Saints Speak from Mrs. Marshall - 9/14/2023 - Small Yet Strong in the Love of God

Take a few minutes to reflect on today’s message from Pope Francis: 

“Small yet strong in the love of God, like Saint Francis of Assisi, all of us, as Christians, are called to watch over and protect the fragile world in which we live, and all its peoples.” 

St. Francis of Assisi has always been one of my favorite saints. His peaceful nature, love for animals, and care for creation are a reminder to us all of how to live as peacemakers in our world. As we approach the Feast of St. Francis in just a few weeks, take some time in prayer to contemplate how you are watching over and protecting the fragile around you.

Arrival and Dismissal

Beginning Monday, September 18, we will have a new traffic pattern for morning arrival! Please take a moment to click here and view the updated map. Note that dismissal will not change at this time. 

For ARRIVAL ONLY, all cars will now enter campus through the EAST driveway. Cars will then proceed to both Door 1 and Door 7 (unload at Door 7 beginning at 7:35 and at Door 1 beginning at 7:45). Please refer to the map, which shows the unloading spots between the red stars and blue stars. You may drop off at either door; please use whichever line is shorter to avoid a backup!

Cars that unloaded at Door 7 will drive around the back of the building and proceed to the west driveway to exit, turning RIGHT only. Cars that unloaded at Door 1 will then snake back through the lot and use the east driveway to exit, turning RIGHT only from the single turn lane. 

Preschool families will use the EAST driveway to enter campus, follow the arrows around the building past door 7 to unload at door 5 as they have in the past. Cars will then continue around the building to exit campus using the west driveway. Preschool parents, please note that your child will be unloading from the driver’s side of the car, so you may want to consider moving car seats if helpful.

Officers from the Naperville Police Department will be present Monday morning to assist as we all adjust to this new pattern. Thank you for your attention to the change, your patience, and your dedication to our children’s safety. I know for many of you who have been at ASCA for several years this will require some re-training of our brains and muscle memory, but we appreciate you partnering with us to adopt a new routine!

ASCA Fun Run

There are just 8 days until our Fun Run! Hopefully you saw yesterday’s email with more details about this important fundraiser. Last night over 60% of our students completed their nightly challenge by registering for the Fun Run – way to go! Congratulations to Mrs. Cappetta’s 2^nd graders and Mrs. Romani’s 5^th graders who had the highest percentage of students register and earned an extra recess. Tonight’s challenge is to begin collecting pledges! The class with the most pledges collected tonight will earn a popsicle party! If you haven't already done so, go to mybooster.com to register and begin collecting pledges!

MAP Testing

Our students are doing a great job with their IOWA tests this week. We know the week can be draining for them but appreciate them continuing to do their best. Next week our K-8 students will take their NWEA MAP assessments. MAP is a computer-based assessment; each child takes a Reading test and a Math test. The tests are self-paced and adaptive, so if a student gets a question correct they will be given a more challenging question. As a result, taking a long time on the test is not a bad thing – we encourage each child to work at their own pace and do their best on each question. If they get to a question they don’t know, that’s okay too; they are not expected to know every answer!

Why the double testing, you may ask? The IOWAs are taken once per year as required by the Diocese. While valuable, they do not allow us to measure student growth during the year since they are given so early in the year. MAP, on the other hand, is taken three times per year (September, January, and April) so we can measure student progress. It also provides more useful, specific data for teachers to use in the classroom to adjust instruction and meet each child’s academic needs.

The Diocese of Joliet has informed us that this is the last year of IOWA testing. This year a few schools in the Diocese are piloting a new assessment that would be more similar to MAP and given 3 times per year for all schools. Assuming all goes well with this pilot program, we expect to switch next year and eliminate the double testing here at ASCA.

Catholic Identity & Diversity Committee Update

We have found a wonderful new resource for families to celebrate our Catholic Faith and recognize the cultures in our community and world.  The website is Catholicculture.org The month of September is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, whose memorial the Church celebrates on September 15.   We also recognize quite a few other saints throughout the month.  

One way to celebrate these saints is through the food we eat, such as St. Michael's Gaufres, or waffles. In France, paper-thin sweet wafers called gaufres were baked by street vendors who set up their stands near the great cathedral to lure worshipers coming from Mass on St. Michael's Day to taste their wares. The Feast of St. Michael on September 29 has become a combined feast for the archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. This feast is also called Michaelmas.

If cooking is not your area of interest, then here is another activity your family can do together to celebrate today’s feast day, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Today we thank God for the blessing of Christ dying on the Cross, which opened the gates of heaven for mankind. All Catholic homes should have crucifixes, but here is a suggestion on making a homemade cross and incorporating the family in the project!

Invest in Kids Act Update

Our efforts to save the Invest in Kids program continue! For those new to ASCA who may not be familiar with Invest in Kids, it is a statewide program where individuals and corporations can make a donation to a scholarship-granting organization and receive a 75% tax credit on their state income taxes. Then, need-based scholarships are awarded so families who might otherwise be able to afford a private education can send their children to private schools like All Saints. 

Since the program’s inception in 2018, 61 scholarships have been awarded here at ASCA. If the program sunsets at the end of 2023 as currently planned, our school community will need to find funds to allow our current scholarship students to stay enrolled. Additionally, private and Catholic schools throughout the state that have a large number of scholarship students will be in danger of closing, as these schools will be unable to support the financial need of their families. 

There’s still time to act and voice your support of the Invest in Kids program! Visit www.savemyscholarship.com TODAY and click the “Contact Your Legislator” button. Your support will help students at ASCA and at Catholic and private schools throughout Illinois!

Charleston Wrap Update

Nearly 90 families are participating in the Charleston Wrap sale so far, and they have already earned over $4,300 toward their FFO! There are still two weeks to place your orders; don’t miss this chance to get great products while earning toward your FFO and supporting the school.

Local Parent Opportunities

There are a few local resources that have been shared by our parishes and local organizations that may be of interest to you related to mental health and parenting. 

• Need You Right Now is a mental health and crisis support ministry provided by two of our sponsoring parishes, St. Elizabeth Seton and St. Thomas the Apostle. They are offering an upcoming workshop called Parenting a Teen – click here for more information!

• St. Thomas the Apostle has an upcoming session titled Connecting the Dots focused on mental health, anxiety, and depression. Click here for more information. 

• DuPage County’s Regional Office of Education also has a Youth Mental Health workshop series throughout October that is free to all parents. Click here for more information.

Saintly Acts

Congratulations to these students who have earned Saintly Acts this week: Genevieve S. (3^rd grade), James B. (6^th grade), Grace C. (6^th grade), Jencarlo C. (8^th grade), Ty H. (8^th grade), Arthur V. (1^st grade), Isabelle A. (4^th grade), Clementine H. (4^th grade), Blake J. (4^th grade), Luke K. (4^th grade), Kameron G. (6^th grade), Charlotte H. (2^nd grade), Mattison B. (5^th grade), Patrick M. (5^th grade), Griffin M. (5^th grade), RJ S. (6^th grade), Luna T. (6^th grade), Caroline Z. (6^th grade), and Harrison D. (Kdg). Keep being Saintly!

Warm regards,

Margie Marshall

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A Tremendous Thank You to the Cornerstone Sponsors of our 2023 Dinner Dance Auction (DDA):  Great Gatsby Gala

Cornerstone Sponsors

We hope that you will support these generous benefactors of All Saints with your business.  Please thank them, and let them know that you are an All Saints school family.