November 17, 2023

Director of Information Technology, Ian Husk

While the sight of your daughter using her AHS HP Elite laptop is likely a familiar one, her daily use of this device is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to technology at Assumption.  Assumption’s 1:1 technology program is the longest-running of any school in Louisville; we are proud that Assumption made the decision at our 1:1 program’s inception to utilize powerful Microsoft Windows devices instead of Chromebooks or iPads to best prepare young women for a technology-filled future.    

While the Elite laptop is an integral piece of technology for faculty, staff, and students alike, it is the massive system of staffing, support, training, and infrastructure operating behind the scenes that is the true backbone of our exceptional technology program.  Our continuous innovation is a result of the significant investment in the human capital of our team of four full-time IT staff members along with an instructional technology coach committed to supporting the needs of our entire school. 

At the heart of this investment is our dedicated HP certified technician who works in the Boeckmann Technology Lab to address student technology needs, allowing us to rapidly repair laptops in-house, along with providing loaner tablets, to avoid any interruption in your daughter’s education. Along with this continuity of experience, our Instructional Technology Lead works one-on-one with faculty and staff to provide training, troubleshooting, and recommendations on ways to integrate more technology in each course to enhance your daughter’s learning.   

Other dedicated employees work with programs including Sharepoint, PowerSchool, and other applications to ensure system communications are accessible, efficient, and timely.   And two IT staff members are devoted to our massive network of physical and virtual servers, backup systems, wireless access points, TVs, security systems, phones, printers, 5G of fiber, etc. as well as managing required software installation and updates for over 1000 laptops, each of which offer 1TB of storage.  

Currently, and after many months of effort, we are rolling out HP Wolf Security for all end users which protects our organization from phishing schemes and cyberattacks.  Looking towards the future, and as evidence of our commitment to remaining at the forefront of technology, we are piloting a program for full virtual classrooms after installing this equipment in all classrooms last summer.  

Having worked with the technology at Assumption for over twenty years, now as an AHS parent myself, I see and appreciate this program’s results through a dad’s eyes.  I am truly grateful for the value that Assumption places on not simply providing a piece of equipment but a comprehensive system that gives our daughters a strong foundation for future success.   

Open House

We were so excited to welcome a huge number of future Rockets and their families to Open House on Saturday! Thank you to our students, faculty, staff, and current families for helping make this event such a success.

FRESHMAN-SOPHOMORE SEMIFORMAL DANCE: On Saturday, November 18, the sophomore class officers are hosting the Freshman-Sophomore Semiformal Dance from 8:00-11:00 p.m.  Every student and her guest must have a ticket that was purchased in advance.  Each student must also present her student ID when entering.  Tickets will not be sold at the door. Students have received information about dance rules and expectations via SharePoint, email, and morning announcements.  In order to ensure student safety, all students and guests must arrive by 9:00 p.m. and may not leave until 10:30 p.m.  All students will be monitored with the use of a passive alcohol sensor upon arrival and departure of the dance.  

AP CAPSTONE PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT: On Monday, November 20 at 6:30 p.m., parents and their daughters are invited to attend a virtual AP Capstone information night via Teams. The AP Capstone Diploma Program is an “innovative program [that] equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges.” If your daughter is a freshman or sophomore who may take AP Seminar her junior year, or if she is a junior currently enrolled in AP Seminar, then we recommend that you and your daughter attend this meeting. You can join the call at THIS LINK. The program will last one hour. Any questions? Contact COLLEEN MURPHY .

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS:  Thanksgiving is only two weeks away! Please note: Assumption will close for Thanksgiving break from Wednesday, November 22 – Friday, November 24.   

ASSUMPTION PARENT PRAYER: Our parent prayer group will not meet on Tuesday due to the shortened week.  We wish all our families a Happy Thanksgiving.

THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION: The Community of Assumption will come together in prayer and celebration on Tuesday, November 21, in the AHS gym for our annual Thanksgiving assembly.  We will focus on gratitude towards “family,” those given to us through birth or adoption and those who become family to us in other ways.

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 all together 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!

This week during LEAD & Learn time, all grade levels will have the opportunity to “Hear about a Career” from our Guidance and Counseling department.  In partnership with some of our faculty and staff, students will hear about different career paths and how our beloved community members were driven to work at Assumption.  By providing examples, opportunities for discussion and access to career research resources, our Guidance and Counseling department work to keep each student thinking of future goals and opportunities.   

THANKSGIVING LUNCH: On Tuesday, November 21, FLIK will serve a traditional Thanksgiving lunch both as a fixed price meal and a la carte. The lunch menu will be dinner plate of sliced turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted carrots, cranberry sauce, and a dinner roll. The dinner plate price is $8.00, and the a la carte prices are $5.00 for turkey and $1.50 per side and $1 per roll. Pumpkin pie will also be offered.  In addition, several but limited options will be offered through our deli, pasta, and grab-and-go bars for those students who prefer something other than the Thanksgiving lunch menu. 

