Oak Hill Nuts and Bolts | October 1, 2020
A MESSAGE FROM DR. SCHROEDER
It is hard to believe we are already in October. In person instruction is fully under way here at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill, and this is thanks to the cooperation of our whole community working together to keep our campus healthy. As we journey farther along in this 2020-2021 school year, I am grateful for all the ways which our school community is growing.
One such way is that with the addition of a second sixth grade homeroom this year, we added another section of Explore Block for our students in grades 4-6. Mrs. Katie Maxwell, Campus Minister, has begun teaching a Religious Studies section of Explore Block. The goal of this course is to apply the knowledge our students learn in religion class to their everyday lives. In this class, students learn about and explore different styles of prayer, vocations, and the saints. By learning about Catholic saints from all different backgrounds, our students are learning that there are many different ways to live out their spirituality according to their own unique gifts and talents. Students in Mrs. Schneeberger's sixth grade class explore prayer, vocations, and the saints during their new Religious Studies section.
Ms. Tracy Smith grew up in Chesterfield and graduated from Columbia College with Bachelor's and Master's degrees. She just recently moved back to St. Louis after living in Orlando, Florida, for many years. She has 13 years of teaching experience and has worked in numerous accounting roles. Ms. Smith did not hesitate to apply to the job as she loves the culture at Villa, as well as everything the school stands for. Ms. Smith works with our current families on any questions about billing, tuition, or Family Individualized Tuition. This upcoming school year, Ms. Smith is excited to see the students back in their element and roaming the halls. Her favorite hobby is going to theme parks, and she has been an annual passholder for Disney World and Universal Studios for many years. Her advice to students is to never give up and to remember that there is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Parent-teacher conferences will take place from 4-7:30 pm Thursday, October 22, and from 7:30 am to noon Friday, October 23. There is no school for grades JK3-6 on Friday, October 23. This year, conferences will be held via Zoom. Parents will have the opportunity to sign up with their child's homeroom teacher as well as specialty teachers. Because we are ensuring the sign-up software is accurate and includes each teacher's zoom link, we will open registration next Thursday, October 8. Look for more information in next week's Nuts and Bolts.
PEACE DAY FOOD DRIVE
Oak Hill's food drive, which began on the International Day of Peace, continues through Monday, October 5. Live out Goal 3 and join us in donating to the St. Louis Area Foodbank. We are accepting donations of canned and non-perishable food. Visit the St. Louis Area Foodbank for a detailed list of the best items to donate.
As announced, the homeroom that collects the most items will receive a special prize. Together let's bring peace to our community by caring for our brothers and sisters in need!
OCTOBER IS GIVING MONTH!
Give from the heart this October and show your support of Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School. Throughout the month, we will be asking our community to fill our heart and help us reach our Annual Giving goal of $650,000 and 100% participation from our parents! Your gift to Annual Giving keeps our Sacred Heart mission going strong. It allows us to address our most pressing needs – making our exceptional academic programs even better; enhancing the arts, athletics, and extracurricular activities; and expanding our Family Individualized Tuition program. Give from the heart today!
GET THE WORD OUT AND SHOW SCHOOL SPIRIT
Current students and their families are our best ambassadors to the wider community in spreading the word about what a Sacred Heart education is all about. Campus visits are now available for prospective students and families with an easy online registration. Please share the link below with any interested neighbors, friends, family, and fellow parishioners and encourage them to reserve a date and time today. Visits are individual and take place either after school or virtually via Zoom. We will also be hosting small group events for prospective students from area grade schools in the evenings and on Saturdays. These events will include a couple of activities and an opportunity for interested students to meet Villa girls. If you think your parish school or daughter's elementary school would be interested, please contact Director of Enrollment Management Therese Hagemeister at thagemeister@vdoh.org.
Our recruiting efforts are going to be more grassroots and word of mouth than ever before, so if you know a family that's interested in Villa Duchesne, please send them our way, email their contact information to admissions@vdoh.org, or provide them the link below to learn more about our fall visits and enrollment.
LUNCH ORDERS
Each week, students who wish to order lunch from school should select lunches for the following week using our Lunch Order Form. Place lunch orders by 9 pm each Tuesday for lunch the following week. Order forms will be updated on Wednesdays.
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
"My original idea of our little Society of the Sacred Heart was to gather young girls together and establish a little community which night and day would adore the Heart of Jesus whose love had been desecrated in the Eucharist…And I saw hundreds, thousands of adorers before a perfect universal monstrance raised above the Church. 'That is it,' I said to myself, as I was praying before a lonely tabernacle: 'we must dedicate ourselves to the education of the youth.'" -Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat
Sophie dreamed of restoring religious values to post-revolutionary France. She wanted young people to know the love of the Heart of Jesus and to make reparation for the sacrileges. In this spirit, we welcome you to stop by the Carmelite Chapel tomorrow, October 2, as VDOH parents pray during the day for our community.
As always, please join us to pray the Rosary on Wednesdays at 8:00 am in the Front Bowl of Villa Duchesne.
If you have any questions about this or other opportunities to get involved with the Mission Committee, please contact Molly Pollnow Kraeger '92 or Ellen Reis Weis '97 at vdohmission@vdoh.org.
NO SCHOOL | OCTOBER 12
Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School will be closed Monday, October 12, for fall break.
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 content 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 |