September 1, 2023

If asked to describe Assumption retreats in very few words, I think “a breath of fresh air” would fit nicely. Retreats are a break from schoolwork, sports, and daily stressors, but they are also an opportunity to connect with faith and reach beyond the comfort zone of routine. Retreats have been an integral part of the Assumption experience for decades, rooted in faith and tradition. Although our students are often ready to come home and sleep in their own beds after retreat, it is not uncommon to hear “I don’t want to leave retreat” as they board their bus to head home from Mount St. Francis or the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center.

On retreat, we pray, we share meals together, we learn a little about ourselves and even more about others. We laugh, play games, tell stories, and allow ourselves to breathe and be in the moment instead of worrying about our all-too-packed schedules. We take time to reflect in the presence of God and in the beauty that surrounds us. If you were to ask most alums about their favorite part about Assumption, I would be willing to bet that most of them would mention retreat. It might be the time they spent with the friends by the lake at Mount St. Francis, wandering the paths of the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center, or learning to “be still” as only their voices surround them in the chapel.

I encourage you to give your daughter a nudge to sign up for retreat if she has not already done so. It can be a leap of faith for some to attend, but it is most certainly a rewarding experience. To encourage students to attend retreat, we have a generous make-up work policy that can be found on page 62 of the STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK 2023-2024. Additionally, we never want students to choose not to go on retreat due to the financial commitment. We know this is an additional expense for families and hope that you will submit a financial assistance form if you would like to seek help with these fees. Students can find these forms on Student SharePoint under Campus Ministry, or they can pick one up in the Campus Ministry office.

Thank you for your support of our retreat program. Our goal is for students to walk away from retreat feeling spiritually engaged, closer to their classmates, and ready to take on what the rest of the school year has in store for them. We look forward to spending time with your daughters on retreat! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns by contacting me directly at 502-271-2621 or julia.scudder@ahsrockets.org.

Safety Week

This week we used our LEAD & Learn time in important preparation for emergency events.  We practiced routines and behaviors required for earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, or other inclement weather as well as lockdown procedures in our classrooms.  We appreciate the opportunity to practice these skills under the guidance of our Safety and Security Director, Rob Owen, while maintaining a commitment to preserving class time for all students. Mother Nature was smiling upon us this week as we all had the opportunity to enjoy a little sunshine as students, faculty, and staff lined up outside during our fire and earthquake drills.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY & LABOR DAY HOLIDAY: Students will not have school on Friday, September 1 as our faculty and staff will be participating in a professional development day. School will be closed on Monday, September 4 for the Labor Day holiday. We wish everyone a safe and restful holiday weekend!

MANDATORY FRESHMAN GUIDANCE PROGRAM: Freshman parents, please mark your calendars and plan to attend one of our mandatory Freshman Parent Drug/Alcohol Education Programs on Wednesday, September 6 at 6:30 p.m. in our Media Center OR Monday, September 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Media Center. You do not need to pre-register; just come on the night most convenient for your schedule. This is an important program designed to familiarize you with the school philosophy and policies in the area of drug and alcohol prevention. We know that what parents say and do makes a difference in the choices their daughters make. At this meeting, you will hear from Kamaria Wesley, dean of students, and a local therapist from Innerview who will present vital information about drug and alcohol prevention. It is a program that will be worth your time and attention. At least one parent or guardian is required to attend one of these meetings. 

COLLEGE INFORMATION NIGHT FOR SENIOR PARENTS:  Kim Habich and Leigh Jackson, college counselors, visited every senior English class last week. Our counselors provided detailed information about the college application process to every senior.  To further assist senior parents and families with the college process, there will be a college information night on Thursday, September 7 at 6:30 p.m. in Assumption’s Chapel.  The meeting will be recorded. If you have any questions, please contact Kim Habich or Leigh Jackson.

DRESS DOWN DAY – September 8: We’ve heard the horrible news and seen the devastating images—at least 115 people have been killed and hundreds more are still missing due to the wildfires in Maui. This disaster is the worst in Hawaii’s history and is considered one of the top 10 deadliest U.S. wildfires on record. AHS Campus Ministry will host a dress-down day on Friday, September 8 to raise money for relief efforts through the Hawaii Catholic Community Foundation. For a minimum donation of $3, students can leave their uniforms at home and dress down! Guidelines for appropriate attire on dress-down days can be found in the handbook and in an email sent to students by Mrs. Wesley this week. If you would like to contribute to this effort, please send your donation in with your daughter on Friday!

