Saints Speak
From Mrs. Santos
December 8, 2016
What a beautiful snowfall we experienced this past week. The perfect snow to play in and to enjoy, especially if you didn’t have to go anywhere. The students are excited to go outside for recess, and you can imagine how the snow is like a magnet drawing them in.
Please send your student to school with boots and snow pants (both required to play in the snow), as well as hats and gloves so they will be able to go in the snow to play with their friends, and stay warm and dry. Also, please be sure to label all articles of clothing with your child’s name. It is this time of year that our lost and found expands exponentially.
And with snow now in our forecasts, we have to think about the potential for school closings due to snow or extreme cold. If the school is going to close, families will be informed of the closure in all of the following ways:
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An outcall will be made to all of the numbers on record for each family via One Call Now.
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Emails will be sent to school families via SchoolSpeak and Constant Contact.
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Our school closing will be noted in the emergency closings that are reported on the television news station crawls.
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The home page on our school website (www.ascacademy.org), school phones and electronic sign will be updated to note the closure.
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Posts on Facebook and Twitter.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to all who are following our school parking lot procedures. The traffic in the parking lot, and the pickup/drop off of our students has been going well. The primary result of this rule enforcement is the increased safety of our children for which we are all thankful.
If you have been here at recess throughout this week, you probably saw a huge group of students outside the school office. You may have asked yourself why they were here, or wondered if they were in trouble. Actually, they were purchasing Candy Cane Grams from Student Voices. For the unbelievable price of just $1 each, kids were purchasing a candy cane for teachers, friends, and brothers/sisters that will delivered on Thursday, December 15 by our Student Voices elves. The sweet treat will also include a personal message from the giver. There is one day left (tomorrow, Friday December 9) to purchase a candy cane gram, so don’t forget your $1. Proceeds will be helping Student Voices, our junior high student service council that is based on servant leadership, with future events and activities.
Lastly, our first annual "Ugly Christmas Sweater" competition will take place on Thursday, December 15th. All students are
invited to add an ugly Christmas sweater to their uniform on that day. Students – we are challenging you to wear the ugliest sweater that you can either:
- Find – in your mother or grandmother’s closet (sorry!), at a thrift shop, at the store ………… or better yet
- Make – for the crafty student, put your own stamp on your ugly sweater
There will be prizes awarded for the ‘ugliest’ sweaters, which is truly in the eye of the beholder. So be creative, and participate!
Saints News
All Saints Annual Appeal
Thank you to all who have returned their pledge card and contribution, or who have made an online contribution using Click and Pledge. We are grateful for everyone’s help at whatever level you are comfortable giving.
If you wish to make an online contribution, which truly only takes a few minutes of your time. Please go to the following Click and Pledge link.
Rosary Prayer Reminder before Mass
Please plan to join us prior to mass as we gather for our weekly Rosary prayer which will take place during Advent in the school gym (not the chapel) prior to mass at 7:50 am. It is lovely to share this powerful prayer with our gathered school community, and especially for our students to hear prayer as they come into the gym for mass.
Please come to pray, even if you are running late. Instruction sheets and extra rosaries are always available. Kids (even noisy ones) are welcome! Please contact Christi Kluzak at dkluzak@comcast.net with any questions. We look forward to seeing you this week.
Advent Reconciliation Services
Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are given the gift of inner peace and the ability to strengthen the light within us. Please choose an Advent Reconciliation Service for you and your child(ren) to attend. This sacrament can be most powerful when modeled by you. Opportunities for Advent Reconciliation in our supporting/sponsoring parishes is as follows:
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Sunday, December 11 at 5 pm
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St. Margaret Mary
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Wednesday, December 14 at 7 pm
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Holy Spirit Catholic Community
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Wednesday, December 14 at 7:30 pm
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St. Thomas the Apostle
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Tuesday, December 20 at 7 pm
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St. Elizabeth Seton
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Saints Having Fun
Save the Date for the 8th Annual Fun Fair – Friday, February 3
A Fun Fair Save the Date flyer will be coming home with all oldest and only students today. Stay tuned for more information
including order forms which will be coming your way after Christmas. New this year:
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No more tickets! Flat fee pricing for games, with family max pricing.
