Easter Joy !
In this season of Easter joy, once again tragedy interrupts the innocence of living. People of my generation grew up in houses where no one could even remember where the front door key was when you needed to lock up for a week’s vacation. Flying was a fun adventure that you even dressed up for. There were no security lines, and friends and family could walk with you to the gate, and watch your plane take off. One could attend events like a football game with thousands of spectators without fear because everyone was there to see the game.
We are once again reminded that our children are growing up with a different reality than ours. Vigilance and wariness of the world at large are their reality. Within your family, and as a school family, we all try to recreate the sense of security and safety that we felt in a simpler time. That is a big task in this chaotic world. May God bless and help us.
Fr. Bill O’Shea 50th Anniversary of Ordination
On Sunday, May 5th, there will be a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Fr. Bill O’Shea’s Ordination. The celebration will be at the 10:45 am Mass at St Margaret Mary Parish (Naper Blvd and Green Trails Drive). A reception will follow. Please join us in celebrating this life of service and love to God.
Purchase a Brick for the St. Therese, The Little Flower, Graduate Plaza
Buy a brick to commemorate your child’s years at ASCA, or honor a special student, First Communion, graduation, teacher or coach! This is also a great way to memorialize a loved one, celebrate a birthday or an anniversary with a gift that will last a lifetime.
The sponsorship of a brick costs $175, $250 or $500. Please go to www.ascacademy.org for an order form, or contact Meg Olsen at molsen@ascacademy.org for more information. The St. Therese order forms are due by Friday, May 31st.
ASCA Geranium Fundraiser
Please consider buying your geraniums through our school to support a new fund raising initiative. Zonal geraniums, healthy and full of color will be supplied through a local grower, Lizzie's Garden in Naperville. You may mix and match your plant selection from 7 different vibrant colors. The geraniums will be sold for $5.00 per plant (4.5” pots). The minimum order is 6 plants, although we hope you consider ordering more. Geranium Order Form regarding the flower sale are being sent home today, and will also be available on the school web site www.ascacademy.org. The order deadline is Friday, April 26th. Pick-up will be in McSherry on Thursday, May 9th. If there are any questions, please contact Michelle Yacullo at (630) 416-6691, or yacullo@sbcglobal.net.
Kentucky Derby Theme Party
Looking for some Kentucky Derby excitement? Join us on Saturday, May 4 from 3-7 pm at the Foundry in Aurora. Ticket price is $60 per person and includes beer, wine, dessert and great food (well drinks are available but not included)! Lots of other "Derby Fun" will be available! Do you have a business that needs advertising? Sponsorships are still available! Contact Maureen Juhas at mjuhas66@gmail.com, Susan Glab at ksr4glab@yahoo.com, or Chris Gambs at teamgambs@sbcglobal.net for more information!
Grandparents' Day
This year Grandparents’ Day will be held on Friday morning, May 3rd. The Grandparents flyer with details for this memorable event is available on the ASCA website www.ascacademy.org . Please print and complete the flyer, and return it to the Main Office by Monday, April 22nd. We need many people to help us to make this special morning a success. We realize that some of you may need to escort your children's grandparents into ASCA. After the grandparents have checked into the reception area, please consider volunteering to help make this event run smoothly. Please contact Amy Drake at amyldrake@me.com if you are able to assist us.
Pre Kindergarten Open House
All Saints will be holding an open house for our Pre Kindergarten program this coming Sunday, April 21 from 9 am until Noon at our St. Elizabeth Seton Satellite Campus, located at 2220 Lisson Road, Naperville, 60540. This program meets 5 days per week, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am-12:30 pm. Openings are currently available for students who will be 4 years old on or before September 1, 2013.
Uniform Fitting Day
Schoolbelles, ASCA’s official uniform company, will return to All Saints next Wednesday, April 24 from 3 - 6 pm in the school gym for uniform fitting for the 2013-2014 school year. Please mark your calendars. This will be the only date and time where Schoolbelles will be on location at All Saints. The 2013 Schoolbelles Uniform Buying Guide will be sent home with all oldest and only students today. Uniforms are required for all K-8 students, and are optional at the preschool level. Gym uniforms are required beginning in Grade 3. Please be sure to hold onto your Schoolbelles Buying Guide for all of your ordering needs now and throughout the coming school year. If you are unable to attend the uniform fitting day, Schoolbelles has two area retail locations, and you can also order via phone or online at www.schoolbelles.com. Please contact Patty Bajek at (630) 961-6125, or pbajek@ascacademy.org with any questions.
Junior High Musical – Flapper – Ticket Order Forms
Tickets may now be purchased for Flapper, this year’s Junior High Musical. The show is being presented on Friday, April 26th at 7pm and Saturday April 27th at 7pm by the ASCA Junior High Academy. Tickets are $8 in advance for all adults ($10 if purchased at the door), and $5 for all children and seniors. There is a Family Ticket that will admit 2 adults and all of their children for only $25. The Family Ticket is only available through advance purchase, and will not be available at the door. Ticket order forms were sent home with all oldest/only students last week, and are also available at the ASCA website. Do not miss this family friendly musical and theatrical experience!
