October 11, 2023

Deans of Study, Theresa Schuhmann ’92 and Judy Fieldhouse H’19

The month of October is an important one as we work to help empower our students to reach their full academic potential. As a college preparatory environment, we want to make sure students are prepared with skills to help achieve their college and scholarship goals. One aspect of that process is preparing students to take the standardized tests that play a role in the college admission process. Throughout October, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors have the opportunity to take standardized tests that serve as building blocks toward the ACT and SAT. Today freshmen, sophomores, and juniors completed either the PreACT or the PSAT. Next week on Tuesday, October 17, all juniors will take the National ACT at school as part of the school day. They will have the same opportunity again in March. And we appreciate your shared commitment to helping your daughters prepare for testing as indicated by the families who have ensured that almost 150 freshmen and sophomores in AP and Advanced English came to school on the weekend so they could take both the PreACT and PSAT!

Providing students the opportunity to take these tests is only one piece of the puzzle. When these test results are returned to students later this year, teachers will take time in classes and during LEAD & Learn time to coach students on how to analyze their performance on these tests and use the results to set personal goals for growth. The process of reviewing their strengths and areas for improvement each year helps to demystify the standardized testing process for students and provide tools and resources that empower them to take ownership of their preparation and planning leading up to the ACT or SAT. 

We know that you are doing your part at home to emphasize how your daughter can maximize this opportunity, including by encouraging her get a good night’s sleep the night before the test, to come prepared with her calculator and pencils, and to eat a good breakfast! We will follow up in the Rocket Report later this year to tell you more about the standardized test prep analysis work and how you can support her in that review at home as well. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to contact us for additional follow up.

Fall Pep Rally

On Tuesday, we had our annual Fall Pep Rally! Our students gathered in the gym to celebrate fall sports teams, get hyped up for intramural flag football season, watch the dance team, shout with the cheer team, and learn the new AHS-exclusive bleacher mob dance for future sports games!

UPCOMING FALL BREAK – Thursday, October 12 – Monday, October 16: On our fall break holidays, school will not be in session.  Classes will resume on Tuesday, October 17 for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors.  Juniors will take the National ACT at school on this day. Remember that a doctor’s note must be provided if your daughter misses school the day before or after any holiday break. If your daughter is absent and does not have a doctor’s note for her absence before or after a break/holiday, she will have an unexcused absence for the day. 

NATIONAL ACT FOR JUNIORS: All juniors will be taking the National ACT on Tuesday, October 17.  Juniors will not attend any of their classes on this day and will be dismissed at approximately 12:30. This test is offered at no additional cost to our families and can be used to send to colleges and universities; it also serves as an excellent resource to use as a baseline and goal-setting score for the March 26, 2024 National ACT, also given to juniors during the school day.  Please help your daughter remember to eat a good breakfast, check her calculator battery, and to bring her favorite #2 pencil.

SCHOOL PORTRAIT MAKE-UP DATE: If your daughter was absent earlier this year for picture day, there is one more opportunity to have her portraits made. Photo retakes for faculty, staff, and students will take place on Wednesday, October 18 in the theater. The photographer will be set up starting at 8:30 am. Pictures can be taken before school, during lunch, or during an A or B block study. Students wear their school uniform. Students need to have their picture taken on this day so it can be included in the yearbook.

ASSUMPTION PARENT PRAYER: Our parent prayer group will NOT meet on October 17 due to Fall Break.  We wish all our families a safe and restful break!

GRANDPARENTS MASS: All Assumption students and their families are invited to celebrate a special Mass with their grandparents on Sunday, October 22, 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.

ALL SAINTS DAY AND ALL SOULS DAY:  The Assumption community will celebrate All Saints Day with a Mass at St. Raphael on Wednesday, 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 email that person’s full name to Gail King at Gail.King@ahsrockets.org.

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!

Following a much-deserved Fall Break, our students and faculty will spend some time during LEAD & Learn this week in celebration of the fall season.  They will work collaboratively in homeroom in an annual family point tradition to artistically decorate the school for Halloween. Each homeroom will submit a Halloween door design, and voting will appear on social media this year. This has become a beloved way we celebrate family pride at Assumption through engagement in creativity and tradition.

On Thursday, October 19, our juniors and seniors will participate in class traditions: Our seniors will take their Class of 2024 photo and our juniors will hear from our Balfour representative about purchasing AHS class rings for their upcoming ring ceremony in April.

