Villa Duchesne Nuts and Bolts | January 14, 2021
A MESSAGE FROM MRS. STEENBERGE
January is a time for new resolutions and goal setting. In our maison time, we have encouraged your daughters, in formal and informal ways, to set academic and social-emotional goals for the new calendar year. We hope they will talk about their goals with you.
One of the most common goals students set is to "get better grades." Whenever I hear this, I remind your daughters that while good grades are important, this goal should also be paired with deepening understanding of the material in each course. I also suggest they create an action plan for how they will achieve their goals. Meeting with teachers is hands-down the quickest route to deepening understanding of course material. Relationships are at the heart of Sacred Heart education, and many of our practices support individual student-teacher interactions. We hire teachers who are not only experts in their fields, but we insist they be deeply relational and approachable. Most teachers have a personal office in addition to a classroom, and the afternoon academic lab time we instituted this year was designed to encourage students to seek out their teachers for help.
Have you ever wondered what the number one predictor of academic success during the first year of college is? You might expect it to be ACT scores or grade point averages. Our College Counseling department has referenced several studies that show the greatest predictor of college freshman success is the willingness of the student to visit her professor during office hours. When your daughter gets to college, her automatic response to learning challenges should be to visit her professor. We hope to demystify this process by encouraging her to become comfortable visiting with her teachers now one on one.
Congratulations to Talyiah Hughes '21 who was accepted into the Morgan Stanley Early Insights program! This virtual, two-part program is for current high school seniors and offers networking, opportunities for personal and professional development, an introduction to financial services, and an overview of future opportunities available at Morgan Stanley. Talyiah has always been interested in business and was inspired by Mr. Tejada to pursue this opportunity. "I have had an amazing experience working with the Villa college counselors, all of them are extremely helpful. Mr. Tejada has been an enormous help with my college process, and he always has my best interest in mind," says Talyiah.
PHILY WEEK 2021
Phily Week was first celebrated three years ago when the graduating class of 2019 came up with a proposal for a week of philanthropy honoring our beloved St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. This student-run week of activities is designed to benefit a worthy cause while building community and showcasing the student experience at Villa Duchesne. This year, Phily Week will be combined with Catholic Schools Week. Phily Week will run from Friday, January 29, through Thursday, February 4. Throughout the week, various activities and out-of-uniform days will take place with proceeds to benefit Atlas Public Schools. Atlas, founded by a Villa Duchesne alum, is a new charter public elementary school in St. Louis, opening in the fall of 2021. More information on Atlas, as well as the themes and activities for the week will be provided in next week's issue of Nuts & Bolts.
Every day our students live out the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart education. This is evident in their commitment to making Phily Week a success! Events of the week were developed by Student Council under the leadership of STUCO President Charlotte Schoen, Vice President Berkeley Rebman, and Secretary Ella Fernandez.
PHILY WEEK WEARABLES
Student Council is selling Phily Week wearables with proceeds to benefit Atlas Public Schools. Each grade-level item is $25 and the all-school beanie is $15. If interested, be sure to place your order by 8:00 am Tuesday, January 19. Check out the designs and place your order below.
OAK HILL OPEN HOUSE
Please help us spread the word. Oak Hill is hosting an Open House from 1:00-3:00 pm on Sunday, January 24. Prospective families will have the opportunity to tour the school, meet faculty and current parents, and learn about the amazing experiences our students have every day, both in and out of the classroom! Interested families can register at www.vdoh.org/schedule-a-visit.
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. We will continue to send reminders about order deadlines.
BONNE CHANCE AUCTION | SAINTS DERBY
Our annual Bonne Chance Auction has been moved to Saturday, April 24, 2021. We need volunteers to help solicit donations and sponsorships, set up and staff the event, pick up and package items, sell raffle tickets, and more! If you are interested in volunteering, please email auction@vdoh.org and get involved!
JOIN US IN PRAYER
Remember the story of David facing Goliath? "Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine." (1 Samuel 17:40) We all have Goliath problems in our lives. And, what five smooth stones do we have available to us? The five Gospel mysteries of the Rosary each day.
Please join us each Wednesday at 8:00 am in the Front Bowl to pray the Rosary together for our VDOH community. 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.
COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS
The Board of Trustees is seeking nominations for Standing Committee members. Standing Committees that support our Board of Trustees include Buildings & Grounds, Finance, Strategic Planning, and Community Engagement. Serving on one of these committees is an important first step in the process of serving as a trustee. Your recommendations can help us identify individuals with the expertise we need to advance our mission. This process upholds the National Association of Independent School Principles of Good Practice for Governance (NAIS) and School by-laws. If you or anyone you know has nominations, please submit an online nomination.
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 |