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Preschool and Kindergarten students get early bird admissions.
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New Junior High Only Fun Zone
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Dinner and other concessions.
The fun fair is sponsored by the Class of 2018 to support their 8th grade class trip.
Fun Fair T-Shirts Available for Order
The Class of 2018 is bringing the fun to the 8th Annual Fun Fair, which is scheduled for Friday evening, February 3, 2017. Now is the time to order your Fun Fair T-shirt for students to wear at the Out of Uniform day on Friday, February 3rd and at the event. The t-shirt order form is being sent home with all oldest and only students today. Please return your order form along with a check by Friday, January 6th. The T-shirt order will NOT go through FACTS. Only checks or cash will be accepted. Please contact Anne-Marie Cronin at anne.marie.cronin@sbcglobal.net if you have any questions.
Janor Spiritwear Orders
Orders will be coming home today – Thursday, December 8.
Dinner Dance Auction (DDA) News
Saintly Spot Ad
Saintly Spots are “ads”, featuring your child that are placed in the Dinner Dance Auction Catalog. These ads are a terrific way to celebrate your child’s Graduation, First Communion, Sports Team or Scout Troop. Right now is the perfect time to submit your child’s volleyball team or basketball team photos for a Saintly Spot! Or send in your child’s class picture from the Christmas program or classroom party! Multiple families can participate together. The cost is $50, and the deadline for submission of the Saintly Spots is January 20, 2017. Please see the Saintly Spot Ad Form for more information. Thank you for your support of the Dinner Dance Auction!
ASCA Tuition Credit Raffle
Have you purchased your ASCA Tuition Credit Raffle Ticket yet? Would you like to win a $5,000 ASCA tuition credit for the 2017-2018 school year?
Take a chance on a ticket for the All Saints Catholic Academy 2017 Tuition Credit Raffle, and you could win a $5,000 tuition credit for your family or the ASCA Scholarship Program. Tickets are $100 and only 150 tickets will be sold.
Tickets purchased before this coming Tuesday, December 13th are also eligible to win a Fees and Forms credit for the 2017-2018 school year! This credit is valued at $325!!! Please contact Susan Glab (ks4glab@yahoo.com) if you have any questions, or wish to buy a ticket.
Saints Helping Saints
Advent Project - Hesed House
Each Advent, All Saints sponsors a collection of needed things for Hesed House, a resource center in Aurora for the homeless. We are asking, if you are able, for classes to collect the needed items below. It is perfectly ok for several families to join together if the items are too expensive for an individual. Any help will be appreciated. We are looking for the following items:
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Preschool and Kindergarten
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Toothbrushes and Toothpaste (travel size)
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1st Grade
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Baby Diapers (Sizes 4-5-6)
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2nd Grade
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New Adult Men’s T-shirts (XL and 2XL, but all sizes welcome)
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3rd Grade
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Packages of Wipes
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4th Grade
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New Adult Men’s Socks (white/athletic or heavy/warm/wool)
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5th Grade
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Disposable Men’s Razors
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6th Grade
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Deodorant
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7th and 8th Grade
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Adult Gloves/Mittens or Hats/Stocking Caps
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Out of Uniform Reminder
Just a friendly reminder that Friday, December 16 is the next Class of 2018's sponsored Out of Uniform days. If you prepaid in October, your child may be out of uniform on this day. If you did not prepay for this, your child can still participate by bringing in $10 cash or check the morning of the 16th. Thank you for supporting the Class of 2018, and Happy Holidays!
