Rocket Report – Friday, October 8, 2021
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We look forward to celebrating our grandparents at our Grandparents Mass on Sunday. It is always a blessing to have the opportunity to share in prayer with our students and their families. We hope that you can join us!
Next Wednesday is National Testing Day, and we are excited to provide our students this testing opportunity. Please encourage your daughter to come to school on Wednesday well rested and well fed for her PreACT or PSAT test. We offer both tests to your daughter during her time at Assumption so that she enters into her senior year with an idea of how she will do on either the ACT or the SAT. Please encourage your daughter to spend some time on our test prep software, Albert, this weekend that offers both ACT and SAT prep as well as prep for AP classes and other core classes. Ask your daughter to show you the site!
HEALTHY AT SCHOOL: Current update – the statewide positivity rate has dropped to 8.67% and the incidence rate in Jefferson County has decreased to 44.9/per 100,000 cases. While this is encouraging news, Jefferson County and much of the state still remain in the red zone – indicating a high level of community transmission. As we have stated in the past, we will be reporting our COVID cases each week via the Rocket Report.
- Since the start of the school year, we have had 35 total COVID cases.
- This week (reporting Friday to Thursday) there was 1 COVID case – which was a student.
The percentage of students vaccinated continues to rise and now stands at 67%. We continue to encourage vaccination as the surest way to avoid quarantine and serious illness from COVID-19. As a reminder, Wild Health provides free COVID testing on a daily basis at Sullivan University’s College of Pharmacy. This includes both rapid and PCR testing. Testing is available weekdays from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. and weekends from 12:00-4:00 p.m. To make an appointment, contact Wild Health here.
CALENDAR NOTES:
- GRANDPARENTS MASS: All Assumption students and their families are invited to celebrate a special Mass with their grandparents on Sunday, October 10, 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. We do ask that all in attendance wear masks and to spread out in the church when choosing seating.
- TESTING DAY: Wednesday, October 13, is the National Testing Day for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. It is a late arrival Wednesday, with the tardy bell ringing at 9:15 a.m. We will dismiss at approximately 12:30 p.m. There will not be after-school supervision on this day so please make arrangements for your daughter to be picked up by 1:00 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 and their parents will receive an email today from Mrs. Fieldhouse confirming their PSAT or college visit day reservation. Sophomores will be taking the PreACT or PSAT (depending on their English class) and freshmen will be taking the PreACT test. 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.
- TESTING DAY ATTENDANCE FOR JUNIORS – Attention, Junior Parents: Please remember that if you filled out the survey saying that your daughter will be taking a college day instead of taking the PSAT, she will need verification of her college visit for the absence to be excused. You do not need to call her in absent if you filled out the form.
- TESTING DAY FOR SENIORS – Attention, Senior Parents: Since seniors are not involved in taking standardized tests on Testing Day, Wednesday, October 13, 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.
- UPCOMING FALL BREAK – Thursday, October 14 – Monday, October 18: On our fall break holidays, school will not be in session. Classes will resume on Tuesday, October 19.
CAMPUS MINISTRY:
- ASSUMPTION PARENT PRAYER: 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!
- ALL SAINTS DAY AND ALL SOULS DAY: The Assumption community will celebrate All Saints Day with a prayer service in the AHS gym at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, November 1. Because All Saints Day falls on a Monday this year, it is not a holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church. At this prayer service, 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. 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 year, please send this person’s full name to GAIL KING by Monday, October 25.
PARENT/TEACHER/STUDENT CONFERENCES: Conferences are scheduled for Tuesday, October 12, from 5:00-7:30 p.m. in order to give students and parents the opportunity to meet with teachers about students’ progress. We will be offering the opportunity to schedule either an in-person or a TEAMS conference with your daughter’s teachers. Please use this link: Fall Conference Signup to schedule a conference with your daughter’s teacher. All parents are invited to attend, but parents of students with a D or F in in a class or classes as of October 12, the date of the conferences, are required to attend. Our next official grade update will be on Friday, October 1. We recommend, however, that you check your daughter’s grades on PowerSchool between October 2 and October 12 to make plans to attend if needed. If you have any questions that cannot be addressed at parent/teacher/student conferences, please contact your daughter’s dean – JUDY FIELDHOUSE (students whose last names begin with A-K) or THERESA SCHUHMANN (students whose last names begin with L-Z)
REQUESTS FOR EXCUSED ABSENCES: 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. We cannot excuse absences if requests are received the school day before or the day of the absence. 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 Cindi Baughman. Remember to review the handbook for all attendance-related information starting on page 41 of the 2021-2022 STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK. 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 and they haven’t had too many absences and we receive the request in advance. Apparently a number of counties are now requiring 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.
CLASS OF 2022 INFORMATION CONFIRMATION MAILING: Parents of the Class of 2022: On October 4, 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 Friday, November 7. Even if no changes need to be made, please make sure to return a signed copy to the main office by November 7.
LEAD & LEARN UPDATE: During LEAD & Learn Time this week, students had the opportunity to participate in activities for direction and engagement. On Monday, homerooms created door decorations that will be used as part of our Alumnae Halloween Night later in October to decorate doors throughout the school when our alumnae and their children come to trick or treat. Decorating contest winners will earn bragging rights and points for their family as part of our ongoing Family Competition. On Tuesday and Thursday, our focus shifted to success in standardized testing. On Tuesday, our juniors took the first of two National ACT tests this year. In homeroom and class meeting on Tuesday and Thursday, freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors participated in targeted activities to help with preparation for success on standardized testing as we look toward our testing day on Wednesday, October 13. And on Friday, all classes participate in mindfulness activities that they can use when faced with stressful situations, including testing and had the opportunity to learn more details about our upcoming Boots and Bling Fall Social.
