The Memories of 8th Grade

Just last week, our 7th and 8th grade students participated in All Saints Academy’s annual “passing of the torch” ceremony during the Leadership Mass. Both grades led the mass by reading the Scripture passages, writing speeches, and passing or receiving a candle, symbolizing the transition of the 8th grade out of the leadership role while the 7th grade takes up their new responsibilities. All of this would not have been possible without the challenges and memories that lead them to this point.

Most of the current (but not for long!) 8th grade students have been attending All Saints Academy since kindergarten or preschool. Many of them have a hard time remembering all of the things that come with being little students in the Lower Campus. But, there are a few things they have remembered over the years, taking their memories with them as they move to bigger schools.

One of the most popular memories was a “field trip” to Hawaii in kindergarten, while others remember more recent activities. Some students remember their favorite activities as the Lansing field trip or time at the farm. The current 8th graders had to wait until 6th grade to go due to COVID. Other students remember their time at ASA divided into pre-COVID, during COVID, and now.

Many changes came during their 6th grade year, just a few months after the COVID epidemic began. Students were able to come back to school but everyone had to be in masks. There were two new teachers in the middle school and all teachers rotated between classrooms. Students were then isolated to their one classroom for a majority of the day, besides lunch, recess, and a handful of specials, eventually. A lot has changed since then, thankfully, for the better.

As the current 8th grade entered into 7th grade, they were able to regain some normalcy and get back to a “regular” middle school setting. Students were able to rotate to different classes for different subjects, masks were no longer mandatory, and we welcomed a new student into the class just before Thanksgiving. Things are starting to look up! There were field trips again, band concerts, even a musical that students could audition for and perform in! Even though 7th grade had many new challenges and achievements, their 8th grade year was coming up quickly.

Now that their 8th grade year has started and is coming to an end, the students have reflected back on the good (and bad) of their last year at All Saints Academy. The students suggest that this post was not all “sunshine and rainbows,” but we do share some wonderful memories together, whether they like it or not!

This year they got to go on even more field trips! Artprize was one of their favorites, as well as their trip to Camp Manitou-Lin, the Day of the Dead exhibit, amongst their more “traditional” field trips and activities like Via Dolorosa and Alleluia Day. The students even managed to pull off a win against the staff in the Students vs. Staff Basketball and Volleyball games at school during Catholic Schools’ Week.

Some of their favorite activities happened to also be academic! They were able to share a cup of tea with Fr. Chung while studying the Boston Tea Party in social studies, dissecting frogs in science, participating in Jazz Band and performing in the Jazz festival, and learning a few cool things in math. While unsure at first, the 8th graders were also able to research a topic of interest to them, write a paper, and present their findings and facts to both their classmates and other students in the building. They ended up teaching and exposing other students to a wide variety of topics, sharing what they learned, how they went about gathering the data and information, and what skills they gathered along the way. Although this was a challenging assignment, their growth as learners has become evident through projects like this.

Even though their year is quickly coming to an end, there are many things that have not been mentioned that the 8th grade students will take with them. They will remember and maintain their friendships, as well as use their knowledge from ASA into their futures at their various high schools, including Catholic Central, West Catholic, Northview, and Innovation Central. Their experiences will lead them, guide them, and help them as they navigate the future, from high school and beyond.

Lower Campus May Crowning

At the Lower Campus on May 24, K-2 students honored our Blessed Mother through May Crowning after our weekly Wednesday Mass. May Crowning is a traditional Catholic ritual during the month of May that honors Mary as the Queen of Heaven. The second graders were able to wear their First Communion attire or their Sunday Best on this special day. The second graders processed outside with vases of flowers to place around Mary in the flower garden. We had a prayer service in honor of our Blessed Mother.   Lastly, Katie F. and Zack P. crowned Mary together.

May Mary be our intercessor as we finish the last month of school together! Mary, Queen of Heaven, pray for us!

We Celebrate Together!

 This spring we have had three special community celebrations so far: Alleluia Day, Eat Pray Run, and the Day of Awesomeness.

Alleluia Day is our annual celebration of the Easter promise and the joy of the creation of ASA 15 years ago. This year's Alleluia Day took place at the Upper Campus with Very Important Persons! Each student got invite a special person in their life to join for the day. The day included Mass, a talent show, and a praise concert. VIPs also got coffee and donuts as their students were practicing and preparing for the praise concert. This was the first talent show we have had since 2019, so students were eager and excited to show off their talent. The show included polish dancing, singing, a motivational speech, and more!

