Saints Speak from Mrs. Marshall - 2/22/2024 - Prayer: Beautiful, Heartfelt and Honest

Please take a few minutes to reflect on these words from Pope Francis: 

“Praying always lifts us out of our worries and concerns. It makes us rise above everything that hurts, upsets or disappoints us, and helps to put ourselves in the place of others, in their shoes.” 

I had this opportunity at last night’s Family Stations of the Cross. ASCA families joined together to pray the Stations, led by our students. This time together was extra special because for each station there was a prayer not only read by a student but also written by a student. Their prayers were beautiful, heartfelt, and honest. For thirty minutes, I was lifted out of my own worries and able to focus on the story of Christ and the prayerful words of our students. I am so grateful for these opportunities for prayer in our school community!

2024-2025 Calendar

Our calendar for the 2024-2025 school year is now available! Click here to access all the important dates for next school year. We appreciate you making every effort to plan vacations during our scheduled breaks so we can make the most of our time together in the classrooms!

23 Days until the DDA!!

The 19^th Annual Dinner Dance Auction is quickly approaching! Make sure you get your tickets now so you can join the 300+ parents and friends of ASCA who will be attending this amazing event. We are so excited to celebrate with you!

The student raffles will be a little different this year as we celebrate the 12 Days of DDA! Tickets are $5 each of 5 for $20, and each ticket gives you 12 chances to win 12 awesome prizes. We’ll draw a winner each school day beginning next Wednesday, until the DDA. Click here for more information on the prizes or to buy your tickets.

DDA Fund A Need

For last year’s DDA Fund A Need, as many of you remember, I asked you to show your support for our most important asset – our faculty – and you did! The teachers and I cannot say thank you enough for the incredible support you demonstrated that night, when we raised $110,000 for teacher salary supplements. We were, and continue to be, blessed by your generosity and grateful for your confidence in us as educators.

Now, one year later, I humbly ask you to consider supporting this same cause. I ask this, not because our teachers are greedy or our administration is looking to take advantage of your generosity. I ask simply because the need is so great.

As I shared last year, teachers in the Diocese of Joliet are paid significantly less than their counterparts in the public schools and even in some of our neighboring Catholic schools. Research shows that teacher quality matters more to student achievement than any other aspect of schooling. At All Saints I am blessed to work with an incredibly gifted and dedicated faculty whose value far exceeds their pay. They care deeply for each child in their classroom, highlighting their strengths and helping them overcome challenges to reach their full potential. Many of our teachers hold advanced degrees, and they all spend countless hours furthering their own education and researching new instructional strategies and ideas to best meet the needs of their students. Beyond their academic expertise, they share the love of Christ with our students each day, leading by their example of love and kindness. When you send your children off to ASCA each morning, you know that they are in good hands and that we love and care for them as we would our own children.

Teaching in any capacity, and especially at a Catholic school like All Saints, is much more than a job. As Catholic school educators, we trust that this is how God has called us to serve Him, and we are honored to do so. Our teachers are committed to this work and believe wholeheartedly in its value. While no teacher chooses this path for financial gain, they still deserve a fair and just wage for the work they do each day. Last year, as a school community we committed to making this a reality for our faculty. Through your generosity at last year’s DDA, we were able to offer all teachers a 10% salary supplement above the Diocesan pay scale for the 23-24 school year, in addition to investing part of the funds for future salary supplements. This raised the median full-time salary for ASCA teachers to $39,344. It allowed us to recruit and retain high-quality educators. Most importantly, our teachers felt valued and appreciated for their efforts and their expertise. On behalf of each and every teacher at All Saints, I thank you!

This is an excellent step in the right direction, but it’s not yet enough. At just under $40,000, our median teacher salary this year is only 75% of what a first-year teacher would earn in Naperville D203, despite our teachers having an average of 17 years of teaching experience each. Our goal for the coming year is to provide teachers with a 20% salary supplement above the Diocesan pay scale. This would raise the median salary to approximately $43,000, compensating our teachers more fairly for the great work they do each day. With your help, we can reach this goal!

In the coming weeks please prayerfully consider how you are able to support this cause at the upcoming Dinner Dance Auction. Each contribution makes a difference as we build this fund for our teachers. Thank you in advance for your consideration!

RoboThink STEM Robotics Workshop

Attention, future innovators and robotics enthusiasts! Prepare to unlock your full potential as RoboThink invites you to embark on an extraordinary journey into the thrilling world of robotics! Each student will build and play with their own robot, using mainboards, DC motors, gears and axles to bring their robots to life!  No prior experience necessary- just bring your passion for building and learning! Click here for more information. Only 20 spots available, so sign up fast! Sign up here today!

Saintly Acts

Congratulations to the following students who were recognized today for their recent Saintly Acts: Derek L. (8^th grade), Rhyan M. (Kdg), Charlotte P. (1^st grade), Paulina W. (1^st grade), Rory M. (Kdg), Matheos F. (1^st grade), Courtney M. (4^th grade), Josie N. (3^rd grade), Amelia N. (3^rd grade), and Brooks W. (1^st grade). Keep being saintly!

Warm regards,

Margie Marshall

Did YOU know that All Saints is on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Check Us Out on Social Media, and please share the good news that is happening at All Saints.  

We welcome all of our new and existing followers!!!  Click on the icons below to take a look.

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.