PARENT PRAYER: Our parent prayer group will meet on Tuesday, September 5 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 Birr Family juniors and seniors. Please join us for any or all of these opportunities.  All are welcome!

PRAYER INTENTIONS: The Community of Assumption knows the power of prayer! All AHS parents and alumnae are invited to submit prayer intentions online. These intentions are then lifted in prayer altogether during Five-Minute Prayer in the chapel on Wednesdays and weekly on the PA during morning prayer. If you would like to submit an intention, you can do so here. They will remain there for about two weeks, but feel free to post the same intention again later if needed. Also, you may wish to consider adding the intentions you find there to your own personal prayer!

MONITOR AND MANAGE YOUR DAUGHTER’S HP ELITE LAPTOP: You should have received an email about apParent, a mobile app available to you at no cost so you can monitor and manage your daughter’s school-issued laptop after school hours. This app, if you want to install it, will allow you to view your daughter’s device screen, lock your daughter’s device with a custom message, and view 24 hours of your child’s web browsing history. Your daughters’ teachers can control their computers from 7:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. You can use the app outside of those hours on school days and all day on weekends and holidays.

SEPTEMBER’S WORK IT WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE: The Achievement Center is hosting three Work It Wednesdays in September in the Media Center from 7:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. This is a great opportunity for students to receive extra support in their classes from peer tutors, study groups, or the AC teachers. It is also the perfect environment to work on homework and projects. Students receive an email each Monday to reserve their spot. Mark your calendar now for September 6, 13, and 20.

DUAL CREDIT REGISTRATION AND KHEAA SCHOLARSHIPS: Mrs. Fieldhouse and/or your daughter’s dual credit teacher will be guiding all students to apply to their partner school over the next two weeks as identified in the email you received this summer describing her dual credit courses.  Mrs. Fieldhouse will then visit the dual credit courses beginning in September to give information on how to apply for the KHEAA Dual Credit scholarships for which they are eligible.  Please follow this tutorial and reach out to Judy Fieldhouse or Kathy Fleischer if you have any questions regarding dual credit: DUAL CREDIT AND SCHOLARSHIPS TUTORIAL.  You will want to ask your daughter to show you her KHEAA site and her scholarship preferences by September 15. We are so thrilled that your daughter is taking advantage of the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school!

CLASSICAL CATHOLIC COLLEGE FAIR:  Sophomores, juniors and seniors have been notified about the Classical Catholic College Fair being held at St. Louis Bertrand Church. The fair is Saturday, September 9 at St. Louis Bertrand Church. The fair runs from 5:30-9:30 pm. Students are encouraged to attend and speak to the admission counselors from the Catholic colleges included in this link.

SCHOOL PICTURES UPDATE: School pictures taken this week will be available to order online starting Wednesday, August 30. As stated on the card that your daughter received after she had her picture taken, please go to this link to order her picture: https://shop.studioillumination.com/assumption/. Simply navigate to the Assumption logo, click on underclassman photos, and you will be prompted to enter your daughter’s Assumption Student ID number as the code to access your daughter’s pictures. BIG Photo asks that all orders are placed within 10 days (by the end of day Sunday, September 10) to have the photos delivered to Assumption. 

ACADEMIC AWARDS CELEBRATION: Invitations were sent out Thursday morning to parents via SwiftReach for our annual Academic Awards Celebration on Sunday, October 1 at 1:00 p.m. At this celebration, we honor the academic accomplishments of the following groups of students – sophomores, juniors, and seniors who earned a 4.0 GPA during the 2022-2023 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. We ask parents to check their email closely for information about attendance and the RSVP deadline of September 15. Due to space limitations, we limit guests to two per student. If you have any questions, please contact KATHY FLEISCHER, registrar. 

CLUB WEEK: Is your daughter looking for a way to get involved at Assumption? Her chance is coming up in early September. Next week, each student will have time devoted during LEAD & Learn to hear of the myriad ways they can get involved in clubs and activities at Assumption. Whether she is an animal lover or an adventure seeker, we have a club for your Rocket! Students will have the opportunity to read about the available clubs and activities during LEAD & Learn time on Tuesday, September 5 in either a class meeting or homeroom. Please encourage your daughter to take full advantage of this chance to explore new opportunities. All students will then have the chance to explore the different clubs we have to offer during our Club Carnival event taking place during all lunches on September 11, September 13, and September 15 where they will be able to share their interest with club moderators and current club members. We hope you will touch base with her about the clubs that she finds interesting and intends to explore. A list of the clubs offered is available in the STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK 2023-2024 on page 99. Any questions, please contact KRISTIN WALSH.

