MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Oct. 8-9 – P/T/S Conferences
Oct. 7-9 – Scholastic Book Fair (see below)
Oct. 10-14 – Fall break
Oct. 15 – 8:30am-2:00pm Field Trip to Mulberry Orchard, Preschool and Gr’s. K & 1
Oct. 29 – 9:00am-6:00pm Open House for prospective families
Nov. 8 – Picture retakes (students may be out-of-uniform for picture only and are to bring a uniform to change into after their picture)
Nov. 8 – End of first trimester

WELCOME!
We have a new Café manager:
Margaret Steurer graduated for Ascension in 2008 and is a proud mom of a little longhorn and future longhorns!
She graduated from Assumption High School and Sullivan University’s Hospitality Management Program and has worked in multiple small family owned restaurants around Louisville, such as Heitzman Traditional Bakery and Masonic Home of Louisville.
The Steurer family has been walking the halls, attending mass, working at fish fries, Men’s League basketball, or the summer picnic for the past 25 years.
Margaret will begin on Tuesday, October 15.
Please make sure to welcome her and be patient as she get things up and running.

TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR THE 2025-2026 SCHOOL YEAR
You must apply for tuition assistance each year.
Applications should be submitted between October 15, 2024 and November 30, 2024. Completed applications received by November 30, 2024 will be considered in the initial grant awards. A smaller amount of tuition assistance may be available for forms submitted after that date.
The online application is available at www.ceflou.org. When submitting your application, you must submit your 2023 federal income tax return and 2023 W-2 information.
Tuition assistance award notifications will be issued to families no later than March 1, 2025.

PARISH OUTREACH
The parish outreach for the month of October will be the St. Bernadette Diaper Bank. The Bank collects diapers for children, the elderly and disabled, and supplies them to community agencies that assist low-income and homeless families. Currently, they are in need of children’s diapers sizes 5 and 6. And, they are always in need of adult diapers and baby wipes. They do accept packages that have been opened. Place your donations in the baskets in the Gathering Space between the Sacristy and Worship Space doors throughout the month.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
Monday, October 7th – Wednesday, October 9th
Open during conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday, and during breakfast (7:15 – 7:55 am) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

We are looking for volunteers to help with book fair during breakfast 7:15 – 7:55 am Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Please email bwagner@ascension-parish.com if you can help.

The PTO has generously allocated the money for each student (PS-8th) to purchase a book from the Book Fair for $5.00 or less.
• Ewallet is now available to use as payment at the Book Fair. Ewallet is a safe, cashless way for students to shop, just set up a free account, and add funds.
• Visit https://www.scholastic.com/bf/ascensionschool3 for ewallet information
• Credit cards, checks and cash will also be accepted as payment
• All purchases benefit Ascension’s library and are tax exempt
• Email bwagner@ascension-parish.com with any questions

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED!
Please email bwagner@ascension-parish.com if you are interested

ATHLETICS
Gameday and our email address ascensionlonghornathletics@gmail.com is available for sign in, CSAA information, apply for coordinator positions and general questions, all of that info and links will also be available in the Band app.

BASKETBALL SIGN-UPS
We are excited to announce that Basketball Registration is open on GameDay! Girls and Boys in grades JK-8 are invited to sign up – registration closes 10/11. Please click the link  to access GameDay: https://gameday.loucsaa.net/login

JK-2 Basketball Fees are $25, with evaluations on 10/20 – reach out to Chris Neichter with questions (neichterc@yahoo.com)
3-8 Basketball Fees are $75, with evaluations on 10/21 – reach out to Dink Horstman with questions (dink622@aol.com)

More details on evaluations, uniforms, and coaches to come!

Please also remember that all students, regardless of participation in Ascension Athletics, are required to complete and return the Ascension Sportsmanship Contract. Please return those to your children’s teachers as soon as possible if you have not already done so.

As always, feel free to reach out with any athletics questions to the Athletics Board – our email is AscensionLonghornAthletics@gmail.com.

FROM THE PTO
EMS TICKET SALES!
It’s the final week for EMS sales. Make sure to turn in all of your sold and unsold tickets on Tuesday October, 8th!
Online tickets can be bought at the following link. Make sure to include your students name and grade to make sure they get credited properly! https://tinyurl.com/ascensionems

EMS Weekly Sales Winners (Oct. 1 turn-in) – Congrats to all the winners!
Liam Plamp – Gr.3
Jaxon Phelps – Gr. K
Adeline Crutcher – Gr. K
Garnett Phelps – Gr. 2
Lucas Eblen – Gr. 2

PTO Meeting – TONIGHT @ 6:30 P.M.
Join us for Taco Night at our PTO meeting next Tuesday at 6:30 PM in the cafeteria! Stop by in between conferences to enjoy tasty tacos, connect with fellow parents, and get school updates. Childcare will be provided from 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM. We can’t wait to see you there!

Trunk or Treat – October 25th
It is almost time for our annual Trunk or Treat! Trunk set up begins at 5:30 and trunks should be ready for the little trunk or treaters by 6:30. New this year, a limited number of early leaver parking spots for those families whose little ones who just can’t party (yet) until the end of the event! Sign up below for your trunk!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E044EAAA82AA0FF2-51485717-trunk?

