The month of March is National Reading Month. A month dedicated to encouraging Americans to read every day regardless of age.
Reading is a great pastime and benefits all. Reading improves mental processes that help people acquire knowledge, manipulate information and reason. It also increases memory, vocabulary and empathy and decreases stress levels.
In celebration of March Is Reading Month, All Saints Academy has been intentional about providing even more opportunities for students to read every day. Students at both the Lower and the Upper Campuses have engaged in a variety of reading activities over the course of this month.
Specifically, in middle school English language arts class, students have been focused on reading and analyzing nonfiction texts. This reading unit, along with others taught over the course of the school year, immerses students in the study of a particular genre. Students at each grade level, read and analyze a mentor text as a whole class. The mentor text is used to model critical reading skills that students need to appropriately analyze a text within a particular genre. Students also complete vocabulary, hold Socratic Seminars (i.e. question-focused, student-led, and teacher-facilitated discussion based on appropriate texts) and write responses based on the mentor text daily. Simultaneously, students self-select nonfiction texts, after previewing texts in a “book tasting,” to read and analyze within book clubs.
By the end of each school year, middle school students will have been exposed to a variety of texts across different genres. Reading and analyzing texts of various genres boosts students’ comprehension skills and helps to continue to build confident readers.
Every year on March 21, people all around the world come together to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day by wearing brightly colored, mismatched socks. March 21 is symbolic because people with Down syndrome have 3 copies of their 21st chromosome.
Together we can create a single global voice advocating for the rights, inclusion, and well-being of people with Down Syndrome in our community and around the world. Socks were chosen because the shape of DS chromosomes actually looks like mismatched socks!
To celebrate this day ASA has gone all out with their crazy socks! A thankyou to all who wore them. The support ASA has for inclusion is amazing, and this is just the beginning!
Below is a prayer for those with Downs Syndrome:
St. Robert Bellarmine A patron Saint for individuals with Down Syndrome
The mission of the St. Robert Bellarmine Apostolate is to support and strengthen individuals with Down Syndrome, their families and their caregivers through prayer. We entrust the St. Robert Bellarmine Apostolate to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus!
The members of the Apostolate live out this mission by:
● Praying certain intercessory prayers to St. Robert Bellarmine to increase devotion to this Saint as a patron for individuals with Down Syndrome.
● Praying the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for individuals with Down Syndrome, their families and caregivers on the Sunday before or after his feast day (September 17).
● Encouraging Catholic parents to join or to form a MOMs+DADs (Mother of Mercy spiritual Divine Advocate for Down Syndrome) prayer/support group at their local parishes
On March 5, the second graders had the opportunity to go to the Grand Rapids Public Museum on a field trip. The students first started out at the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium. Our presenter told them all about the upcoming eclipse and then we watched a show on meteorites and asteroids called: Incoming! From there we were able to explore the museum for a bit with our parent chaperones.
After that, we all came back together and had a tour of The Streets of Grand Rapids. Our presenter took us through a re-creation of Grand Rapids in the 1890’s. They were able to tour the department store, the drug store, and the print shop. At each stop our guide would teach them about the place and show them artifacts from the era. We had a great morning visiting the Grand Rapids Public Museum!
Earlier this month, the first graders had the opportunity to spend the day at Blandford Nature Center where they learned how animals survive in Michigan during the winter months. While the students were expecting a snowy, cold outdoor adventure in February, they were greeted by warm temperatures, no snow, and plenty of sunshine. Thankfully, the teaching staff helped them learn about animal survival, even though there was no snow on the ground.
While at the nature center, students engaged in a simulation game where they learned how bears store food during the warm months so they can survive the winter months. Students met Tullulah the American toad who assisted in their understanding of how some reptiles burrow in mud for the winter months. A walk through the woods and a meadow gave students the opportunity to look for clues showing an animal had been present. And finally, students studied animal skulls and pelts to determine which nativeMichigan animals are carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores.
The morning spent at Blandford was a compliment to the Life Science lessons first graders have been enjoying this trimester. In reflecting on their time at the nature center, the first graders shared that they enjoyed visiting the live animals and participating in the simulation. With the sunshine in the bright blue February sky and the smiles beaming on the faces of the first grade students, it is safe to say it was a fantastic experience for all!
Our performing arts program at All Saints Academy is growing steadily, as are the skills of our performers! For our third production, we welcomed students in grades fifth through eighth to try out, and we welcomed the fourth graders to join as we needed a second chorus to round out our production of Willy Wonka Jr. Our cast did not disappoint! I am so proud of them and their growth. Our costumes as well as our AMAZING prop pieces brought this show to a new level! Some of my fondest memories I have had over the last many years come from directing musicals, and it was an exciting challenge to bring musicals to ASA when I was hired three years ago to be part of the staff.
A production such as this could not come to life without the pool of talents of many. To all those who helped, I extended a sincere and deep thanks. We were blessed to have such a community at ASA. Our show had a professional backdrop rented from a production company in California, full size gates to the factory, a full size pink candy boat, a chocolate fountain, a large TV, a candyman stand, and so much more. What a cast- from our squirrels, to Oompa Loompas, the grandparents to Wonka, the Candyman to Phineous Trout, the parents and their children, they were all great. Our “golden ticket winners” were memorable. Our Augustus was delightfully round, our Violet exploded so well, our Mike Teavee appropriately screen-obsessed, our Veruca aptly spoiled and Charlie unendingly kind. All of these memories were captured by a professional photographer and videographer. You can see a few photos here. We really felt like we were all “flying,” not just Grandpa Joe and Charlie.
We were lucky enough to receive an endowment from St. Alphonsus at the onset of our program three years ago to get us started. We are so grateful! Since then, we have created a self-sustaining program and now hold it in the performing arts center at Kenowa Hills High School. Having a production such as this at our school is such a gift. I truly believe in the transformative power of the performing arts, and I encourage all children to try it at least once. You will make so many memories and learn so much about yourself. Our cast spent endless hours learning their songs, cue, choreography, and lines. They became closer and grew in their talents. Former ASA students (and students from before I was here!) came back to help, visit, and volunteer.
From our “candy factory” concessions, to meals, to props, to hair, to make-up, to sets, and everything in between ... A production such as this could not happen without such supportive parents! Again, I extended my thanks. To our over 1000 attendees and show ticket holders, thank you! We hope you enjoyed the show as much as we did putting it on for you. As they say, the candyman can ‘cos he mixes it all with love and makes the world taste good.
