Family Table Talk: Thanksgiving Edition

Give thanks in all circumstances; 
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 

 

8th Grade Volleyball 2020

 

The “Sweaty Eagles” they jokingly called themselves after a hot August practice in 5th grade. This stuck with them for the next 4 years.

      “Sweaty eagles on 3.....” !

This is how we ended every practice, every game and sometimes used it as a cheer during matches. (The opposing team thought we were nuts:). That name was the start of a great 4 years.      

Fifth grade was a bit of learning curve for the girls and ourselves as new coaches. If you have ever watched a group of 5th graders play volleyball you know that just getting it over the net is a big deal. These girls came in with one goal that year, to have each of their teammates get at least one serve over the net. They came pretty darn close.

During 6th and 7th grade the girls started to show their individual talents. Some were good at passing, some had the finesse to set, while others were able to play aggressively at the net and they were all becoming amazing servers. By the end of 7th grade we were really playing volleyball!  The girls knew their positions, they were communicating and we were playing as a team. Eighth grade was going to be amazing!!  

And then.....we had a world pandemic.  It wasn’t clear if it was even safe to go to school let alone play volleyball. But we got the ok to start practicing outside in the hot August sun on the baseball field with all the dirt and sticks and no net. Did they complain???  You betcha. But it was all worth it the day we heard we could move into the gym it. Masks and all, these girls just wanted to play ball!  

Their season was good with the best percentage of wins we’ve had but that is not what we are most proud of. Over the years these girls have grown in spirit, love and friendship and are becoming wonderful young ladies in Christ. 

 - Coach Ellis -

Helping Laura to coach the girls in volleyball over the last four years has been so much fun, and so very rewarding. I didn't start out planning to be Laura's assistant in coaching ASA volleyball. I had never played volleyball growing up, and had played very little as an adult. I went up to watch and help with a practice, and I just never stopped going! Laura and the girls invited me in to learn alongside of them. 

The opportunity to be around this special group of then 5th graders, and now 8th graders, was one I did not want to pass up. Having the chance to watch them learn, grow and be successful in this sport of volleyball has been so fun. They were so little looking back at pictures from 5th grade, and the pictures now show how much they have grown. They are so beautiful and strong, each one of them! 

During our very last match a couple of weeks ago, as they were about to take the court for their last game, I held back tears knowing that this was going to be the last time they were going to be together as a team, and the last time I would get to be around them all. The "Sweating Eagles" went out there, and made everyone very proud, during their last game, and in each game over the last four years! They worked hard at practices, they were kind and encouraging to their teammates, and they always represented ASA very well with respect towards other teams and schools they played and visited over the years. Thank you girls for letting me be part of the last four years! I had so much fun with you all!

- Coach Schaab -

I loved being on the volleyball team! I got to spend time with friends and we had lots of fun parties. I learned to love volleyball! - Maya Schaab 

We could help each other improve and see each other grow every year. Even when somebody made a mistake we helped them up and told them they did good. It made me feel like we were all a family and we could have fun together.

"I got it!" 

 

ASA Votes

All Saints Academy may be where news outlets focus their attention in 2024. For the third time in a row, the ASA student vote was predictive of the Presidential election results. Just as in 2012 with the majority of votes for Barack Obama and 2016 with votes in favor of Donald Trump, K-8 students voted for Joe Biden 89-64 (58%-42%). 

Students in grades K-2 voted with paper ballots, dropping in their votes to the ballot box one by one in the hallways in order to maintain safe distances. Third through eighth grade students voted online through a Google Form. The Elementary vote was 38-33 in favor of President-Elect Biden while the Middle School also voted in favor of the former Vice-President 51-31. 

The students were excited to be able to participate in this exercise.  Great conversations and learning took place leading up to election day.  It was awesome to see the students partake in the process.

8th Grade Camp and Retreat 2020

“Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.” 

1 Timothy 12:4

On Thursday, October 23rd the 8th grade class was blessed to have two Camp Manitou-Lin staff members come to us and offer a day of team building activities. Though the weather tried to spoil our fun, we still had a great time! Students were split up into two groups to strengthen their relationships and communication skills. Students enjoyed building boats, learning outdoor survival skills, playing “telephone” while communicating how to build a structure, and competing in an egg drop challenge to see whose vessel protected the egg the best.

The students were also able to participate in archery in our gymnasium. All students learned the proper technique of how to hold a bow and arrow and everyone hit the target at least once! Hooray! Students then participated in a maze challenge where they had to direct their blindfolded partner through a maze and see who could finish the fastest. Students also worked on their memory recall while trying to figure out a path through a different maze.

On Friday, October 24th the 8th grade class had their annual retreat. The day started with Mass with both Father Tom and Father Danny. Students then spent time learning about The Paschal Mystery, exploring the 8th grade’s class verse, and reflecting on the Profile of an ASA Graduate. Students made art to celebrate The Day of the Dead as reflection on the Paschal Mystery.

The class was broken up into small groups to create short videos to explain what the class verse means to them. Representatives from Catholic Central met with the group virtually to give students an opportunity to hear about the opportunities available at CC. Students also had a chance to meet with representatives from West Catholic in November to hear about the opportunities available there.

To wrap up the day students completed a small service project started by Mr. Needham, by putting the finishing touches on some workstation screens for their classrooms. And then students had a chance to reflect on the Stations of the Cross.

Throughout both days students were also able to connect with some of their friend participating as possible from home!

   Overall we had a great two days learning and connecting with each other!

"Some parts were a bit frustrating and tough, but I got through it and so did my team!"

"I learned from camp day that communication is the key to having a good team."

- The ASA Class of 2021 -

"Everyday" Math Projects

A Math Store Story

By Abby Stanton and Elizabeth Stafford

The past few weeks the All Saints 6th grade class has been working on a shop project to work on our skills with decimal operations. We picked a store and picked 5-7 items for our store. Then we created google drawings with our pictures or printed off pictures and pasted them on a poster. We also filled out a google sheets document with expenses, expected income, actual income, expected income two, and actual income two. 

On October 13 we did our first shopping day. We went around the classroom with $100 to buy from our fellow classmates. We learned how to write checks to represent what items we decided to buy from our classmates. The shopping day was really fun to do. You got to search up what you wanted to make your store. On shopping day you got to shop at each other's stores and it was really fun going to each other's stores. Having a shopping day is fun to have. It teaches responsibilities about the real world. You can be a good store owner and have a good time.  

We changed some of our products and prices and on October 20th we did our second shopping day. The second day was much more successful for everyone. To finish off the project we did a reflection. 

Here are some student reflections:

• My favorite part was seeing what people decided to buy and what people decided to sell. It was fun going around and looking at all the things that people were interested in. - Ariadne Smith

• I can use this in the future if i work at a store. I can use it at every job, and even when I'm older. I can always use math for everything or every job. - Carissa Sisk

• My favorite part of this project was making the layout, because you got to design it yourself and you could be creative. My second favorite thing was being able to have a feel on what it's like to own a business, because we might end up having one when we’re older. - Leila Spicer

• I could use these skills to start a business. I also could use it to learn about money in college, or when I am shopping. - Sam Moll

• My favorite parts were boosting up my friends' shops because it made them happy and putting my shop together. - Shannon Hormuth