December 10, 2020 Weekly Parent Newsletter

 

Weekly Parent Newsletter

All Saints Academy, St. Cloud Campus

December 10, 2020

Tomorrow, Friday, December 11th is an early release day. Preschool – 6th grade classes will end at 1:00 pm. Funzone is available for students who are currently attending all-day Funzone at school.

Family Fun Night Tomorrow Night

Our second family fun night is this Friday, featuring Kahoot! trivia night! Families will play as a team, and there will be prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place families! You will need two devices to play, one for zoom and one for Kahoot. No need to sign up, just join the zoom meeting listed below at 6:30! See you then!

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85110709149?pwd=NTlKV2pzbUk4a2NvanpOTjM0MHByZz09

Extravaganza Classroom Baskets

This year, individual homerooms will be creating theme baskets. We are asking that every family contributes an item or items to their child’s classroom basket to help create a fun collection to bid on. We have listed a few ideas for each basket to get you started. Please use these ideas or come up with other fun contributions. There will be a slip at the school entrance to fill out and attach to your items, so we know which items belong with which baskets. Your donation value will go toward your fundraising goal – please submit your receipt with your items . In addition to your child’s classroom basket, if you have anything you would like to contribute to any other basket, or if your employer would like to donate, we’d gladly accept any donations! If you would rather donate cash toward a specific basket, we can use that to purchase items once we know what is needed! During this time of Covid, please consider shopping locally to support our local businesses!

You can begin turning in items anytime at the school office OR during materials pick-up for distance learning on Dec 28 th , 29 th , and 30 th . Please turn items in at the school no later than January 14 th so we have time to put the baskets together!

Pre-K Paul – Baking (utensils, cookie sheets, apron, cake mix, grocery gift card)

PreK Allen – Baseball (baseball gear, Twins swag, Rox)

PreK Gruenhagen – Baby Basket (diapers, handmade blanket, onesies, stuffed animal)

Kindergarten Mehrwerth – Coffee and Tea (various coffees and teas, mug, coffee shop gift card)

Kindergarten Warzecka – Glitter/Kids Sparkle basket (anything with sparkles or sequins!)

1 st Grade Bautch – Kids’ Arts and Crafts (canvas, clay, art supplies, craft kits)

2 nd Grade Decker – Marvel/Superhero (toy, movie, book, lego set)

2 nd Grade Stemper – Disney (Mickey and Minnie, princesses, Cars, blanket or toy, book, movie)

3 rd Grade O’Neal – Car Care (Jumper cables, oil change certificate, air freshener)

3 rd Grade Swedal – Game Night (family games, jigsaw puzzle, cards, dice, puzzle books)

4 th Grade Loesch – Outdoor Fun (yard games, water toys, frisbee, balls, Hammock)

5 th Grade Wick – Camping (camping gear, State parks gift certificate, campfire fun)

6 th Grade Orth – Back Yard BBQ (grilling accessories, BBQ seasonings or sauces, picnic items)

6 th Grade Opatz – from MN (MN logo items, locally made products)

We appreciate your support of our school and Extravaganza! It is sure to be an amazing evening and a phenomenal FUNdraiser for our school! Thank you for your help to make this event a success!

Please mark your calendar for January 30th for Extravaganza! This will be an incredibly fun event, designed for the whole family, held in your living rooms. We will be singing, dancing, playing games and enjoying treats, all with Deuces Wild! Dueling Pianos! Tickets will go on sale soon, along with our swag bags containing everything you'll need for a fabulous night of fun!

Distance Learning Continues

We began distance learning this past Monday (Cyber Monday) and ASA made it through. Please to continue to follow the distance guidelines provided to all students and parents. Thank you for contacting the office and your teacher if students are going to be absent or late. Please also remember to report any COVID exposures or test results to the school as well. We need this information to help us determine next steps and exclusions when we return from

Hot lunch is available to all students at regular rates. Parents of distance learners may order lunches and pick up daily at 11 am. All students ordering lunch must place their weekly lunch order using School Speak by 8 pm on Sunday evening to reserve a meal. To order meals in School Speak, click on “Lunch Order.” Then click on “Place Order.” Please click the box on the appropriate dates. Hot lunch always includes milk, it is not necessary to click on “Milk” too. You would need to check “Milk” if he/she is having cold lunch and needs a milk with it.

