Lent asks us to bring our prayer life to a much more deliberate level, coupled with our almsgiving (sharing with others the gifts we have) and fasting (refraining from things so that we are more grateful for what we have).
I have discovered that my daily prayer life has needed to expand greatly these weeks of Lent. I imagine it has to do with my age and the age of my friends, but I have needed to include many people with health issues now as well as friends who have lost their spouses to disease.
A few years ago, I wrote about the book Proof of Heaven that a friend had given me for Christmas. I am still feeling the impact of that book. The book is written by a neurosurgeon who was a non-believer who had a near death experience that he shouldn’t have survived. He shares what it was like for him on the other side. He could hear and feel the prayers of his family! When he returned, he could tell them who and when they were praying; and there was no way that he should have been able to do that! Until this book, I think I always felt that my prayers were only between God and me. This book gave me a new insight that the people prayed for are included in the energy of the love for family and friends that prayer is about. Our prayers can be absolutely spontaneous (like when you think of a person, and you just ask God to hold them) or it can be formalized and traditional (like when we offer our morning or evening prayer or pray as a community in church or school). It is less important where we pray than that we summon the Lord to be with us. And now, I realize that those prayers are truly felt by those whom we offer them for. It is time well spent.
March Madness Bracket Standings
Thank you to everyone who supported this year's DDA and purchased a bracket for our very own ASCA March Madness competition. After opening weekend of the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament, we have a five way tie for first place: Kevin Burns, the Nirtaut family, Tom Rotkis, and two brackets from the Mayor family are all tied with 45 points. A number of brackets, however, have the potential to leapfrog our current leaders as the tournament continues this weekend. Check back after spring break to see who wins our contest.
ASCA Grade Pictures - Order Form Due Thursday, March 27th at 9:00 am
Last week, an order form went home regarding the ASCA Grade Pictures. These pictures were created as a new addition to this year's Dinner Dance Auction. All proceeds from the sale of these pictures benefit the ASCA operating budget and your children directly. These pictures are the ONLY ones you will ever get which include all the students from your child's entire grade. Each pictures is unique, professional mounted, and in a metallic finish. These pictures are currently on display outside the school office. As stated by Laura Brantley, Grade 6C parent and project photographer, "Capturing the essence of our children is a passion of mine. ASCA students are a special and magical group!" Order forms are due by tomorrow, March 27th at 9:00 am. No late orders will be accepted as we need to place our order for timely delivery of pictures on April 15th. Due to bulk pricing, additional orders will not be possible. Pictures can also be purchased on our DDA website at www.ascadda.org.
Fundraising Obligation Letters
Fundraising obligation letters will be going home tomorrow (Thursday), March 27 with all oldest and only students. Please be on the lookout for your statement, which will be due after the spring break.
SCRIP
Due to spring break for both ASCA and the Scrip Corp., scrip orders will not be processed for the next 2 weeks. Please note, however, that all reloads and scrip now will be processed as usual during the vacation weeks. We will process our next order on Monday, April 14. If there are any questions, contact Debbie Bibo at dbibo11@hotmail.com, or call (630) 375-1090 (H) or (630) 777-0425 (C).
ASCA Lenten Service Project – Hogar del Pobre
All throughout Lent, All Saints students and their families will continue to support the Hogar del Pobre orphanage in Celaya, Mexico with prayer and a clothing collection. For most of the children at the orphanage, the clothing that they receive from All Saints students will be the only new outfit that they receive all year long. In past years, All Saints families have generously been able to contribute over 700 pieces of clothing during the forty days of Lent, which is our current goal (many of our classrooms have set a class collection goal). The Lenter Service Project flyer is available at the school website. Thank you in advance for your generous contributions.
Please note that the orphanage is located in an area of Mexico where it gets very cold at night without heat. Warm clothing is their greatest need. Shoes, jackets, pajamas, socks and underwear are needed too. Even though we have assigned each grade level a size, you are welcome to bring in any size.
In this project, we continue to encourage our students to become ‘others centered’, learning and experiencing how it is to be Christ's loving hands and hearts when doing small things with great love!
D203 Busing Change
Please make a note on your upcoming calendars. There will be no busing all day (to and from school) this Friday, March 28 for District 203 bus riders. You will need to arrange alternate transportation for your student on these particular days. All other buses will be running.
Spring Portrait Packages
Spring Portrait packages are being sent home today with all students who were photographed. Purchasing these photos is completely optional. Instructions are provided in the portrait package on how to purchase portraits. Portraits may be purchased by the sheet. Please return your payment envelope and any portraits not purchased to the school by Friday, April 11. Spring portraits make wonderful Easter gifts for extended family members (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.). There will be no retakes.
