ASA Today: May 2019

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Alleluia Day 2019

Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ has risen!

Alleluia Day is one of the hallmark days in the All Saints Academy K-8 calendar. Like All Saints Day, Catholic Schools Week and Via Dolorosa, it is one of just four days that the both campuses come together. Rotating between the Elementary and Middle School Campuses, this year’s celebration took place at the Middle School and included the very important people in our students’ lives.

We began the day like all days in prayer and then headed to St. Jude Church for Mass and our May Crowning Prayer Service. The 8th grade and 2nd grade led us in honoring Mary with the 2nd graders garbed in their first communion dresses and suits.

It was such a reverent experience for our holy mother.

After a short praise concert practice and VIP refreshment break, students and guests packed into the gym for the ASA Talent Show. Acts ranged from musical solos to guitar playing to floor exercises. The final act, Izzy, stole the show with her rendition of Queen’s “We are the Champions.” Two big thumbs up to all of the participants, not just for their talents, but for their courage in sharing those talents with our school community.

After lunch and recess we gathered back in the church for Alleluia Day headlining event. Each year Mrs. Clark leads a Praise Concert, where all of the K-8 students sing songs about God and our faith. The students do an amazing job under Mrs. Clark’s direction and this year’s concert once again did not disappoint!

A new twist prior the singing in this year’s Praise Concert was the performance of the 8th grade band. Typically led by Mr. Palmieri, the band was conducted by 8th grade leaders in his absence. The sounded beautiful in the church and impressed the many VIPs in attendance.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ has risen!

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Girls on the Run 2019

Believe!

The ASA Girls on the Run team is so much more than running! The mission of GOTR is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident, using a fun, experienced-based curriculum which creatively integrates running. This program is open for interested 3-5 grade girls.

This was a remarkable ten week program where the girls participated after school in interactive lessons to develop positive physical, emotional, social and mental health, all while preparing for a 5K celebration.

Each year, GOTR teams complete a community impact project. This year our ASA team chose to make a difference right here on the middle school campus by cleaning desks, tables and chairs. Staff and students were grateful for this hard work and appreciated the positive messages left on the whiteboards for students to read upon entering their classrooms.

Upon conclusion of the season, all of the girls joyfully completed the celebration 5K at Calder Plaza. In doing so, they demonstrated that they are confident and able to accomplish their goals! They were joined with running buddies, made up of parents, aunts/uncles, cousins and/or family friends, to help share and make this event even more memorable!

We are grateful for the time commitment of their coaches, Stacey Wesorick and Ann Kolanowski, who not only were coaches through the season but became mentors and a source of inspiration for all of the girls as they grew in their self confidence over the season.

We are so proud of the girls and their accomplishments this season!

Quotes from the GOTR team:

"It was so fun to be able to spend time with my friends after school." - Ariadne

"I loved that we played games at practice." - Carissa

"The 5K was fun! I learned how to make good friends." - Elizabeth

"I had fun at the 5K and I loved making new friends!" - Felicity

"I finished strong at the 5K celebration!" - Shannon

"I loved GOTR because I met new girls from the middle school." - Leah H

"It was fun cleaning the classrooms for our service project." - Chloe

"It was fun helping our school with our community impact project. My favorite was the 5K celebration." - Leah K

"We learned about gossip and how to solve it." - Madyson

"I had fun at the 5K running and walking with my dad." - EvaLynne

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Friendship Festival

"The Lord your God has chosen you to be His own special treasure." Deuteronomy 7:6

by Mrs. Ockaskis and Isabelle Mitchell

We were blessed with the opportunity to send a small group of representatives to our first Christian Learning Center Friendship Festival. This year the event was held at NorthPointe Christian Middle School. It truly was a day of prayer, fun activities, and friendships!

The day began with joyful worship songs and led to face painting, group games, arts and crafts and sharing in lunch donated by Chick-fil-A. Our ASA middle school student representatives deepened their personal connections with each other as well as met new friends from other Christian schools. The final worship revealed how much the students grew in their comfort with sharing their joy and love for life. The event is well worth it! Certainly a day well spent.

My experience at the Friendship Festival was so much fun! When we got out of the car, there were tons of people there to greet us. The theme was pirates, so everyone dressed up as pirates. When we went into the gym, there were bouncy houses and dress up toys so we could get our picture taken. We got our lanyards and on the back, our schedule was there.

The first thing we did was go to the chapel and listen to our schedule. It was funny because there were high school students who were dancing to some songs. Afterward, we went to the craft room where we made parrots out of paper plates. We heard names for the parrots that made us laugh. Next, we went to the pirate room where we could get our faces painted or play keep the balloon off the ground. Before we knew it, we moved onto the next room, the carnival room! We played mini golf, ring toss, and bucket toss. We also got snacks. We played some other games, and then it was time for lunch. Bigger groups got back together for lunch, but since our group was so small, we could stay together for the whole time. For lunch, we had Chick-fil-a. It was delicious! After lunch, we did group games and then headed towards the bouncy houses. It was a really fun experience, and I think everyone would enjoy the Friendship Festival.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

All That Jazz

Jazz Band Festival!

