News

Did you know that the Ladybug was really named for Our Lady?  It’s true!  During the Middle Ages, farmers prayed to The Blessed Virgin because pests were destroying their crops.  The ladybugs came and ate the pest and therefore were named Our Lady’s bug, which was shortened to Ladybug.  

On April 25, 2012, the garden club ordered 1500 ladybugs for students to observe.  A very special little bug delivered containers filled with the insects to each class.  Then, right before dismissal, all grades met on the playground to free their bugs.  Students, teachers and parents joined in the release.   What fun it was to see everyone enjoying nature up close.

Every Wednesday during Lent, students in Pre-K through Grade eight participated in the Divine Liturgy and Stations of the Cross. On March 28 the Sacrament of Penance was available after these devotions. Then on Holy Thursday, "The Living Stations of the Cross" were enacted by the 6th, 7th and 8th graders, during a whole school Spirituality Day. The school children concluded Holy Week by leading the singing of the Good Friday Vespers in English, along with Choir Boyan who sang the Ukrainian responses.  At the end of this service, during the procession with the Most Holy Shroud, the girls in grades K, 1 & 2 had the privilege of portraying the angels who accompanied our Lord to His burial.  Many school families and alumni attended the Good Friday Services and Veneration of the Shroud.  Throughout the remainder of Good Friday over 30 Altar Boys and Sodalists returned to Church in order to pray and keep vigil at Our Lord's Tomb.  ACS is truly grateful to be able to offer such a wealth of spiritual opportunities to the children under our care!

George Washington, Ben Franklin, Shirley Temple, and even Mark Twain could have been found walking through the halls of ACS recently. That is because the students in the Classes of 2012 and 2013 came to school dressed as these historical figures. They were part of their Living Wax Museum project.

Back in February Mrs. Lojko and Mrs. Pickering introduced students to the steps of completing a research paper. Students were taken step by step through the process of researching and writing a detailed paper on a particular topic. In this case students chose historical figures found in American History to research. As this part of their project finished, they were next introduced to the second part of the project. Each student would present the life of their person as that person. They came to school dressed as the person and presented to both classes as that person.

Students invited the other classes to come and learn about these important people in history through their Living Wax Museum. Seventh and eighth graders had prepared posters with the name of their person and five important facts related to their life. Then they held a pose just as if they were wax figures in a museum.

As the day drew to a close many students observed that the museum figures did a really good job. Some of the classes were figuring it out as to when it would be there turn to be part of the museum. Congratulations to the Classes of 2012 and 2013 on the completion of your research project!

Fourth grade really uses all their technology.  The pictures show the students joining a live web cast from California via Discovery Education.  They were able to see Jaimie Hyneman and Adam Savage the hosts of television's Mythbusters as they answered questions sent in from various schools around the country.

Measuring show that you don't have to be tall as a tree or have a really long tape measure to estimate considerable heights and distances. With estimating tricks, a surveying tool and some simple objects, kids can become measuring experts. Fourth Graders use fraction tiles to learn by hand the meaning of each fraction's size in comparison to another.

Students in Mrs. Shumny’s first grade class recently spent some time studying the five senses. To get an idea of the importance of eyes, the students did an experiment that challenged them to see things differently.

Each student tested how well they were able to catch a ball with both eyes and then with just one eye. Students also learned how a blind person is able to read. They first learned about the Braille System. Then they practiced writing their name in Braille. At the end of class the students had a little better understanding of the importance of sight as one of the five senses that we use every day.

The results are in! After the Student Council and the Class of 2012 were finally able to count all of the pennies donated to our technology fund, we received a total of  25706 pennies. The winning class for this contest was Sister Maria’s class. The second graders with only twelve students in their class contributed $45.47 in pennies. Great job second grade!  In case you haven’t figured it out, our technology fund now has $257.06 to add to it!

While other schools are struggling to provide the most basic school supplies due to increasingly tighter budgets, Assumption Catholic School has figured it out. Through frugal spending and  applying for grants,  the school has provided its educators and 172 students with high technology tools to enhance education at ACS. According to school principle Mr. Michael Szpyhulsky,   gaining more and better technology for ACS has been in the works for the past two years. Today we are in possession of updated technology for the students and teachers:  laptops for each teacher, Smartboards in 7 of the 10 classrooms, Document cameras (Elmos) in all classrooms, 20 laptops shared by grades 4 and 5. In addition to desktops in most classrooms and a computer lab with 14 desktops.  The entire school uses a program called PowerSchool for grades, attendance and communication with parents.  Our eighth grade uses a program called Acellus for supplementary math, the entire school has a subscription to a program called IXL for supplementary math practice and a subscription to Discovery Education (access to over 50,000 film clips on various topics), and the fourth and seventh grades must take a mandatory writing assessment online.  Recently 4 teachers received brand new iPads, which can be used for audio and visual media consumption like books, movies, music, games and  Internet programs that help students with reading, math, history, geography and much more. We can truly say, "those who give the gift of learning received the gift of technology".

Distance learning has come to ACS! When fellow classmate, Andrew, was out of school recovering from surgery that didn’t stop him from attending classes. Andrew, using SKYPE technology, participated in both math and science classes. Not only were the students able to speak with Andrew and send him recovery wishes, they were able to compete against Andrew in daily Mental Math activities. The students used dry erase boards while Andrew typed his answers on the computer. His answers were displayed in front of the classroom for checking by fellow classmates and Mrs. Bernstein. Using the ELMO document camera, Mrs. Bernstein was able to upload page images so that Andrew could take his turn reading and following along with the science discussion. Sister Yosaphata came in and saw what we were doing, said hello to Andrew and was amazed with how technology can bring learning into the home!

Our Pre-school class is proud to present their "Garden of Thank You's!" The children with their teacher  have learned that the season of Lent is a time to make good choices and thank God for all he has given to them. To show the many things they are thankful for, the class has put together a vibrant and colorful garden display for all to see!