Rocket Report – Friday, September 3, 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians, 

We are so thankful for all the parents who were able to come to Mock Schedule Night last night.  We hope you enjoyed meeting your daughter’s teachers and learning about her classes.  Most importantly, we hope that you were able to witness what it means to be a part of the community of Assumption.  In our community, we are blessed with teachers who truly love what they do and it shows.  We are proud of our rigorous academic program and our students who work so hard, but what makes Assumption different is that our teachers share their love for learning and for their students on a daily basis.  They are here to take care of your daughter as a whole person – mind, body, and spirit! 

HEALTHY AT SCHOOL:  We want to thank our parents and students for all their commitment to our Healthy at Assumption protocols during this time when there is a rapid rise in COVID cases across our state.  As stated in the past, our primary goal is to continue in-person learning for your daughters while working to minimize the risk of COVID for our school community.   We remind parents that one of the best ways to reduce the spread of COVID and the risk of quarantine for others is to keep your daughter at home when she’s not feeling well or is experiencing any COVID like symptoms. Symptoms include fever or chills, nausea, diarrhea, a new loss of smell or taste, difficulty breathing, body aches, fatigue, congestion or runny nose, headache, cough, or sore throat. We ask that you notify our school nurse, Laura Burnam at laura.burnam@ahsrockets.org , who can provide further guidance in the event your daughter is ill.   

CALENDAR NOTES: 

  • LABOR DAY HOLIDAY:  School will be closed on Monday, September 6, 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 8, at 6:30 p.m. in our theater, OR Monday, September 13, at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom.  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 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 Cindi Baughman, 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.  If you choose the Zoom option on September 13, please look for a link which will be sent out via email to all freshman parents prior to the event.  

CAMPUS MINISTRY:   

  • 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 12, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Raphael Catholic Church.  Please come even if your family isn’t Catholic.  Siblings are invited as well – please bring the whole family!  We do ask that all in attendance wear masks and to spread out in the church when choosing seating.  
  • ASSUMPTION PARENT PRAYER: Thank you to our parents who were able to attend our first parent prayer this week! Our parent prayer group will continue to meet each Tuesday morning from 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. in our new chapel.  Please park in any open space and enter the school through the main entrance.  Please join us for any or all of these opportunities! 
  • TIME OUT TUNE UP UPDATE: Students are enjoying our beautiful new chapel!  The past two Wednesdays, students have been invited to the chapel during the first five minutes of their lunch period for a spiritual “time out tune up.” Two weeks ago, 91 students made use of the opportunity, and this week 258 students did the same!  We will continue to offer this opportunity each Wednesday during lunch.   

REMINDERS FROM THE MAIN OFFICE:   

  • 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 8:05/9:05 a.m.  This helps us keep classroom interruptions to a minimum and protects the time for instruction of our students.   
  • 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/our school nurse Mrs. Burnam at 271-2507 and make her 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 starting on page 41 of the 2021-2022 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. 
  • REQUEST ON BEHALF OF STUDENTS WHO PARK AT STRATHMOOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: Please do not wait in the Strathmoor parking lot across Bardstown Road from Assumption 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. Since they are dismissed first in our staggered dismissal protocol, many of them are having to wait as long as 20 minutes to be able to get out of their spaces, which has already caused some of them to be late for medical appointments, jobs, etc. If you don’t want to pick up your daughter from the Assumption carpool line, please use the “Gardiner Lane Shopping Center Option” mentioned in last week’s Rocket Report and shared with parents during our parent orientation sessions. 

SCHOOL PICTURES UPDATE: School pictures taken this week will be ordered online and available for viewing beginning tomorrow, September 4.  As stated on the card that your daughter received after she had her picture taken, please go to this link to order her picture: www.shop.studioillumination.com. Simply enter AHS plus your daughter’s Assumption ID number as the code to access your daughter’s picture.  Orders can be made online until December 1.   

ACADEMIC AWARDS CELEBRATION:  Invitations were sent out Thursday morning to parents via email for our annual Academic Awards Celebration on Sunday, September 26, 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 2020-2021 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.  

LEAD & LEARN UPDATE:  Throughout the opening of the school year, we have been using our LEAD & Learn time in a variety of ways to help our students learn to lead, engage, and advocate and to provide important direction activities as well.   During LEAD & Learn Time this week, we offered a variety of activities to help our students to engage in our community.  On Monday, families celebrated their spirit by wearing their family t-shirt or family color with spirit wear and took their first family pictures in our new family suite spaces. The Family Birr also celebrated their 2020-2021 Family Competition championship! In addition, homerooms celebrated August and September birthdays.  On Tuesday, students learned more about what our LEAD Program has to offer including a new series of leadership programming that we will introduce this year called Leadership Education Opportunities (LEOs).  On Thursday and Friday in homeroom and class meeting, freshmen and sophomores were introduced to information about serving as shadow hostesses, reviewed LEOs, and participated in community building.   Juniors and seniors learned about the St. Joseph of Arimathea society and how they can engage in this special ministry and had some additional community building. 

Next week’s LEAD & Learn Time provides opportunities for both direction and engagement. On Tuesday, all classes will participate in the first in a monthly series of career guidance lessons spearheaded by our guidance and counseling department.  On Thursday, all students will receive specifics about how to begin the process of engaging in clubs this school year. 

CLUB WEEK:  Is your daughter looking for a way to get involved at Assumption?  Here is her chance! Beginning next Thursday, three of our LEAD & Learn Times will be devoted to getting involved at AHS.  On Thursday, September 9, all students will meet in homerooms during LEAD & Learn Time to receive information about all the clubs and organizations Assumption has to offer, including information about club membership and meeting dates.  Whether she is an animal lover or an adventure seeker, we have a club for your Rocket!  Students will have the opportunity to attend two club meetings of their choice during Mid-Day LEAD & Learn Time on Monday, September 13, and Friday, September 17.  Please encourage your daughter to take full advantage of this chance to explore new opportunities.  Students who are not interested in pursuing an open enrollment club will have other sessions to attend where they can explore different topics on leadership and engagement in our community.  We hope you will also mark your calendar for September 9-17 and touch base with your daughter about the clubs that she found interesting.  A list of the clubs offered is available in the STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK.  Any questions, please contact THERESA SCHUHMANN. 

METRO UNITED WAY AND UPS:  Do you, your spouse, or a family member work for UPS?  If so, you have an opportunity to help Assumption.  As a UPS employee, you can designate your Metro United Way gift to AHS. Whether you give through payroll deduction, cash, check, or stock gifts, you may designate your gift to AHS by simply writing in Assumption’s tax ID, 61-1133759, on the MUW pledge form. Your gift will be included in our annual Fund for Assumption campaign to support need-based financial assistance and school programs. Please consider directing your gift to:  Assumption High School, 2170 Tyler Lane, Louisville, KY 40205, Tax ID number:  61-1133759.  Many thanks for your support of Assumption! 

Sincerely, 

Martha Tedesco 

Principal