Teacher Appreciation Week
Our Teachers are Stars!
It’s getting close to the end of the school year when we honor and thank our teachers for their dedication to our children. Teacher Appreciation Week will take place the week of May 6-10. This year, we are asking parents to support our efforts in two ways:
· On Monday, May 6, please send your kids to school with a freshly picked or purchased flower. We will provide teachers with a 12” vase so they can create a bouquet for their classroom.
· Gift cards for the teachers will be purchased with your donations along with a letter listing the names of all contributors. A donation of $5 per child is suggested. Please send donations, payable to ASCA, to the office with "Teacher Appreciation" noted in the memo by Monday, April 29. Direct questions to Amy Drake at amyLdrake@me.com.
Teacher Appreciation Week will feature the following:
Monday - "I'm a Fan Day" - In addition to the flowers you send, teachers will be welcomed to their classrooms with "Walk of Fame" Stars on their door and will receive a "Fan Letter" from their class
Tuesday - "Red Carpet VIP Luncheon"
Wednesday - Teachers will receive a special note made from seeded paper that will bloom when planted
Thursday – A light breakfast will greet our "Stars" on this morning
Friday - Gift Cards will be distributed along with "Golden Apple" awards
If you would like to help, contact Paula DeRuntz at pderuntz@wowway.com, or Mili Jain at mili_anand@hotmail.com.
SHPP 2013-2014 Nomination Forms
SHPP needs you! Nomination forms for open SHPP board positions for the 2013-2014 school year are going home today with all oldest and only students, and are also available at the ASCA website. Consider nominating yourself or someone you think would be a great fit for the open positions. In addition to these positions, there are many ways to become involved with SHPP. Please consider sharing your time and talent. There are opportunities available for all levels of involvement. Please contact the 2012-2013 SHPP President, Amy Drake at (630) 718-1630, or the incoming 2013-2014 SHPP President, Robin Gullborg at (630) 717-7929 with any questions. Nomination forms are due by 3:00 pm on Friday, May 10.
Daddy Daughter Dance 2013
The Daddy Daughter Dance, A Passport to Paris, surpassed all expectations with 245 girls attending the event. This represents 80% of all girls at ASCA in attendance, and is the largest Daddy Daughter Dance in the history of our school. An event of this magnitude would not be possible without the many wonderful volunteers that helped to create a memorable evening for our daughters. A heartfelt thank you goes to Tina Gregus who has been our amazing leader for the past 7 years. Thanks to everyone that attended and volunteered to make the evening special!
ALSO, many of our special young ladies forgot to take home their Daddy Daughter Dance favors when they left the dance. The dance favors included an Eiffel Tower key chain and a Paris Amour lotion. If your daughter did not receive these favors, they can now be picked up in the ASCA office through the end of the week.
Spring Scholastic Book Fair Update
Wow!!! The Scholastic Book Fair was very successful, and we would like to thank the many school families who helped us to achieve book sales of $9,119.57. To benefit our school library, we raised $2,279.67 in Scholastic Dollars. Our online book fair netted $129.00.
A very special thank you goes to those who gave generous donations towards “All for Books”, which raised $101.53 in extra money for our school library. Once again, thank you to everyone who participated in our spring book fair.
Have you marked your calendars yet?
Parenting Kids in Today’s Techie World –
Wednesday, May 1; 7:00 – 8:30 pm Nancy Kratz, Ph.D. from Samaritan Interfaith will present ways on how we, as parents, deal with our “wired children” in this new digital age. Her talk is recommended for parents with students from pre-school through Jr. High. She’ll touch upon what parents really want to know about video gaming along with the effect of technology on your relationships and ourselves. She’ll also discuss how we can be good digital citizens regarding privacy and safety and she’ll help us to make a parent-child technology contract. Lastly, Dr. Kratz will talk about how we balance technology in our lives. All parents are welcome to join Dr. Kratz in McSherry Hall on Wednesday, May 1st from 7:00 – 8:30 pm.
Cub Scouts at St. Margaret Mary
All kindergarten and 1st grade boys are invited to an informational meeting tomorrow, Thursday, April 18 at 7:00 pm at St. Margaret Mary, 1450 Green Trails Drive in Naperville. Find out more about the Scouting Adventure! Please contact Cubmaster Jeff Wade at (630) 301-0974, or jswade4999@yahoo.com with any questions.
ASCA Feed My Starving Children Packing Session, Saturday, April 27
Don’t miss out on our upcoming packing session. To register your family for this 11:30 am -1:30 pm session, follow the instructions below:
Visit volunteer.fmsc.org. In the upper right-hand corner select Volunteer Registration. Select Permanent Sites – Register Online. Select JOIN an existing Group or Family. Enter Join Code 257187 and click Search. Click Confirm. Log in or Create a New Account. Once you have entered your information, you can click Add Member Names to add your children.
