With love and forgiveness, new beginnings are possible.
Over the years I have tried a number of times to practice the Jesuit practice of Examination of Conscience. This is a series of questions that you would ask yourself at the end of your day. Truth be known, I never committed the questions to memory; and so, I would start the reflection techniques, and then lose it in just a few days. This past Friday, our staff had a wonderful in-service with Fr. Paul Sims. Among many other thoughtful things Fr. Sims spoke of, he spoke of the essence of an examination of conscience. Simply, it is doing two things; thinking about what has gone well today and thanking God for the gift of that grace; and then, simply considering what I might have done that would have made the day better and more right with God. These two things are simple yet powerful. Reflection on these two things each evening can help us all to be in a more right relationship with God.
Snow Day
Ahh, but it is fun to have an unscheduled day off…..if it only didn’t have to include the shoveling of snow. With our extended school day hours, I do not expect that we will need to add any days to the calendar to make yesterday or the power-outage day up. They are gifts from God!
Our Two In-service Days
You might have wondered how we spent our two in-service days over the past two weeks. On Monday, February 25, we worked with a team of people from The University of Notre Dame to examine how to best educate children with language issues through careful understanding and application of content vocabulary. These are strategies that we quickly recognized as universal. The day was very informative. On Friday, Fr. Sims, who is a professor at Concordia, gave us concrete examples of how to use the common core standards to increase learning outcomes. The teachers also had an hour and a half to share best practices with other teachers of the same grade level, or content with teachers of other schools in our region. These were very regenerative days for us. Thank you for your support as we continue to learn how to best serve our students.
“An Evening in Paris” Dinner Dance Auction is this Saturday, March 9th!
Dinner Dance Auction Catalog
The DDA auction catalog is being sent home today via your child’s backpack. Please remember to bring your catalog to the auction. You will use your catalog with your bidder number on the back to bid in the live auction.
Don’t forget your cell phone. You will be using it to bid on all silent auction items. Directions for cell phone bidding are inserted in your catalog. See you Saturday at Bobaks!
Market Day
Our next Market Day is Wednesday, March 20th. The online order deadline is Saturday, March 16th at 11:00 pm.
SCRIP
Monday, March 11 will be the last day to earn money towards your 2012-2013 fundraising obligation with SCRIP gift card purchases. Orders may be placed using check payment, presto pay, scripnow!, or reload. All orders and checks must be turned into the office by Monday, March 11 at 8:00 am. Orders placed after the March 11 deadline will be credited towards your 2013-2014 fundraising obligation. If you have any SCRIP questions, please contact Debbie Bibo at dbibo11@hotmail.com.
ASCA Lenten Fish Fry
Friendly reminder that RSVP forms for the ASCA Lenten Fish Fry are due this Friday March 8th. The RSVP form is available at the school website. The fish fry will be held next Friday, March 15th, and will be preceded by the celebration of the Stations of the Cross in McSherry Hall at 5:30 pm. The Fish Fry will be from 6:00-7:30 pm. The meal will be catered by Belgio’s, and the menu will feature Fried Cod, Potatoes, Penne Pasta w/ Marinara Sauce, Salad, Bread, Soft Drinks and Dessert. Musical entertainment will be provided by ASCA’s very own Colleen Turner. Cost for Adults and Teens is $12, Kids (ages 5-12) are $8, and Kids under 5 eat for free. We hope to see you there!
SHPP
All are invited to join us at the next monthly SHPP meeting on Wednesday, March 13 at 9:15 am in Café 1 immediately following the school mass. We will be discussing upcoming events such as the Book Fair, Lenten Fish Fry, and Daddy Daughter Dance. Bring your youngsters along with you, and find out how you can get involved!
Lenten Service Project – Hogar del Pobre
During this Lenten season, we are continuing to collect monies for the Hogar del Pobre orphanage in Celaya, Mexico. The monies collected will help the orphanage to locally purchase much needed clothing for the children. They are a non-profit organization, so if you choose to write a check (made out to Hogar del Pobre), your canceled check will serve as your tax-deductible receipt for your donation (We are unable to issue any receipts). We do have pictures of the children posted in each classroom, as we continue to pray for them by name during Lent. Any time during Lent, your child is welcome to bring a monetary contribution in an envelope marked “Lenten Project”, and turn it into their homeroom teacher. We, and the children of Hogar del Pobre, are very grateful for your participation in this worthwhile project!
Book Fair Is Coming!
The Spring Book Fair will be at All Saints from March 18th – March 21st!!! Please come and join us in McSherry Hall during the upcoming book fair, and check out the incredible selection of books. Your purchase also helps to support our school library. The Book sale schedule will be as follows:
Monday, March 18 9:15 am - 11:30 am (Preview)
Tuesday, March 19 8:00 am - 11:30 am - 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Wednesday, March 20 9:15 am - 11:30 am, and
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm (Parents evening)
Thursday, March 21 8:00 am - 9:15 am - 1:00 pm (Closing)
We are still in need of volunteers to help out with set up on the morning of the event, and throughout the week. Please e-mail Cristina Ghapson at Cris_escu@hotmail.com if you are available to help.
ASCA Spring Picture Day
Don’t forget, Spring Picture Day is scheduled for this Friday, March 8th for all preschool through Grade 8 students. Preschool 3 year old and Pre Kindergarten students are invited to come to ASCA to be photographed on March 8. All students will be out of uniform and photographed by Lifetouch. There will be no preorders, or retakes if you miss the day.
A Picture Day Pose Selection Form was sent home with all students last week. At the time you receive your photo package, you will have the option to do one of the following: 1. send the entire package back, 2. purchase selected sheets in the package, or 3. purchase the entire photo package.
No Cookin’ In the Kitchen - Aurelio's
March’s Aurelio's March No Cookin’ in the Kitchen fundraiser to benefit the Class of 2014 will be on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at Aurelio's Pizza located in Naperville, Villa Park, and Woodridge. Valid on dine-in, carry-out, and delivery all day from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm. Think dinner out or lunch for the office! If you have any questions, please contact Alison Pechnik at asabug78@aol.com or Andrea Howard at nucvet@sbcglobal.net.
Community Outreach Men's Tie Collection
Thank you to all who participated in the Men's Tie Collection in February. ASCA collected 150 ties to be donated to SCARCE. The ties will be used to create Christmas tree skirts as an example of reuse, and will also benefit a Men's Closet in which men will be able to find professional clothes to wear for interviews and jobs. Thank you ASCA families for another successful collection, and for your ever-present giving spirit!
D203 Busing Changes
Please make a note on your upcoming calendars. There will be no busing all day (to and from school) next week on on Thursday, March 14 and Friday, March 15, and the following week on Friday, March 22 for District 203 bus riders. All other buses will be running on those days.
Wednesday Rosary
During Lent, the Rosary is said every Wednesday morning just before Mass in the gym. Besides being a great way to receive additional graces and to honor Mary, our spiritual mother, it is a wonderful way to share our faith with the students as they enter for Mass. Please join us in the gym at 7:55 am (if you are running late – come anyway!). Instruction sheets and extra Rosaries are available. Kids (even noisy ones) are welcome! For more info, contact Felicia Egan at (630) 357-6869, or blueirises@wowway.com.