Patty Bajek / Thursday, September 5, 2019

Saints Speak – 9/5/2019 – The Power to Change Lives

I have been an educator for almost 30 years, over half of my life. Even though I have been a school principal for the past 6 years, my heart will always be present in the classroom. If you ask any teacher why they chose to enter the teaching profession, they might joke about the two plus months of summer vacation, or about the financial rewards and compensation (not). To find the answer to this question, you have to dig a little bit deeper and more personal. When thinking about what called us to this vocation, almost every teacher would be united by the desire to impact peoples’ lives.

Just think about it. A great teacher wants to help each student along their life’s path; and play a part in shaping the student and person they ultimately will become. We have the privilege of helping to form this and subsequent generations to come. We are more often than not, not just ‘teacher’ to our students, your child(ren). We are mentors, confidants, and sometimes, even friends. We help parents to see their children for who they are, and what they can be.

Simply stated, teachers can and do make a difference. Education creates opportunity that can change the trajectory of a child’s life.

Now, I would like to share some important information about how you can make a difference in the life of a student here at All Saints.

At Curriculum Night, I spoke about a tax credit scholarship program here in Illinois that is often referred to as Empower Illinois, which is the name for this scholarship granting organization (SGO). This program has been had great impact at All Saints over the past two years. Receiving Empower Illinois scholarship funding has helped All Saints in two huge ways:

It has increased enrollment at All Saints, offering an outstanding education grounded in faith to new students and their families.

It has assisted our All Saints budget with an influx of additional monies to assist in scholarship assistance, from which all of our ASCA families have benefited. It has been a contributing factor to our not having to raise tuition costs in the past three years.

Your participation in this program would not only benefit ASCA students, but your family’s finances, as well.

Benefit to All Saints; benefit to you!

How can I take part in helping All Saints students to receive scholarship funding?

It’s as easy as 1-2-3!

Donate money to All Saints Catholic Academy via a scholarship granting organization (SGO) like Empower Illinois.

All Saints Catholic Academy can then use your donation to grant scholarships to qualifying students.

What do donors receive for their donation? Donors receive a 75% state tax credit on their donation. YES, 75% of your donation would come back to you as a tax credit, reducing the amount you owe to the state. 100% of your donation would go to an ASCA student for their education.

Here is an example that illustrates the impact that a $4,000 donation for tuition assistance to All Saints via Empower Illinois would have:

For a couple (John and Jane Asca) who has a $5,000 income tax liability that they owe the State of Illinois

With a gift directly to All Saints	With a gift to All Saints via Empower Illinois
John and Jane donate $1,000 in tuition assistance to All Saints directly.	John and Jane donate $4,000 in tuition assistance to All Saints via Empower Illinois.
John and Jane will still owe $5,000 in Illinois income tax since they receive no tax credit for their gift.	John and Jane now owe only $2,000 in Illinois income tax, because they have received a 75% tax credit ($4,000 * 75%, or $3,000) for their gift.
John and Jane are out of pocket $6,000 including their $1,000 donation, and their $5,000 state income tax liability.	John and Jane are out of pocket $6,000, but have quadrupled the amount of tuition assistance for an ASCA student ($4,000 vs. $1,000)

If you would like to see the money that you owe really make a difference at ASCA and not the State of Illinois, then I strongly encourage you to consider making a donation to Empower Illinois, and designate All Saints Catholic Academy as the recipient of your donation. You may wish to contact your tax advisor to discuss your family’s tax situation.

If you have any questions about the program, I invite you to contact me directly. I will be happy to answer any questions that you have, as I personally have contributed to Empower Illinois.

Our students have put together a video that beautifully illustrates how your participation in the Tax Credit Scholarship Program via Empower Illinois really has the power to change lives. Please click here to view this video.

You can complete the donation process in just three steps – register, reserve, and donate. To get started and find out more, please click here. This program really is a Winner Winner Chicken Dinner for All Saints. Just a reminder that donors have until November 30, 2019 to complete the process to donate monies for the current school year.