Next week, during LEAD & Learn, students will participate in activities focused in the areas of engagement and direction. On Monday, homerooms will participate in personal career exploration through activities designed by our guidance department and implemented by our homeroom teachers. And on Tuesday, our community will come together to celebrate our fall sports athletes in an outdoor pep rally.
“BOOTS AND BLING” SOCIAL EVENT UPDATE: We are very excited to be able host an all-school social event for our students—this will be the first time since March 2020—and the response we’ve had from students tells us that they are definitely looking forward to attending! Because we are still living in pandemic times, our junior and senior class officers and their moderators have planned an informal outdoor event to be held at The Green: Boots and Bling on Saturday, October 23 from 8:00-10:30 p.m. Students are encouraged to attend with their AHS friends but may also bring one guest with them. Tickets are $10 per person and must be purchased in advance (no tickets are sold at the door). Tickets will be sold during lunches beginning Monday, October 11. Students and guests must arrive by 8:30 p.m. and may not leave until 9:45 p.m.; all must be picked up by 10:30 p.m. To ensure student safety, all students/guests will be monitored with the use of a passive alcohol sensor upon arrival and departure of the event.
Since this is not a traditional semi-formal/formal school dance (those are on the calendar for Spring 2022) but a casual/informal social event with music and other activities being held at The Green, we have developed a blend of our usual dance policies, activity guidelines, and dress code for the event: BOOTS AND BLING RULES AND GUIDELINES. Please take a few minutes to look these over so you can help your daughter know what is expected when she is making plans to attend the event and deciding what to wear to the event. In doing so, we ask that you pay particular attention to the shoe requirements: students/guests may not wear any type of footwear with spiky heels because these will damage the turf at The Green. Platforms, block/chunky heels, wedges, and flats along with high-top tennis shoes, boots, boot-type shoes, clogs, sandals, and moccasins are all fine. This information was shared with the students during LEAD and Learn time on Friday this week, but she might need your help with some of the details.
2020-2021 YEARBOOK DISTRIBUTION: This week upperclasswomen received their yearbooks during their lunches on the following days: seniors – October 5, juniors – October 7. Sophomores will pick up their books during their lunches on October 11. Students cannot pick up books for friends or students who are absent; everyone must pick up her own book. If your student is absent on the day she is supposed to pick up her book, then she will be able to get one from the Media Center beginning the day we get back to school from Fall Break on Monday, October 19.
ROSE THEATRE PRODUCTION: Rose Theatre Company is proud to present Steel Magnolias! This touching story about the lives of six Southern women celebrates the strength, humor, and friendship that develops among them. Performances will be October 29 and 30, November 5, and 6 at 7:00 p.m., and November 7 at 2:00 p.m. November 5 will be a Rocket Night with special features for future Rockets and alumni! We will have limited seating available for all of our in-person performances with at least three feet of social distancing between seats. Tickets will be available at www.showtix4u.com beginning October 10.
CANDY DONATION REQUEST & ASSUMPTION FAMILY HALLOWEEN NIGHT: The Assumption Alumnae Association and Marketing & Admissions office have teamed up to host the annual Family Halloween Night on Wednesday, October 20, from 5:00-7:30 p.m. This event is open to all AHS alumnae, families, faculty, staff, and future Rockets of all ages! There will be free activities including trick or treating, coloring, and more. Parents are invited to donate a bag of candy that would be used to support the event. Click here to sign up to donate candy. For more information about the event, please contact ABBY BLANDFORD.
NOTE FROM ATHLETICS: WINTER SPORTS TRYOUTS INFORMATION: A current, complete physical is required to try out and participate in any Assumption sport: KHSAA PHYSICAL FORM. Please note: two parent and two student signatures are required on this form for it to be considered complete. In addition, an athletic fee of $200 is required for participation. If you have questions regarding the physical form, please contact Christy Hulsewede at (502) 271-2555 or Christy.Hulsewede@ahsrockets.org
- Archery: October 28 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at Highland Hall. Parent meeting to follow immediately after. Please email Archery Co-Head Coaches Jake and Emily Lomax with any questions: archery@ahsrockets.org
- Basketball: Varsity/JV Tryouts: October 18-19 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. in AHS gym. Varsity team will be announced on October 20. Varsity parent meeting immediately after practice on October 21. Freshman Tryouts: October 26-27 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in AHS gym. Freshman parent meeting immediately after practice on October 27. Please email Coach Stacy Pendleton with any questions: stacy.pendleton@jefferson.kyschools.us
- Swimming: October 4 from 6:45-7:45 p.m. and October 5 from 7:45-9:15 p.m. at St. Xavier pool. Please email Coach Rick Stewart with any questions: stewart@ahsrockets.org
ROSE AWARD NOMINATIONS: Current parents, past parents, alumnae, students, faculty, and staff are invited to nominate a current administrator, faculty, or staff member who has made a significant difference in their lives or the lives of their daughters. 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, Beth Hicks, Doug Sumey, Judi Erskine, James Sutherland, and Mary Ann Steutermann, along with several other retired faculty and staff members. These individuals aren’t eligible to win again. Nominations may be submitted here THE ROSE AWARD and are due by Friday, October 22. Nominations must include a detailed description (three-paragraph minimum) supporting your nomination. The award will be presented at the Thanksgiving Celebration on Tuesday, November 23. If chosen, your nomination submission may be read at the prayer service.
Gratefully,
Martha Tedesco
Principal