From Mrs. Santos
Did you know?..........................
Have you ever been surprised when you find out that someone isn't even aware of something that you thought that everyone else knew? Our students and teachers are doing amazing things here at All Saints, and it is time for us to let all of you and the rest of the world know too!
One of our junior high math teachers, Sue Samonds, was recently interviewed and profiled in the Daily Herald. Sue has taught at All Saints for 11 years of her 28 year teaching career. You can read the article at the following link - http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170213/news/170219938/ - and learn more about Mrs. Samonds' approach to teaching. Our ASCA junior high math teaching staff - Mrs. Samonds, Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Harrison - have helped to develop so many outstanding math students at ASCA. As the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. Just take a look at the following math competition results that illustrate this:
All Saints students have placed first at all of the math competitions that they have entered this school year which includes the:
- 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 with a perfect score!
- St. Francis Math Contest - the 8th grade team of Christine Budd, Caroline Hughes, Lauren Lukitsh, Brendan Forsythe and Michael Gambs placed 1st. In the combined team competition, Christian Novy, Caleb Strohbeck, Evan Senall, Miquel Amezquita, Jackson Bayer, Christine Budd, Caroline Hughes, Lauren Lukitsh, Brendan Forsythe and Michael Gambs also placed first. Individual first place winners were Christine Budd and Michael Gambs, who placed first overall!
- Montini Math Contest - The 6th grade team of Emmanuel Antony, Michael Budd, Rachel Burns, Malia Jiminez, and Nico Posada placed 1st. The 8th grade team of Christine Budd, Caroline Hughes, Christian Novy, Luisa Posada, and Evan Senall placed 1st. Individual 1st place winners were Malia Jiminez (Grade 6), Miguel Amezquita (Grade 7) and Christine Budd (Grade 8).
- Marmion Math Contest - The 8th grade team of Christine Budd, Brendan Forsythe, Michael Gambs, Caroline Hughes, and Lauren Lukitsh placed 1st. Christine Budd was a 1st place individual winner.
- Mathcounts - On February 11, All Saints competed in the regional Mathcounts competition, going head-to-head with select students from dozens of schools, large and small, including Hinsdale, Avery Coonley, and more. We are thrilled to share that the ASCA team was among a select few who have been invited to advance to compete against the top teams from across Illinois for the state championship.
In addition to this outstanding team performance, there were several individual accomplishments to celebrate:
- Christine Budd finished in 1st place overall, the first time that a girl has ever won this competition!
- Christian Novy, Malia Jimenez, Caroline Hughes, and Ella Kim were honored for being in the top 25% of these select students at the regional level. The rest of the team (Jaclyn Mehring, Rahee Manek, Evan Senall and Tammy Zhu) all finished in the top half of these select students.
- And lastly, congratulations to Luisa Posada who had earned an opportunity to compete at regionals, though was unable to attend.
This is phenomenal considering that it was the first year for almost everyone, and an amazing performance for a school our size. Many academic competitions create separate divisions for smaller schools, though for Mathcounts we go head-to-head with large public schools and select schools. The students who competed in the Mathcounts competition met on weekends to prepare for the rigorous competition that they would face. Congratulations to all the students from ASCA who participated, and especially those who advanced to state.
In the area of Language Arts, students of Megan Barnhart, ASCA 7th and 8th Grade Honors Language Arts teacher, have been recognized with awards this school year. 8th grade student Caroline Hughes was just announced as winner of the 2016 American History Essay Contest from the Fort Payne Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Sasha Goncalzes Zitzow, ASCA Class of 2016 and Benet Academy freshman was recognized earlier this school year as a Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Midwest Gold Key Recipient. We also would like to acknowledge Gabriella Mendoza, also member of the ASCA Class of 2016 and Benet Academy freshman. This past spring, she was named a 2016 Regional Gold Key and National Gold Medal winner for her novel “Light Through the Yonder” in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and traveled to Carnegie Hall in New York to receive her award.
Also, four of our Honors 7th and 8th grade students won writing awards from our Scholastic Writing Contest in December. We are still waiting to hear about the novel awards, but here are the short story, poetry and flash fiction awards:
Poetry Silver Key Award: Millie Ghapson- 7th grade "I Am Sorry"
* She will travel to Iowa this spring to receive this award
Poetry Honorable Mention:
Millie Ghapson- "Consequence" and "Little Angels"
Flash Fiction Honorable Mention:
Ella Kim- 8th grade "The Wish"
Jaclyn Mehring- 8th grade "The African Sage"
Short Story Honorable Mention
Frannie Drake- 8th grade "Creating Lilies"
Charlotte Torres was named one of the winning young artists of the Naperville Crime Prevention Calendar. We hope that you
have seen and enjoyed her drawing featured in the month of October in this year’s calendar.
