“I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
In this week’s newsletter you will read about the FUN RUN and sponsorship opportunity extended, class pictures this week, Congratulations to our Confirmandi, Track and Field report, Playground Angels for April and May, the saint of the week, Volunteer of the Year Award, sign up for a Cross Country Summer Camp, Pictures from Father/Daughter(s) Dance ‘Under the Stars’, our ACS “Year of the Arts” and Multicultural Potluck in May, last chance for yearbooks, Teacher Appreciation coming next week, as well as MAP Testing for 2-8th grades, Reminders to be smart when finding things around playground, New PTC and Commission members, volunteer and employment opportunities at school, upcoming events and much more!
Thank you for reading.
Reminders to students when finding items at the park or playground
With the recent news about Kulshan Middle School and a story from one of our school families, the teachers are reminding younger students this week not to pick up items that they see on the ground. This could be a syringe, a sharp object, or other items in a Ziploc bag. Even a brown paper bag or random duffle bag could have things in it that we don’t want to pick up or handle. Students can be curious, but we want to reiterate that when they see something while hiking in the woods or even on our campus, they should always report it to an adult and let us decide how to handle the item(s). Thank you for helping us to communicate this message and keep them safe.
Welcoming new Commission and PTC members
Thank you to all of the parents who attended the discernment for School Commission on Wednesday, April 19th. We also want to thank the parents who have volunteered to be a part of the PTC Board for the upcoming school year. Look below for the positions that are still available. The school staff is confirming interest from these individuals before announcing the new members but look for that information in the Wednesday Newsletter next week and help us to celebrate these important roles in our school planning and fundraising efforts.
Congratulations to our confirmandi
On Thursday night, some of our seventh and eighth graders will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation starting at 6 pm at Church of the Assumption. All are invited! Please join us in congratulating the following Assumption School students:
Ngansi Atem, Jordan Blas, Julian Dales, Marcos Hernandez, Aedan Kennedy, Liam Krzysiek, Mark Lockhart, Angel Ngo, Fatima Aguilar-Ordonez, Pablo Aguilar-Ordonez, Ava Patelli, Lexie Peralta, Timothy Smith, Genevieve Thomas, Bernardo Torres-Duque, Stella Wolf, Madeline Zankich
PLAYGROUND ANGELS NEEDED!
Our children’s safety is a top priority! Thank you for your help in keeping recess fun and safe!
Teacher Appreciation Week May 1st to 5th
Please refer to communication from your Room Parents on ways to show your appreciation for our wonderful teachers during the week. There will be an amazing lunch hosted by the PTC for the teachers and staff on Monday, May 1st.
We will need some donations for the lunch from parents. Please see the ways you can help on the Sign up genius here. Any questions about the lunch you can email Susie
Anderson at susiemoore18@hotmail.com Thank you.
Daddy Daughter Dance – Under the Stars
The Dechert family!
Five amazing dads!
Here we go Dad!
Our first Daddy Daughter Dance was a huge success. Thank you to all the daddies and daughters who came out dressed to impress and ready to dance the night away.
A special thank you and Happy Birthday to our Auction VIP Dancing Queen, Grace Deets.
We also would like to give a special thank you to Veronica Vincent. Along with her family, Veronica worked countless hours to create our beautiful boutonnieres, corsages, and all the decorations. You truly made an evening under the stars for all the dads and daughters. Thank You!
We want to thank the dance committee, Michaela and Anothony Petz, Torry Dechert, and Veronica Vincent
Finally, we couldn’t have pulled off the dance without all our school community volunteers: Carolina LeTellier, Anne Patelli, Jennifer and Joey Harbick, Jo Leynes, Elisa Jones, Carrie Vargas, Maggie Kim, Libby Stark, Ismael Pozas Tavera, Maureen Thomas, Lynette and Baynes Machinski, Elizabeth Miller, and Tam Bratt.
BHS XC Camp
The BHS Cross Country team (in partnership with Bellingham Parks and Recreation) is hosting a Cross Country Camp from July 24-27th for students with and without running experience entering grades 5 – 8 in the fall. In the past, we have had great representation from ACS at our camp, and we hope to soar with the Eagles again this summer.
Please see the flyer in your Wednesday envelope for details
Congratulations, Meleah in sixth grade!
Meleah Sidhu’s poem is one of the Merit Award winners this year for the Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest! Her poem, and the art a local artist is creating to go with it, will appear on a Whatcom Transit bus and will be published on the blog at https://thepoetrydepartment.wordpress.com/contest/. The awards ceremony will take place at the Bellingham Ferry Terminal on Wednesday, May 24th at 7pm.
