Saints Speak – 9/28/2017 - Courage and Living the Mission
Putting the All Saints Catholic Academy School Mission In to Action
Every morning, our students recite our school mission:
The mission of All Saints Catholic Academy is to develop future leaders who are formed by academic excellence, service to others, and respect for all in a Christ-centered community.
A group of All Saints 5th grade students have been trying to meet with me for over week. Our virtue of the week is Courage. It took a lot of courage for these students to come to the school office to talk with me. Courage defined is the ability to face difficulties and overcome fear with faith. The word courage has roots in Latin, French and Spanish words all meaning “heart”. When we talk about courage, we are talking about something deep inside of each one of us.
Once I finally connected with these students, I was blown away by their compassion and desire to help others. This group of young men and women have been reflecting on our school mission in light of the recent natural disasters that have devastated millions of people in Florida, Texas, Mexico City and Puerto Rico; and they would like to help, putting simple words into action. Think about the word encourage that has the word courage as part of it. To encourage another person is to make them stronger, or to give them heart. I am excited to see what our students and school community can accomplish in living our school mission.
This group of young people will be conducting a clothing drive and a bake sale. All proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross.
The Clothing Drive will be held from Tuesday, October 10 through Friday, October 13. Please bring any gently used clothing that you wish to donate to school. There will be collection boxes. Let's all work towards making these boxes overflow with clothing and love.
A Bake Sale will be held after school on Friday, October 13 after school. Donations of baked goods can be dropped off in the school cafeteria before school on Friday.
Let’s all join together during the week of October 10 through 13 to make a difference in service to others.
Security – Protocol and Procedure
All Saints recently initiated a soft lockdown upon notification of an incident in South Naperville that involved police activity. At this point, staff moved forward to execute our soft lockdown protocol and procedures, and All Saints Catholic Academy informed our school families via an email sent through SchoolSpeak of the soft lockdown. At no time, from the calling of the soft lockdown to when the soft lockdown was lifted, were our students and staff in immediate danger.
The safety of the school environment where your children spend much of their day is a top priority at All Saints Catholic Academy. Where safety is involved, communication is the key. The ability to contact parents and guardians via email is an important tool that All Saints will use to inform. All parents/guardians should have an email contact on record at ASCA. Currently, we have 42 parents on record who do not have an email address listed in our data base. Your email should be one that you check on a regular basis for all school communication. Each week, we send out the following email messages with important and timely communication:
- Saints Speak from Mrs. Santos (Thursdays)
- ASCA Weekend Sports Report (Fridays)
- This Week’s Reminders (formerly known as the Monday Reminders) (Sundays)
If you are not receiving these weekly communications, please contact Patty Bajek at pbajek@ascacademy.org with any questions.
In the unlikely event of an emergency situation involving the school where All Saints students, staff and administration would be in imminent danger, families would be notified by both phone and by email via our One Call Now Outcall System. This is another important reason to make sure that the school always has good phone and email contact information. In the near future, we will be doing a test of this outcall system, as it is also used in the event of an All Saints school closing due to extreme weather conditions in the winter. Please stay tuned for more details.
School administrators and staff would also follow our Crisis Management Plan, communicating closely with police, fire and health departments to ensure the safety of students and staff.
In the event of an emergency, we request that parents refrain from coming to the school, or contacting the school via phone, as this could interfere with emergency personnel and equipment.
Also note that official information would come from no one except a designated All Saints spokesperson:
- ASCA Pastoral President - Father Paul Hottinger
- Principal - Mrs. Melissa Santos
- Director of Student Services - Mrs. Patty Bajek
or their designee(s). Media inquiries would also be referred to the same designated spokespersons.
This past week we had our first Unannounced Fire Drill with Alarm (we have previously had an instructional fire drill with no alarm). It is important to practice all of our drills – Fire, Tornado, Bus Evacuation, Lockdown – so that we will know what to do to keep us safe in the event of an emergency.
Another major safety feature here at the school is our buzzer system found at both Door 1 (our Main Entrance) and at Door 7. Prior to buzzing anyone into the school, it is and has always been our school policy to request that the person wishing to enter the school identify themselves by name, and also state their reason/business purpose for entering the school.
I hope that no one is offended in the event that they are not recognized. We do have some new employees at All Saints, especially our two Welcome Desk Attendants at Door 1. They have met so many new students and families in the past five weeks. I encourage you to please introduce yourself to Geri or Diane when visiting the school. They look forward to meeting and getting to know each one of you!
Directory Spot, ASCA’s Online School Directory, Has Launched
Another great communication tool for our school families is our online school directory which is accessed via Directory Spot. We launched the 2017-2018 ASCA School Directory via email yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, September 27). All school parents/guardians with an email on record at All Saints should have received an email from Directory Spot with directions on how to access the school directory. What I love about the online directory is the amazing app that you can load on your phone. The directory is always at your finger tips. The launch email may have landed in your Spam, so please take a look if you do not recall seeing it. If you see any errors in your family’s entry, please contact Diane Weltzien at dweltzien@ascacademy.org, or Geri Everson at geverson@ascacademy.org. They will be happy to help correct any errors.
Also, please be aware that the school is unable to give out any contact information for a family that is not included in the school directory.
Spirit Wear Friday SURPRISE
I was so impressed with the enthusiastic, musical and prayerful participation of all of our students at this week’s school mass, that all students may wear dress down bottoms with their ASCA spirit wear top tomorrow, Friday, September 29. We will be having a Fall Sports Assembly in the afternoon. Please note that I expect each student to dress appropriately, and please use common sense and good judgement. Bottoms that are not allowed are as follows:
- Leggings/Jeggings
- Shorts that Are Too Short – Girls, if your fingertips with your arms at your sides are longer than your shorts, then your shorts are too short.