We would also like to recognize our ASCA Competitive Chess Club. Brothers Hudson and Ren Lutfiyya are nationally ranked chess players at the tender ages of 6 and 4, respectively. They recently represented All Saints at the 2016 National Scholastic K-12 Championship in Nashville. Over 1,540 players competed in one of the thirteen grade-based sections, with 63 kindergarten participants. In the kindergarten section, Hudson earned the title of Kindergarten National Co-champion. As a team, Hudson and 
Ren earned 3rd place.
Chess team students recently competed at the Wheaton Christian Chess Tournament. It was the first tournament for half of the team.
In the K-1st Grade Group, the ASCA team took 5th place out of 12 teams/26 players. Congratulations to Ren Lutfiyya - 2nd Place, won 4/5 games, and Andrew Santos - 15th place, won 2/5 games.
In the 4-5th Grade Group, the ASCA team took 1st place out of 19 teams/74 players. Congratulations to Hudson Lutfiyya - 2nd place, won 5/5 games, Camden Kirchgessner - 5th place, won 4/5 games, Chris Rojas - won 3/5 games, Charlie Watson - won 2.5/5 games, Mactzil Lopez - won 2/5 games, Leo Del Toro - won 2/5 games, Donovan Watson - won 1/5 games
In the 6-8th Grade Group: Congratulations to Pierce Salbego who won 2/4 games.
This past spring, Hudson Lutfiyya ended up tied for tenth place out of 73 kids at the National K-12 Grade Championship in the Kindergarten section in Orlando after three days of play.
Our thanks to Mrs. Lynn Lutfiyya who stepped up to form and moderate the ASCA Competitive Chess Club this year. It is an amazing opportunity for our ASCA students to be coached by someone with the experience and knowledge of the game of chess as Mrs. Lutfiyya, and to be able to learn how to compete with students of the caliber of play of Hudson and Ren.
Our gifted program has been expanded this current school year, and now has students in Kindergarten through Grade 8. We are currently exploring the addition of the National Junior Honor Society at All Saints, which would be open to junior high students who meet the selection criteria. Generally, selection to the honor society is based on five criteria: citizenship, service, pride, scholarship, character.
In the Diocese of Joliet, we say that 'We Teach More'. This could not be more evident at ASCA, where students not only are well prepared academically at a very high level in their various classes and disciplines; but are also given the opportunity to demonstate this excellence in a competition setting where they outshine and outperform the rest of the competition.
We all should recognize and applaud all of these students for their hard work, dedication and for representing All Saints so very well. All students who attend ASCA have these wonderful opportunities to participate and to soar! Please share your pride in All Saints, and all of these successes with your children so they are aware, and with all of your friends. We will be highlighting our students' achievements on our website, through social media and through press releases. We want to know what our students our involved in, and let others know of their achievements.
If you have not been into the school lately, we are displaying most of our academic trophies right outside the school office. Please stop by to take a look!
We would also like to acknowledge our teachers who have received awards this school year:
Earlier this year, the Diocese of Joliet awarded Junior High Spanish Teacher Maria Kazlauskas received the Core Values of Catholic Education Award. This award is given to the teachers who best embody the core values of Catholic education, including incorporating faith into the classroom, balancing challenging courses with a nurturing environment, collaborating with families, holding each other to a higher standard and planning for the future of Catholic education.
Megan Barnhart was honored by the University of Iowa for the impact that she made in the education of Sasha Goncalves Zitzow (whose story we already highlighted). Megan was recognized by the Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University.
Junior High Language Arts teacher Kate Galise was recently honored by the DuPage Credit Union with an award of $100 to be used 
to further the outstanding education in her classroom.
All Saints Catholic Academy also received the With Grace by Grace Award from the Diocese of Joliet in recognition of Customer Service Excellence.
For graduates of ASCA in the Classes of 2009 through 2016: We are in the early stages of planning for an event to bring all of you back together at All Saints. Would you like to be involved in the planning? If so, please contact me at msantos@ascacademy.org. For our graduates who have moved on to college, who have graduated from college, or who will be attending college this fall: Please send us a banner or pennant from your college! It doesn't have to be an expensive one. We would like to display these banners here at ASCA so everyone who attends or visits the school will see where our graduates landed after leaving All Saints and their respective high schools.
