Saints Speak from Mrs. Marshall - 3/6/2025 - We Can Do Great Things With the Help of the Holy Spirit

This is a busy time of year at ASCA, and I apologize for another longer Saints Speak this week. Please read the full message so you don’t miss anything! Today’s Saints Speak includes the next year’s calendar, a change to FFO, and lots more! 

As we begin Women’s History Month, we have a female saint this week – St. Catherine of Alexandria. She is also one of the patron saints of students. St. Catherine lived many years ago, in the 3^rd century, and she became a Christian when she was a teenager. At that time, Christians were being persecuted by the emperor for their faith, and St. Catherine spoke out against the emperor’s cruelty. St. Catherine was well-educated and from nobility, so instead of immediately persecuting her as well, the emperor had her debate his brightest philosophers. He thought this would make her see the faults of Christianity, but the opposite happened. The Holy Spirit was with St. Catherine, and she spoke so intelligently and eloquently in the debate that several of the pagan philosophers converted to Christianity themselves! As we begin this Lenten season, she is a reminder that we can do great things with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Lenten Service Project

As I mentioned last week, Lent is a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. All are invited to participate in almsgiving through our Lenten Service Project. Throughout the week of March 24^th, we will be collecting toiletries for Ronald McDonald House. Each grade is being asked to bring a specific item so we can then assemble “toiletry kits” for the families. We are also looking for families to help assemble the kits after school on April 8^th. Click here for more information on which toiletries we are collecting and to sign up for the assembly day. Thank you to Therese Berger and Kendele Hickombottom for organizing this, and thank you all in advance for your generosity toward these families in need!

2025-2026 Calendar

Click here to access the calendar for the 2025-2026 school year. Additional events will be added as they get closer, but this calendar shows the important dates you need to know such as when school starts and ends, Christmas and spring break, and early release days.

DDA Update

I hope you’re getting just as excited for the DDA as I am! We are expecting a big crowd, and it’s going to be a great night celebrating All Saints’ 20^th anniversary.

We are still in need of wine bottle donations for the wine pull. If you are able, consider donating a bottle of wine with a value of $20 or more. Wine bottles can be brought to the welcome desk. Thank you for considering!

Don’t forget to check out the raffles as well! You don’t want to miss your chance to win a trip to Vegas or $5000 off next year’s tuition! Silent and live auction items will be live on Givesmart on Tuesday so you can start perusing those as well!

FFO Policy Change for 2025-2026

For the 2025-2026 school year, we will no longer require a Family Fundraising Obligation (FFO). Our research has shown that two-thirds of FFO was being paid directly by families in May and not through the fundraising opportunities available. To make it easier for families to plan for this expense, we are rolling the FFO into tuition for the 25-26 school year and will then offer opportunities for tuition credit for the families that want to participate.

What does this mean for my family?

Tuition will look higher next year, but this is because FFO ($500 per K-8 family) is now a part of tuition rather than a separate fee. Tuition is NOT drastically increasing!

I usually just pay the $500 in May when it is charged to my FACTS account. What will happen now?

Now, the $500 is spread out over your 11-month tuition payment plan, so you will pay an extra $45 per month rather than $500 all at once in May. We hope this helps with budgeting and planning!

I participated in the FFO opportunities! Can I still earn that money off my tuition?

Yes!!! You will still have opportunities to receive tuition credits for the following activities, and you might end up with even more money earned:

• RaiseRight (SCRIP) will still be available to all families. Tuition credits earned via RaiseRight will be applied to your account two times per year. Credits earned now through November 30^th will be applied to your tuition in December, and credits earned December 1, 2025-April 30, 2026 will be applied to your tuition in May. The bonus: there is no limit to what you can earn! In past years anything earned via RaiseRight over $500 was split with the school. Now, you’ll get 100% of the tuition credit!

• Charleston Wrap will still be sold each fall! Any credit earned through this popular sale will be applied directly to your tuition account no later than January.

• DDA auction item donations will still be accepted and eligible for a tuition credit. If you donate an item or gift card to the DDA to be included in the auction, you will receive a tuition credit for 50% of the amount the item earns in the auction, up to $750 total.

• Referral credits will go directly to your tuition! Refer a family to ASCA and you’ll have the opportunity to earn $250 off your tuition!

This policy change has been approved by the Board of Directors, Fundraising Committee, and Finance & Operations Committee. We hope this will simplify your planning and eliminate some of the confusion surrounding FFO, while still giving families opportunities to reduce their tuition.

If you have any questions, we will be hosting a virtual Q&A to address them on Monday, March 24^th, at 6:30pm. You can send questions to me in advance or ask them live at that time. We will record the Q&A as well. Use the information below to access the virtual Q&A.

Time: Mar 24, 2025 06:30 PM Central Time
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/84264005995?pwd=kGDtta44TgP4ddHFrws1as4kcbEsJZ.1
Meeting ID: 842 6400 5995
Passcode: 3MbGhf

Report Card Reminder

Second trimester report cards go home tomorrow! As a reminder, please sign and return the envelope on Monday. The report card is yours to keep. Honor Roll will be shared in next week’s Saints Speak and announced at next Friday’s Mass. 

Athletics Update

Two of our basketball teams have advanced in the playoffs and will be playing for the championship on Saturday! Best of luck to our Boys 7A and 6B2 teams. If you’re able, go cheer them on this weekend. Good luck, Saints!!

• Boys 6B2 play Saturday at Joliet Catholic Academy at 10:15am

• Boys 7A play Saturday at Providence Catholic High School at 8:15pm

Congratulations as well to Mason Elliott and Ashley Shiffer, two of our 8^th grade athletes that were selected to represent ASCA on the All-Conference basketball team. We are proud of you!

Parish News

This weekend, Our Lady of Mercy Parish is hosting Doug and Dave’s show, Mass Confusion, for their parish mission. Consider joining for this free, family-friendly event featuring faith, family, humor, and music! The mission is Saturday March 8^th at 6pm and Sunday March 9^th at 2pm; both days are different so you can attend one or both! Click here for more information.

Saintly Acts

Congratulations to the following students who earned Saintly Acts this week: Emma D. G. (1^st grade), Charlotte H. (3^rd grade), Evelyn K. (1^st grade), Johnny D. (6^th grade), Edward H. (1^st grade), Claire M. (1^st grade), Sophia M. (1^st grade), Emmy R. (1^st grade), Quinn T. (6^th grade), Adalynn W. (1^st grade), Colette B. (Kdg), Mateo D. (4^th grade), Jackson D. (Kdg), Alexa L. (4^th grade), Max M. (1^st grade), Genevieve S. (4^th grade), and Ryan H. (1^st grade). Keep being saintly!

Warm regards,

Margie Marshall

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A Tremendous Thank You to the Diamond, Platinum, and Cornerstone Sponsors of our 2024 Dinner Dance Auction (DDA):  Masquerade Gala

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.