Lynch Creek Farms
We know that many of you are decorating your homes for the holidays. Do not miss out on this opportunity to help raise funds
that will go towards ASCA Scholarship and Programming with the purchase of gorgeous high quality seasonal wreaths, roping/garland, trees, and centerpieces from Lynch Creek Farms.
It couldn’t be easier! All you have to do is go to the following Lynch Creek Farms website to place your order:
Items will be shipped directly to you in enough time to decorate your home for the holidays, or for gift giving. You have until next Thursday, December 15 to place your order, so check out the website today. If you have any questions, please contact Tara Brophy at tabrophy@hotmail.com. Thank you in advance for helping us to reach our goal!
No Cookin’ in the Kitchen – December
No Cookin’ in the Kitchen, benefitting the ASCA Class of 2018 and their 8th grade trip have two events planned for December at some of our very favorite restaurants so get ready to get hungry.
So take a break from the kitchen and click on the restaurant above for the flyer that tells more about the event. The Buena Beef flyer was sent home with oldest/only today.
Class of 2017 Pie/Bakers Square Fundraiser
The Class of 2017 is looking for your help in fundraising towards their 8th Grade Legacy Gift of sports banners which will hang in the ASCA gym. And what better way to raise money than with delicious pies from Bakers Square. Come on, admit that you have a weakness for the French Silk (see delicious photo)! 
By purchasing a Sweet Returns Red Card which can be used to purchase fruit pies, or a Sweet Returns Green Card which can be used to purchase whipped cream pies, ASCA will receive about 30% of our total Bakers Square Sweet Returns card sales to use towards the gift!
The Sweet Returns cards can be used for pies for the holidays and family gatherings, teacher or holiday gifts. You can purchase the cards now and save them for future use. The Sweet Returns cards have NO expiration date and can be used at any Bakers Square location.
Hard copies of the Pie Flyer order form have been sent home with oldest and only students already. You can also stop by the table after our Immaculate Conception mass celebration on Thursday, December 8 to pick up a card or two.
Calling New Lunchroom and Recess Volunteers
Christmas is a time to give and our shared faith tells us to serve. Please consider volunteering your time to help in the lunch room or outside at recess. The students are excited to see their parents/grandparents and the more volunteers we have, the better our students are served. We need more volunteers, so please consider coming in if not once a week, then commit to once every second week on a day that suits you. All volunteers are required to have completed the Protecting God’s Children’s Workshop.
For outside recess: Please contact Terri Deiter at tjsjdieter@gmail.com. For the lunchroom: Please contact Jackie Budd at jbuddfamily@gmail.com or Theresa Cunningham at tacunningham@comcast.net. Thank you in advance for stepping forward.
Saints Pride
We would like to recognize our students who have represented All Saints this fall in various academic and other competitions.
Benet Scholastic Bowl
The 8th grade team of Caroline Hughes, Christine Budd, Rahee Manek, and Sophia Kash placed 1st in Math for the second year in a row. They had a perfect score!
The 7th grade team of Ethan Affrunti, Miguel Amezquita, Brendan Forsythe, and Emma Schwarz placed third in math.
St. Francis Math Contest
On Saturday, December 3, 2016, ten students represented All Saints at the Saint Francis Math contest.
In the Individual Math Competition:
8th Grade: Christine Budd placed 1st
Team Competition
The team of Christine Budd, Caroline Hughes, Lauren Lukitsh, Brendan Forsythe, and Michael Gambs placed first.
Overall Team
The combined teams of Christian Novy, Caleb Strohbeck, Evan Senall, Miguel Amezquita, Jackson Bayer, Christine Budd, Caroline Hughes, Lauren Lukitsh, Brendan Forsythe, and Michael Gambs placed 1st overall.
