennett, and 1st place – freshman Hayden Ramsey!

The winners of our Family Council Halloween Homeroom Door Decorating Contest! In third place, celebrating the candy theme: Family Kingstown. In second place, there’s no Hocus Pocus about it: the witches from Family Charleville. And in first place, we might as well call ourselves AHS Inc, the Monsters from family Booterstown! Many thanks to all of our families for their creative work to decorate doors for all of our trick-or-treaters at our AHS Halloween Night on Thursday!

Congratulations to:

The Soccer team for winning their first regional championship in 10 years by defeating Manual 4-1. Also to the following players for receiving All-Region Team honors:

AG Gibson, Ellie Meyer, and Riley O’Bryan – named to the 1^st Team
Josie McRae, Olivia Hass, and Hannah Hayden – named to the 2^nd Team
Mia Brehm, Lily Burchett, Zoe Thompson, and Sloane Montano – Honorable Mention
Big congratulations to AG Gibson who was named 7^th Region Player of the Year!

The Field Hockey team for winning the regional championship with an 8-0 win over Collegiate.

The Volleyball team for winning the district championship by defeating Male 3-0.

Next week in Athletics:

Saturday, October 22

Cross Country Regional Championship Meet @ Seneca Park 1:45 p.m.
Field Hockey State Semifinals @ Christian Academy 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 23

Cheer @ Bullitt Central Cougar Classic

Monday, October 24

Volleyball Regional Tournament TBD
Field Hockey State Championship @ Christian Academy 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, October 25

Volleyball Regional Tournament TBD

Thursday, October 26

Volleyball Regional Tournament 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.

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