ASCA Mission and Vision / ASCA Parking Lot Safety Regulations

If you would like to find out more about All Saints mission and vision in our Strategic Plan that I gave an overview of at Curriculum Night, please click here.

Also, I would like for you take another look at pages 31 – 32 in the ASCA Parent Student Handbook, which details All Saints’ Parking Lot Safety Regulations. Click here for the handbook.

All Saints’ Electronic Directory – Directory Spot

We hope to launch our electronic school directory in the very near future. Stay tuned. Launch information will be sent via email to all parents who have an email address in SchoolSpeak.

Fundraising Corner

Next No Cookin’ in the Kitchen Night – MOD Pizza

Please put a save the date on Wednesday, September 25 – our next No Cookin’ in the Kitchen Night at MOD Pizza in downtown Naperville (103 S. Washington St., Suite 113, Naperville).

Stay tuned for more information to come. ASCA will earn from open to close on this day, so grab your friends, and plan a No Cookin’ lunch or dinner out. Please note that participation in No Cookin’ events do not count toward FFO.

Fall Book Fair – September 23 - 27

Our much anticipated Scholastic Fall Book Fair is almost here! The Arctic Adventure Book Fair has SNOW MUCH TO READ! The fair will arrive and be open for faculty and student previews on September 23rd. The fair will be open for sales September 24th-26th from 8 am-5 pm. Final sales only on September 27th from 8 - 10 am. All proceeds raised from the book fair go to fund the library, and do not count toward FFO.

The book fair is a great way to get involved and volunteer. If you are interesting in volunteering for the book fair, please sign up via the following link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0449A8A922A5FB6-20192

Please contact Kathy Kokkinos kkokkinos@ascacademy.org or Cristine Shaw cshaw@ascacademy.org with any questions.

News from All Saints Athletic Association

Have you heard… The TCBY Home Athlete of the week for August 23-25 was Ava Crowder! In the HOME court opening weekend, Ava ran off 17 consecutive serves to lead her team to a big win versus St. Joan of Arc. Congratulations Ava, keep up your hard work!

Volleyball News

All our teams continue to work hard on and off the courts and are playing great matches and seeing awesome accomplishments! Bringing home wins this past weekend were: Boys 7A, 8A1 and 8A2; Girls 5A, 6B, 7A, 7B and 8A. 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

This Saturday (9/7) is the first official meet of the SPL CC season. This week our Saints will be hosted by St. Irene and St. James at Clifford Johnson School/Summerlakes Park in Warrenville (2S700 Continental Drive). First race starts at 9:00 am. Continental Drive is accessed off of Rte. 59, just north of Butterfiled Rd. More information about the course can be found on the SPL website or at http://www.s-p-l.org/documents/XC_maps/Summerlakes.pdf

IMPORTANT & UPCOMING NEWS

Get your spirit on…..ASAA has new spirit wear offerings. There is still time to shop our online store at https://beta.inksoft.com/all_saints_academy_athletics/shop/home. Store will be open through today Thursday, September 5.

WANTED: ASAA is looking for parent(s) to produce a slideshow of our athletes for the Fall Sports Banquet. If interested, please contact our volleyball coordinator Kathy Kokkinos (flyinchippy@yahoo.com) or Erika Baka (jnebaka@gmail.com)

Be sure to check the concession stand at all HOME games where you can purchase a new All Saints sport decal for your car. Decals are available for Volleyball, Cross Country, Basketball and Track & Field. Not playing on home court? No worries, decals can also be purchased through Keith Glab, Athletic Director.

Mark your calendars for “BLUE OUT”

Scheduled for Friday, October 11th, we’ve got some new things planned for this year’s event! Get all your friends and family together, stack the stands, and come out to show our 8th grade athletes support as they play their final matches on home court! More info will follow in the coming weeks

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@ASCA_Athletics) and Instagram (@allsaintsathletics)!