Villa Duchesne Nuts and Bolts | February 20, 2020
This is an important time of year for our high school students as they think about their academic goals and prepare their course selections for the 2020-2021 school year. Villa's academic program offers coursework to challenge each student as she discovers and develops her talents. We undertake this process with an eye toward the future, so that all of our students have a strong foundation for higher education and beyond.
Villa is offering several new courses next year, including Honors World Civilization I, Advanced Guitar, and two senior Theology electives, Bioethics and Grief, Suffering, and Healing. Newsmagazine, Yearbook, and Villa Ink will now be offered as courses during the daily course schedule. You can review a complete list of the courses planned for next year, including honors and Advanced Placement courses, in the Naviance link in MyBackPack.
Our College Counselors, Mrs. Bertucci, and I will be working with our students to support them as they select their courses. We are working with the juniors this week, the sophomores next week, and the freshmen during the first week of March. Each enrolled student will prepare a Course Request Form, which must be signed by a College Counselor and reviewed and approved by a parent or guardian. Course Request Forms will be sent home for approval after Spring Break. We need to have a completed reenrollment contract before we can send home the Course Request Form.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions about the course selection process.
Ms. Bridget Collins
YOUNG ARTIST'S SHOWCASE
Congratulations to Kate Fesler '22, Brooke Barrett '21, and Lia Pantenella '20 whose work has been accepted into the St. Louis Artists' Guild's 2020 Young Artist's Showcase. Their work will be on display at the Artists' Guild at 12 North Jackson Avenue in Clayton. The exhibit opens Thursday, March 12, from 5-8 pm and runs through March 28.
2020-2021 RE-ENROLLMENT CONTRACTS | DUE TOMORROW
We welcome the opportunity to partner with you again in the education of your children. On Thursday, January 30, families eligible to re-enroll for the 2020-2021 school year were sent an email with the online re-enrollment instructions. We ask you to read and submit your Enrollment and Tuition Contract by tomorrow, February 21. Families are also required to send an enrollment deposit of $1,000 to the Business Office to complete the re-enrollment process.
If you have any questions, please contact Financial Services Coordinator Alice Tuhro at atuhro@vdoh.org or 314.810.3531.
WINTER PLAY | RADIUM GIRLS
Radium Girls offers a wry, unflinching look at the peculiarly American obsessions with health, wealth, and the commercialization of science. Performances run Thursday, February 27, through Saturday, February 29, and begin at 7 pm each evening. Tickets are available at the door prior to each performance or online below. All ticket sales are general admission seating. Adults $12, Students $5, Children 6 and under are free. No actual tickets will be issued. A list of all online purchases will be at the box office the nights of the show.
Want to recognize your favorite thespian with a note in our play program? Shout outs are available for $10 each payable with credit card, check, or cash. The deadline to include a shout out is the Sunday, February 23. Learn more.
PARENT COFFEE AND CONVERSATION
Due to a scheduling conflict, the Parent Coffee and Conversation originally schedule for March 11 had been changed to Thursday, March 5. The topics for discussion will be our 2020-21 school year theme and updates to the school schedule and technology policies for grades 7-12. Please join us at 8 am in the Lenke Global Education Center.
LITTLE BIT OF STEAM | MARCH 7
Current and prospective families with boys and girls ages 2 1/2 to grade 3 are invited for a Little Bit of STEAM at Oak Hill. Join our Admissions Team and Oak Hill teachers from 9-10:30 am Saturday, March 7, for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math activities. Register with Katie Martin, Assistant Director of Enrollment Management, at kmartin@vdoh.org. (Older children are not left out. We will host another Little Bit of STEAM for students in grades 4-6 on Saturday, May 2.)
MOMS' HAPPY HOUR
The Parent Association invites all moms for a Moms' Happy Hour from 6:30 to 8:30 pm Saturday, March 7, at the MAC West for drinks and appetizers in the 1903 Bar. Please register below.
FATHER-DAUGHTER DINNER DANCE
Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School cordially invites students in grades 7-12 to attend the Father-Daughter Dinner Dance from 6:30 to 10:30 pm Saturday, March 7, at the Ritz-Carlton. Students are encouraged to attend this dinner dance with their fathers or adults who are special to them. New this year, at the request of students, dinner will be served at food stations, allowing for more socializing and greater menu options. There will not be assigned table seats. Payment and reservation deadline is a week from today Thursday, February 27. Make your reservations today!
