Saints Speak from Mrs. Marshall - 9/2/2021 - What It Means to be a Principal

For those of you who belong to one of our supporting parishes, you know that All Saints contributes to the bulletin each week. As the year gets underway you’ll see us share with the parishes all the great things going on in our classrooms and school community. To get the year started, Mrs. Bajek asked me to write one of the upcoming bulletin articles and speak a little bit about the role of principal at All Saints. As I was reflecting on what I wanted to share about my role as principal, I realized how my responsibilities vary greatly from day to day (and how much they have changed in the last 18 months!).

This is my 9^th year as a principal, and I am continually learning how to be better at my job as the needs of our students, families, and community evolve. Instead of thinking of my endless to-do lists, I’ve learned to ask myself if what I’m doing is helping kids to learn, grow, and experience God’s love. I know the faculty and I can proudly answer “yes” to that question each day!  Sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down with emails, concerns, and tasks of the day. However, it’s the moments with the children – the waves in the hallway, the excited faces at recess, the joy of a student sharing a good grade - that we celebrate. Thank you, parents, for entrusting us with your children and allowing us to share in these special moments each day!

While I’d love to just focus on these positive moments with the kids, we know there is always “business” to discuss as well, so see below!

Our Charleston Wrap fundraiser kicked off on Friday! Thank you to the 48 All Saints families that have registered with Charleston Wrap! We already have over $7,500 in sales! Please help support All Saints and share the word by registering, sending to friends and family, and shopping yourself! This fundraiser goes toward your FFO (Family Fundraising Obligation). The deadline is September 24^th. Click here for ordering instructions!

Since we experienced our first case of COVID-19 this week, I want to take a moment to remind you of everything we are doing to keep one another safe here at school:

• We are wearing masks indoors at all times.

• We are hand sanitizing and hand washing throughout the school day.

• We have hand sanitizing stations at each entrance, throughout the building, and in each classroom.

• We are practicing social distancing (and frequently reminding students of this expectation).

• We have touchless faucets, soap dispensers, and paper towel dispensers in our bathrooms.

• We have a high air quality maintenance system, with regular maintenance checkups to ensure it continues to work properly.

• We have Clorox Total 360 Cleaning System machines and ozone generators used for additional cleaning and sanitization throughout the building.

• We are providing additional cleaning of common areas throughout the school day and each evening.

• We have a full time school nurse who monitors students for COVID symptoms, conducts rapid testing for symptomatic students (with parent consent), and works with the local health department and families to ensure all quarantine and isolation procedures are followed.

Thank you for continuing to do your part at home to protect your family and our school community!

The first ASPA (All Saints Parents Association) meeting is here at school on Wednesday, September 8^th, at 7pm.  Please consider attending!  As I mentioned at Curriculum Night, ASPA plans great social events for families, supports our teachers, and runs special events for the students throughout the year such as holiday parties, Book Fair, and much more. Volunteering is not only a great way to support your children and the school, but it also provides the perfect opportunity to meet other parents and make new friends!

The week of September 13^th, our 2^nd-8^th grade students will participate in IOWA and CogAT testing. The IOWA assessment is a norm-referenced achievement test that assesses students’ skills in Reading, Language, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science. The CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) measures reasoning skills with different types of verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal questions. Both assessments are used nationally and throughout the Diocese of Joliet. Testing will take place daily, first thing in the morning, and regular classes will resume following testing. You can expect a lighter homework load and no other tests during these assessments, so students do not become overwhelmed. All testing will take place online using the students’ Chromebooks and iPads.

There is nothing your child can do to study for these tests. However, there are a few things you can do at home to help your children do their best on these assessments:

• Make sure your child gets a good night's sleep

• Make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast each morning

• Make sure your child is on time for school each day during testing

• Encourage your child to do his/her best each day

We have another group of students to recognize today! Congratulations to these students for receiving Saintly Acts this week: Eain S. (4^th grade), Reagan M. (6^th grade), Natalie T. (6^th grade), Luke B. (8^th grade), Skylar V. (1^st grade), Chase D. (6^th grade), Matthew G. (4^th grade), Declan D. (8^th grade), Gavin F. (8^th grade), Morgan W. (1^st grade), Billy M. (4^th grade), Hasan Q. (4^th grade), Annalise A. (2^nd grade), Mrs. Davis (librarian), Nico M. (3^rd grade), Matthew M. (4^th grade), and James B. (4^th grade). Keep it up, Saints!

Have a great long weekend!

Margie Marshall

Shine Bright!

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A Tremendous Thank You to the Cornerstone Sponsors of our 

2021 Saints Strong Virtual Celebration

Thank You to our 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.