Patty Bajek / Thursday, March 16, 2023

Saints Speak - 3/16/2023 - Restoring Hope

Please take a few minutes to reflect on today’s quote from Pope Francis:

“We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.”

This is a tall order that Pope Francis is giving us! When we read something like this, it may be hard to think of how it applies to our daily lives. These charges are vague, intangible, and might seem like pie-in-the-sky goals or nice words on paper rather than actionable items. We know, however, that great things don’t happen overnight, they happen with thousands of small steps over time. What small step can you take, today, toward just one of these areas? How can you spread love today?

Lent

In order to better prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter, we need to quiet ourselves so that we have time to truly recognize Jesus’s sacrifice for each of us. Our family challenge for the coming week is to turn off the extra noise in our lives (use of phones, digital devices, etc.). If we empty ourselves of this noise, we can be filled with God’s sacrificial love, which will bring us closer to Him.

DDA Update

It’s finally here – the Great Gatsby Gala is this Saturday! I hope you’re as excited as we are! We have so many amazing auction items and a great evening planned. If you want to get a jump start on creating your auction game plan, or if you aren’t able to make it Saturday but would like to bid on items, come to school this afternoon, 2:30-3:30, or tomorrow after Mass. All auction items will be on display in McSherry Hall for a preview.

There’s still time to get in on the raffles, too! Tuition Credit Raffle and Raffle Basket tickets may be purchased online at asca23.givesmart.com. If you are not attending Saturday night, your last chance to get 50/50 Raffle tickets at school is tomorrow morning. Ticket sales at school will close at 10am Friday morning and then re-open for in-person purchase at the event. The 50/50 pot is up to $5,300, so don’t miss your chance to win big!!

Congratulations, ASCA Students!

We are so proud of our Saints! Three of our basketball teams won their Championship games last weekend. Congratulations to our 5A Boys, 7A Boys, and 8A girls. The 8A girls also finished the season undefeated. Way to go, Saints!

We also had eight students compete at the Regional Science Fair last week, and six of them are advancing to the State competition next month! Congratulations to Chase Deckard, Britta Hinz, Grace Pinnow, Pyper Schweiner, Molly Spencer, and Natalie Tomeczko!

Student Council Bake Sale

Student Council is hosting a bake sale tomorrow for St. Patrick’s Day! Baked goods will be available for purchase after school at doors 1 and 7 for $1 each.

Volunteers Needed

Hearing and vision screenings will take place on Thursday, April 13th, and Wednesday, May 3rd, for students in qualifying grade levels. We are looking for volunteers both mornings to assist with bringing students back and forth from classrooms to the screenings. If you are able to help out, please contact Mrs. Fuller at sfuller@ascacademy.org. Thank you!

Empower Illinois

Empower Illinois celebrated another record-breaking year in 2022! Read more about their successes in awarding tax credit scholarships in their recently published impact report. In the past 5 years, Empower has awarded 57 scholarships to ASCA students, allowing students to attend our school when they might not otherwise have been able to do so. As you know, there is a sunset clause in the legislation for the tax credit scholarship program, and the program may end in the coming year if new legislation is not passed. Look for updates in the spring on how we can do our part to advocate for the program's extension.

Saintly Acts

Congratulations to the MANY students who earned Saintly Acts this week: Emmy Z. (1st grade), Hayden W. (3rd grade), James B. (5th grade), RJ S. (5th grade), Addison B. (6th grade), Ellie C. (6th grade), Harper T. (6th grade), Charlie J. (6th grade), Caitlyn M. (6th grade), Hanna Z. (8th grade), Olivia S. (7th grade), Hudson M. (3rd grade), Yusuf Q. (3rd grade), Sam C. (3rd grade), Michael H. (3rd grade), Tristan V. (3rd grade), Hayden D. (8th grade), David H. (8th grade), Lucas J. (7th grade), AJ H. (2nd grade), Piper E. (2nd grade), Skylar V. (2nd grade), Leyla W. (2nd grade), Alexa L. (2nd grade), Noah B. (3rd grade), Mary D. (5th grade), Joseph C. (5th grade), Emmett E. (5th grade), Jaxson M. (Kdg), Logan M. (4th grade), Luna T. (5th grade), Julie Ann C. (1st grade), Noah D. (1st grade), Vivienne R. (1st grade), Isabelle A. (3rd grade), Raina K. (3rd grade), Shyla T. (3rd grade), Shivani S. (3rd grade), Andrew C. (4th grade), London B. (Kdg), KJ G. (Kdg), Logan U. (6th grade), Kaya P. (2nd grade), Henry R. (5th grade), Mason W. (5th grade), Norah G. (5th grade), Liz T. (8th grade), Siya V. (1st grade), Evan C. (7th grade), Colin S. (8th grade), and Liam F.C. (8th grade). Keep being saintly!

I can’t wait to see you Saturday at the DDA!

Margie Marshall