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Principal's Newsletter - October 22, 2014

Look at the trees in this picture. One is bright red and starting to drop leaves. Right next to it is a fully green tree.  Just like our learners, they are both beautiful but are naturally changing at slightly different times. Neither is better and neither is harmed by their differences.  This wonderful season allows us to truly appreciate both. The visual diversity we see in nature is as wonderful as the diversity we have in our human world.  God is great.

 

Parent Conferences

The parent conference portal is now open. The link is http://www.signupgenius.com/findasignup.  The portal will close next Wednesday, October 29th at 4PM.  If you need to make a change after that date, please email Helen Kolar at hkolar@ascacademy.org  Also, remember that you may only schedule with your child’s homeroom teacher unless you have previously requested a group conference.

Drop-In Baby-Sitting for the November 6th Conferences

Student Voices would like to provide baby-sitting services for parents who are not able to reserve a baby-sitter during their children’s scheduled conferences.  Babysitting will be available on Thursday, November 6th from 9:00 am until 8:00 pm.  We will be located in Cafeteria One across from the Main Office.  Children will be able to watch a Disney Movie, play a game or be creative at the coloring center. 

Report Cards

As we have our first report card that is standards based for our K-3 students, I thought it might be helpful to share some of the rational that leaders in the field like Bob Marzano and Carol Ann Thomlinson have discussed. Standards-based grading gives a wealth of information to help the teacher adjust instruction. Teachers can clearly identify which students need re-teaching, or practice. 

While some parents feel that not having As, Bs, Cs, etc. is not expressive enough, the truth is that a letter grade was usually comprised of a series of inputs that included tests, corrections, projects, homework, etc.  A student could do very poorly on the test but have worked hard on homework and projects and thus earned a decent grade. The problem is that they have not mastered all the concepts on the assessments.  If we just move on, their grades are fine but the learning is not adequate. Standards-based grading reveals when a student has not mastered a crucial concept.

Gifted and talented students can be truly challenged in a standards-based classroom because if they show early mastery of fundamental skills and concepts, they can then be offered more challenging work that is at higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy or that seeks connections among objectives. We are working to recognize and differentiate for these students. At the same time students who struggle can continue to relearn, practice, retest and use alternate assessments until they show proficiency.

In the adult world, everything is a performance assessment. If adults on the job make poor decisions or cannot determine the quality of their own work, the results are generally undesirable. Quality matters, and the ability to measure the quality of one's own work is a learned skill.  So how can we teach this essential skill? One way to teach quality is to expect it. We must create an environment where standards can and must be meaningful and where students are not permitted to submit substandard work without being asked to revise.

For our young learners they need the encouragement of the process rather than pressure to achieve and “A”.   Children through Grade 3 are still learning how to learn and developing their skills.   By using rubrics, work samples, and assessments, the teacher has the ability to continually reteach and support a student until he/she has met the expectations for that specific concept or skill.

On our new report card, the reading fluency score for Grades 1-2 reflects the correct number of words per minute (cwpm) that your child read aloud when given a grade-level passage.  The expectations for fluency have been set by the Diocese.  In general, the ultimate goal of reading is comprehension, and accuracy is a critical piece.  Expected accuracy rates of 97% or better signify grade-level mastery.

Fluent readers encapsulate multiple components, including reading with expression, reacting appropriately to punctuation, and deriving meaning from text.  However, the reading rate reflected in your child's fluency score is based solely on decoding, which is the ability to "break the code" of reading.  Although "race reading" is not the goal, it is crucial that your child reads at an accurate, certain rate in order to successfully tackle grade-level texts in all subject areas.

In grades 1-2-3 our students are learning the processes of reading to create a complete skills set package to allow them to be strong readers as they use reading to acquire knowledge for all subjects in grades 4 and up.  This is more complex than the pleasure reading your child may be enjoying in books at home. While correlated it is not necessarily complete.  That is why we now report this percentage to you.

For grades 4-8 our diocese does use letter grades and these now are also reflective of standards being taught.  The diocese weighs tests, quizzes, and projects in a consistent way across grades and subjects, (that is why it doesn’t work to just add up points and divide). 

If you did not originally request the PowerPoint from the Diocese of Joliet Catholic Schools Office, I would be happy to send it to you now.  Just email me at srenehan@ascacademy.org.

Safe Touch Materials

In late November, students will have the safe touch instruction in their health class. The materials used will be available for parent preview during parent conferences on November 6 and 7.  The table will be by the main office.

News from Development: “Change A Life” Scholarship Fund

As many of our long-time All Saints families know well, one of our school’s core commitments from day one has been to ethnic and economic diversity made possible by donor-supported scholarships.  These have been in very large part funded by donations from the Diocese of Joliet, two family foundations, and a small number of individuals and families.    In coming weeks and months, you will likely see and hear about a new scholarship initiative called “Change A Life.” The focus of this program is to reach out beyond our school walls and traditional donors to the broader community, building up new relationships and increasing financial support for this most worthy cause.   As you see the Change A Life materials and hear the stories of some of our scholarship families, you will enjoy an even better appreciation of what scholarships mean to these students and families, and to our entire All Saints Community.  We have a unique story, with much to be proud of and grateful for!