Eat Pray Run followed the Sunday after Alleluia Day. This day brings all ASA families together for Mass, lunch, and a little running. Even though the weather was cold, many students enjoyed the short 1 mile fun run and a handful ran the full 5K. Thank you to Gazelle Sports, Meijer, Trader Joes, and Family Fare for their donations to make this event possible.

Lastly, we celebrated our community Spring fundraising efforts with a DAY OF AWESOMENESS. All preschool - 8th grade students got time to celebrate with inflatables, a dance party, and prizes. You could hear the excitement of students throughout the day leading up to the celebration, and by the end, although tired, they surely had an awesome time. Thank you to everyone who helped make this the best spring fundraiser yet, with a net over $23,000 for our Tuition Angels students. 

We have Tiki-riffic Staff at ASA!

We have tiki-riffic staff and this year’s Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week goes above and beyond to help our staff know how appreciated they are. Each day there is an exciting little gift or treat for our staff and each staff member gets to spin the wheel to win a gift card to various stores in Grand Rapids!

On Monday, parfaits and overnight oats from Nourish Kitchen was provided for teachers. On Tuesday, Kona Ice provided a cold Kona Ice treat for all teachers and staff. On Wednesday, staff celebrated a Luau-themed day with lunch provided by Underground BBQ. On Thursday, there will be an ice cream dessert bar. And on Friday, teachers and staff will be delivered a staff swag bag.

The ASA community and our students would not be who they are without our incredible staff and teachers. Thank you to all the parents who donated to help make this week possible and for Home & School for all their planning! Huge shout out to Kona Ice and Underground BBQ!

Upper Campus Retreats

Retreats at ASA are a wonderful opportunity for students to spend the whole day together growing in faith. On Thursday, March 9th, the 7th graders participated in a retreat in the Brophy Center of St. Jude Church. The theme of the retreat was the Eucharist. The day started with Mass led by Father Ayub, who also made an appearance at the retreat. Students enjoyed playing a quiz game to get to know Father Ayub better and had a chance to ask him any questions they had. Father also shared his thoughts on the Eucharist and discussed the importance of not taking that moment for granted and truly reflecting on Christ’s presence every time we receive communion. Grant noted, “I really enjoyed chatting with Father Ayub because it helped me understand the Eucharist and realize how important it is.”

Throughout the day, the 7th graders participated in multiple activities including creating skits that retold specific scripture passages, reflecting on the human qualities of Jesus and how they can be applied to everyday life, and a scavenger hunt that sent them around the school looking for images that reminded them of certain lines in the Eucharistic prayer. Some fun was mixed in as well; students tried out the human knot challenge and watched a try not to laugh video. According to Stella, “We were really able to open up and have fun throughout the retreat.” Mattie agreed and added, “I feel like our class really bonded from the retreat.”

On April 14th, the 6th grade class went on a retreat to Camp Roger in Rockford. Together, they enjoyed a day of team-building as they participated in outdoor activities, physical challenges, problem-solving, and fun, bringing each other closer together. Each member of the 6th grade class actively participated in each activity working closely with peers and encouraging one another to do their best and persevere - even in uncomfortable situations.

The day began by working in small groups and using few resources to build a campfire. After groups successfully built their fires, they were able to use them to cook and enjoy popcorn! Next, students participated in a physical challenge in which they had to get each member of their class from one set of planks to another using only a rope swing to transfer one another back and forth. Afterward, students went rock climbing and most students pushed themselves past comfortable limits to climb to the top of the tower! Later, students played various games in which they had to work together to achieve a common goal. Finally, they ended their day by canoeing and roasting marshmallows. It was heartwarming to watch this class bond together and encourage each other through the day's trials as well as just have fun! Every child had a smile on his face all day and seemed to enjoy the experience!

One student describes her experience in this way: “What I liked about Camp Roger was that there were many different fun activities outdoors. One of the activities taught kids how to start a fire and cook popcorn kernels, which helped if they ever got lost in the middle of nowhere. Another activity was rock climbing. Rock climbing was a team activity because there were two teams that would help the teammate climbing. They would hold the rope when their teammates were climbing. There were two adults that would supervise in case anything went wrong. Of course, nothing went wrong, but everyone had a lot of fun. Camp Roger was both fun and educational.”

Our fifth-grade students, in addition to their farm days, experienced a mini-retreat last month. Fifth graders enjoyed a presentation with Coach Killroy as he talked about the importance of forgiveness in our lives. Students loved his energy, props, and how he shared his musical talents throughout the presentation. A favorite moment was using martial arts to attack sin! Students left Coach Killroy reflecting on how when you forgive, you let go of a grudge, and you ultimately feel better. Ben shared, " I learned it's important to listen with our ears, hearts, mouths, and brains. If we do this, we'll understand each other better."