ALPENA ALL SAINTS SCHOOL
May 1, 2026 Newsletter
"A Christ Centered Community of Learners Guided by Our Catholic Traditions"
Last weekend was a memorable one for many of our ASCS students. Five young ladies in third grade celebrated a special milestone as they received the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation. Meanwhile, our 5th–8th grade students traveled to the University of Michigan for an enriching exploration of the arts and sciences. Adding to the excitement, four middle school students journeyed to Michigan State University, where their team earned our school’s first State Science Olympiad medal. Moments like these reflect the pride we take in offering our students a wide range of meaningful and enriching learning experiences for the mind, body, and soul.
The remainder of the school year will be filled with important opportunities for students to showcase their learning. Please keep a close eye on the calendar of events at the end of this Flocknote, as well as teacher communications and the school’s bimonthly newsletter.
This Monday, we will hold a PTO meeting to plan our final school events. If you are in need of Family Service Hours, attending the meeting is a great way to support our school community. Please remember to log all completed Family Service Hours in FACTS.
May you grow in God’s love and peace,
Melissa Doubek
“Give of your hands to Serve, and your hearts to Love.” Mother Teresa
The remainder of the school year will be filled with important opportunities for students to showcase their learning. Please keep a close eye on the calendar of events at the end of this Flocknote, as well as teacher communications and the school’s bimonthly newsletter.
This Monday, we will hold a PTO meeting to plan our final school events. If you are in need of Family Service Hours, attending the meeting is a great way to support our school community. Please remember to log all completed Family Service Hours in FACTS.
May you grow in God’s love and peace,
Melissa Doubek
“Give of your hands to Serve, and your hearts to Love.” Mother Teresa
At All Saints Catholic School, we believe that God works through each of us to share his love and kindness with the world. As part of our mission, we strive to grow not only strong students, but also thoughtful problem solvers and compassionate individuals.
This week, ASCS proudly recognizes 5th grade students Hannah Beauxius and Alice Klein. Building healthy relationships can be especially challenging during the preteen years, and teachers, parents, and principals often work closely with students to help mend hurt feelings and strengthen connections.Recently, Mrs. Doubek was guiding students through some relationship challenges and asked, “Who in your class can you turn to when you need someone to talk to?” Several students named Hannah and Alice, describing them as caring, trustworthy, and people who make others feel safe and heard. Their kindness and empathy are making a meaningful difference in their classroom community.
A Joyful Journey: Celebrating First Communion and Confirmation
Five young ladies from All Saints Catholic School joined others in the parish and surround communities to receive the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation.The ladies looked lovely in their beautiful dresses.Through First Communion, they received Jesus in the Eucharist and were sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, strengthened to live their faith with courage, wisdom, and love. We celebrate these young ladies as they continue to grow as faithful disciples, guided by the Holy Spirit in all they do.
Ellie Wallace, Nora Buchinger, Willow Gepford, Stella Beauvais, and Lauren Barth
MAKING US PROUD WITH ASCS's FIRST MEDAL AT THE MICHIGAN SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TOURNAMENT.
Kenzie Anderson and Iyla Smith earned a gold ticket to the Michigan Science Olympiad Tournament at Michigan State University after capturing first place at the regional competition. Advancing alongside 59 of the top teams from across Michigan, they competed in the challenging Boomilever event at the state level. Kenzie and Iyla secured an impressive 8th-place finish, bringing home a coveted Michigan Science Olympiad medal. Congratulations!!!!
What is a Boomilever??? A Science Olympiad Boomilever is a cantilevered structure designed and built from balsa or basswood and glue to hold a maximum load while minimizing its own weight. It extends horizontally from a vertical testing wall, with the primary objective of maximizing structural efficiency—a ratio of load held to the mass of the boomilever. The girls built a Boomilever that held the entire 15,000 grams so the award placements came down to the weight of their device.
A special thank you to Kathleen Howard for mentoring our students in the Boomilever and Helicopter events. Mrs. Howard generously shared her time and talents, guiding students through the engineering design process and helping them develop the skills needed to successfully build and test both devices. Her dedication provided our students with valuable hands-on learning experiences and a deeper appreciation for engineering. Our students were so blessed to have her guidance.
ITS NEVER TO EARLY TO LEARN FINANCIAL LITERACY
Representatives from Wolverine State Credit Union visited our students for a special read-aloud experience that brought financial literacy to life. Through an engaging story, students were introduced to smart money habits—and each child went home with their own copy of the book to continue learning and sharing at home.
There are several tuition scholarship opportunities when you apply on FACTS:
- Active Parishioner Scholarship ($750 per student). This was formerly the "parishioner discount." This fund comes from the tithing and service of each school family to our parish.
- Parish Scholarship (up to $500 per family) from All Saints parishioner donations to the scholarship fund.
- Financial Aid: (calculated based on financial need) donated annually from a generous anonymous organization.
- Bishop's Scholarship: for tuition assistance from Bishop Walsh
The Active Parishioner Scholarship form can be submitted online or to the school office. You must complete this form and submit it to be eligible for the Active Parishioner and Parish scholarships.
EXPERIENCING THE ARTS AND SCIENCES AT UNIVERSITY MICHIGAN
The 5th-8th grade students traveled to the U of M campus to learn more about natural history, diseases, cells, and Michigan habitats at the U of M Natural History Museum. They ate lunch on the lawn "diag" before visiting the U of M Museum of Arts. After enriching their minds, the students enjoyed physical activity at the Launch Bounce Park in Ann Arbor.