Amazing Volunteer, Maggie Harbick, helping out with meals!
Maggie volunteered at the meal packing event at school this weekend. She got to use a heat sealer to seal off the bags of food and she used a scale to make sure the final product was within the goal weight of 390-395gm. It contained rice, beans, dehydrated vegetables, and vitamin powder. Each bag contained 6 meals. Each case contained 36 bags. This group of over 100 volunteers packed up over 37,000 meals! It was amazing and rewarding. They are being shipped to Sierra Leone.
Volunteer Opportunities!
Mrs. Town (Second Grade Teacher) has a new SMART Board projector that needs to be installed. Very little technical experience is needed, but it includes taking out the old device and attaching the new one to the frame. If you are able to do this, please email Mrs. Town directly and set up a time with her at jtown@assumption.school.
Miss McIntosh(Physical Education Teacher) is in need of parent volunteers to help run or walk with students during their mile test. She will need volunteers this Thursday 4/27 from 2:05-2:50 and on Monday May 1st from 10:45 for 8th grade and from 1:15-2:05 for 7th grade. If you are able to help with their fitness testing, please reach out to Miss McIntosh at amcintosh@assumption.school.
Volunteer of the Year, Eighth-Grade Parent Awards, and Servant Award
Last chance! Please nominate your favorite volunteer or eighth-grade parents for end-of-year awards. https://forms.office.com/r/z61HrsXpAR
We have two items (Sponsorship and t-shirt order forms) reaching our first deadline Thursday, APRIL 27th! We especially need the t-shirt size for your child, so please return to the office tomorrow
FUN RUN 2023! Here is our class competition board! Currently 7th grade is in the lead who will take over the lead? Our overall goal of 20k is getting closer! Keep those pledges coming in! Currently we have raised $5260.00
Pledge money can continue to be raised until May 25th.
Need fundraising volunteer hours before the May 31st deadline? There are just a few volunteer opportunities left to help this event run smoothly. Please sign up if you are able (sign up genius here)
CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAMS
Track and Field at Lummi Nation, April 25
A big shout out to our volunteers—Dana Driscoll, Aimee Bachmeier, Dayna Dennis, Catherine Streeter, Jennifer Sheafor, Anthony Petz, Jack and Lynette Machinski, Anthony Brown. Each ran everything from timing, to the shot-put, to discuss, to long jump, to high jump! They are the ones that allow us to have meets like this! Without them, we could not compete!
Thanks also to Lummi Nation Coach and Franklin AD and Coaches for hosting as well as to their volunteers.
We had a lot of PRs set! GO EAGLES! Check athletic.net for results. Next meet is Thursday, April 27 at Meridian, co-hosted with Vista Middle School.
-Coaches Rush and Costanza
The team is having great success! Good luck to everyone at the meets this week.
If you have any questions, please call the office, or contact Mr. Costanza at mcostanza@assumption.school
Meet dates:
- April 27th at Blaine
- May 2 at Mt. Baker (Assumption co-Host)
- May 9 at Meridian
PTC CONNECTIONS
OPEN POSITIONS – Do you LOVE TO BE INVOLVED & want to have a bigger impact on the events here at ACS? The following volunteer positions are open for the 23-24 school year.
** PTC VICE PRESIDENT: This is a 2-year commitment. The first year you are vice president and assist the President in anyway and with all functions. The following year you are the president of the PTC and train up your replacement. Qualities we are looking for in a candidate include organization, dedication, leadership, and creativity.
** PTC SECRETARY: This is a 2-year commitment. You keep and organize all records of the PTC, record all meeting minutes, and share via email with the PTC executive board, complete PTC newsletter as requested by the President and/or Vice President, maintain all meeting notes, bylaws, amendments, rules, membership lists, and any other necessary supplies, and bring them to meetings.
** PTC DEPOSITOR: This is a 2-year commitment. You make bank deposits of PTC funds (the Treasurer may also make deposits in lieu of the Depositor) & you train new depositor(s) on office procedures, cash handling/recording and bank deposit procedures.
