Rocket Report – Friday, October 29, 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Today we shared with students some of the exciting changes that we have made to Open House for this year. In addition, we had several students share their own experiences at Open House and the importance of leaving the legacy of this community to our future Rockets.  We were reminded that we are all recruiters for Assumption!  Today, we ask you, our parents, to continue this legacy by personally inviting a prospective family to our Open House on Saturday, November 13, between 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. They can register online by visiting our website here.  Thank you, in advance, for your continued support! 

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 10/21/2021) there were no COVID cases!

As mentioned previously, we partnered with Wild Health to provide free COVID rapid testing here at AHS as an additional strategy to keep our community healthy, however very few individuals are taking advantage of this service. Wild Health has indicated that if there is not more demand for rapid testing here at AHS, they will discontinue it. As a reminder, free COVID rapid testing is available here at AHS every Wednesday morning from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. 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.

In addition, 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:   

  • ROSE THEATRE PRODUCTION: The Rose Theatre Company’s performances of Steel Magnolias begin tonight! Performances are 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. 

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! 

AP CAPSTONE PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT:  On Thursday, November 18, at 6:30 p.m., parents and their daughters are invited to attend the AP Capstone Program information night in the Media Center. Access will be available through the CAC entrance. The AP Capstone 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 highly recommend that you and your daughter attend this meeting as it will provide information about the benefits of completing the AP Capstone certificate or diploma.  Assumption is the only Catholic high school in Louisville, one of only 23 high schools in the state of Kentucky, and one of only 2,000 schools in the nation to offer this robust research experience. The program will last one hour. Any questions? Contact Kelly Kirwan.  

  

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 CINDI BAUGHMAN 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 is fine) 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 in order 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 44 in the STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK.  

INCLEMENT WEATHER:  With winter not far away, we would like to remind parents of our inclement weather policies.  You may also refer to pages 34-35 of the STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK for detailed information.  This is a great time to check your PowerSchool information and make sure you are signed up for text PowerAlerts.  When the Archdiocese of Louisville makes a call about school closings due to inclement weather, we will send PowerAlerts to those who have registered.  You may also listen to local radio and television stations for an announcement that all Catholic high schools in Jefferson County are closed or on a delayed schedule.   

  • When the schools are closed, Assumption High School will declare a traditional snow day, virtual learning day, or a digital learning day via the PowerAlert system. The first snow day of the 2021-2022 school year will be a traditional snow day with no digital or virtual learning. When school is closed, all extracurricular and athletic events are cancelled (unless a special exception is approved by the president or principal). See page 54 in the Student-Parent Handbook (link above) for details regarding attendance and assignments and activities on digital and virtual learning days.  
  • When the school is on a delayed schedule, Assumption will follow our 9:15 a.m. schedule (our usual “Wednesday schedule”), but all morning activities will be cancelled including detention, testing pool, and meetings.  In the case of a delayed opening, the school building will open and before school supervision will begin in the cafeteria at 8:15 a.m. If your daughter drives to school or carpools with another student, please note: If parents have concerns about their daughter driving in inclement weather, they should not allow her to drive to school on a day when inclement weather is predicted. If it appears that inclement weather is on the way, we will allow students to leave early (prior to dismissal) only if their parents come to get them — students will not be released on the basis of a phone call or email or because their carpool driver is going home early.   This information will be reviewed with students in November. 

IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR THOSE WHO DROP OFF AND/OR PICK UP STUDENTS: Please remember that vehicles may not queue on the paved shoulder along Bardstown Road in front of Assumption; per our binding elements with the Planning and Zoning Commission, the shoulder is not to be used as a turning lane nor as a waiting area for vehicles prior to entering the carpool lane on campus. You may think you are helping traffic flow on Bardstown Road by using the shoulder as a turning lane, but you are actually creating a very dangerous situation when cars are trying to turn right onto campus from Bardstown Road (which is what they are supposed to do even if it means they are stopped on the road), other cars are trying to turn right onto campus from the shoulder (which they aren’t supposed to do), and other cars are trying to turn left onto campus from Bardstown Road, For the safety of all, please do not use the shoulder as a turning lane or a waiting area.  

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. 

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 ORDERS DUE TODAY:  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 focused on engagement and direction. On Monday, all students were in homerooms to celebrate family pride and upcoming November birthdays. On Tuesday and Thursday, students had the opportunity to learn more about Assumption’s recycling program and engaged in a personal assessment of study habits in homeroom and class meeting.  And on Friday, all students were 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. 

Next week, during LEAD & Learn, activities for students will once again focus on engagement.  On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, students will move through a rotation of family meetings to plan for Canstruction, homeroom activities for French Week, and leadership training for our club leaders.  Research shows that students who are engaged in co-curricular activities do better academically. 

CANSTRUCTION:  Canstruction is coming up! Canstruction is one of the biggest events in our Assumption community. This event provides the opportunity to donate to Dare to Care by bringing in canned goods for those in need.  An Assumption tradition since 2006, Canstruction not only provides food for the community at large (over 15,000 pounds of food during our last collection!), but also provides an opportunity for family bonding. The families collect cans in their homerooms as well as strengthen family relationships. Canstruction is Monday, November 22, so that will be the last collection day, but we will begin collecting cans on November 8.   We are looking forward to having the Assumption community help the Louisville community through our partnership with Dare to Care! 

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.  

Gratefully, 

Martha Tedesco 

Principal