From Makeshift to Meaningful: Transforming Our Middle School Classroom
Since moving into the new school building, the middle school had been using folding tables from the former cafeteria for their desks—many of which were beginning to bend—as well as chairs borrowed from St. Mary's church. Mrs. Sahr did not have a proper teacher desk and instead made do with a donated desk from a home that was missing drawer knobs.Thanks to the generosity of our parish and school community, funds raised at the Gala made it possible to purchase proper student desks and chairs, along with a functional teacher desk. We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to transforming this classroom into a space we can all be proud of.
MAKING CHANGE WHILE REINFORCING SUBTRACTION SKILLS
The third and fourth grade students are learning to count money and give correct change. Through this lesson, they are also reinforcing addition and subtraction with decimals and converting decimals to fractions. Next week they will use these skills in a social studies market day activity where they create and sell crafts to their classmates.
READY, SET, CREATE AT ART IN THE LOFT
Art and the Loft is teaching the 3rd and 4th grade students cooking skills. With these skills they can cook family dinners and will be cooking lunch for our school volunteers on May 6th.
Each month All Saints Catholic School recognizes a student who makes a difference in the areas of Faith, Service, and Academics. During the month of April, ASCS recognizes 2nd Grade student, Harley Berry.Harley is a hard-working second grader who always does his very best work. He shines when he is able to share his creativity through the artwork he creates. Harley lives out the Fruits of the Spirit by showing compassion to all, celebrating the success of his classmates, offering a helping hand, and remaining humble despite his ongoing accomplishments. Harley can be found day in and day out with a smile on his face, a willingness to accept others as they are, and a positive attitude to help him do his best. Keep shining the light of Jesus, Harley!
UNEARTHING ARCHAEOLOGY
PLEASE LOG ALL OF YOUR FAMILY SERVICE HOURS IN FACTS. Let us know if you can help with service projects to fulfill your FSH requirements.
Upcoming Service Opportunities:
We are always looking for more help with recess and lunch help in the cafeteria. Contact the office if you can help or know someone who is interested.
Yard work
Inventorying the science textbooks and cleaning storage area
Volunteering for PTO events and Field Day
St. John the Baptist Church cleaning
Taking home toys/manipulatives to sanitize in the dishwasher
Food Donations for Field Day
Contact Melissa Doubek if you can help. Opportunities in purple can be done outside the school day
Don't forget to log your service hours in FACTS. Include the date, hours served, description, and person verified by. Volunteer time by grandparents also count towards your family service hours
Fun at the Afterschool Program includes Wednesday crafts, constructing LEGO creations, and physical activity in the gym or on the playground. The last day for Afterschool care is June 4th.
Thank you to everyone who could join us for the April meeting. The next meeting will be Monday, May 4. Please join us to help organize the remaining activities for the school year. Many hands make light work.
To see April's meeting notes, click on the link below.
WEDNESDAY MASS AT ST. JOHN CHURCH
Everyone is welcome to join us for the Children's Mass on Wednesday's at 9:00 am at St. John the Baptist Church. During the Children's Mass, the students have the opportunity to serve out the ministry of the church as Altar Servers, readers, and singing in choir.
******Important notice about Wednesday Masses at St. John the Baptist church: For the safety of the children, doors will not open to the public until 8:40 am and will be locked after Mass begins. Parishioners should enter the door by the St. John the Baptist statue.******
Every morning the students sign a song of praise at Morning Prayer. This month we are singing and signing the song "Joy."
Wednesday 5/6/26 the Fifth Week of Easter
lead by Middle School and 1st grade students
Reader 1: Quentin
Prayer of the Faithful: Lily and Tilly A (1)
Servers: George and Ellie and Nora (3rd)
Offertory: Sylas, Marina and Tilly M and Rhys (1)
Ushers: Kenzie, Sam, Olivia, Genesis
Bible Verse for the month is:
Mark 10:43-45
Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Other School Reminders
- NWEA district testing window is April 24th - May 20th
- Next PTO Meeting on May 4th
- The 15th Annual Diocesan Regional Catholic Schools Catechism Bee is scheduled for Thursday, May 7, 2026, at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Gaylord. Bishop Walsh will serve as our Moderator. George LaCross will represent ASCS.
- Spring Concert on May 27th from Noon-1:00 pm. Guests are invited to attend.
- June 4th is the last day for After Care.
- Field Day will be on Friday, June 5th.
- June 8th will be the Historical Wax Museum and Science Innovator presentations presented by the 5th-8th grade students. The 3rd and 4th grade students will be presenting historical plays. Parents and grandparents are invited to attend from Noon-2:00 pm.
- Baccalaureate Mass at 9:00 am on Tuesday June 9th
- Last day of school on June 9th. Awards ceremony starting at 12:45 pm.
- Middle School FIRST Tech Robotics team qualified for the Premier Event in Edmonton, Canada June 24th-26th.
- Scholarship applications due by June 15th.
The students of All Saints School will be offering Spiritual Prayer Bouquets, by praying for you or another individuals. To request a Spiritual Prayer Bouquet, email the following information to Melissa Doubek (mdoubek@alpenaallsaints.org). A class of students will send a card with the number of prayers said. You may request a Spiritual Bouquet for you or another person.
Name of the person to receive Spiritual Bouquet
Address to send the Spiritual Prayer Bouquet card
Event (for example birthday, grief, trying times, illness, etc.)
All Saints Parish - Consisting of the churches of St. Anne, St. Bernard, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, and St. John the Baptist, All Saints Catholic School, Holy Cross Cemetery and the Friendship Room.
Office: 817 Sable Street Alpena, MI 49707 - 989.354.3019
School Office: 2550 S. 1st Ave Alpena, MI 49707 - 989.354.4911