St. Nick’s Day Treat

If you didn’t have a chance to pick up your child’s St. Nick Day treat, it will be sent home on the next material pick up day (Dec. 28 th , 29 th & 30 th .)

Giving Tree 2020

Advent began Sunday, November 29th and our Giving Tree is available virtually through Sign Up. We at All Saints Academy, want to live out our core value of "Sharing Generously" with those in our own community. We never need to look very far to be the helping hand that people very close to us may need.

This year All Saints Academy has adopted several families. Please consider helping us provide a merry Christmas to these families. If you would like to participate in our Giving Tree, please click https://signup.com/go/VWaJsYt

1. Look through the list.

2. “Sign Up” for the gift/gifts you would like to purchase .

3. Please bring the unwrapped gifts to school indicating which family is to receive the gift. Please drop gifts off between the hours of 8 am – 4:30 pm. You are welcome to provide wrapping paper or a gift bag for the item if you wish. If you purchase a gift card, please put the card in a letter or business size envelope and label the outside of the envelope.

4. All gifts need to be at school by Wednesday, December 16 th .

COVID Resource on School Speak

ASA has fielded a lot of questions on whether you should send their child to school if they have certain symptoms. A resource has been posted on School Speak that will clarify your decision making. There is a “Parent Morning Checklist” that parents can use when assessing how your child feels.

Please note that if your child has a cough or a fever or two of the less common symptoms (see the decision tree for details), they need to be evaluated by a medical professional before returning to school.

To maintain your child’s health while at school, please remind them of the following”

= Bring a water bottle everyday

= Bring hand sanitizer

= Wear a mask

= Bring spare masks

= Wash and sanitize hands frequently

= Keep physical distance with peers (6 feet+) when possible

ASA Parent Activity Committee (PAC) Corner

Hello ASA parents! Let's get to know each other! We encourage all interested parents to join PAC – especially if you are new to the community. It’s a GREAT way to meet other ASA families and get connected, and it’s a lot of fun, too!

PAC meets on the first Wednesday of every month, virtually this year through Zoom from 7 – 8 p.m.

THANK YOU to all who helped feed our teachers with the PAC Potluck during conferences in October!

CALLS TO ACTION:

· Join the ASA PAC Facebook Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1078832182165102/

· Donate a silent auction item for the ASA Extravaganza event! Email Marit Ortega with your ideas a t ortega.marit@gmail.com .

· Purchase gift cards from Scrip , and a portion of your purchase will benefit PAC-funded activities! There are gift cards to 699 locations, including Amazon, Kwik Trip, Starbucks, Walmart, Home Depot, Target, Best Buy, Chipotle, and Subway, to name a few. You're bound to find something you can use!

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What is PAC?

PAC is made up of ASA parents, and it is an integral part of the ASA community. Our mission is to facilitate and support the development of a Christ-centered environment through connections between home and school. Our vision is to support the growth and development of our youth through fundraisers, volunteerism, and family activities. We also facilitate staff appreciation efforts, parent development opportunities and activities inside and outside of the classroom for our children.

What does PAC do?

This year, we plan to provide funding for in-school “field” trips, Saint Nick treats, and Catholic Schools Week, to name a few. PAC also typically hosts multiple community building events throughout the year. This year we will be taking extra precautions for the health and safety of our staff and families. We will NOT be hosting the annual ASA Halloween Fest this year.However, we remain hopeful that we will be able to celebrate together later in the school year with our annual outdoor Spring Family Picnic.

Where do PAC funds come from?

