Oak Hill Nuts and Bolts | February 11, 2021
A MESSAGE FROM DR. SCHROEDER
My mind has been drifting to the longer, warmer days of spring and summer. Perhaps it is because of the short days and long cold nights of winter, the snow days, or the predicted subzero temperatures later this week, but regardless, I am beginning to yearn for better weather.
Yesterday, I remembered a favorite line from a John Keats' poem –
Think about it, to be intertwined with the glory and grace of Apollo (the mythological Greek god of the sun). Sounds great on these cold dreary days of February, doesn't it?
Once I remembered these lines from Keats, I quickly recalled that, not long ago, we celebrated the wonderful season of Christmas, the dawning of the true light in our world through the birth of Jesus. It is Christ, our light, who shines in the hearts of all and overcomes all darkness. He calls us to become intertwined with the glory and grace of God each time we join in prayer and the celebration of unity and oneness within our school community. Perhaps we can be more intentional with sharing a bit of this "light" in the coming weeks as we all start to crave the light and warmth of summer.
SPELLING BEE WINNERS
During the Covid-19 pandemic we have undoubtedly missed our usual school wide gatherings. What we have seen, however, is an opportunity to embrace these changes and find creative ways to engage our student body safely! This year instead of our annual 4th-6th grade spelling bee during Catholic Schools Week, all students grades 1-6 participated in individual classroom spelling bees. We celebrate all of our students for engaging in Goal II, a deep respect for intellectual values, by showcasing their spelling skills and congratulate the following winners from each classroom:
View our winners spelling their winning words.
NO SCHOOL | FEBRUARY 15
Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School will be closed Monday, February 15, for Presidents' Day.
ASH WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday, February 17, we will enter into the season of Lent in preparation for Easter. Oak Hill will celebrate Ash Wednesday Mass in the Chapel with grades 4-6 in attendance. Ashes will be blessed by the priest at this Mass for the rest of the school to receive at prayer services throughout the day.
LENTEN JOURNEY
The Parent Association invites you to join them in a Lenten Journey with Saint Joseph. During Lent, they will read about Saint Joseph, including beautiful reflections from Pope Francis and quotes from Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat. After Easter, the group plans to gather to discuss the videos and readings from the Lenten journey in this the Year of Saint Joseph. For more information and a complete list of readings and videos, please contact Kelly Adamitis at kellyjadamitis@icloud.com.
PROSPECTIVE PARENT VIRTUAL COFFEE
Head of School Michael Baber and Oak Hill Principal Pete Schroeder will host a Prospective Parent Virtual Coffee at 10:00 am on Wednesday, February 17, for interested families with children entering JK3-grade 6. Prospective parents are encouraged to attend the Zoom session to learn about the value of a Sacred Heart education. Registration is available at www.vdoh.org/schedule-a-visit. Please mention this upcoming opportunity to family and friends interested in a transformative education for their grade school aged children.
2021-2022 RE-ENROLLMENT CONTRACTS
We welcome the opportunity to partner with you again in the education of your children. On Wednesday, February 3, families eligible to re-enroll for the 2021-2022 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 Friday, February 26. Families are also required to send an enrollment deposit of $1,000 to the Business Office to complete the re-enrollment process.
YEARBOOK SPONSORSHIPS
The Yearbook Staff is giving our families the opportunity to honor students with sponsorships in the 2020-21 Oak Hill Yearbook. Parents may choose to buy a sponsorship space to congratulate a special award (i.e. academics, arts, or sports), commemorate First Communion, or just to say they are proud of their Sacred Heart student. Informational flyers will be sent home this week or download a copy below. Sponsorships are created and paid for online. The deadline to place a sponsorship is Friday, February 26, so mark your calendar. Contact Yearbook Advisor Lisa Carswell at lcarswell@vdoh.org if you have any questions.
BONNE CHANCE AUCTION | APRIL 24
Though our 49th Annual Bonne Chance Auction will be virtual this year, with only sponsors invited to campus, we encourage you to check out our Auction site for the many ways to get involved and support our School! Watch for future emails about registering your phone online for mobile bidding to bid high and bid often from the comfort of home or with a small group of friends at an auction watch party on April 24.
PASSPORT TO SUMMER
Registration for day and athletic camp offerings opened last week with academic camp registration coming soon. Learn more: Please contact Director of Summer Programs Dominic Key at summer@vdoh.org if you have any questions. We hope to see you this summer!
2021-22 STUDENT PLANNING CALENDAR
The 2021-22 Student Planning Calendar is now available. The link for viewing or download is below as well as on your Portal in the School Calendar tab under the Bulletin Board.
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.
JOIN US IN PRAYER
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 |