For many years All Saints Academy has offered jazz band as an extracurricular activity for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Jazz Band meets weekly, after school, under the direction of Mr. Matt Palmieri, ASA Band Instructor. Jazz Band is not just a fun activity. It exemplifies core beliefs as well as ASA Vision and Philosophy.
Thursday, April 25, 2019, the ASA Jazz Band took a day-long field trip to Hastings for the Annual Jazz Festival. This three-day event, sponsored by the Thornapple Arts Council, features professional groups as well as nearly 90 groups representing schools throughout Michigan. Middle school, high school, college, and professional jazz groups are scheduled hour by hour at nine different venues throughout downtown Hastings. I went with the group as a chaperone. During the bus ride, one mom commented, “This is a great learning experience for kids. It is very valuable to both perform and to be part of the audience. Also, Jazz Band gives kids an opportunity to play two different instruments – one for the school concert band and another for jazz.” As our ASA Philosophy notes, “We educate the whole child ….to become the best version of themselves through personal growth, creativity, ….We respect and celebrate each child’s God-given unique gifts and talents through innovative and individualized approaches to learning.”
Generally the day includes the bus ride, the ASA Jazz Band performance, a professional clinician’s critique, lunch, a chance to listen to bands from other schools, and a visit to the ice cream shop, This year’s schedule called for the listening sessions and a stop at State Grounds Coffee House for ice cream in the morning. Unfortunately, the coffee house doesn’t serve ice cream before 11:00. This meant substituting smoothies, hot chocolate or other beverages and pastries in place of ice cream. To their credit, students accepted this Coffee House practice and found other treats to enjoy.

Listening to Maple Valley High School Jazz Band at the Spray Park Band Shell.

The 35-member ASA Jazz Band played at 11:00 A.M. before several parents, friends and local jazz lovers at Barry Community Enrichment Center. During the performance, to highlight various movements of a selection, a few students gave solo performances. Ben, one of the soloist proudly noted that “doing a solo opens up the opportunity to do something you’ve never done before.” This a great example of an ASA core belief, “We can do all things in Christ.”

Steven L. Reed was one of the nine festival clinicians. He taught Jazz Ensemble at St. Joseph Public High School for 25 years and has won several awards for his work with jazz bands. Mr. Reed praised the band for its exceptional presentation and highlighted a few techniques that the musicians could work on. For example, he suggested moving the bass instruments closer to the drums to accent the beat. He encouraged the soloists to project their music to make it stand out even more.
He taught the clarinet players to lower their music stands and raise up their instruments for better sound. He shared a little secret of moving the music stand a bit to the side so they could hold up their clarinet and still read the notes. He also engaged Stephanie in conversation. She confessed that playing solo an be a bit scary. Yet, he promised that if soloists played into a nearby microphone, it would strengthen their projection. Practicing would help them get over any fears they might have. Reflecting on this experience, Monica stated, “Jazz helps you improve your skills and ability.” Even before joining Jazz Band in sixth grade, Monica asked if she could play trombone. She said she chose this instrument because it’s different.” Jazz – both playing and listening to others play – helps you express what you feel. It’s uplifting. It expands your spirit. This attitude reinforces ASA’s Vision of providing a “transformative education.” Jazz surely prepares students “to make a positive impact on others.”

Buffet hot dog lunch at Kloosterman’s Restaurant while listening to jazz. When asked during lunch her thoughts about Jazz Band, Noel commented, “It’s a good experience to try out different things. Many people don’t know much about jazz. When I listen to other groups I can observe how they play my bass clarinet. I try to see how they do it and learn from them. I really liked the clinic and the different ideas he gave us.”

Ready to board the bus for the ride back to school. Ckaya’s comments summed up the day,
“It’s because of Mr. Palmieri that we have a good Jazz Band. The Jazz Festival helps us grow and shows how we can get even better. I’m glad we could do this.”

Sr. M. Rosita Schiller, RSM
ASA Board of Directors

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

What a Day for a Race!

Eat Pray Run 2019

Over 200 people from the All Saints Academy community came to the Elementary Campus for our 8th annual 5K race and fun run with nearly 150 of them participants in the race.

We raised $10,472 in tuition assistance through pledges and registration fees. Great work students!

The day began with a “Pack the Pews” Mass at St. Jude Parish with Fr. Tom Page presiding. It was fun to see all the ASA students in parents at Mass in their race gear. One student commented, “We need to call this Pray Run Eat!” While this may be chronologically appropriate, we’ll be sticking with the original title for next year.

As we moved from St. Jude to the Elementary Campus, the ASA band got set up and began the race festivities with the National Anthem. Soon after, Mr. Matlak called runners to their places and we were off!

Brandon James three peated as the men’s division champ while Summer Malinzak repeated in the women’s division.

Abby Druelle (7th grade) was third overall and took home the crown for the middle school girls. Tommy Stanton (4th grade) was first for the middle school boys.