Summer Parent Newsletter
All Saints Academy, St. Cloud Campus
Summer 2017
We hope the summer is treating everyone well! School is still four weeks away, but there’s lots of news we want to share with you. Please be sure to read this summer newsletter and be all ready when school starts!
New Teachers & Staff!
We welcome Mikayla Feda (soon to be Wood,) and Jennie Vonderhaar, our new Preschool teachers at All Saints Academy, St. Cloud Campus. Ms. Feda comes to us from SCSU, attended St. Boniface Catholic school and has taught preschool, 3 rd grade and has subbed for all the elementary grades. Ms. Vonderhaar has a been a preschool teacher at Bethlehem Preschool for many years and will be teaching our 5-day preschool students.
Kristynn Huro, our preschool teaching assistant, has already started in Funzone this summer. During the school year, she will be working in Ms. Vonderhaar’s room. Ms. Huro also brings her 2 daughters to our school, also.
As many of you know, Ms. Paula Leider, principal, also joined the school this summer. She was at the 1 st summer BBQ where many of you met her. Mrs. Leider will be at Paperwork Night and is looking forward to meeting students and parents! Welcome to all of our new staff at ASA, St. Cloud Campus.
Paperwork Night/Ice Cream Social and New Family Meeting
Paperwork night will be held Tuesday, August 15th from 4:00 – 6:30 pm at the St. Cloud Campus. This will be the time for you to
- Pick up all paperwork.
- Meet with support staff to ask questions, pay any necessary fees.
- Put money in your child’s hot lunch account to start the new school year.
- Receive homeroom assignments.
- Parish faith formation will be here if you still need to sign up for Wednesday evening Faith Formation classes.
- Learn how to log on to School Speak if you haven’t already.
- We will have a cold treat for you and your family if you would like to stay and socialize.
- The New Family Meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Paperwork Night. We look forward to meeting all new families this evening
What is School Speak?
School Speak is an online school management system that ASA. 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 August 31st, the end of the first week of school.
Open House will be Thursday, August 24th
Open House is scheduled at the St. Cloud Campus for Thursday, Aug. 24th from 4:30 - 6:00 pm. Plan to meet your child’s teacher, renew old friendships, make new acquaintances, and check out our shiny clean building. If you miss picking up paperwork on the 15 th , it will be available in your youngest child’s homeroom.
Start Dates 2017-2018 School Year
The 2017-2018 school year for Preschoolers and 1 st – 6 th graders will begin Tuesday, August 29, 2017. The first day for Kindergartners will be Monday, August 28 th from 8:00 am – 11:45 am, lunch will be served. FunZone, our aftercare program, will be available for Kindergartners that day.
As in the past, we ask that parents provide transportation for their children to and from school during this first week of school.
Fall Athletic (PAA) Activities
Attached to this email you will find the 5th and 6th grade fall sports information for 2017-2018. These registrations should be returned at Paperwork Night or Open House. Students have the option of playing volleyball, soccer or football in the fall.
There will be a fall sports meeting the night of Open House, Aug. 24th from 6:15 - 7:15 pm in the building cafeteria.
If your child will be playing football, we will be handing out the football equipment after the meeting as well.
If you would like to coach any sport that PAA offers or have questions, please contact PAA Director for ASA Mike Sand at MIKESAND@allstate.com.
Volunteering at All Saints Academy
Volunteering at school is a wonderful opportunity to give back, share your gifts and allows you to see your children and other children in the school setting. It is also an important component to supporting the education delivered daily.
Our talents and skills are meant to be cultivated and shared with others. Sharing our God-given gifts by actively participating in the life of our parish and school is an expression of stewardship. We request that each family volunteer 15 hours/year at school. This can include but not limited to the following: serving lunch, recess supervision, classroom assistance, Picture Day, playing a musical instrument at mass, copying, Thursday folders, Spring Picnic, Junior Achievement (JA), Extravaganza planning, etc.
If your day/year does not allow you to volunteer the 15-hour requirement, families pay $50 per family. Hours are tracked in our office. These funds are used to defray the costs of additional staff or overtime required of staff in the building assisting teachers and school staff daily.
“As each one of us has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace,” 1 Peter 4:10.
2017-2018 Playground Supervision Program
Our goal is to have two parents who have children in K – 6 th grade, on the playground every day to assist the school staff during the entire recess period. Recess will be 11:00 am – 12:25 pm.
A schedule will be available for families to sign up at Paperwork Night and will be kept in the office.
All families need to volunteer for recess supervision 2-3 times this year for the safety of the children. (Parents of half-day preschoolers are not required to volunteer as their children do not participate in lunch recess time.) If you find your schedule doesn’t allow you to volunteer for Recess Duty, you may opt out by paying $50. (There are separate charges for the Playground Supervision
Requirement and the Volunteer Requirement, covered in the following article. Playground Supervision hours are added to your 15-hour Volunteer Requirement.) These funds are used to defray the cost of additional paid recess staff. At the end of the school year, families will be charged $50 if they haven’t volunteered for recess.
Stay Informed! Be the first to know!
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.
ASA is Nut-safe!
Please remember that we are a Nut-free 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:
Labels for Education (UPCs from Campbell's. Swansons, Post, and Prego) Box Tops for Education
Country Hearth and Village Hearth Products (UPCs)
Pop and can tabs
Old cell phones
Empty ink and toner cartridges
Thank You!
…to our custodians and staff who have worked hard this summer to clean, update and get our school building ready for the coming year!
Upcoming Dates
Aug. 15: Paperwork Night, 4:00 – 6:30 pm. 5:30 pm
New Family meeting in St. Paul’s Community Room.
Aug. 24: Open House, 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Aug. 28: First Day for Kindergarten, 7:45 am – 11:45 am.
Aug. 29 – Sept 1: First Day of School for Preschool & 1 st – 6 th grade students, no bussing available this week
Sept. 1: No school for students or staff
Sept. 4: Labor Day- no school
Sept. 6: Regular classes begin, bussing begins
Sept. 12: Picture Day
Sept. 12: SC Campus Parent Meeting Night, Preschool – 6 th grade
Sept. 25: Diocesan Ministry Day for staff, no school for students
Sept. 29: SC Grandparents Day
Oct. 19 & 20: Autumn Vacation – no school for students and staff
Welcome back to a new school year!
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.
