Monday July 27, 2020 we celebrated Mass with the class of 2020 and their families. We are so thankful to the pastors and staff at St. Alphonsus for making it possible for us to livestream this celebration. Today we are happy to share some of the accomplishments and reflections connected with this celebration! Below we have included:
The introduction from Mass including the class scripture selected by the class of 2020
Recordings and the text of this year's Core Values Speeches and Bishop Baraga Awards
A list of graduates and the awards they were presented to honor their accomplishments
A brief description of awards presented to ASA graduates
A link to the previously posted video honoring this year's graduates
Introduction from Mass
The ASA class of 2020 selected this verse this year as it’s focus: He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
We are so grateful to be able to celebrate that faith and our time of formation at All Saints Academy today. We have faced many challenges and have learned and worked together to overcome them. Today we celebrate achievements and present our hopes for the future. We thank God for the blessings we have received and ask him to grant us the courage and wisdom to continue our mission of serving all.
FAITH at All Saints Academy - David Frey
One of the core values here at ASA is Faith. Faith is a huge part of our lives; it is what keeps us close to God. In the past few months, we had to have faith in God and trust Him with everything going on. We have to remember that He is with us even when it doesn’t always feel like it. That is what Faith means to us at ASA. Every school day, for the past 10 years, faith has been the center of it. We practice it regularly and constantly, to build our relationship with God. ASA has inspired the Faith in so many of us and will continue to. Together, we will all continue to grow our faith.
The values of our school have served as great examples as how we should live our daily lives. Everyday, we grew in our faith in some way. We strengthened our faith in God, in ourselves, and in the people around us. In any way we have strengthened our faith, it has helped us become better people, each day at a time. Faith is the complete trust in someone, and that is the kind of trust we have in God. We learned to trust him in the toughest times, and in the best times; no matter what we’re going through in life. Us students would not have the connection we have with God, if we didn’t have such inspiring role models at ASA.
LEARNING at All Saints Academy - Stephanie Wojciakowski
I think we all know that learning isn’t always the most interesting or fun thing, but at ASA, the teachers make learning easy, fun, and interesting. The fact that the teachers love their jobs - which is apparent, based on how passionate they are on the lessons they teach- make it more interesting and memorable for us as students.
Maybe you don’t realize it yet, seventh graders, but All Saints Academy and the teachers that work there really do care about you. I didn’t realize it until we had to do all of our school work online because they tried so hard to make sure that we understood the subject and that it was the easiest it could be for us to learn and understand. They could’ve just gone the easy way, made our work on a doc, and have us read the directions, then make us finish our work by the directed time. They didn’t do that, though, they made sure that we understood the subject by explaining it well and giving us google meet time, even if it wasn’t scheduled. I always felt comfortable emailing them to ask questions or asking to set up a one on one google meet so they could further explain something I didn’t understand. Now that I’m leaving, I realize that ASA has set me up to be an amazing student. Even though not many of my classmates are attending high school with me next year, I know that I will never forget my friends from my eighth-grade year, because we’re like a family.
Learning is one of the most important parts of the school, but not only because of what you learn in the classroom or during a lesson. It's the things you learn from each other and what you take from those experiences that matter just as much as the things that you're tested on.
LOVING at All Saints Academy - Lena Reeves
When starting to write my speech I wanted to find some quotes about loving, caring, and friendship. I had found two that stuck out to me.
#1 : 1 Corinthians 16:14 - let all you do be done in love. I really enjoy this one because it tells everyone to do actions out of love, out of a respect and care for others and our surroundings. At All Saints Academy we learned to care for our friends and family, to have sympathy for others, and we learn to love instead of hate. Our teachers created a place where we knew we were valued, respected, and cared for.
#2 : “To love another person is to see the face of God.” - Victor Hugo, Les Miserables. When we love and care for others we create bonds. At ASA we’ve known each other for years, we’ve created a group of people who care about everybody else in the class, even when we don’t show it, even when we can’t feel it, even when we can’t see it, we still know that we care about each other. Our class has learned to respect everyone's differences and opinions. We have also learned through history lessons and service projects to not only care for and respect different cultures and opinions locally but also throughout the world . Our class has created a loving atmosphere and everyday when we see each other in class we are seeing the face of God.
At ASA we are shown love every single day. We get to see love every single day, in our classmates and in our teachers and staff members through the actions. We understand that yes, love can mean romance and blood relation, but it can also mean friendship, understanding, and caring. So I want to challenge everyone to first, act out of love. Try to make every action or word be born out of love. And second, look for God in others, because wherever you find God you will find love.
SERVING at All Saints Academy - Ana Batchelder
One of All Saints Academy’s core values is serving. When I was younger, I thought serving had to be the big things; like donating a million dollars, or feeding 1,000 people. Although these are tremendous acts of serving, All Saints Academy has taught me that the little things are great in size too. Doing things like buying a meal for someone on the street corner or setting aside time to help those in your neighborhood; even donating unused masks to hospitals can mean a great deal.
Every spring, ASA’s eighth grade class participates in the school’s service corps project. The 8th grade class groups up and calls on local stores, charities, nursing homes or anywhere in our community where volunteers are needed. Then student groups schedule a date to go out and volunteer for at least six hours. The service corps project encourages us to help others outside of just school. Unfortunately, due to COVID, we were unable to serve the places we volunteered.
