September 29, 2023

This week we held our first LEAD & Learn Wednesday of the year. As we have shared, these days were designed to meet many different needs of our students, faculty, and staff including time for faculty/staff professional development, purposeful time for academic support for students, and opportunities for students to engage in other educational and individual opportunities. We have been excited to witness your daughters planning and executing a day that was specifically tailored to each of their individual needs. Our students used their days so wisely both on and off campus. There were over 200 individual teacher meetings with over 150 students, numerous college visits, many service hours completed, and productive time spent organizing and planning, working on college essays and scholarship applications, completing long-range school projects, taking advantage of a wide variety of extension opportunities, and catching up on homework, mental health practices, and even a little bit of extra sleep.  

We shared with students that these LEAD & Learn Wednesdays are a time to assess their progress toward their academic goals. We are proud that we provide multiple ways for parents to also assess their students’ progress throughout the semester and the year.  A teacher’s first communication about student progress is always through PowerSchool. Parents are encouraged to check their daughter’s grades bi-monthly as grades are updated on the 15^th and 30^th of each month.  Our LEAD & Learn Wednesdays and designated opportunities during LEAD & Learn periods during the school day provide an opportunity for teachers to offer extra academic support. Parents are copied on emails inviting students to attend these opportunities throughout the year to keep parents informed. Lastly, each semester, our teachers reach out to the parents of any student who has a D or F in a class at the mid-semester point.  Those parents are requested to have a parent/student/teacher conference at that time. 

In October, teachers will be emailing the parents of any student whose grade in their class is a D or F as of Friday, October 6 requesting to schedule a conference between October 9-24 via phone, virtually through Teams or in-person at a time that is most convenient for both the parents and teacher. We ask all parents who receive an email to respond in a timely fashion. Of course, any parent may request a conference call or in-person meeting with a teacher at any time during the school  year to discuss a student’s progress in a course.   

We appreciate your shared commitment to our partnership to best serve our students’ academic needs! 

Mercy Day Celebration

On Monday, we celebrated Mercy Day in union with the Sisters of Mercy across the world. We were fortunate to have two Sisters of Mercy with us for our celebration to honor and thank: Sr. Paulanne Diebold and Sr. Justina Heneghan. Additionally, we honored three students and two faculty and staff who were selected by their peers as the 2023 Models of Mercy for being Christian leaders who are guided by faith, characterized by compassion, filled with integrity, and driven by a pursuit of excellence. Recognized were Emma Rutledge (sophomore), Lily Mason (junior), Julia Schmitt (senior), Michael Blum (faculty), and Jackie Bloyd (staff). Congratulations to all of our honorees! 

CAREER DAY: Assumption students will be participating in our annual Career Day on Tuesday, October 3. This event will take place during the school day. Students in all grade levels will participate in activities to help them think about careers and college.  

ASSUMPTION PARENT PRAYER: Our parent prayer group will meet on October 3 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 CARLOW Family Freshmen and Sophomores. Please join us for any or all of these opportunities. 

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! 

We are thrilled that we are able to offer career exploration activities during our LEAD & Learn time this week.  On Monday, students in all grade levels will prepare for our seventh annual Career Day by logging into SCOIR, our college and career resource database, or preparing for our Alumnae Career Fair. The Career Day will take place on Tuesday, October 3 with developmentally appropriate activities for each grade level.  Our freshmen will have the opportunity to participate in a career interest survey through SCOIR called PrinciplesYou.  From this survey, students will be aligned to several career archetypes that can inform their direction toward meaningful career pathways.  They will also have the opportunity to listen to two career resource professionals from Bellarmine University, Dr. Elizabeth Todd Byron ‘06 and Jackie McNatt ’99 who will share valuable insights into using your high school career to inform possible career directions.  Our sophomores, juniors, and seniors will have the opportunity to participate in our Alumnae Career Fair, which brings in over 55 Assumption Alumnae to share their experience in a variety of career fields.  From physical therapists to graphic designers, to nurses and government officials, we are excited to expose our students to those who have gone before them and paved the way for their future career success.  Seniors may also elect to participate in a college workshop during this time hosted by our two college counselors, Leigh Jackson (college counselor for last names A-K) and Kim Habich (college counselor for last names L-Z).  They will work through application questions, college essays, scholarship opportunities and much more.  

Each grade level will follow up the career day with an activity during LEAD & Learn later in the week which will highlight the career fields that stood out most to them and begin differentiating current Assumption opportunities that align with that career field.   For questions regarding our career day activities, please reach out to your child’s school counselor, Kristin Walsh, Director of Leadership and Engagement, or Abby Martin, Manager of Annual Giving and Alumnae Relations.   

2022-23 YEARBOOK DISTRIBUTION: Yearbooks have arrived and will be distributed October 3-5 in the atrium. Students will have a chance to pick up their books during their lunches on the following days: seniors – October 3, juniors – October 4, and sophomores – October 5. Students cannot pick up books for friends or students who are absent; everyone must pick up her own book. Students who are absent on their pickup day may pick up their book from the Media Center beginning Friday, October 6.   