CONTINUED HELP NEEDED WITH THE FOLLOWING TRAFFIC FLOW PROTOCOLS:

DROP OFF/PICK UP ON TYLER LANE PROHIBITED: Students may not be picked up or dropped off on Tyler Lane at any time. Cars on this neighborhood street are not expecting cars to stop and can be dangerous. Additionally, if you come early in the afternoons, you absolutely may not wait/park on Tyler Lane. It’s against the law to park in the middle of the street, and there’s no shoulder there for pulling off the road; it also can be a source of accidents and actually hurts our flow of traffic. Students have been notified that if they are picked up (or dropped off) on Tyler Lane, they will receive detentions.

REQUEST ON BEHALF OF STUDENTS WHO PARK AT STRATHMOOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH & ST. RAPHAEL LOT: Please do not wait in the Strathmoor parking lot across Bardstown Road from Assumption or the St. Raphael lot to pick your daughter up at dismissal. Parents who do this are forming their own carpool lane of sorts, and this blocks our students who rent spaces at Strathmoor into their parking spots, which has already caused some of them to be late for medical appointments, jobs, etc.

TYLER LANE SAFETY CONCERN: After dropping off or picking up your daughter, if you are on Tyler Lane headed for the light and want to turn left or go straight at the intersection, please don’t pull out to the left to get around the line of cars waiting to turn right onto Bardstown Road to get to the left lane. You need to wait until the road widens and the left lane actually begins. When you pull around the traffic, you are actually driving on the wrong side of the road and you are risking having a head-on collision with cars coming from the other direction on Tyler Lane. This problem most often happens in the morning as faculty, staff, and students come down Tyler Lane to turn in at the two-way drive to get to their parking spaces on campus. When leaving campus after dropping off or picking up your daughter, please consider turning left on Tyler Lane and using Eleanor Avenue or other neighborhood streets to get to your desired route. If you choose to turn right and go to the light at the intersection, please wait patiently in a single line of traffic until you get to where there are actually two lanes.

ATTENDANCE REMINDERS: Below are a few reminders about attendance: 

ABSENCES & EARLY DISMISSALS: If your daughter is absent or coming in late on any day, please call the attendance line at 502-458-9551, press 1, and report the absence/late arrival before 8:30 a.m. If you need for your daughter to be excused early for a medical appointment, please send a note with your daughter the morning of the early dismissal and have her bring it to the attendance office before 8:15/9:15 a.m. This helps us keep classroom interruptions to a minimum and protects the time for instruction of our students.  All students who arrive to school late should enter the school building at the attendance entrance on Tyler Lane outside of the theater to check in with the attendance clerk/school nurse.

GOING HOME SICK: On a related note, if your daughter contacts you during the day telling you that she is sick and needs to come home, please do not just come to school to pick her up; instead, please call the attendance office at 271-2507 and make our school nurse, Mrs. Miranda, aware of the situation. She will find your daughter, assess the situation from a medical perspective, and then give you an update and let you know if you should come to take your daughter home, make arrangements for her to be seen by a doctor, etc.

REQUESTS FOR EXCUSED ABSENCES: 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, 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; we cannot excuse absences if requests are received the school day before or the day of the absence. Remember to review the handbook for all attendance-related information in the 2023-2024 STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK

REMINDER ABOUT DELIVERIES: In an effort to teach our students about being accountable for their own belongings as well as to limit the number of visitors to school during the day and effectively monitor those visitors coming into the school, we have a policy that does NOT allow for student deliveries. Parents, please do not bring items (lunches, homework, bake sale items, sports equipment, presentations, papers, etc.) to school to drop off for your daughters. Our main office staff and athletic office staff have been instructed not to accept those deliveries. Thank you for your cooperation with these efforts.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES – INTEREST MEETING REMINDERS:

GREECE AND ITALY TRIP – Summer 2024: In June of 2024, Mrs. Carrier and Mrs. Adkins will be leading a group of Assumption students (and any parents who would like to come) on a 12-day trip to Italy and Greece. There will be an interest meeting in the Media Center on Thursday, September 7 at 6:30 p.m. If you plan on attending this meeting, please email roquie.carrier@ahsrockets.org or janet.adkins@ahsrockets.org to let them know so that they can send you a questionnaire to complete before coming to the meeting.