Saints News
FACTS Financial Aid Application Deadline is this coming Tuesday, March 1st
If you are seeking financial assistance for the 2017-2018 school year, please file yoru application at FACTS as soon as you can. The deadline for your application and all required forms in Wednesday, March 1st.
The FACTS financial aid application at FACTS Tuition Grant and Aid is used for ALL financial and scholarship assistance, which includes Catholic Education Foundation Diocesan scholarships at the grade school and high school levels, parish assistance, and all school and foundation awards.
All families who have received any type of assistance in the past, and who wish to apply for assistance for the 2017-2018 school year MUST complete this application and submit all required paperwork by the March 1 deadline.
The financial aid process begins with your online application at https://online.factsmgt.com/signin/3FG0M . Please contact Patty Bajek at (630) 961-6125 with any questions.
D203 Busing Update
Please note that there will be no busing to or from school TOMORROW, Friday, February 24. Please find alternate means of transportation for your student.
Happy Camper Book Fair is Coming
Happy Camper Book Fair......s'more fun with books! The book fair is quickly approaching! Come camp out at the book fair March 13th through March 16th. Details will be sent home with students later this week. In order to make this event a success, we are looking for volunteers to set-up, cashier, tear-down, and assist students with the preview and shopping. Any assistance would greatly be appreciated. We have made sign-up easy, just click on the link below......
Volunteer Sign-Up
Puberty Presentations for Father/Son and Mother/Daughter
The SHPP Faith Formation Committee has invited Dr. Coleen Mast, a leader in the field of chastity education, to offer her popular “Puberty Presentations for Father/Son and Mother/Daughter” to Fifth Grade students and their parents (grade 4 parents are welcome to attend without their student). This event will take place this evening, Thursday, February 23 from 7 -9 pm.
All Saints Parent Satisfaction Survey
You have only a few more days to offer your opinion by taking the All Saints Parent Satisfaction Survey. Your participation will help us to find out what we are doing well, as well as areas where we could improve.
Mrs. Santos will share the results of the survey with you. We urge you to take advantage of this opportunity and moment in time to share your thoughts with us. At this time, the diocese has informed us that less than 20% of our school parents have taken the survey.
Please click the link below to access the survey. Parents have until Monday, February 27, 2017 to take the survey. This holiday weekend might afford you a little bit of time to log in and complete the survey. It should take you no more than 10 minutes from beginning to end at the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Parent_Satisfaction_2017
SCRIP Update
This coming Monday, February 27 will be your last opportunity to order physical gift cards whose purchase will count toward your 2016-2017 Family Fundraising Obligation. The deadline for SCRIP Now and SCRIP Reloads is Tuesday, February 28 to be counted toward your 2016-2017 Family Fundraising Obligation. If you have any questions, please contact Lauren Giroux at lauren_jackson7@yahoo.com
Lenten Rosary Prayer
Beginning Ash Wednesday, March 1 throughout the Lenten season, the Rosary will be recited every Wednesday morning at 7:50 prior to our school masses IN THE GYM. We pray for the intentions of Pope Francis, our school, our schools intentions and any you may wish to offer. You do need to know the rosary. We offer cheat sheets and rosaries for any who need them. We are also very child and baby friendly! Please bring your younger children, visiting grandparents or friends for 15 minutes of prayer for our Pope, our children, teachers, administrators and loved ones. Please feel free to contact Christi Kluzak at dkluzak@gmail.com with any questions or suggestions. Thanks and we hope to see you in the gym Ash Wednesday and thru Lent.
Palms
We will be celebrating Ash Wednesday, the beginning of our Lenten journey, on March 1st, and we need your palms from last year's Palm Sunday! If you have any leftover palms, please send them to school with your student as they will be burned for this year's ashes.
Saints Having Fun
Daddy Daughter Dance Update
Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 8th for the 11th Annual Daddy Daughter Dance. Invites will be coming home this week, and have a hard return date of Friday, February 24th. Please click here to view the invitation; click here to view the response card. If you are interested in help out in any way please contact Theresa Cunningham at tacunningham@comcast.net.
Saints With Spirit
Janor and Lands' End Spiritwear Available
IMPORTANT NEWS: The deadline has been extended to place your online Janor Spring Online Store. You will be able to place your order through midnight this coming Sunday, February 26. Items will be delivered the week of March 13.
There are a few new items - v neck t-shirts for women, crew neck sweatshirts, cotton polos for men and women, and cotton t-shirts - along with some familiar favorites. Most are offered with our ASCA logo or our athletics logo.
