Saints Speak from Mrs. Marshall - 8/25/2022 - The Power of Prayer

I have lots of information to share today as we conclude our 6th day of school!

In today’s message from Pope Francis, he talks about prayer:

“In prayer, there are no rich or poor, there are sons and daughters, sisters and brothers. In prayer, there is no first or second class, there is brotherhood. In prayer our hearts find the strength not to be cold and insensitive in the face of situations of injustice.”

Prayer unites us as a church community. It gives us strength, peace, and friendship. No matter what challenge we face, prayer is always available to us as a tool to help us work through it.

Speaking of prayer, we have two opportunities for parents to come together on a regular basis and pray the Rosary!

1.  Looking to carve out a few minutes of prayer each week? Hoping for more faith-filled fellowship? Sometimes it just takes one Hail Mary at a time! Please join us this Friday for Rosary Prayer in the Chapel before Mass. Parents are welcome to join at 7:55am. No experience necessary! Contact Jessica Brock at lujobromom@gmail.com or 630-864-7961 with any questions.

2.  Want to exercise, build friendships and grow in your faith? We are building a team of ASCA prayerful walkers! Park your car and take a walk after drop-off as we share and pray the Rosary following Holy Family School of Faith Podcast or using their app. It takes 20-24 minutes, including meditations. Come daily, or just once a week! This invitation is open to everyone in the ASCA community so we can build strong bonds based on our faith. For more information contact Laura Viquez at lauraviquez2@gmail.com or 805-720-2047.

We look forward to seeing you all next week for Curriculum Night! Curriculum Night for Kindergarten-5th grade will be Tuesday, August 30, beginning at 6:30pm. Curriculum Night for Preschool and 6th-8th grade will be Wednesday, August 31, also beginning at 6:30pm. Curriculum Nights are intended for the parents only, so please arrange for childcare if needed. All visitors should enter at Door 1 and proceed to the gym. We’ll begin with an introductory presentation, and then you will have the chance to visit your child(ren)’s classroom(s) for presentations from the teachers. For Kindergarten-5th grade, there will be two sessions so if you have two students in these grades you can attend both presentations. For junior high, you will follow the student’s schedule so you can meet all the teachers. Make sure your child has shared his/her schedule with you or that you can access SchoolSpeak.

We recognized our first group of students for Saintly Acts this morning! Throughout the week, teachers and staff nominate students for Saints Acts when they notice them living out our school mission, demonstrating virtuous behavior, and going above and beyond to show kindness to others. Congratulations and thank you to these students who were saintly this week: Christin O. (6th grade), Bridget C. (6th grade), Charlie F. (6th grade), Alvaro S. (7th grade), Samantha C. (6th grade), Eva B. (3rd grade), Parker J. (3rd grade), Anthony H. (3rd grade), Jake B. (3rd grade), Emily R. (3rd grade), Jencarlo C. (7th grade), Derek L. (7th grade), Ivana D. (8th grade), Nick H. (8th grade), Cali S. (8th grade), Sam M. (6th grade), Aubrey C. (6th grade), Luke K. (3rd grade), Noah B. (3rd grade), Evie C. (3rd grade), Mason E. (6th grade), Danny P. (6th grade), and Carter P. (6th grade). Keep being saintly!

Exciting news - the 2022-2023 All Saints Catholic Academy School Directory via DirectorySpot is now available! If you were a DirectorySpot user last year, you don’t need to do anything. Just log in (same username and password as last school year) and you will see the current school year's information. If you are a new user, please follow these instructions for access.

Information in the directory was exported from SchoolSpeak, our student information system. Only current school year parents and staff members have access to the ASCA School Directory. Since Directory Spot is an online directory, only parents who have an email in SchoolSpeak have the ability to access this year's directory. If you do not have an email address listed in SchoolSpeak, but would like to be added as a user in Directory Spot, please contact Patty Bajek at pbajek@ascacademy.org with an email address.

All families were offered the option to exclude information from the directory by completing the online form that was part of the Back to School paperwork in SchoolSpeak. We have excluded the information that was requested by families. If you wish to edit your directory entry, please contact Patty Bajek at pbajek@ascacademy.org. Please note that the school cannot release information that has been excluded from the directory.

In addition to Directory Spot, we’ve been working on updating our school website! One of our newest additions is a Staff Directory, complete with bios and photos! Click here to check it out. We’ll update the last few missing photos after Picture Day in September!

Are you looking for a way to get more involved at All Saints? We’d love to have you volunteer in the library! Our librarians, Ms. Sipll and Mrs. Galise, need help shelving books, collecting books from classrooms, and assisting students as they check out. Please complete the form HERE if you are interested. Library volunteers will begin after Labor Day.

COVID Updates: While in many ways we are in a post-COVID world and many things have returned to "normal" for us, we know the virus may still impact members of our community. At All Saints, we continue to follow CDC and IDPH guidance related to COVID-19. The most current guidance for school can be found by clicking here.

At ASCA, we do offer rapid testing onsite, conducted by our school nurse, for students and staff who exhibit symptoms while at school. The goal of this testing is to identify cases quickly while also minimizing the need to leave school for an outside COVID test when the symptoms are caused by something else. This testing is for symptomatic individuals and requires parent consent. If you would like for your child to be tested should he/she be sent to the nurse for COVID symptoms during the school day, please click here to download the consent form. The form may be printed, completed, and returned to the school office.

We will continue to use the COVID Dashboard on SchoolSpeak to report any known COVID cases in our school community. You can find the COVID Dashboard on your SchoolSpeak home page.

We are less than a month away from the All Saints Fun Run! The Fun Run will be held on Friday, September 23rd this year. It’s one of our biggest annual fundraisers, and by far a favorite event for the students. Look for more information coming soon!

Show your school pride by displaying an official All Saints Yard Sign in your front yard. We still have a limited number of free yard signs available. Stop by the Welcome Desk at Door 1 to pick one up.

ASCA Band will begin soon! Band is open to students in 4th-8th grade and held on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Typically your child will have one session before school and one session during the school day. Students will be responsible for making up any missed class work. Please click here for more information on the band program. Note that the times have changed from what was originally sent home to minimize missed instruction.

Is your child looking to get more involved at your parish? Consider becoming an Altar Server! St. Thomas the Apostle is looking for 4th-8th grade students to join this important ministry. Click here for more information.

Warm regards,

Margie Marshall

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A Tremendous Thank You to the Cornerstone Sponsors of our 

2022 Dinner Dance Auction (DDA):  Shine Bright ~ Light Up the Night 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.