PARIS TO NORMANDY TRIP – Summer 2025: Assumption is offering a trip to Paris, Normandy, and the castles of the Loire Valley in France from May 31-June 8, 2025. We will have a trip meeting on Sunday, September 17 at 2 p.m. in room 120 for anyone interested in learning more. Here is the link to view the all-inclusive itinerary: www.educationaltravel.com/Shirley-7508.Feel free to email for any questions at jennifer.shirley@ahsrockets.org

WORLD WAR II/HOLOCAUST TRIP – Summer 2025: We are excited to announce we will be offering a once-in-a-lifetime educational trip focused on World War II and the Holocaust in the summer of 2025. We plan to have a meeting in the fall of 2023 with more information about this fantastic trip. For more information and to sign up, please visit: www.educationaltravel.com/long-9651/. If you have any questions or need further information, please email beth.long@ahsrockets.org or megan.rose@ahsrockets.org.

THE BEST OF IRELAND AND ENGLAND – Summer 2025: Parents, are you looking for a once in a lifetime experience for your freshman or sophomore daughter? If so, consider a trip to Ireland and London during the summer of 2025. There will be a parent meeting on Thursday, September 7 at 6:30 p.m. in room 140. If your daughter is interested in traveling with us Click here to RSVP.  To learn more details about this fantastic trip planned for the summer of 2025, please contact stacy.johnson@ahsrockets.org.  May the luck of the Irish be with you!

A MESSAGE FROM FLIK: As you have probably realized, food costs have been on the rise recently with certain food and drink items increasing dramatically. This naturally affects the cost of items for sale in our cafeteria. Starting Tuesday, September 4, students (as well as faculty and staff) can expect to see an increase in prices. Some things will remain the same or go up slightly. But several items will increase dramatically, and we want to prepare everyone. 

Beverages will increase on average of 63%, with canned sodas costing $2.50 (up from $1.00). 
Snacks will increase 33%, with ice cream increasing the most. 
Candy will increase 77% on average, with items like Twix bars and M&M’s increasing slightly but maple bars and Pop Tart bites more than doubling in price.
Little Debbie snacks will double in price, going from $1.50 to $3.00.

Your daughter can still enjoy a low-cost meal by bringing her own lunch and opting to drink water from our dispensers (it’s free!) rather than purchasing food and drink. As a reminder, we have four microwaves available to heat up leftovers or meals brought from home.  If your daughter does buy her lunch from FLIK, you may want to check her account balance and add more funds to her FLIK account now in preparation of the price increase. For questions about prices or our food service in general, please reach out to FLIK at Flik@ahsrockets.org 

SOCCER ROCKET NIGHT: Join us on Thursday, September 7, to celebrate past and future Rockets at our Soccer Rocket Night. Watch the Rockets take on Newport Central Catholic with JV at 6:00, and Varsity at 7:30 p.m. The first 100 alumnae and future Rockets will receive a FREE t-shirt! Free admission to all attendees!

FINAL ORDERS FOR SENIOR SPIRIT WEAR: We are placing one final order for the Senior ’24 Spirit Wear. The link to online ordering through the campus store is now open. Orders may be placed through the campus store until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, September 7 by clicking on the following link:  https://assumption-high-school-campus-store.myshopify.com/collections/senior-apparel Please check with your daughter about how to order; information about ordering was sent to her via email on August 22. We will notify the seniors by email as soon as the orders are available for pickup. If you have any questions, please email stacy.johnson@ahsrockets.org or merilou.mattingly@ahsrockets.org.

ARISE SERVICE TRIPS: ARISE service trips are offered to seniors and take place during Mission Week. Seniors who join an ARISE team will learn about and participate in service, prayer, community, and simplicity while traveling with a team to Auxier, Kentucky; Cincinnati, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; or Queens, New York. We will also offer a local ARISE “trip” that will stay here to do some amazing work through the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center. In the past, seniors have said that their trips are some of the most amazing and profound experiences they had during their time at AHS. If your student is considering participating on an ARISE trip, she, along with a parent/guardian, must attend one of the following informational meetings: Thursday, September 14 at 6:30 p.m. OR Sunday, September 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Media Center. At this meeting we will discuss all the important details that your student and you will need to decide about participating. I hope you will support and encourage your students to consider this wonderful opportunity. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Katie.culver@ahsrockets.org or 502 271-2597.