MID-SEMESTER CONFERENCE COMMUNICATION: A reminder: teachers are currently 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 via phone or team 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 help our students achieve academic success.

INTRAMURAL FLAG FOOTBALL KICKOFF EVENT: On Sunday, October 22 at 4 p.m., Family Council and Athletics will host a kickoff event for the flag football intramural season! We invite all students, faculty, staff, family, and friends to join us as we raise money for our Compassion Connection agencies. Come watch some competitive flag football, check out our chili cook-off and bake sale, and enjoy a quintessential fall day all while raising money for local nonprofits and earning family competition points! After the flag football kickoff event, intramural flag football will continue the following two Sundays, October 29 and November 5, for those who signed up.

FRESHMAN-SOPHOMORE SEMIFORMAL DANCE: We hope that our freshmen and sophomores are looking forward to attending this year’s dance for their classes on Saturday, November 18. This dance is a traditional semiformal 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, Kamaria Wesley, emailed information about the dress code for the dance to the freshmen and sophomores this week.  Please take a few minutes to discuss dress code requirements with your daughter so you can help her know what is expected if she plans to attend.  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.  Please reference the handbook Dance Dress Code Policy for more information.

ROSE THEATRE PRODUCTION: 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.  Tickets are available for October 27 and 28 at 7:00 p.m., October 29 at 2:00 p.m., November 3, and 4 at 7:00 p.m., and November 5 at 2:00 p.m. The November 2 Rocket Night performance is already SOLD OUT! Tickets for all other performances can still be purchased 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.

OCTOBER’S WORK IT WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE: The Achievement Center is hosting two more Work It Wednesdays in October in the Media Center from 7:45 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 18 and 25.

CANDY DONATION REQUEST & ASSUMPTION FAMILY HALLOWEEN NIGHT: The Assumption Alumnae Association and Marketing & Admissions office are once again hosting the annual Family Halloween Night on Wednesday, October 25 from 5:00-7:30 p.m. Parents are invited to donate a bag of candy that would be used to support this important engagement event. Please click here to sign up to donate candy. This event is open to all AHS alumnae, families, faculty, staff, and future Rockets, but is most suited for elementary aged children and younger. There will be activities including trick or treating, character stops, face painting, coloring, and more. For more information about the event, please contact ABBY MARTIN. 

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.

JUNIOR ACTS SERVICE HOURS: This is a reminder that the first seven (7) service hours for Junior ACTS are due on Friday October 20 for all students who are currently taking Catholic Social Teaching. These hours will need to be logged in and verified in MobileServe by 8 a.m. on October 20 for them to be approved and counted. The remaining eight (8) hours will be due on December 8. Fall break would be an excellent time to get some service in!

Senior Taylor Field who presented at U of L’s Research! Louisville! last week. Taylor presented her research titled “Radiologic and Clinical Analysis of Sternal Fractures in Motor Vehicle Collisions: A Comprehensive Study on Injury Characterization and Patient Outcomes.” Taylor was one of two high school students selected to participate in the collegiate section of Research! Louisville!

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 in the Assumption gym: 5:00- 6:00 p.m. freshmen only, 6:00- 7:30 p.m. sophomores, juniors, and seniors

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 Varsity Cross Country team for a third-place finish at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, NC. All seven runners finished with personal records for the 5K and Reagan Gilmore set a new school record by finishing in 17:32. Congratulations to the JV team as well for finishing in second place!
The Varsity Field Hockey team for defeating St. Stephens Episcopal (TX)
The Varsity Soccer Team for advancing to the regional finals with wins over Central and Ballard

NEXT WEEK:

Wednesday, October 11

Soccer Regional finals vs Sacred Heart @ Eastern 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, October 12

Volleyball vs Notre Dame. Freshmen 5:30, JV 6:30, Varsity 7:30

Friday, October 13

Varsity Field Hockey @ Thomas Worthington (OH) 5:00 p.m.
Varsity Field Hockey @ Upper Arlington (OH) 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 14

JV Volleyball @ KY JV Tournament @ KIVA

Monday, October 16

Field Hockey Regional Semi-Finals 7:30 p.m.
Volleyball District Finals @ Brown 6:30 p.m.
**Soccer First Round State TBD**

Tuesday, October 16

**Field Hockey Regional Finals TBD**