- We invite interested parents to attend our monthly May 9th Executive PTC Meeting at 3:30pm at the school. If you have interest or questions please feel free to email Jennifer Harbick jrharbick@comcast.net or Susie Anderson susiemoore18@hotmail.com
PTC General Meeting on Wednesday, April 26th at 7 pm
Mark your calendar for the General PTC Meeting on Wednesday April 26 at 7pm. We will have guest speaker Patti Hoelzle, as well as fun snacks & drinks. She is an author, para-educator and counselor in the Ferndale School District. She will talk about post-pandemic issues we may be dealing with in our children. Topics we will touch on include anxiety, unconditional positive regard, and transitioning into teenage years. There will be childcare provided by EDP. We look forward to seeing you there!
Patti Hoelzle is a National Board certified professional school counselor working in school districts for the last 16 years. She specializes in parent and teacher coaching on social emotional skills and supporting kids with trauma specifically. She has had two children gifted to her through foster care to adoption and has experienced firsthand the different needs of children in their daily functioning after experiencing trauma. She loves learning about and collaborating with hard working parents and educators to create safe and loving environments for all children in our schools and homes.
Pizza Lunch Next Monday!
Remember that all pizza forms have been turned in for rest of this school year!
Your child will receive the same order for each of the following dates:
Monday May 1st
Monday May 15th
Monday June 5th
OTHER NEWS
We still have employment opportunities for 2023-2024!
The school has been interviewing for some of the following positions, but they haven’t been filled yet. Please continue to pass the word if you know anyone qualified and interested in: Spanish K-5 and Physical Education/EDP Director LINK HERE
Mass is Wednesday, May 3rd and May Crowning is Friday, May 5th
Please note that next week Mass will be on Wednesday and is a DRESS UNIFORM DAY. It will start at 8:15 am as usual. See the May calendar in your Wednesday envelopes today. Thank you.
WALKING WITH THE SAINTS
We hope that you will enjoy learning about how saints are a great example of holiness, strength, and courage one day at a time. Please remember that your name and guess of each week’s saint needs to be in by Tuesday afternoon. The drawing of all correct answers happens on Wednesday morning. Thank you to all the students submitting their answers.
Last week: St. Gianna Molla
Congratulations to Emery Shoff, 2nd grade
New Saint: It is uncertain when this saint was born and historians continue to debate to this day. However, his death date is estimated to be April 23, 303 A.D.
The first piece of evidence of this persons existance appeared within the works of the Bollandists Daniel Papebroch, Jean Bolland, and Godfrey Henschen’s Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca. He was one of several names listed in the historical text, and Pope Gelasius claimed this man was one of the saints “whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God.”
This courageous man was born to a Gerontios and Polychronia, a Roman officer and a Greek native of Lydda. Both were Christians from noble families and raised to follow their faith. When he was old enough, he was welcomed into Diocletian’s army. By his late 20’s, this saint became a Tribunus and served as an imperial guard for the Emperor at Nicomedia.
On February 24, 303 A.D., Diocletian, who hated Christians, announced that every Christian the army passed would be arrested and every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Roman gods. And so he refused to abide by the order and told Diocletian, who was angry but greatly valued his friendship with this saint’s father. When the saint announced his beliefs before his peers, Diocletian was unable to keep the news to himself.
In an effort to save the soldier, Diocletian attempted to convert him to believe in the Roman gods, offered him land, money and slaves in exchange for offering a sacrifice to the Roman gods, and made several other offers that were all refused.
Finally, after exhausting all other options, Diocletian ordered this saint’s execution. In preparation for his death, he gave his money to the poor and was sent for several torture sessions. He was lacerated on a wheel of swords and required resuscitation three times, but still he did not turn from God.
On April 23, 303 A.D., this brave man was decapitated before Nicomedia’s outer wall. His body was sent to Lydda for burial, and other Christians went to honor him as a martyr.
Who is this saint? ________________
UPCOMING CALENDAR ITEMS:
- April 26th – PTC General Meeting @7pm in the GYM with speaker
- April 27th – Class pictures Preschool/3rd grade and 5th grade
- April 28th – Class picture days PreK, Kinder/1st/2nd/4th/6th/7th/ 8th grade
- May 1st – Pizza Lunch Day
- May 1-6th – Missoula Children’s Theatre
- May 1-18th – MAP TESTING (Be sure to get plenty of sleep the night before!)
- May 3rd – School Mass @ 8:15am Dress Uniform (WEDNESDAY)
- May 5th – May Crowning for Blessed Mother Mary- Prayer Service 8:15
- May 5th– Mother’s Day Basket PickUp 3-4pm
- May 6th – Mother’s Day Basket PickUp 10-11:30am
- May 6th – Missoula Children’s Theater Performances @ 1pm and 3pm