Rocket Report – Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We had a very successful Testing Day today! Thank you for helping with good attendance and students who appeared well rested and well fed.
We would like to thank all of our parents who attended Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences on Tuesday night. We are so appreciative of your time and effort, and we value the opportunity to work together for your daughters. Whether you attended last night or not, this is a great time in the school year to have a conversation with your daughter about her academic progress. Is she meeting her goals? Does she need to make adjustments to her study habits? What does she need to do to have a successful end to the semester? There are many resources to help her achieve her goals. Encourage your daughter to take advantage of these resources as she needs them.
We hope that everyone enjoys a safe and relaxing fall break!
HEALTHY AT SCHOOL: Please be sure to read the Special Message from the President and Principal that will be sent later today regarding COVID testing to be offered on campus as well as an update on our mask policy.
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 34 total COVID cases. Please note that there was an error in reporting previously. This is the correct total number of positive COVID cases on campus since the start of the semester.
- This week (reporting Friday to Tuesday due to Fall Break) there was 1 COVID case – which was a student.
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. To receive a rapid test, you must request it otherwise Wild Health will administer a PCR test. 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:
- 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.
HALLOWEEN COSTUMES ON OCTOBER 29: We are so proud of the student body for not only meeting but exceeding our stretch Rocket Raffle ticket sales goal of 3,300 tickets in our 39th annual Walk for Assumption. By selling 4,238 tickets, the student body has earned the privilege of wearing Halloween costumes to school on Friday, October 29. 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.
- Students must wear their face masks when inside the building and may not wear costume masks over their face or eyes (minimal face paint and makeup/accessories are okay, though).
- 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 CINDI BAUGHMAN.
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, several 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 participated in personal career exploration through activities designed by our guidance department and implemented by our homeroom teachers. And on Tuesday, our community came together to celebrate our fall sports athletes in an outdoor pep rally.
Next week, during LEAD & Learn, students will participate in activities focused in the areas of engagement and direction. On Tuesday and Thursday, each class will meet in homeroom and in a class meeting for timely topics pertinent to each grade level. On Friday, all students will be in homeroom for a presentation on Hispanic Heritage in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which will be led by members of our Diversity Club.
“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 went on sale during lunches this past Monday and will be on sale Tuesday-Friday after Fall Break. 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 semiformal/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 last Friday, but she might need your help with some of the details.
SCHOOL PICTURE RETAKES: If a student did not have her portrait taken or she would like to retake her photo she can do so on Thursday, October 28, during her study, lunch, or before school. School pictures can also still be ordered online at 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.
2020-2021 YEARBOOK DISTRIBUTION: All current students received their yearbooks during their lunches on the following days: seniors – October 5, juniors – October 7, sophomores – October 11. If your student was absent on the day she was supposed to pick up her book, 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. Students cannot pick up books for friends or students who are absent; everyone must pick up her own book. The only exception is for students who have an older sister from the class of 2021. They will need to see Ms. Martin (in the Advancement Office) to pick up that book.
ROSE THEATRE PRODUCTION: Rose Theatre Company is proud to present Steel Magnolias. 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. To purchase tickets, please visit www.showtix4u.com and search for Assumption High School. Contact COLLEEN MURPHY if you or anyone in your party requires seating without the use of stairs or with the use of a wheelchair.
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
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