Saints Speak from Mrs. Marshall - 9/5/2024 - See the Face of Jesus in Others

Thank you to all who have made an effort to use both doors at arrival the last two days. It has really helped avoid unsafe backup onto Aurora. We appreciate your efforts! Today’s Saints Speak is a little long but contains a lot of important information on upcoming testing, family events, a quick survey for the Fund-A-Need, and more. Please read the full message!

Saint of the Week

This week’s saint is St. Teresa of Calcutta, known to many of us as Mother Teresa. St. Teresa was known for her service to the poorest of the poor. She began her religious life as a teacher, then served as a principal, then went on to found the Missionaries of Charity and dedicated the majority of her life to serving those most in need. On the wall of my office I have the following quote from Mother Teresa:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. 
What you spend years creating, others can destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have and it will never by enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway.

Mother Teresa saw the face of Jesus in each person she encountered. May her words and actions remind us that everything we do for one another, we do for our Lord.

Event Reminder: Saintly Ballers Registration closes tomorrow!

Don’t miss your chance to join us! Payment and registration forms must be turned in by end of day tomorrow (Friday 9/6) for all teams. If you’re attending, be sure to turn in your hold harmless forms for all players and volunteers! Find all the info you need on the Saintly Ballers website (password: StaySaintly).

i-Ready & CogAT Testing Next Week

As I mentioned at Curriculum Night, next week our Kindergarten-8^th grade students will be taking our annual standardized tests. Tests will take place first thing in the morning daily, and regular classes will resume after testing. You can expect a lighter homework load and no other tests during these assessments, so students do not become overwhelmed.

On Monday, 3^rd-8^th grade students will be taking the CogAT assessment. CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) is a computerized multiple-choice assessment that measures students’ academic aptitude through verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning questions. This test is taken once per year.

Tuesday-Friday, all Kindergarten-8^th grade students will take the first of three i-Ready diagnostic tests. All students in the Diocese of Joliet are using i-Ready this year; at ASCA this is replacing both IOWA and MAP testing. I-Ready is a computerized assessment given in reading and math now, in December, and in late April. The test is untimed and adaptive, meaning it adjusts the level of question to determine what your child knows and doesn’t know. Students are not expected to get each question correct; when they get a correct answer they will be given a tougher question and when they get an incorrect answer they will be given an easier question as the program finds their “level” of knowledge.

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 ensure your children do their best:

• 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 and take his/her time on the tests

• Ensure that your child has a pair of corded headphones at school.

• Remind your 5th-8th grade student to bring his/her Chromebook to school, FULLY CHARGED, each day.

Once the diagnostic assessment is complete, we will share more about the results and what you can expect from i-Ready personalized learning this year. 

Picture Day

Wednesday, September 11^th is Picture Day! Unlike past years, students may be out of uniform if they wish for school pictures. Please make sure all outfit choices are school-appropriate and meet the handbook guidelines for out of uniform days. Note we will not be offering a spring picture day this year, so this is your only opportunity to purchase school pictures (unless you have an 8^th grader; graduation photos will be later this fall).

Fund-A-Need Input Needed!

If you haven’t already done so, make sure you mark your calendars for our 20^th Annual Dinner Dance Auction on March 15, 2025! This year’s theme is Casino Royale, and it’s sure to be a great time as we celebrate our school’s 20^th anniversary!

As many of you know, at each year’s gala we raise our paddles for a particular cause or need in our school community. We had the same focus for our Fund-A-Need in both 2023 and 2024 – the teachers. Over the past two years, our parent community has been INCREDIBLY generous, which has helped us increase teacher salaries to offer a more just wage for our amazing faculty. Thank you!

We had planned to focus our efforts in a different area this year (bathroom renovations), but I have heard from several of you that you would like us to consider keeping the Fund-A-Need focused on the teachers instead, since this is an ongoing need as we work to build a fund that can be used as an endowment for years to come. We are looking for your feedback on our Fund-A-Need for this year. Please click here to answer a one-question survey!

Upcoming Fundraisers: Charleston Wrap and Fun Run

As a Catholic school, we strive to keep tuition affordable by offering various fundraising opportunities throughout the year. In next week’s Saints Speak I’ll share an overview of how fundraising works at ASCA and what you can expect for the year, but I wanted to make sure to September events are on your radar:

• Charleston Wrap sales have begun! Click here for the flyer with more information to begin online ordering. Paper packets will be coming home soon as well!

• The ASCA Fun Run is September 20^th! The Fun Run is an annual ASCA tradition, a favorite of the students, and an important fundraiser for the school. We’ll kick off this event next Wednesday and have daily contests and prizes leading up to the run. Click here for more information on some of the available prizes, or click here to sign up to help mark laps on 9/20!

Eucharistic Adoration

Tomorrow is the first Friday of the month and our first day of Eucharistic Adoration for the school year. If you join us for Mass in the morning, please help us practice reverence and silently exit from Mass, as the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in the chapel at that time. Throughout the day, our students will have an opportunity to pray in Adoration in the chapel. We are grateful to be able to come together in this way as a school community!

Saintly Acts

Lastly, congratulations to the following students who earned Saintly Acts this week: Bianca B. (8^th grade), Lillian C. (2^nd grade), Samantha C. (8^th grade), Harper T. (8^th grade), Jordyn L. (2^nd grade), Bennett F. (1^st grade), Jonathan T. (6^th grade), and Charles W. (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.