Trivia – November 9th @ 6:30 p.m.
Join us for a fun-filled evening of testing your knowledge on various decades at Through the Decades: An Ascension Trivia Event! The winning trivia team wins a $500 prize and the best decorated table wins $100!
Get your tickets now! https://tinyurl.com/ascensiontrivia

Service hour opportunity: If you have a student interested in volunteering to offer childcare during PTO meetings, please sign them up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4CA5A829A7F8C52-51176614-ptomeeting

PTO WEBSITEhttps://sites.google.com/view/ascensionpto/home
PTO FACEBOOKhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/421480501922288/
PTO NEWSLETTERhttps://sites.google.com/view/ascensionpto/monthly-newsletter
Thank you,
Ascension PTO

VOTE “YES” ON THE SCHOOL CHOICE BALLOT QUESTION IN NOVEMBER
Currently, the constitution states that public money may only be used for public schools

Supporters, including the Archdiocese of Louisville, say the amendment, which will be listed as Amendment 2 on the ballot, is good for Kentucky’s students and urge voters to vote “yes.”

Ultimately, enough “yes” votes would empower Kentucky lawmakers to craft legislation that could provide funds to help students attend non-public schools or receive other educational services outside of the public school system.
https://therecordnewspaper.org/catholics-urged-to-vote-yes-on-school-choice-ballot-question-in-november/

SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING
The Archdiocese requires all who volunteer or work with minors to have a background check done every five years (processed for free by the parish office). Also, an initial in-person Safe Environment Training must be completed (dates and locations available at www.archlou.org/safe). This training must be renewed every five years by doing a one-hour online course (ask parish office for the website).

If you volunteer or work around children at all, you must be up-to-date on these requirements. Please call the parish office if you have any questions.

If you are currently not up-to-date, you may continue in your work only if there are two other adults present who are up to date AND you are currently in the process of renewing your training and background check.

Anyone who is not currently volunteering but who might possibly volunteer in the future is welcome to go ahead and receive the initial in-person training. That way you wouldn’t have to scramble to do the training if you suddenly decided to volunteer for a youth event. Please submit the certificate you receive there to our parish secretary for her records.

Thank you so much for your service to our community and for your diligence in helping our parish be a responsible and safe place for our kids.

Sincerely,
Fr. Robert

BOX TOPS COLLECTION
Did you know that Ascension is a Box Tops school? During this challenging time, our teachers and students need more help than ever. No matter what school looks like, Box Tops for Education is a fast and easy way for you to help out from home.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS: Buy participating products and use the Box Tops mobile app to scan your store receipt. The app identifies eligible products and automatically adds Box Tops to your school’s earnings online. Even if you’re shopping online or doing grocery pickup, you can still submit your e-receipts and earn Box Tops. Twice a year, our school gets a check!

The PTO uses money earned from Box Tops to fund our iPad program and other classroom needs for our students!

Here’s how YOU can help earn money for our school!
• DOWNLOAD the Box Tops app and select our school to support. This ensures that your Box Tops purchases count toward our school’s earnings.
• SHOP for Box Tops products and use the app to scan your receipt to add to our school’s earnings online.
• LOOK for any remaining Box Tops clips on packages. If you find some, clip them and send them to school!
• SPREAD THE WORD about Box Tops!
FUN TIP: You can also use the “Invite Friends” feature in the app to ask friends and family to help support our school!

Your earnings may seem small, but they really do add up. The more people that participate, the bigger the impact we can make. So let’s give our teachers the support they need and help give more kids the opportunity to dream. Little by little, we can help make a BIG difference.
LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW BOX TOPS WORKS AT BTFE.COM

INCLEMENT WEATHER NOTICE
As winter approaches, there is always the chance we will need to close, delay or dismiss early. Here is what you will need to know in each event:
INCLEMENT WEATHER: The decision to close schools due to weather conditions is announced by radio, TV, and social media for Catholic schools in Jefferson County. One of the following announcements will be made:
1. All Catholic elementary and high schools in Jefferson County are OPEN.
2. Catholic elementary and high schools in Jefferson County will be OPEN BUT ON A DELAYED SCHEDULE.
3. All Catholic elementary and high schools in Jefferson County are CLOSED.
Ascension will also send closure announcement via email and text to all Ascension families.
DELAYED SCHEDULE- two hour delay: Café doors will open at 9:10am. Carpool begins at 9:40am. Classes begin at 9:55am.
EARLY DISMISSAL-ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: No public announcement is made about system-wide early dismissal in Jefferson County Catholic elementary schools except in the case of extreme emergency. Ascension will notify parents via email and text of an early dismissal.

REMINDER
Student’s who are absent should be phoned in or emailed to Ms. Thomas by 8:15am. There is a 24 hour message system for you to phone in absences, 451-2535 ext. 22.
Also, it is very important that your child/ren arrive at school on time daily! Students should be in their class and chair by 7:55am. If your child is late, you must come in to sign them in. Thank you!