October 20, 2023

Mary Ann Steutermann, Director of Mission Effectiveness 

Assumption is committed to an ongoing cycle of evaluation that promotes continuous school improvement in all areas. The rigorous evaluation of the Cognia accreditation progress led to our recognition as an international school of distinction in 2022. Similarly, as a school sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, we are also evaluated by the Mercy Education System of the Americas against a thorough set of standards related to our school’s Catholic identity and fidelity to the Mercy charism. We completed a Mission Accountability Self-Study as well as met with a peer review team about our progress during the 2022-2023 school year. This team affirmed the excellent work we are doing in implementing our mission:  

“Assumption High School has so many aspects that distinguish you as a Mercy Catholic school. One only needs to walk the halls, talk with the teachers, or interact with the students to identify Assumption as a Mercy Catholic school. The mission and charism… shine brightly. The visiting team experienced the dedication to the Critical Concerns as the common theme through the words and actions of the school community. Yet the expression of the mission is much broader than the Critical Concerns, incorporating hospitality, respect for each other, leadership and spiritual development, and ethical decision-making practices, all in service of growth as disciples of Jesus.”  

Never content to rest on our laurels, though, we developed mission-related goals as part of our 2023-2028 Strategic Plan and have begun implementing them during the 2023-2024 school year. One is to implement additional explicit references to the Critical Concerns and the history of the Sisters of Mercy throughout the building. Another is to continue to promote inclusive practices relative to religious faith, since roughly a quarter of our students are non-Catholic. And a third is to work on language for identifying the outcomes of an Assumption education in a way that reflects Mercy Education’s core values and priorities. As one of our board members recently said, “Assumption never lets the ‘good’ get in the way of the ‘better.’” We continue to evaluate our progress in every area of school life and continue to strive for excellence in all that we do!  

Assumption Aviation

23 Assumption students visited UPS to learn more about their drone delivery program, Flight Forward. Assumption’s Freshman and Sophomore Aviation classes toured their facilities, observed drones in flight, and got to explore modified electrical delivery trucks where the drones are dispersed from. We want to thank UPS for having our students! They learned so much through this enriching experience!

GRANDPARENTS MASS: All Assumption students and their families are invited to celebrate a special Mass with their grandparents this Sunday, October 22, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Raphael Church. All are welcome! 

INTRAMURAL FLAG FOOTBALL KICKOFF EVENT: On Sunday, October 22 at 4:00 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.  

ASSUMPTION PARENT PRAYER: Our parent prayer group will meet on Tuesday, October 24 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 Charleville Family Freshmen and Sophomores. Please join us for any or all of these opportunities. 

SPIRITUAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES: All students have numerous opportunities to nurture their spiritual growth outside of their theology classes, retreats, and service work: 

  • Mercy Bingo is a fun way to live out the works of Mercy while learning about important issues. Each month students have an opportunity to complete squares on a bingo card. Completion of each square earns five family points, and the names of students who complete bingos go into a drawing each month for a gift card! 
  • Prayer Hacks are simply tips from members of the school community for working prayer into our daily lives in creative ways. They are shared usually each week. 
  • Five-Minute Prayer takes place during the first five minutes of each lunch period on Wednesdays in the chapel. Encourage your daughter to take advantage of this opportunity. 
  • Emmaus is a new club at AHS this year. It meets roughly every other Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. in the chapel and provides an opportunity for students to share ideas and questions about faith. It’s a way of bringing a tiny bit of retreat into the regular day! 

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! 

LEAD & Learn time on Monday, October 23 provides a number of opportunities for students to step up and engage with their school community.  Our Campus Ministry department will provide an optional prayer service in the Chapel for students who wish to participate.  Our Leadership and Engagement office will hold a leadership workshop for all those who are in designated club leadership positions to help support the good work they do every day.  Finally, our homerooms will collaborate to create Halloween decorations for our Family Halloween Night on Wednesday, October 25 for alumnae, families, faculty, staff, and future Rockets.  We appreciate the way our students are committing their time to helping their community through faith, leadership, and fun. The remainder of the week will be centered on our Rockets Taking Initiative (RTI) programming where students will be able to work with teachers during our 25-minute LEAD & Learn time to focus on current essential skills and/or enrichment opportunities.  

LEAD & LEARN RTI DAYS NEXT WEEK: We are excited to host LEAD & Learn RTI days during the school day again this year!  Our first days will take place next week on Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27.  These days will accomplish the same goal of our LEAD & Learn Wednesdays but will occur during LEAD & Learn time. These days are part of our commitment as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) school as we work to provide in-time assistance to students (RTI – Response to Intervention or as we also like to call it Rockets Taking Initiative) to ensure that they are learning the essential standards taught by their teachers. On Tuesday, students will learn the expectations for the days and begin to plan their time. As we did for our LEAD & Learn Wednesdays, students invited specifically to attend an academic help session will be notified by their teachers next week via email, and a parent/guardian will be copied on the email.  

PSAT TESTING FOLLOW UP – For all parents whose daughter took the PSAT on Wednesday, October 11:  A special message was emailed this morning regarding the option of a retest for the PSAT.  Please be sure to review this message and respond to the FORM by Tuesday at noon if you would like your daughter to retest. 

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. 

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 20 and 21).  

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 KAMARIA WESLEY . Remember to review the handbook for all attendance-related information in the STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK 2023-2024 

  

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, they have not 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 40th annual Walk for Assumption—and thus earning the privilege of wearing Halloween costumes to school on Tuesday, 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. 
  • 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 KAMARIA WESLEY 

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.  

LAST WORK IT WEDNESDAY FOR OCTOBER: The AC is hosting the last Work It Wednesday for this month on October 25. 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. It is also the perfect environment to work on homework and projects. Students receive an email each Monday to reserve their spot. Mark your calendars now for November’s dates: November 15 and November 29.  

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.  

ROCKET SPECTACULR BENEFIT DINNER AND AUCTION 2024: Saturday, February 3, 2024. Mark your calendar–you won’t want to miss it! This event will SELL OUT. This year’s theme is “BOW TIES & BUBBLY,” and plans are underway!  We are currently looking for event sponsors. If interested, please contact Michelle Farmer at 502.271.2518 michelle.farmer@ashrockets.org. We also need your help with donations toward our silent and live auctions as well as the bourbon pull. Please contact tricia.ferree@ahsrockets.org if you are interested in helping.  Watch for more details in the coming weeks.  We hope to see you there!  

ROSE AWARD NOMINATIONS – DEADLINE TODAY: 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. 

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 Wednesday, November 1 at 8:15 a.m. Please contact COLLEEN MURPHY regarding any questions about the application.  

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. 

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 Freshmen, JV, and Varsity Volleyball teams for defeating Notre Dame.  Additionally, the Varsity team beat Male to win the District tournament. 
  • The Field Hockey team for winning the regional tournament by defeating Atherton and Collegiate. The team also defeated Sacred Heart 2-0 in the first round of the state tournament! 

NEXT WEEK:

Friday, October 20 

  • Cross Country @ Metro JV Regional @ Champions Park 6:00 p.m. 

Saturday, October 21 

  • Cross Country @ Regional Championship @ Seneca Park 10:45 a.m. 
  • Field Hockey @ State Semi-Finals @ Christian Academy 5:00 pm.  

Monday, October 23 

  • Volleyball Regional tournament 1st round**  
  • Field Hockey @ State Finals @ Christian Academy 7:30 p.m.    

Tuesday, October 24 

  • Volleyball Regional Semi-Finals @ Atherton TBD 

Thursday, October 26 

  • Volleyball Regional Finals @ Atherton TBD