Bottoms that are allowed are
- Jeans
- Sweatpants
- Shorts and Pants
Grandparents Day Update
Grandparents Day will be held right before our Thanksgiving Break on Tuesday, November 21. Please note that this is a FULL DAY of School, with the Grandparents Day activities taking place in the afternoon of the 21st beginning at Noon. Please note that we queried our grandparents about the timing of the event. The majority of responses received indicated that an afternoon event would be preferred, which we are accomodating for the first time this year. We enjoy having our grandparents visit All Saints anytime; but we look forward to honoring them on this special day at All Saints Catholic Academy, and giving them a glimpse into their grandchild’s day.
Elan Photography Fall Portraits
Due to popular demand, Elan is now offering promotional a la carte pricing for families who would like to purchase photos, but who are not interested in purchasing a package.
A la carte pricing is ONLY AVAILABLE when using the ordering envelope. A la carte items cannot be purchased online.
- Package Letter G is 8 Jumbo Wallets for $13.50
- Package Letter H is one 8 x 10 for $13.50
- Package Letter I is for two 5 x 7’s for $13.50
Also note that proofs have not been retouched. If you have any questions about retouching or ordering, please contact Elan Photography at (630) 960-1400 or www.elanphotography.com.
Don't forget that there are still just a few Fall Family Photo Portrait appointments available on Sunday, October 15. Please call the school office at (630) 961-6125 to schedule your appointment today.
Trunk or Treat – Don’t Miss the Early Bird Registration
All Saints Catholic Academy is throwing a big party, our 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat on Friday, October 27, and EVERYONE is invited. A flyer with all of the details has been sent out to all youngest and only students.
New this week! Take advantage of the Early Bird Registration Special – Families who register their cars by 10/10 (October 10) will only pay $10. Please contact Jen Haidu at jennifer.haidu@yahoo.com with any questions.
“A Green Tie Affair” – Dinner Dance Auction, March 17, 2018
School Wide Auction Basket Collection
The DDA committee will again be collecting monetary donations for the School Wide Auction Baskets this year. Donations can be made via cash or check (payable to ASCA) through Friday, October 13, 2017. Monies donated will go toward the purchase of items for the baskets. Thanks to your generous support last year, these fun-filled baskets were a huge success!
Raffle tickets for the baskets will be sold leading up to the auction AND during the auction. This is a fun way for students and parents alike to participate in the auction; winners need not be present to win. Amazon Echo, Outside Movie Projector and Xbox One are just a few of the basket items from last year’s auction. Please look for the School Wide Auction Basket Collection flyer going home this week with your youngest and only.
Thank you for your support of the 2018 Dinner Dance Auction!
Out of Uniform Fundraiser benefitting the ASCA Class of 2019
The Out-of-Uniform Fundraiser is here! The 7th graders (Class of 2019) are offering Out-of-Uniform days to raise money for their 8th grade trip next year. Your child can enjoy a total of 5 Out-of-Uniform days by participating in the fundraiser. The Class of 2019 thanks you for your generous support!
To take advantage of the Prepaid Package, please return the form that came home with your youngest/only child by the Wednesday, October 4, 2017 deadline. Payment will be made via cash or check (payable to ASCA). If you prefer to pay for each Out-of-Uniform day separately, your child must bring in $10 cash the morning of each scheduled Out-of-Uniform day. There are 5 out of uniform days; so the prepaid package is a much better deal than paying as you go. Please contact Susan Glab at ks4glab@yahoo.com with any questions.
News from the ASAA – All Saints Athletic Association
Have you heard…..The TCBY Home Athlete of the Week for 9/22 is Emma Schwarz! In last week’s game on HOME court, Emma ran off 14 straight serves! Congratulations Emma and keep up your hard work!
Volleyball News . . .
Congratulations to the teams who brought home a victory this past weekend: Boys 5A; Girls 7A & 8A! A HUGE shout out to our Girls 5A team on their FIRST win!
All our teams continue to work hard on and off the courts and are playing great matches and seeing awesome accomplishments! Keep it up Saints!
Be sure to watch for the “Weekend Sports Report” to see where you can come out to watch our Saints play next!
Want to follow the team standings and future games? Schedules can be found at the Dupage Parochial League website http://www.dplvba.org.
Cross Country in the News . . .
Congratulations to our All Saints Cross Country runners who competed in Saturday’s meet at Kress Creek Farms. Our runners faced hot sun and record heat. Each runner should be commended for his/her efforts.
Congratulations to the members of our Cross Country team that brought home ribbons this week. Our 5th Grade Girls team earned 2nd place and our 5th Grade Boys team came in 4th place. Individual ribbon winners were: Emily Coleman (16th), Zoe Girard (18th), Kiley Senall (15th), Payton Knox (7th), and Brendon Fenlon (14th).
This week our runners will compete in the League Championships at Lewis University. Be sure to come out and cheer our runners on to a strong finish!
IMPORTANT & UPCOMING NEWS!
BLUE OUT is Friday, October 13! Come out and support our 8th graders as they close out their final season on HOME court beginning at 6pm!
Don’t forget your Blue Out t-shirt for free admission and a free popcorn! We still have tshirts available. Order forms are available on the SI Play site at https://asca.siplay.com/site/ClientSite/article/2984881 or by contacting Keith Glab (kglab@ascacademy.org) or Erika Baka (jnebaka@gmail.com) Get yours today!
Fall Sports Banquet will be held on Friday, November 10, 2017 at 6:30 pm. Invitations will be sent soon!
Basketball evaluations will be held for all grade levels (5th-8th) on Sunday, October 22. Watch your email for further information.
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@ASCA_Athletics) and Instagram (@allsaintsathletics)!
GO SAINTS!!
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