ROSE THEATRE SPECIAL EVENT: This fall, Rose Theatre Company is proud to present Mamma Mia! In this musical, ABBA’s hits tell the hilarious story of a young woman’s search for her birth father. This sunny and funny tale unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On Sunday, October 8 at 2:00 p.m. the theatre department will hold a special ticketed event to support and promote the show. This will include Greek appetizers, pub-style trivia, ABBA music, and a secret surprise. Please see Showtix4u or email Rose Theatre for additional details. Performances will be October 27 and 28 at 7:00 p.m., October 29 at 2:00 p.m., November 2, 3, and 4 at 7:00 p.m., and November 5 at 2:00 p.m. November 2 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 reach out to us at rose.theatre@ahsrockets.org.  

Save the Date! EVENT/DANCE DATES FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR: The opportunity for students to gather together with their Assumption community and to invite their friends/guests to join in on the fun is what we love most about offering dances to our school community. Below please find information about the dances that will be hosted this school year for our student body.  

• Saturday, November 18, 2023:  Freshman-Sophomore Semi-Formal Dance 
• Saturday, February 10, 2024: All School Father-Daughter Dance 
• Saturday, April 13, 2024: Junior Prom 
• Friday, May 10, 2024: Senior Prom 

Students will be receiving more details about each event, including information about attire and ticket sales as the events get closer to each event. For each of these dances, students are encouraged to attend with their AHS friends but are also allowed to bring one guest as well. 

OCTOBER’S WORK IT WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE: The Achievement Center is hosting three Work It Wednesdays in October 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 October 4, 18, and 25.  

POWERSCHOOL APP: An easy and convenient way to see your daughter’s grades and upcoming assignments in real time is to use the mobile app. PowerSchool Mobile for iPhone and Android is available in the Google Play Store or the Apple Store.   Our passcode for the app is BRSC. 

TESTING DAY: Wednesday, October 11, 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 new digital PSAT by reservation, sophomores will be taking the PreACT or PSAT (depending on their English class), and freshmen will be taking the PreACT test.  All students taking the PSAT MUST bring their laptop computer with the Bluebook software downloaded and fully charged.  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.  

ROSE AWARD NOMINATIONS: When you think of an Assumption employee who is a role model and positive influence on our community, who comes to mind? Please take a moment to nominate a current administrator, faculty, or staff member who has made a significant difference in your life or your daughter’s life.  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, 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 20.  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. 

CanvAHS Night: Calling all inspiring artists! Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders can join us on Wednesday, October 4 from 6:00-7:30 to paint and craft an AHS inspired wooden sign to talk home! No previous skills are required. Register online here. 

TESTING DAY FOR SENIORS: Since seniors are not involved in taking standardized tests on Testing Day, Wednesday, October 11, 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 to make a visit to an out-of-town college. 

TESTING DAY FOR JUNIORS – Attention, Junior Parents: You received a special message on Wednesday of this week and Mrs. Fieldhouse visited the junior class meeting on Thursday with important information regarding testing days in October.  Please read this important message and check with your daughter that she has the proper software downloaded to her laptop computer and ensure her calculator batteries are fresh.  A fully charged computer on PSAT test day is key to a successful digital testing experience. 

Winter Sport Tryout Information: 

Archery: October 24 at 6:00 p.m. at Highland Hall – 2129 Bardstown Road.    

Please email archery@ahsrockets.org with questions. 

Basketball:  October 17 and 18 from 6:00- 7:30 p.m. in the Assumption gym. 

Swim: October 2 from 6:45- 7:45 and  October 3 from 7:45- 9:15 at St. Xavier High School.  

All athletes trying out must have a current KHSAA physical on file.  Please email Christy.hulsewede@ahsrockets.org if you have questions regarding the status of an individual’s physical. 

Congratulations to:

• The Cross Country team for finishing in the top five at the prestigious Palatine Invitational in Chicago. 
• The Volleyball team for a seventh-place finish at the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas. 
• The Soccer team for securing a 1-1 tie in the annual Cleat Game vs Sacred Heart. The goal was scored by senior AG Gibson, and senior Zoe Thompson was named Assumption’s MVP. 
• Seniors Geriann Ackermann and Kaelin Stull for advancing to the first round of the state tournament.  Geriann has also advanced to the State Finals. 

NEXT WEEK:

Friday, September 29 

• Volleyball @ Asics Challenge in Chicago, IL 

Saturday, September 30 

• Volleyball @ Asics Challenge in Chicago, IL 
• Soccer vs Lexington Catholic. Varsity 11:00 a.m., JV 12:30 p.m. 
• Cross Country @ Louisville XC Classic @ EP Tom Sawyer Park 

Tuesday, October 3 

• Golf State Finals @ Bowling Green CC 
• Field Hockey vs Collegiate. Freshmen 4:15 p.m., JV 5:45 p.m. 
• Varsity Field Hockey vs Highlands Latin. 6:45 p.m. **Senior Night** 

• Volleyball vs Holy Cross. Freshmen 5:00 p.m., JV 6:00 p.m., Varsity 7:00 p.m. **Senior Night** 

Thursday, October 5 

• Volleyball vs Mercy. 5:00 p.m., JV 6:00 p.m., Varsity 7:00 p.m. 
• Varsity Field Hockey @ St. Stephen’s Episcopal School (TX) 4:30 p.m. 

• Varsity Field Hockey @ St. John’s School (TX) 7:00 p.m. 

Friday, October 6 

• Varsity Field Hockey @ Kincaid (TX) 4:30 p.m.