Villa Duchesne Nuts and Bolts | February 11, 2021
A MESSAGE FROM MRS. STEENBERGE
Every decision we make at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School is guided by the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart Education. Often I find myself opening the small blue booklet many of you received when you first joined our Sacred Heart community. These guiding principles impact almost every decision we make, from curriculum to programming to budgeting. The Goals and Criteria are our "North Star," the compass that points the way to staying true to our mission.
The Five Goals are timeless and essential to our identity as a Sacred Heart school, but the criteria have a specificity that sometimes needs revisiting in light of our rapidly changing world. In December 2020, the Network of Sacred Heart Schools celebrated the ratification of the new criteria, the result of a two-year joint effort between the rscj (Society of the Sacred Heart) and Sacred Heart educators across the United States and Canada. I am happy to share with you the results of this project: The Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart Education. We no longer have a blue booklet, but a red and white one!
I encourage you to read over the new criteria, as well as the meaningful introductory pieces that capture what makes Sacred Heart education as relevant today as it was when Madeleine Sophie Barat founded the society in 1800. Relational education is simply the best way to reach the hearts and minds of students, whether we are living in Post-Revolutionary France or in the midst of a global pandemic. I am honored to work with our students each day, and I am so glad that we are partnering together to keep Sophie's vision alive.
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.
NO SCHOOL | FEBRUARY 15
Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School will be closed Monday, February 15, for the Presidents' Day.
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.
ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
The opportunity for Villa students to spend time with the mystery of the Eucharist in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has been rescheduled for Friday, February 19. Students who have Theology classes on February 19 will spend that time in the presence of Christ; all other students may visit during lunch or a free period. Additional opportunities will be offered in the future.
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.
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 beloved 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.
If you have questions contact the Auction Committee at auction@vdoh.org and get involved!
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 |