Feed My Starving Children packaging sessions are held at 555 Exchange Court, Aurora, IL 60504. Children in grades 3 and up are welcome to participate. Please contact Michele Klein at mklein511@comcast.net with any questions.
Community Outreach – Upcoming Events In Our Community:
· Sunday April 21st - Brookfield Zoo's Party for the Planet will be filled with educational, engaging, and fun activities for the entire family. http://www.czs.org/CZS/partyfortheplanet-1
· Friday April 26th - Mark your calendars for the annual Arbor Day event on Friday, April 26 at Lincoln Park on Main Street in St. Charles, between 4th and 5th streets. All ages are welcome to this annual celebration of trees. Come and enjoy live music, a tree raffle, tree care demonstrations, delicious cookies and more! The fun begins at 4:00 pm.
· Arbor Week (April 21-28) at the Morton Arboretum. A week of many activities: http://www.mortonarb.org/calendar/article/23177/arbor-week-2013.html
April Used Gym Shoe Collection
Ready, Set, Go …run your old gym shoes to ASCA
We are once again collecting adult and child used gym shoes for School & Community Assistance for Recycling & Composting Education (SCARCE).
Then what…
· If shoes are Gently-Used they will be given to local organizations, such as PADS in Glen Ellyn or the Midwest Shelter of Homeless Veterans.
· If the shoes are not in good condition, they will be Re-Used and Recycled in Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe Program which turns worn-out gym shoes into sports surfaces, playgrounds and Nike products. Shoes are delivered to Nike, where they will be de-manufactured so that the recycled “Nike Grind” material can be used to make new products. By recycling old gym shoes, Nike decreases the environmental impact of using new raw materials and saves used shoes from being sent to landfills.
· Since 2003, SCARCE has diverted a TOTAL of 76,962 pairs of gym shoes from landfills. Of those, 57,706 pairs of shoes were recycled with Nike's Resuse-A-Shoe Program and SCARCE donated 19,256 pairs.
All donations can be brought into the ASCA Office April 10-30th. Stinky and holey encouraged! If you have any questions, please contact Ann Zediker at jazediker@comcast.net.
Little Friends / Step Up for Autism Walk
Sunday, June 23, 2013 – Downtown Naperville Riverwalk
8:30 a.m. Registration
10:00 a.m. Step Up for Autism Walk & Fun Run
Designed to raise awareness about autism, a complex developmental disability that affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans, the Step Up for Autism walk was the first of its kind to be held in Naperville. Funds that are raised from this annual event benefit children and adults with autism right here in our community served by Little Friends and the Little Friends Center for Autism. This family-friendly event promises to be a morning of fun for walkers and runners of all ages. Festivities will include a 2.5-mile walk and fun run and a one-mile kid-friendly route. This year’s event will also feature a fun-filled Kids Area, complete with interactive displays, moon jumps and entertainment. Get involved today by forming a Team of Walkers/Runners, Making a donation, or volunteering on the Day of the Walk! Register at www.stepupforautism2013.kintera.org or call Little Friends at (630) 355-6533.
Basketball Skills Camp
On Saturday, May 4th from 12:00 - 2:00 pm, Coach Dana Menendez will hold a basketball skills camp for students currently enrolled in grades 3, 4, and 5. On Saturday, May 11th from 12:00 – 2:00 pm, Coach Dana Menendez will hold a basketball skills camp for students currently enrolled in grades 6, 7, and 8. The skills at both camps will focus on ball handling, shooting form, and offensive moves. This camp is for girls and boys. All skill levels are encouraged to attend. Cost of the event is $25 per athlete. Questions should be e-mailed to ascabballcamp2013@gmail.com, and to register. A registration form is going home with all grade 3-8 students today. The deadline to register is this Friday, April 19th.
D203 Busing Changes
Please make a note on your upcoming calendars. There will be no busing home from school on Friday, May 3. Please make alternate arrangements home for your D203 bus rider on this day. All other buses will be running on the 3rd.
Huntington Learning Center Summer Academic Programs
Take advantage of the summer to reinforce and enrich your student’s academic skills through an individualized tutoring program at the Huntington Learning Center.
Program examples include:
· Phonics and Reading Readiness (pre-K-2)
· Reading and Writing (3-5)
· Critical Reading, Writing, and Study Skills (6-8)
· HSPT (Catholic High School Admissions/Placement) Prep (7-8)
· Math for all grade levels!
Huntington also offers study skill and ACT / SAT programs during the summer for high school students, and flexible hours and individual programs that gives families the ability to create their own tutoring schedule based on other summer activities.
Huntington is located at 924 W. 75th St. (near the intersection of Plainfield-Naperville Road) (also located in Oswego). Please contact them at (630) 369-6966, or visit their webpage at http://naperville.huntingtonhelps.com.