ALERT SYSTEM TEST:  We sent a test weather and emergency alert on Wednesday, November 15 at 5:05 p.m. All parents who set their options in PowerSchool were sent a test message to their email and/or phone via text or voice.  If you did not receive the message as expected, please check your options by logging into PowerSchool or email Brent Miller in our IT Department or call his office at 271-2527 for assistance.

FINANCIAL AID FORM: The financial aid link for the 2024-2025 school year has been added to the school’s website. The due date is January 31, 2024, and the form must be submitted online to FACTS Grant and Aid Assessment.  FINANCIAL AID APPLICATION LINK. As a reminder, you are required to file every year to receive assistance.

AP EXAMS: If your daughter is taking an AP course this year, she has been busy signing up for AP college exams and AP portfolio submissions. These AP courses will be administered the first few weeks of May at Assumption High School. AP exam and AP portfolio submission invoices will be sent to parents via email from Blackbaud Tuition Management in January. Please take a moment to talk with your daughter about the exams she is registered to take.  Exam art portfolio submissions are $98 each except for AP Research and AP Seminar which are $146 each. For more information about AP exams and CollegeBoard, visit https://parents.collegeboard.org/college-board-programs/advanced-placement-program. Please contact Judy.Fieldhouse@ahsrockets.org or Kathy.Fleischer@ahsrockets.org if you have any questions.

LAST WIW FOR NOVEMBER: The Achievement Center is hosting the last Work it Wednesday for this month on November 29 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.

RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE: Assumption is hosting an American Red Cross blood drive on Wednesday, November 29 in the school gym.Student donors must be at least 16 years old. Students who are 16 must have parental permission; students 17 and older may give without parental permission. We encourage you to talk with your daughter if she plans to donate and ensure that she understands the importance of eating well and drinking lots of water several days prior to donation day. The Red Cross provides more information for students at this link: Red Cross Student Guide to Blood Donation.pdf.  If a parent of a student is interested in donating at this drive, we do have a few open appointment times. Please contact diane.darst@ahsrockets.org for scheduling. 

SOME REMINDERS ABOUT ABSENCES: Assumption does not excuse students from school for family trips and/or travel. Please keep this in mind as you are making holiday plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas in particular. If there are mitigating circumstances that might warrant an exception to this policy, please contact Dean of Students Kamaria Wesley well in advance of the dates involved. Students are required to provide a doctor’s note for an absence just before or after an extended break from school for the absence to be excused. Requests for excused absences must be made by the parent/guardian in writing (email to attendance@ahsrockets.org) and should be submitted at least a week an advance. Also, please note that a student must have no grade lower than a C in any of her classes and have strong attendance for an absence that is not medically necessary to be excused. Full details about our attendance and absence policies and procedures can be found beginning on page 46 in the STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK. 

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.

CANSTRUCTION: Canstruction continues through Thanksgiving! Canstruction is one of the biggest events in our Assumption community which provides the opportunity to donate to Dare to Care by bringing in canned goods for those facing food insecurity in our Louisville community. An Assumption tradition since 2006, Canstruction not only provides food for the community at large (over 20,000 cans collected during our collection last year—an Assumption record!), but also provides an opportunity for Assumption family bonding. Each family collects cans in their homerooms throughout the month of November in order to come together to Can-struct a visual made of those cans during our Canstruction event. Canstruction will be held on Friday, December 1, so that will be the last collection day, but we will collect cans each day until then. We are looking forward to having the Assumption community help the Louisville community through our partnership with Dare to Care!

GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS: Applications for GSA area available now! This program is open to sophomore and junior students interested in the performing, visual, and creative arts. The application deadline is Sunday, January 14, 2024, and information can be found HERE. Interested students should watch the informational video found at the link above and contact their guidance counselor for additional information. 

FLIK DINING SERVICES SURVEY – DEADLINE TODAY: FLIK Dining Services, our cafeteria food service provider, is seeking your input.  As part of their commitment to providing delicious and healthy dining options, they are asking that you complete this short survey. Your feedback will help guide them towards providing the best dining experience possible for your daughter. The survey closes on Friday, November 17.  FLIK thanks you in advance for both your participation and your patronage. FLIK SURVEY

DUAL CREDIT TUITION DUE TO WKU, JCTC, AND UL: Students enrolled in a dual credit class this semester need to make sure they pay any tuition owed by the beginning of December. Students should log into their accounts on www.KHEAA.com to double check which colleges they chose for disbursement for the Dual Credit Scholarship and then log into their JCTC, WKU, and/or UL account to pay any remaining tuition due for this semester. This includes all first semester and yearlong DC courses except for Precalculus, Calculus and French, which will register for credit in January. If you need help knowing which course is associated with which university, consult this sheet from our website: DUAL CREDIT INFORMATION 2023-2024. If you have any questions, contact JUDY FIELDHOUSE.

ROCKET SPECTACULAR BENEFIT DINNER AND AUCTION 2024: Saturday, February 3, 2024. Please mark your calendar–you won’t want to miss it! This year’s theme is “BOW TIES & BUBBLY,” and plans are underway! Becoming a Sponsor guarantees your spot at this sold-out event. If interested, please contact Michelle Farmer at 502.271.2518 or michelle.farmer@ashrockets.org. We also need your help with donations toward our silent and live auctions and 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!