Community Outreach

ASCA Feed My Starving Children Packing Session Friday, November 7th

Conferences for teachers, service for us!  No school on November 7th – come serve instead.  To register your family for this 12:00–2:00 pm session, follow the instructions below: Visit http://volunteer.fmsc.org/Register/Default.aspx.  Select JOIN a Group.  Enter Join Code 504996 and click Search.  Agree to volunteer guidelines and 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.  Space is limited so register today!  Please contact Ann Zediker at jazediker@comcast.net with any questions.

ASCA Book Drive for October

Did you know the most successful way to improve the reading achievement of low income children is to increase their access to print?  ASCA is hosting a book drive to benefit Catholic Charities’ Foster Grandparent Program through the end of October.  This program allows seniors to volunteer in the Head Start Preschool and Kindergarten classrooms and read to children from very low income families.  There is a desperate need for new or gently used picture books, early readers, books in Spanish and other age appropriate books.  The greatest demand is for Spanish books.  There are over 800 kids in the program and it would be awesome if ASCA could provide each of these children with a book for Christmas as we did last year!  We can also accept adult paperback books which will be given to the low income senior volunteers.  Please bring in any donations to the ASCA office.  If you have a large donation, or any questions, please contact Erika Baka at jnebaka@gmail.com.

Make a Difference Day – Saturday, October 25th

Millions of volunteers across the nation will go out into the community to improve the lives of others and the environment on Make a Difference Day!  It is the largest national day of community service.  You can help by planning or attending an event in your community.  Visit the Make a Difference day website (http://www.makeadifferenceday.com/) to find a project near you or to register a project you are planning!

Pop Tabs

We will be collecting pull pop tabs from aluminum cans this year to support the Ronald McDonald House at Edward's Hospital.  Pop tab donations can be brought in through the school year to your student's classroom.

Adult Formation at St. Elizabeth Seton

Dave Specia, Director of Lay Formation for the Diocese of Joliet, will be presenting a formation opportunity entitled:  Prayer in the Christian Life on Wednesday, October 29 from 7 – 9 am at St. Elizabeth Seton, 2220 Lisson Road, Naperville.  All are welcome.  The talk will take place in Room 8, and two hours of catechist formation will be earned by all those in attendance.  To register, please contact Peggy Idstein at peggy.idstein@sbcglobal.net, or Sheila Stevenson at sesyouthministry@gmail.com.

Rosary presents Cinderella in November

Rosary High School will present the musical Cinderella, The Enchanted Edition November 7-9 at Rosary’s McEnroe Auditorium, 901 N. Edgelawn Dr. in Aurora.

Join us for a pancake breakfast with the cast followed by a matinee performance on Saturday, November 8. Other show dates are Friday, November 7 at 7:30 pm., Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 pm., and Sunday, November 9 at 2 pm. Show tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students, senior citizens and children.

Tickets are available online at http://rosaryhs.com/musical, or use the order form.  For additional information, please call the school at (630) 896-0831.

 

News from All Saints Athletic Association

Blue Out!!!!!!

Come cheer on our 8th grade teams this Sunday, October 26th at the All Saints Gym as they play their last volleyball games at ASCA. Each 8th grade player and his/her parents will be recognized.

 1:00 PM

Girls 8B2

vs. St. Pius 

 2:00 PM

Girls 8B1

vs. Our Lady of Peace 

 3:00 PM

Girls 8A

vs. St. Raphael 

 4:00 PM

Boys 8A

vs. St. Walter 

This is the last weekend of regular season play before the playoffs begin.  Remember that all team standings and games can be found at http://www.dplvba.org.

All Saints Football

This past week, our junior varsity blue defeated St. Mary of Riverside by 26-0.  The varsity blue fell to St. Mary of Riverside by a score of 32-0.  

Skate Into Some Fun!

The ASCA Boosters Club will host its annual roller skating party on Wednesday, November 5th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the Aurora Skate Center.  Invite all of your friends, family and neighbors for a great evening.  There is NO SCHOOL the next day…so come out and have some fun with your friends!  Discounted tickets can be purchased in advance before October 29th by using the Roller Skating Form in the newsletter or on the school website – so turn in your forms today!  Contact Debbie Kosmach with questions at nolkos@aol.com.

 GO SAINTS!!

All Saints Catholic Academy
1155 Aurora Ave
Naperville, IL 60540
Phone (630) 961-6125
Fax (630) 961-3771

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Summer Office Hours:  9am to Noon (Monday through Thursday).  Please come to Door 7 during the summer months.

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