National Archery in the Schools Program

National Archery in the Schools Program

You may have heard, All Saints Academy was the recipient of a grant from the Michigan DNR providing archery equipment to the school for a National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP)! We received our equipment late this past spring and were able to offer most students in 5th through 8th grade at least an introductory lesson during class time, electives, or afternoon school events.

Why Archery? NASP has a great promotional video you can access here explaining the national program goals. Archery is a sport that anyone can participate in regardless of athletic ability. It teaches valuable transferable skills like attention, focus, persistence, precision, and motivation.

How does this fit into a school setting? The mission of National Archery in the Schools Program is to "promote the teaching of target archery as a part of the in-school curriculum to improve education performance of students..."

What are the curriculum connections to an archery program? The Academic Archer Toolkit created by NASP provides lessons to instructors that are designed for a physical education curriculum that can also be integrated into history, language arts, science, math, art and even Spanish class.

The first guiding principle of NASP is safety. The National Safety Council has actually stated that archery is safer and safety protocols and range setup are the basis of the NASP Basic Archery Instructor Course. Check out the NASP website for more about the history and mission of this national program.

At All Saints Academy we plan to offer Archery as an after school option for the 2017-2018 school year. If there is enough interest we will look into connecting with a local regional tournament.

Looking to 2017-2018

Looking to 2017-2018

At All Saints Academy we believe that we are one and we value community celebrations and events that allow us to learn, serve, worship, and celebrate together! Many of our blog posts this past year have emphasized telling the stories about many of these events to share specific insights into the work we are doing at ASA to form Saints to serve all. Today's post shares a snapshot of the events planned for the upcoming school year.

Click here for a tentative list of dates for school-wide events for the 2017-2018 school year. These are noted on the online school calendar as well. If there are changes made to any of these events throughout the year we will send out updates.

The ASA app is a great way to stay current with events, news and any updates about school events! Consider downloading it if you haven’t. Simply search All Saints Academy in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

We are very excited to be celebrating 10 years of All Saints Academy this next school year! Many of the regular school events will have 10 year celebration elements weaved into them, but there are a few additional special 10 year celebrations in the works. We will be sharing more details later in the summer and throughout the school year, so be on the lookout for a few special events to add to your calendar.

Welcome Mr. Fillman

Welcome Mr. Fillman!

We are very excited to welcome Mr. Fillman to All Saints Academy to teach 6th, 7th & 8th grade science! He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience, as well as great zeal for science inquiry and our Catholic faith! We are very happy to “introduce” him to you via his own words in the short introduction below.

Hello, my name is Mike Fillman and I'm looking forward to a great school year and teaching 6th-8th grade Science at All Saints Academy. I am very blessed and honored to be part of an amazing school, community and staff.

Although I am new to the All Saints Academy school family, I am not new to teaching. I retired in June 2015 after 31 years as an elementary teacher (mostly 5th grade) at Lowell Area Schools.

Most recently I was the Education Coordinator at WGVU Public Media for the last two years coordinating educational programs and activities for the community.

You are probably wondering why I would retire from teaching to go back to teaching? The answer is simple, I realize I still have a lot of energy, enthusiasm and passion for education, science and science education and this position allows me the opportunity to continue with my interests.

During my years as a mostly 5th grade teacher, I team taught three sections of science, plus have many experiences at the local, county, state and national level in regards to Science education. To this day I still conduct many science demonstrations and presentations to teachers and student teachers about the fun of teaching science. I hope my enthusiasm for science is evident to your son/daughter and inspires them to enjoy science as well.

The best part of being able to teach science at ASA is that it also allows me the opportunity to share my Catholic Faith with you and your son/daughter. I look forward to the many opportunities of sharing our Faith together.

I will be in and out during the month of July and August getting everything set-up in the Science Lab and classroom, please feel free to stop in and introduce yourself if you see me in the room. The door will always be open because I don't want to pass up the opportunity to meet and create new relationships.

I'm looking forward to a great school year, getting started and meeting all of you.

God Bless,

Mike Fillman

The positive impact Mr. Fillman had in Lowell Area Schools and on his former students as well as his zeal for science is evident in the article found here.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

"Help me fall in love with God!"

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

“Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14

Have you visited the Atrium at the All Saints Academy elementary campus? If not, please stop in sometime! We are so pleased to offer our students in 3 year old preschool through 3rd grade a chance to participate in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd during the school year!

This Montesori-like approach to experiencing our Catholic faith is built on prayer, scripture, liturgy, and sacraments. GREAT JOY is the result in the students who work with hands-on materials.

Liturgical Calendar Work

Students follow the Liturgical Calendar and experience presentations about parables, sacraments, The Kingdom of Heaven, The Nativity, The Paschal Mystery, and The Eucharist. Students hear scripture, sing songs, pray, reflect and are given various meaningful works to complete during their time in the Atrium.

With our younger students in the Atrium, there is an emphasis on practical life skills, and practicing coordination, slowing down, being quiet and taking time to work independently and reflectively.

In addition to the works mentioned above, our older students lead prayer services, learn about the Bible in an unique way and experience the History of the Plan of GOD.

For more information about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd check out the National Association’s page: National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Students using the City of Jerusalem work

"In a recent visit to the Atrium I observed a student working on a pasting work, reflecting on setting the altar for Mass (see the example below). I noticed she had put crosses over the yellow flames on the candles. I was curious to understand her thinking as this is not part of the work as its modeled, so I asked her to tell me about the crosses on the candle flames. She quickly explained to me that,

"Well, Jesus is the light of the world, you know!" 

I was struck by the sincerity of this simple expression because it captures a powerful truth of our faith. Whenever we read scripture in the Atrium we light a candle to remind us that "Jesus is the light of the world." I realized that through this altar work this young girl was expressing her connection to Jesus, the light of the world, in a very personal way."  - Miss Giroux