CAMPUS STORE CHRISTMAS HOURS:  The Assumption Campus Store is a great place to shop for your favorite Rocket!  Stop by during our regular hours, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., or on the dates listed below. We also have an online store with shipping and local pickup available. Please note that all online Christmas orders must be placed by the following dates: Custom embroidery – December 5 & ship to home – December 18. All orders must be picked up by 8:00 p.m. on December 21.  Additional Christmas holiday hours will be:

  • Saturday, December 9, 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (Placement Test)
  • Saturday, December 16, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (holiday hours)
  • Wednesday, December 20, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. (holiday hours)
  • Thursday, December 21, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. (holiday hours)
  • Note: The store will close early on Friday, December 22, at 1:00 p.m.

SENIOR YEARBOOK TRIBUTES: Over the years, senior parents have developed a tradition of supporting certain activities important to their graduating daughters at Assumption.  One of these is helping to underwrite the cost of printing the yearbook by purchasing “Senior Tributes” that can contain text, personal photos, senior drapes, or professionally created senior pictures. “Senior Tributes” can be a great way to document and celebrate your daughter’s time as an Assumption Rocket. If you are interested in purchasing a “Senior Tribute”, you will find size, pricing information, instructions, and a contract here: 2024 SENIOR TRIBUTE INFORMATION AND CONTRACT. The deadline to submit tribute contracts is Tuesday, November 21. Please feel free to reach out to Melissa Fette, yearbook adviser, at melissa.fette@ahsrockets.org with any questions. Thank you for your support of the Assumption Rosecast!  

COLLEGE APPLICATION DEADLINE REMINDERS: If your daughter is applying to a college with a December 15 deadline, her TRAC form is due to Guidance by Tuesday, November 21.  If you have any questions about the college application process or deadlines, please reach out to Leigh Jackson  (A-L) or Kim Habich  (M-Z).

CLASS OF 2024 INFORMATION CONFIRMATION MAILING:  Parents of the Class of 2024:  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 29.  Even if no changes need to be made, please make sure to return a signed copy to the main office by November 29.

SENIOR MUG ORDERS: Senior Mug Orders are due by December 7 at 11:59PM.  The cost of the mugs are $38.00 with payments made to Assumption High School through the Campus Online Store.  You can place your orders by clicking on the following link.  There is a picture of the mugs on the order form.  https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=-WJNppAkg062waQIN8P7UNDqPrUcAKROowQGybkblWpUQlVKMVo2TkM3RE1FR1I1MEJDMjRRMUk4Ry4u

Please contact Stacy Johnson at stacy.johnson@ahsrockets.org or MeriLou Mattingly at merilou.mattingly@ahsrocket.org with any questions.

COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION NIGHT – Save the date! On Thursday, December 7, we are hosting a College Financial Aid Information Night beginning at 6:30 p.m. for our seniors and their parents. The event will take place in the Humana Foundation Performing and Fine Arts Center (theater). We will have a  guest speaker from the field of College Financial Aid who will walk seniors and parents through all they need to know about financing their college education. If you have any questions, please contact our college counselors, Kim Habich or Leigh Jackson.

The JV and Varsity Quick Recall Teams who defeated Presentation Academy!

Senior Marlaina Pendleton, junior Caroline Crutcher, and sophomore Eva Smith who were selected from hundreds of students across the state to participate in the KY All State Senior High Chorus!

The following members of the Student Y Chapter for their work at KYA (Kentucky Youth Assembly):

  • Lauren Kuprion & Melania Douglass for their work on a bill to create mandatory counseling in public schools
  • Kate Sketo, Anna Fahey, & Whitney Cooper for their work on a bill requiring child abuse information programs be in schools which passed the Bluegrass House & Senate
  • Kate Lucas, Emma Reck, Heydi Castro Gomez, & Kacee Sanchez for their work on a bill to make rooster fighting a felony in Kentucky which passed the Bluegrass House & Senate
  • Elizabeth Buttes who earned outstanding speaker
  • Abigail Wissing who served as President of the Commonwealth Senate
  • Erin Hynes who served as Secretary of State
  • Stella Bensenhaver who served as Committee Chair
  • Elise Crump who served as Cabinet Secretary for Justice & Public Safety
  • Hattie Holeman who served as Assistant Editor
  • Eleanor Keith & Kate Jarboe for their work in the Media Corps
  • Lauren Kuprion for serving as our Conference Life Committee Representative
  • Maggie Miller & Sydney Doyle for their work as an Attorney Team.
  • Lucy Ryan for her work as a candidate and for being elected Speaker of the Bluegrass Senate for KYA 2024

In addition to all members of the Student Y Chapter who attended and participated in KYA earning us Premiere Delegation Status!

Congratulations to:

  • The Dance team for winning Regionals in the Jazz category and finishing as runner-up in Hip Hop!
  • The Cheer team for advancing to State!

Saturday, November 18

  • Cheer @ UCA Bluegrass Regionals