To place an order, please go to janorsports.net. The password is allsaintsspring2017.
Also, take another at our Lands' End spiritwear offerings by going to http://www.landsend.com/pp/SchoolSearch.html?action=landing&selectedSchoolNum=900173949.
There are lots of great sweatshirts, fleece, sweaters, and more! Remember that you can purchase SCRIP gift cards for Lands' End (with a 16% rebate that will go toward your Family Fundraising Obligation), and use your gift cards for your spiritwear purchases. Also, most Lands' End sales apply to spiritwear purchases too!!! A terrific way to earn and show your ASCA spirit!
Saints at the Dinner Dance Auction (DDA) - A Night in Hollywood
Response Cards: Are due on on or before Friday, March 3rd. You can register online at ascadda.org, or turn in the reply card and payment to the School Office.
Attire: Cocktail attire is suggested for the event.
Embassy Suites Room Reservations: If you would like to spend the night at the Embassy Suites, the hotel is offering a group rate. Please use the code ASC when booking.
School Wide Basket Raffles: We are still accepting orders for raffle tickets! 1 for $5 or 5 for $20. Cash and checks are accepted via backpack mail. Please click here for the form for ordering.
Tuition Credit Raffle: Buy a raffle ticket soon for your chance to win the $5,000 tuition credit. Tickets are $100 each and can be purchased via the website: ascadda.org or with a check made out to ASCA. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Glab: ks4glab@yahoo.com
Saints Helping Saints
No Cookin’ in the Kitchen - February
No Cookin’ in the Kitchen, benefitting the ASCA Class of 2018 and their 8th grade trip is back with some great events planned in February.
- Monday, February 27 - Culvers from 10 am - 10 pm. There is no better place for a Butter Burger. Plan on joining us at Culvers on Monday. Please click here for more information.
Box Tops for Education
Wednesday, March 1st is one of two submission deadlines for the Box Tops for Education. We will be collecting box tops tomorrow, Friday, February 24th, so please send any box tops that you are holding onto into school with your student.
Saints in the Classroom and Beyond
ASCA Graduate Achievements
Benet
We would like to recognize Patrick Forsythe of the ASCA Class of 2015, and a sophomore at Benet Academy. Our apologies to Patrick and his family, as he was inadvertantly left off our Honor Roll recognition last week. We have corrected the error and would like our ASCA school community to know that he has earned First Honors, being named to the Benet Academy 1st Semester Honor Roll.
Young Hearts for Life
Please join us for the 2nd annual Young Hearts for Life 5k on Sunday April 9th at Benedictine University! YH4L is dedicated to providing FREE cardiac screenings to all students in the Chicagoland area to prevent sudden cardiac death. To register for the 5K please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/young-hearts-for-life-junior-board-5k-runwalk-registration-30817910199 or contact Benet Academy Junior (ASCA Class of 2014), Meghan West at 8meghan.west@benet.org with any questions! There will be games, raffles, and we will be raising money for a great cause! Visit yh4l.org for more information! See you there!"
We would love to hear about what our graduates are doing!!! Please contact us so we can share the good news with our All Saints school community.
Saints in Competition
From the Saints Sidelines . . . Congratulations to the following teams who brought home wins this past weekend…Girls 7B, 8A & 8B and Boys 7B2. Way to go Saints!
With only one week left in the regular season, visit the league website at www.dplbba.org where you can stay on top of game schedules and league standings. Be sure to follow schedules for the playoff rounds so you can come out and cheer on all our teams as they fight for a strong finish!
Save the date . . . The end of season Basketball banquet will be held on Thursday, March 23 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Watch your email for further information!
BLUE OUT is BACK! Be sure to come out to the ASCA gym on Friday, March 10 at 6:30 pm for a SPECIAL night honoring our 8th grade players and their parents! We have some fun things planned for this night as we host our 8th graders one last time on HOME court. Wear your Blue Out shirt for free admission!
Practice and meet schedules for Track & Field will be released and communicated to all registrants soon.
Parents of track & field athletes…. information will be coming soon on meet job assignments.
Back by popular demand…..Janor has opened their spring online store with new spiritwear offerings including our popular Blue Out t-shirt. To place an order, go to janorsports.net. The password is allsaintsspring2017. Note that the order deadline has been extended to this coming Sunday, February 26 at midnight, so place your order today! And don’t forget to check out Land’s End for all your “non-athletic wear” spiritwear options.
Stay Calm and Dribble On!!!