“Let’s Go Wild” at the Annual Daddy Daughter Dance
Invitations have been distributed, one per family, for the event which is Saturday, April 12, 2014 at 6:30 pm. Please make sure you get your "Let's Go WIld" RSVP envelope returned to the office. Volunteers: If you haven’t already signed up to help decorate the gym that day or work at the dance and would like to, please contact Amy Drake, amyldrake@me.com or Regis Watson, regis1997@gmail.com.
Wednesday Rosary
On all Wednesdays of Lent, the Rosary will be prayed just before Mass in the school 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 will be available. We ask that you honor those joined in prayer and jump right in as you enter the gym for mass. It has been lovely to hear our students join in the prayer as they are seated. Please contact Darlene Newman at newmdar@gmail.com with any questions.
All Saints Moms Basketball League
Ladies, you've sat in the stands all winter long watching your kids play basketball and cheering them on. Now that their season is finished, it is time to dust off your high tops and put your game face on! Join your fellow All Saints moms in the gym for some fun on the following dates:
Thursday, April 10, from 7:30-9:30 pm
Saturday, April 19, from 9-11am
Thursday, April 24, from 7:30-9:30 pm
Friday, May 2, from 7:30-9:30 pm
Thursday, May 8, from 7:30-9:30 pm
Thursday, May 15, from 7:30-9:30 pm
Thursday, May 22, from 7:30-9:30 pm
The cost to participate will be $40. To sign up and get additional information, please contact Chris Gambs at teamgambs@sbcglobal.net, Dana Menendez at dmsulenski21@yahoo.com, or Tina Gregus at tmgregus@gmail.com.
The Runaway Pencil is open every Monday and Thursday morning outside Café 1 from 7:30 to 7:50 am for all of your school supply needs. See you at the Pencil!
Community Outreach
Big Spring Clean - "This and That" Collection for SCARCE
We will be collecting several items for SCARCE (School and Community Assistance for Composting and Recycling Education) during the month of April. The following items are needed:
Puzzles
Yarn
Glasses and/or sunglasses
Keys
Metal molds (for super crayons)
Corks
Clean out your closets during spring break and bring all donations to the ASCA office in April. Please contact Ann Zediker at jazediker@comcast.net if you have any questions.
Earth Hour
Earth hour is a world-wide event, bringing together 152 countries and a digital reach of over 200 million. Join others around the world by turning off you lights, TV, computer and all electrical devices for one hour on this Saturday, March 29 at 8:30 pm.
Earth hour is bigger than just an hour of lights off. It is continuous movement driving actions, big and small, that are changing the world we live in. Check out www.earthhour.org to see what an impact this organization is making on our environment.
Spring Into Volunteering
Show Earth some kindness and help clean up a popular preserve:
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Saturday, April 5th from 9 am – 12 pm at Spring Creek Reservoir
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Saturday, April 12th from 9 am – 12 pm at Herrick Lake
All ages are welcome, the events are FREE! Call (630) 933-7681 to register by Monday, March 24th. More information can be found at www.dupageforest.org.
Fish Fry Food Collection
We collected two boxes of food for Loaves and Fishes at the ASCA Fish Fry on March 7th. Thanks to all who donated!
Panoramic Photos
We still have a very limited number of Panoramic Photos available on a first come, first served basis. The cost for this lovely keepsake is only $15 per photo. Please contact Helen Kolar at (630) 961-6125, or hkolar@ascacademy.org to secure your copy before they are all gone.
Camp Rock
Camp ROCK(Reaching Others for Christ’s Kingdom) is an overnight summer camp organized by John Lamperis, who is the Director of Religious Education at Holy Spirit. This camp experience is for middle school students currently in grades 6 through 8. The camp dates are June 12 – 15, and August 9 – 12, and will be held at the Dickson Valley Camp and Retreat Center in Newark, IL. Not only will campers enjoy all of the typical camp activities, such as swimming, canoeing, archery, campfires, hiking, sports, music, skits and crafts; campers will have wonderful opportunities of prayer and worship that will help them to grow closer to Jesus and their Catholic faith. The Camp Rock informational flyer can be found at the ACSA website, or by going to the following link: http://www.camprock.me/flier.pdf. Contact John at (630) 846-0688, or john@camprock.me with any questions.
News from the All Saints Athletic Association
Kane County Cougars Outing
SAVE THE DATE! The annual All Saints at the Kane County Cougars Game will be Friday, June 6. More details will follow in the coming weeks.
Volleyball Season is Around the Corner!
Benet Academy Volleyball – Sign Up for 2014 Summer Camps
Benet will be running summer volleyball camps for all ages and level of play.
Benet Summer Volleyball Camp Registrations forms are available on our website or you can sign up online at http://www.benetcamps.com/girls-volleyball.cfm.
Basketball Uniforms
Basketball Uniforms should be turned in to the school office ASAP!
Please put the uniform in a sealed plastic baggie with the name of the student and team. Thank you.
Go Saints