PSAT ON TESTING DAY: As presented at the junior parent orientation night, all juniors have the opportunity to take the PSAT on testing day, Wednesday, October 11.  The PSAT is the practice test for the SAT as well as the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program. The PSAT is OPTIONAL for juniors, but all students are encouraged to test as it will give them an additional test score to compare with their ACT performance and help them determine which test they prefer (ACT or SAT) and will help them choose where to focus their individual test preparation efforts over the next year. The PSAT is now also a digital test that students will be taking on their laptop computer, so this test will also provide them with valuable practice taking a standardized test in a digital setting.  Additionally, taking the PSAT as a junior is the sole method for a student to be eligible to participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program and to earn recognition as a National Merit Finalist or Commended Student, which comes with many scholarship opportunities.  This is also the gateway test for scholarships offered by some companies and organizations to the children of their employees.  Please check with your employer to see if they offer scholarship opportunities through the PSAT/NMSQT program.  If students choose to take a college visit instead of the PSAT, they will need to provide verification from the college/university for the day to not be counted as an absence.  If they do not take the test nor complete a college visit, this day will be an unexcused absence.  Please complete this survey to let us know the plans for your daughter on testing day: PSAT TESTING DAY SURVEY PLEASE RESPOND BY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29.

JUNIOR ACTS: During the junior Catholic Social Teaching classes last week and this week, Katie Culver, the service-learning director, reviewed the Junior ACTS (A Christian Through Service) requirements. Each junior will need to complete 15 hours of service at one agency that serves a marginalized population or do service work around a particular justice issue. These hours are due the semester they are enrolled in Catholic Social Teaching, and this includes the completion of their Junior ACTS commitment form which does need a signature from an adult from home. They will need to track their hours in MobileServe as they have previously done. All of the details are linked here: JUNIOR ACTS INFORMATION If you have any questions, please contact Katie Culver at katie.culver@ahsrockets.org or 502-271-2597.

FRESHMAN PARENT MASS: This Mass is a beautiful way to celebrate your freshman daughter’s high school journey as part of a community of faith.  It will be celebrated on Sunday, September 10 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Raphael Catholic Church.  Please come even if your family isn’t Catholic.  We’ll have worship aids and response cards to help you participate. Siblings are invited as well – bring the whole family! 

FRESHMAN ACTS: Katie Culver, service-learning director, visited each of the freshman theology classes. She spent time teaching the students about our legacy as a Mercy school and the goal of creating a servant’s heart in each of our students. Additionally, she informed the students of their freshman ACTS (A Christian Through Service) service requirement. They also learned how to log and verify their service hours through the program MobileServe. All freshmen are required to complete five (5) hours of service before April 11, 2024.  All of this information and directions on how to use MobileServe can be found in the Campus Ministry tab in Student SharePoint, and an information sheet is linked here: FRESHMAN ACTS INFORMATION. If you have any questions, please contact Katie Culver at katie.culver@ahsrockets.org or 502-271-2597.

ROCKET ATHLETICS INFO NIGHT: On Wednesday, September 13 we are hosting a Rockets Athletics Information Night for seventh, eighth, and current ninth grade families to meet coaches, players, and parents from all sports. This is a great evening to hear a little bit about our athletic department and make contact with coaches and sports your daughter might be interested in. Fill out this form to let us know you are coming!

Congratulations to:

The Golf team for coming in second place out of 16 teams at a high-level tournament.  All five players shot their tournament personal best scores, and Senior Geriann Ackermann came in second place out of more than 90 golfers
The JV and Varsity Soccer teams for beating Oldham County and Henry Clay.  The freshman team beat St. Henry thanks to two late goals.
The Cross Country team, as both the JV and Varsity won the Tiger Run, their first race of the year. Junior Brooke Greenwall won the JV race and was followed by Sophomore Caitlin Perkins in second, Junior Lillian Broniak in third, and Senior Sarah Keal in fourth.
The Varsity Field Hockey team for beating Atherton 3-1.
The Freshman and JV volleyball teams for winning the Bulldog Bash Tournament at Paul Dunbar.

NEXT WEEK:

Saturday, September 2

JV and Varsity Volleyball @ Avon Classic
Golf @ Gene Hilen Tournament @ Juniper Hills GC. 9:00 a.m.

Tuesday, September 5 

Volleyball @ Mercy. Freshmen 5:00 p.m., JV 6:00 p.m., Varsity 7:00 p.m.
Cross Country @ SHA JV Meet @ Seneca Park. 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 6

Golf vs Collins, North Oldham, and South Oldham @ Shelbyville GC 4:15 p.m.
Freshman Soccer @ Collins. 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, September 7

Soccer vs Newport Central Catholic. JV 6:00pm, Varsity 7:30 p.m.  **Senior Night**

Friday, September 8

Varsity Field Hockey @ New Trier (IL). 4:30 p.m.
Varsity Volleyball @ Louisville Invitational Volleyball Tournament