Montini Math Contest
On Saturday, November 12, 2016, the following students represented All Saints at the Montini Math Contest:
6th Grade Team 7th Grade 8th Grade
Emmanuel Antony Miguel Amezquita Christine Budd
Michael Budd Elliana Arnold Caroline Hughes
Rachel Burns Noah Bobofchak Christian Novy
Malia Jimenez Brendan Forsythe Luisa Posada
Nicolas Posada Annie Watson Evan Senall
6th Grade Nicholas Posada placed 4th
Individual Awards: Michael Budd placed 3rd
Rachel Burns placed 2nd
Malia Jimenez placed 1st
The 6th Grade team took first place in the Team Competition
7th Grade Team Brendan Forsythe and Annie Watson tied for 4th
Individual Awards: Miquel Amezquita placed 1st
The 7th Grade team took second place in the Team Competition
8th Grade Team Evan Senall placed 8th
Individual Awards: Caroline Hughes placed 6th
Christian Novy placed 4th
Christine Budd placed 1st
The 8th Grade team took first place in the Team Competition
Marmion Math Contest
On Saturday, November 19, 2016, ten students represented All Saints at the Marmion Math contest.
In the Individual Math Competition:
8th Grade: Christine Budd placed 1st
7th Grade: Jackson Bayer placed 4th
Team Competition:
The team of Christine Budd, Brendan Forsythe, Michael Gambs, Caroline Hughes, and Lauren Lukitsh placed 1st.
The team of Ethan Affrunti, Miguel Amezquita, Jackson Bayer, Christian Novy, and Evan Senall placed 5th.
Overall Competition:
The team of Ethan Affrunti, Miguel Amezquita, Jackson Bayer, Christian Novy, and Evan Senall placed 4th.
The team of Christine Budd, Brendan Forsythe, Michael Gambs, Caroline Hughes, and Lauren Lukitsh placed 2nd.
ASCA Competitive Chess Team
2016 Illinois All Grade State Chess Championship
We had teams competing in kindergarten, 4th grade, and 5th grade.
Kindergarten:
First place team trophy
Hudson Lutfiyya (Champion)
Ren Lutfiyya (3rd place)
4th grade:
Donovan Watson (first USCF rated tournament)
Keegan Glynn (first USCF rated tournament)
5th grade:
Charlie Watson (first USCF rated tournament)
Camden Kirchgessner (32nd place out of 56) - personal best and increased his rating.
Congratulations to all!!
ASCA Alumna
The St. Francis High School community congratulates the following graduate from your school for recent awards/achievements:
Caitlin Stockley (ASCA ’14) December Student of the Month -Performing & Visual Arts
Performing Saints
Next week, our All Saints Choir will be presenting their Christmas Concert on Monday, December 12 at 7 pm in McSherry hall.
The band will be performing their Christmas Concert on Thursday, December 15 at 7:30 pm in McSherry Hall.
All are invited to attend.
Saints In Competition
From the Saints Sidelines . . .
Our Saints continue to defend to the end. We had several teams dominate the hoops this past weekend – our Girls 5A; 6A; 7B & 8A, and Boys 5B2 & 7A. Remember you can stay on top of the league standings and schedules by visiting the league website at http://www.dplbba.org/.
***Looking to take a break from all the holiday hustle….we have many home games this upcoming weekend. To help fund the Legacy Gift they will leave behind, the 8th Grade class will sponsor a Bake Sale at all home games this weekend. In addition, proceeds from concession sales this weekend will be donated to their efforts. Come out and spread your ASCA spirit, enjoy some tasty home baked treats or hot popcorn while you cheer on your favorite teams.
Remember to pick up a new ASCA basketball car decal and show your team spirit!
Parents: please return your athlete’s volleyball uniform to the main office as soon as possible. Uniforms need to be cleaned prior to return. Place the uniform in a Ziploc bag with the player’s name and team so that you receive credit for the return.
Thank you to all families who purchased spirit wear recently. We appreciate your continued support of the many great things we are able to provide our students and athletes. If you have suggestions you would like to see in the next online store, be sure to contact Lindsay Augustine, Spirit Wear Coordinator, at asaa@ascacademy.org
Stay Calm and Dribble On!!!
