Rocket Report – Friday, October 22, 2021
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We would like to thank all of our Rocket parents for their thoughtful candy donations for the AHS Halloween Night this week. We had over 800 people attend the event and had plenty of candy for all our visitors to leave with an incredible trick or treating experience! It’s because of you that we are able to provide such wonderful hospitality to our alumnae, future Rockets, and our extended Rocket family. We are also grateful for our amazing students from the Advancement Council and the Recruitment Team who decorated the school, wore costumes, and helped all of our trick-or-treaters have a great night!
HEALTHY AT SCHOOL: To keep our families informed of our COVID cases on campus, we will continue 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 since 10/13/2021 – due to Fall Break) there was 1 COVID case – which was a student.
As a reminder, Wild Health provides free COVID rapid testing every Wednesday morning from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. here on site at AHS as an additional strategy to keep our community healthy. Testing is voluntary and results are available in 15 minutes. Wild Health requires a consent form for testing which you can find here. The form is also available on our website under our Healthy at AHS page. Please take a moment to complete the form so your daughter will be included in their data base and eligible for testing at any time. Also, Wild Health offers 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:
“BOOTS AND BLING” SOCIAL EVENT UPDATE: We are very excited to be host our upcoming Boots and Bling all-school social event for our students at The Green (located at 4500 Champions Trace Ln) this Saturday, October 23, from 8:00-10:30 p.m. Each student had the opportunity to purchase a ticket for herself and a guest if desired over the last week during lunches. Please note: no tickets will be sold at the door. Students attending the dance must present both their student IDs and their signed tickets upon arrival. 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. Thanks to all of you for your time and attention reviewing our Boots and Bling policies and guidelines as well as the dress code for the event: BOOTS AND BLING RULES AND GUIDELINES. Again, of special note, 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. We are looking forward to a great event.
- PLEASE NOTE: IMPORTANT PARKING & DROP OFF PROCEDURES: If you will be dropping off/picking up your daughter, please plan to pull into the parking lot at The Green using the entrance closest to Newburg Road—we will run a one-way line of vehicles through the middle of the lot. When you return to pick up your daughter, please again enter via the entrance closest to Newburg Road. If you arrive early, you may park in an open space in the lot; if you arrive right when your daughter is ready to be picked up, then you may just line up in the middle of the parking lot and wait to exit, pulling around the line of cars on the left when leaving (just like our carpool line at school works every afternoon). Students who are driving themselves (or riding with someone who is attending the event too) are to park across Champions Trace in the Collegiate parking lot. There will be police officers there to help students to safely cross the road to The Green. This will keep our junior and senior drivers from getting trapped or blocking the drop-off and pick-up traffic in the parking lot at The Green. A map outlining all of these procedures is available in this link: BOOTS AND BLING RULES AND GUIDELINES
DRESS DOWN DAY: The dress-down day sponsored by the Global Outreach Club to support our school in Cambodia has been moved to Wednesday, October 27. A group of AHS students who graduated in 2010 raised the money to build a school in rural Cambodia while they were still in high school as a way of addressing the lack of educational opportunity there, especially for girls. Since that time, AHS has supported its programming. COVID has ravaged the countryside, and school cannot take place in person. Instead, teachers visit students in their home villages in an attempt to continue instruction. For a minimum donation of $3, students can “dress down” following the guidelines in the handbook. If parents would like to support this cause, please send in a donation with your daughter on October 28.
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.
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.
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.
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.
CLASS OF 2022 INFORMATION CONFIRMATION MAILING: Parents of Seniors: 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.
CLASS OF 2023 – CLASS SPIRIT WEAR: Parents of Juniors – Important information from the Junior Class Officers: The Class of 2023 Spirit Wear is available for purchase from the Campus Store! All orders are due by Friday, October 29.
LEAD & LEARN UPDATE: During LEAD & Learn Time this week, students had the opportunity to participate in activities for direction and engagement. On Tuesday and Thursday, each class met in homeroom and in a class meeting for timely topics pertinent to each grade level. On Friday, all students were in homeroom for a presentation on Hispanic Heritage in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which was led by student members of our Diversity Club.
Next week, during LEAD & Learn, activities for students will once again focus on engagement and direction. On Monday, all students will be in homerooms to celebrate family pride and to celebrate upcoming November birthdays. On Tuesday and Thursday, students will have the opportunity to learn more about Assumption’s recycling program and engage in a personal assessment of study habits in homeroom and class meeting. And on Friday, all students will be in homeroom to learn more about our continuing efforts to recruit the class of 2026 and how each of them can make an impact on those efforts.
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.
COMPETITIVE SUMMER PROGRAMS: Parents of juniors interested in applying for the Governor’s Scholars Program (GSP): Juniors were invited to attend one of two informational meetings on September 27 and 30 about the application process for this program. Applications are due to the Guidance Office on Thursday, November 11, at 8:15 a.m. A timeline, helpful online links, and a checklist can be found here: GSP Timeline. Please contact KELLY KIRWAN regarding any questions about the application.
Two other programs available to students include the Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA) and the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE). GSA is available for sophomore and junior students interested in the performing, visual, and creative arts. The application deadline is Sunday, January 9, 2022, and information can be found at here. Students serious about applying are strongly recommended to attend a virtual information session. If a student is interested in GSA, she needs to contact her guidance counselor.
Another program, GSE, is available for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors interested in innovation in business. The application will be available on November 15, 2021. Information about GSE can be found at http://kentuckygse.com/. On Wednesday morning, November 17 Assumption has invited the executive director of GSE to come and speak to interested students. This is a Lead and Learn day, and the meeting will take place before school at 8:30 a.m. in the theater. Even if a student is not enrolled in a business course, we encourage any freshman, sophomore, or junior to attend. For more information about GSE, go to https://kentuckygse.com/. Further questions? Contact SANDY MAXTED or KELLY KIRWAN or any guidance counselor. Students may earn scholarships to attend schools in Kentucky if they are selected for any of these programs.
INTRAMURALS – KICKBALL TOURNEY: The Athletic Department is excited to announce the first intramural sports event of the year! We are having a kickball tournament on Sunday, October 31, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Green. Players are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes! There will be a costume contest and the winner will get a $25 Chick-fil-A gift card. Each family will have a team, and each student will earn 30 family points for participating. Students can sign up at this link: https://forms.gle/2hh1t8frjgeYdkU38. Each student will need a signed permission slip, which can be picked one during lunches in the cafeteria on October 22, 26 and 29 or from the athletic office.
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 the AHS gym. Freshman parent meeting immediately after practice on October 27. Please email Coach Stacy Pendleton with any questions: stacy.pendleton@jefferson.kyschools.us
LAST CALL! ROSE AWARD NOMINATIONS DUE TODAY: 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