FEBRUARY IS GIVING MONTH!
We are closing in on the end of Giving February and have raised $441,000 towards our goal of $600,000. Below are our current parent participation numbers. We need your support to achieve 100% parent participation and reach our goal of $600,000. Pledges made today can be fulfilled by June 30, 2020. Thank you for supporting the students at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School. Give from the heart today!
SEE YOU AT THE RACES
A Night at the Races begins at 6:30 pm tomorrow, February 21. General admission is still open and walk-ins are welcome. Come cheer on your favorite thoroughbred, enter a derby hat contest, sip on mint juleps, and purchase raffle tickets for a chance at some fantastic items and experiences. Gather your friends, family, neighbors...all are welcome! All proceeds benefit the Villa Duchesne-City House Alumnae Association and the Sr. Mary Gray McNally Alumnae Scholarship. This event is for guests 21 or older. In the event of inclement weather, purchases are non-refundable and the event will be rescheduled. Contact Rachel Drone Gehm '88, Manager of Alumni Relations, at rgehm@vdoh.org or 314.810.3420 if you have any questions. See you at the starting gate!
PARENTS GOING OUT OF TOWN?
When parents are to be out of town, they should notify the Dean of Students Office at 314.810.3497 so that the School will know whom to contact in case of emergency. In the event of an illness or injury, if the School is unable to reach a parent and a designated guardian for the student is not on file, the School cannot release the student to another individual or permit the student to leave school.
COLLEGE CORNER
College Corner, a valuable resource for parents and students, offers the latest information on college rep visits, opportunities to connect with colleges, scholarships, and much more. The College Corner webpage is updated weekly by our College Counseling Office, so bookmark it and visit often.
ASH WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 26
Ash Wednesday is the day on which we usher in the liturgical season of Lent. It is not a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics but it is a day of prayer, fasting, and repentance. On Wednesday, February 26, Oak Hill students will celebrate Mass at 8:15 am and Villa Duchesne students will celebrate at 2:15 pm in our Chapel. All members of our community are welcome to join our students at either or both of these celebrations. There will not be a 7:15 am Mass on February 26.
SPIRITUALITY SERIES
Please join us for the final presentation in our 2019-2020 Sacred Heart Spirituality Speakers Series, The Mission Continues. On Friday, March 6, Frances Gimber, RSCJ will present "On to New Frontiers: the Mission Spreads." Sr. Gimber will discuss how the Society moved beyond Europe and the Americas after the dramatic event of 1818, Philippine Duchesne's voyage to America and her mission endeavors in the New World, and thus, the beginnings of the internationality of the Society. Gather for goƻter at 9:30 am in the Parlor Dining Room with the presentation from 9:45-11:15 am in the Lenke Global Education Center.
LENTEN MORNING OF REFLECTION
The Mothers' Lenten Morning of Reflection, sponsored by the Mission Committee of the Parent Association and inspired by Goals I, II, and IV, offers a morning of prayer, presentation, and light continental breakfast from 8 to 10 am Wednesday, March 11, in the Lenke Global Education Center. Selections of Bishop Robert Barron's series on The Mass will be shown, followed by the praying of the Stations of the Cross. Contact Polly Capps or DeAnn Gueck for more information at vdohmission@vdoh.org. All are welcome to join the celebration of Mass beforehand at 7:15 am in the Chapel.
ROSARY
All are welcome at 8 am each Wednesday in our Chapel to offer the rosary to Mater for her motherly protection of our children and for all the faculty, staff, and religious of this community who play such a critical role in nurturing and teaching our children.
Each Thursday, the Nuts & Bolts newsletters will highlight important information including upcoming school events, student achievements in and outside of school, forms to be completed, and program deadlines. Send your information for students and parents to news@vdoh.org to be included in either the Oak Hill newsletter, the Villa Duchesne newsletter, or both. Please log in frequently to access personalized announcements and calendar items in your portal. Contact your Principal's Office with questions about your online account. For Villa Duchesne, email Judy Bertucci at jbertucci@vdoh.org. For Oak Hill, email Jaime Bergfeld at jbergfeld@vdoh.org.
Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School 801 S.Spoede Road | St. Louis, MO 63131 314.432.2021 | www.vdoh.org | news@vdoh.org |