We are just a week away from our Meet & Greet and only 11 days from our first day of school! We can’t wait to welcome you all and begin a great year together! Please read this entire email, as there is a LOT of important information below!
All families are invited to join us for Meet & Greet on Thursday, August 17, from 3-5pm on the recess pad. We’ll begin with a short prayer service centered on our theme for the year, Building a Strong Foundation in Christ. You’ll then have time to visit classrooms, meet teachers, and catch up with friends. ASPA is providing Kona Ice, Deb’s Embroidery will be selling spirit wear, and we’ll have a DJ! Please also consider bringing a box of cereal for our annual donation to Loaves & Fishes.
If you’re still in need of uniforms, be sure to stop by the Uniform Resale this Saturday, August 12, 10am-12pm outside Door 1. All gently used uniforms will be available for $5.
Class lists aren’t quite ready to go live in FACTS, but we’ve created homeroom lists that can be viewed here as I know everyone is excited to learn who their homeroom teacher will be. Class list information should be available in FACTS no later than Monday, including full schedules for junior high students. I’ll send another email letting you know when this is complete.
I’ve also added a few bios to our new faculty and staff list as we welcome 3 additional new staff members: Mrs. Eckman will be teaching 7th grade Pre-Algebra, Mrs. Bullock will be assisting Mrs. Greco in PK4, and Mrs. Kristof will be a part-time nurse as Mrs. Fuller transitions to part-time. They are all excited to meet you and your children soon!
Thanks for your patience as we adjust to FACTS, our new Student Information System. This is a big change for you, and for our faculty and staff. We are all learning a lot! There are a few things you need to do in FACTS before the school year begins, including updating your family’s information and emergency contacts, reading and agreeing to our Parent-Student Handbook and Technology Acceptable Use Agreements, and ordering lunch. Please click here for a video on how to access this important information in FACTS. Each family must sign off on the handbook before the first day of school, and sign off on the technology agreements in order for your child to receive his/her device (iPad or Chromebook) at school.
As the video will show, when you log into your FACT Family Portal you need to select Web Forms from the lefthand menu and complete each of the 3 Web Forms listed (Family Demographic, Parent-Student Handbook Agreement, and Student Dismissal). For Family Demographic, make sure you then click each form within the form to update your information and provide us with at least two emergency contacts OTHER THAN you, the parents.
Arrival and Dismissal are two of the most important parts of our day, as it is essential that all our students arrive and dismiss safely. Procedures will be the same as last year. For a refresher (and for new families), please read below and view this map for a visual. To help ensure the first day goes smoothly, please complete the arrival/dismissal Web Form on FACTS (see my video above) by Thursday, 8/17.
Arrival
When you arrive on campus, you will use the far west entrance. We ask you to form two car lines leading to Door 1 (front of the building) and Door 7 (proceeding around the back of the building). Please pull up to limit the space between you and the car in front of you to make space for more cars. Beginning at 7:35am, students may disembark from their cars by Door 7 and gather in the Safety Zone. Students will be led into the building beginning at 7:45am. Students may begin entering the building at Door 1 at 7:45am. All K-8 students are expected to arrive by 8am. Students may enter at Door 1 or Door 7 based on personal preference. We do recommend that all Kindergarten students enter at Door 7, as there will be additional staff available to assist them as needed. For safety and efficiency, parents should stay in the car throughout the drop-off procedure. To keep the drop-off lines moving, we ask all students to be ready to exit their car when they reaching the unloading zone, with backpack handy.
Preschool students will drop off at Door 5 between 8am and 8:15am. Preschool students with older siblings are allowed to be dropped off with their older siblings after 7:35.
Before Care will be available to all families daily. Before care is supervised by ASCA faculty and staff from 7:00am-7:45am daily in the cafeteria. Students attending before care will enter at Door 7; no pre-registration is necessary. Families using before care will be charged a flat rate of $3 per student per day, billed through FACTS.
District 203 busing will be available to and from school for families that live in D203 boundaries and at least 1.5 miles from school. We will provide more information on bus routes to those families as soon as it is available. As many of you know, our morning bus routes arrive at ASCA early. There is no charge for busing, but students who take the bus to school in the morning and arrive before 7:35am will be charged for Before Care services.
Dismissal
Preschool students will dismiss at Door 1 at 3:00pm. Parents should park in an available parking spot and walk up to the coned area to retrieve your child. All children must be escorted by a parent/guardian when leaving the coned area and walking through the parking lot.
K-8 students (and preschool students with older siblings) will have two options for dismissal, Door 1 and Door 7. At Door 1, parents will park in an open spot and walk to the coned area, where students will be stand. Parents will retrieve their students from the coned area and escort them back to the car. For the safety of all, students may not leave the coned area unless accompanied by a parent/guardian. Staff will be available to assist with connecting students to their parents. Once a parent and student have been united, parents are responsible for monitoring their student and ensuring they are safety escorted through the parking lot to their car. You are welcome to stay and visit with other parents in the coned area, but please be sure to supervise your child(ren) during this time so the teachers can return to the building. For ease of connecting students to parents, Kindergarten-2nd grade students (and preschool siblings) will exit Door 1 at 3:25pm to be connected with parents first. 3rd-8th grade students will dismiss at 3:30pm.
K-8 families may also use the car line for dismissal at Door 7. We will provide you with a name sign to place in your window or visor. You will still enter campus at the west entrance and then will proceed around the back of the building and form a line around the safety zone. At 3:30pm students will be dismissed to the safety zone and will begin to load into cars there.
We expect things will be a little slow these first few days as everyone adjusts to the procedures. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding!
Lunch Ordering is now available via FACTS! Watch my video above to see how/where to order lunch. Orders are under the "Student" tab on your FACTS Family Portal, and all billing is directly through FACTS so you don't need to worry about sending in cash or check anymore! As a reminder, we will only be offering milk and water in August the first two weeks. Hot lunch will begin after Labor Day. All August/September orders must be placed by Sunday, August 20th.
As we get ready for a new school year, we also encourage you to get involved as a volunteer! There are many ways to volunteer throughout the year, both in classrooms and behind the scenes. We welcome you to partner with us in whatever capacity you are able. There are a few requirements of all volunteers before they are able to assist in a school setting, including an online Protecting God’s Children class. If you’re new to ASCA or haven’t yet volunteered, click here for directions on completing these requirements. If you’re a longtime volunteer, you likely received an email from Virtus asking you to complete a refresher training course online. This is a new Diocesan requirement this year but is something that all staff and volunteers do need to complete in order to work/volunteer at All Saints. Get a jump start on it now, before school begins, so you’re ready to get involved later in the year!
A group of ASCA parents is trying to organize a new community building event this year, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament! They are trying to gauge interest in this to inform their planning. Click here to take a short one-question survey to help them plan!!
Waterleaf Women's Center is planning their 2nd Annual Run for Life on September 9th, 2023, at Waubonsie Lake Park in Aurora, in celebration of their 14th birthday. The greatest part about last year's race was the amount of families and young people who came and either participated in the run/walk or volunteered to help us organize and execute this "life-saving" event. Click here for more information!
Thanks for reading this long but important message. As always, reach out with any questions or concerns - we are happy to help! Please keep our faculty and staff in your prayers in the coming days as they prepare classrooms and lessons. We are praying for your families as well and look forward to seeing you all soon!
Warm regards,
Margie Marshall