We ask families to make an annual suggested donation of $25 to support PAC’s efforts for the benefit of the entire ASA community. Please make checks payable to PAC. We will also be bringing Scrip gift card fundraising back to ASA! See the login info in the CALLS TO ACTION above.

Questions? Email us at pac@allsaintsmn.org .

Marit Ortega, ASA PAC President

Karin Loch, ASA PAC Vice President

Chloe Spann-Ford, ASA PAC Secretary

Mary Larson, ASA PAC Treasurer

What is School Speak?

School Speak is an online school management system. It is a secure portal that allows us to provide more information, communicate with parents and offer useful tools for everyone who is a member of our school community.

If you are new to All Saints Academy or have never logged onto School Speak, you will be receiving an introductory email. The welcome email was sent to new parents earlier in July. Due to security issues, the email will only stay in your inbox for a few days. If you need the email resent, please call the office at 251-5295.

Individuals who have used School Speak in the past will not get an email. The username & password you had last year is still the same.

We would like all parents to log in and update their profile by Sept. 15th.

Student Absences or Late Students

Please call the office to report your child’s absence before 8 am . Also, transportation changes for your child should be made by calling the office before 10 am. It is difficult for us to make changes to the routine after 10 am and teachers do not have time to check email messages to make those changes throughout the day. If your child unexpectedly needs to attend FunZone, please call the office by 10 am.

Save the Date!

The All Saints Academy Extravaganza will be on January 30, 2021 ! Please mark your calendars for this exciting community event. Deuces Wild is back! Also, if you’d like to join the planning committee, please contact the office.

2020-2021 Playground Supervision Program

Playground Duty – Recess volunteering will be suspended until we return to in person learning.

BULLETIN BOARD

ASA would like to invite your child to pay in our Strings Program if they are in grades 3-6 to consider playing a stringed instrument. ASA offers lessons at your child's school during the regular school day. The program is very quickly reaching full capacity for the year so please contact your school secretary or myself for a sign up sheet. asteichen@cathedralcrusaders.org

We encourage parents/guardians to sign up for REMIND - a safe, free and easy way we can communicate with parents instantly through texting. To sign up, text ASA Administrative Assistant Mrs. Marissa Bristow at 612-260-4578 and in the message enter @ef392 . It is that easy. You will be added to the parent list . If you have signed up in the past, it is not necessary to sign up again.

Please remember that we are a Nut-Safe building. All snacks and lunches need to be peanut-free and nut-free. There is a safe-snack list on School Speak under Announcements. NOTE: Since ingredients change this list may be updated from time to time – we ask that parents check this list before purchasing snacks throughout the year. Did you know? Childhood allergic reactions are most likely to happen at school and 50% of reactions were previously unknown to the parents or child. Thank you for helping to keep our school safe for all of our students.

Keep Collecting!

It all adds up! Last year ASA received over $7,000 from labels and related rewards. Continue to save the following labels:

Country Hearth and Village Hearth Products (UPCs)

Pop and can tabs

Old cell phones

Empty ink and toner cartridges

(Campbell Soup has discontinued their program)

Upcoming Dates

Tomorrow Dec. 11: Dist. 742 two-Hour Early Release, distance learning will end at 1:00 pm.

Dec. 18: Last day of distance learning before Christmas break

Dec. 23 – Jan. 1: Christmas Vacation, no school for students or staff

Jan. 4: Distance learning resumes

Jan. 15: Dist. 742 two-Hour Early Release, distance learning will end at 1:00 pm.

Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Day, no school for students

Our Mission

… is to deliver an academically excellent, Catholic education that develops the whole person and inspires a Christ-centered life in a global community.

Our Vision

All Saints Academy creates and nurtures an environment which supports

students, educators and community in realizing their God given gifts, reaching their full potential and developing their life-long relationship with Christ.

This parent weekly update is published each Thursday school is in session. Anyone with questions, comments or articles they wish to be considered for inclusion should send an e-mail to Marissa Bristow at marissa.bristow@allsaintsmn.org no later than Monday, 3 PM for that week’s update or drop it off at school.