Another way ASA helps us live up to our serving potential is through service hours. All students from Kindergarten through 8th grade are encouraged to volunteer a minimal amount of hours to be accomplished before the end of the school year. Volunteering at Northern Little League’s concession stand, God's Kitchen, and handing out water to runners during the bridge run are just a few examples of how I spent my time serving. Service hours motivate us to do good in our community without asking or expecting anything in return. I am so grateful to All Saints Academy for what they have taught our class about serving, and hope we carry this knowledge not only to high school but forever.
This year’s graduates accumulated over 400 service hours and a number of other praiseworthy accomplishments. Here is the ASA class of 2020 and a snapshot of their achievements:
Kayla Baraza
Core Value Award: Loving
Ana Elizabeth Batchelder
Core Value Award: Service
Nicholas James Birchler
Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Core Value Award: Learning
Abigail Marie Druelle
Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Core Value Award: Loving
Christian Thomas Florido
Core Value Award: Learning
David James Frey
Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Core Value Award: Faith
Bishop Baraga Award
Caleb M Levanduski
Core Value Award: Service
Keenan Francis McGavin
Core Value Award: Learning
Gavin Jay McKinney
Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Core Value Award: Faith
Induction into St. Francis of Assisi Society
Woody Herman Jazz Award
David Julian Rathsack
Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Core Value Award: Loving
Lena Marie Reeves
Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Core Value Award: Service
Induction into St. Francis of Assisi Society
St. Teresa of Calcutta Service Award
Lanie Marie Schmidt
Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Core Value Award: Faith
Induction into St. Francis of Assisi Society
St. Teresa of Calcutta Service Award
Band Director’s Award
Cassandra Sisk
Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Core Value Award: Loving
Induction into St. Francis of Assisi Society
St. Teresa of Calcutta Service Award
Claire Ellen Smith - Joining us remotely
Core Value Award: Learning
Liam Jameson Spicer - Joining us remotely
Core Value Award: Service
Madeline Kay Vos
Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Core Value Award: Loving
Induction into St. Francis of Assisi Society
Owen Fredrick Wittkoski
Core Value Award: Loving
Stephanie Wojciakowski
Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Core Value Award: Service
Induction into St. Francis of Assisi Society
Bishop Baraga Award
2020 Bishop Baraga Award - Mr. Debri
The venerable Frederic Baraga was a missionary, priest and Bishop known for his many works in our state of Michigan, even spending some time in Grand Rapids.
Bishop Baraga exemplified the core values of All Saints Academy during his years of ministry.
He evangelized others in the Catholic faith until the day he died.
He published a dictionary and grammar book of the Ojibway language so that others could learn the language of the Native Americans he worked with.
It is written that, “no Indian missionary of modern times was more beloved and revered by both the natives and Europeans than Baraga. He loved the natives he served with a warm-hearted devotion.
Finally, Bishop Baraga, was an exemplar of service. Not only did he establish a mission in northern Michigan, but he also earned the nickname, “the snowshoe priest” because he would travel hundreds of miles in harsh winters on snowshoes to reach those he served.
Our 2020 recipient of the Bishop Baraga award also exemplifies our core values of faith, learning, loving and serving.
When discussing (virtually of course) who would represent the class of 2020 with this distinguished award a couple of themes were consistent among the staff.
The student was faith filled, volunteering to lead prayer, altar serve, and read at Mass. They would also live their faith daily, not just in the context of religion class.
This student worked hard in class, especially during the time where learning was remote. They were present for class meetings and always brought something to engage their classmates with.
This student truly loved their classmates and school. If someone was sitting by themselves at lunch, they would be the first to give them a friend. They looked out not only for other 8th graders but all those at All Saints Academy.
Finally, their willingness to serve was evident. Big things, small things, and everything in between.
Who is this student? Well, when we were discussing this among staff, the comment was made, “you can say the exact same thing for two people!”
So in a year that has not looked like any other, we will be awarding the Bishop Baraga award to two students.
It is my great pleasure to present Stephanie Wojciakowski, daughter of Tony and Lisa Wojciakowski along with David Frey, son of Jim and Mary Frey with the 2020 Bishop Baraga award.
Awards and Recognitions
Presidential Award - Outstanding Academic Excellence
The Academic Excellence Award is bestowed on students who have a minimum overall grade point average of an A with an 85th percentile or above on the PSAT or the MAPs standardized math or reading tests.
Core Value Achievement Award
In addition to the Academic Excellence Awards each 8th grade graduate will be honored with an award that celebrates All Saints Academy’s core values of Faith, Learning, Loving and Serving. Teachers spend time in the spring identifying which of the four core values each graduate best exemplifies based on the characteristics defined by the Profile of at ASA Graduate.
Service Recognitions
At ASA one of our Core Values is Serving, and our Shared Purpose is to Form Saints to Serve All. Through service we focused on the power of turning our words into actions. Eighth grade students are challenged to complete 20 hours of service to All Saints Academy, parishes and to the community.
Induction into the St. Francis of Assisi Society
Students who have documented 30 or more hours of service to ASA or one of the four parishes will be inducted into the St. Francis of Assisi Society.
St. Teresa of Calcutta Service Award
“I served and I saw that service was joy!” (Saint Teresa)
The Saint Teresa of Calcutta award celebrates the students who discovered the joy in serving and went above and beyond the challenge by completing more than 40 or more hours of service this year.
Bishop Baraga Award
The Bishop Baraga award recognizes an 8th Grade student who has exemplified the All Saints Academy core values of faith, learning, loving, and serving. The award is named after the Venerable Frederic Baraga, a Catholic missionary known for his work in Michigan.
http://asatoday.blogspot.com/2020/06/congratulations-asa-class-of-2020.html
