Oak Hill Nuts and Bolts | February 18, 2021

A MESSAGE FROM DR. SCHROEDER

We considered ourselves blessed yesterday to celebrate Ash Wednesday with liturgies or prayers services with all of our grade levels. In some ways, things were different; like being sprinkled with ashes instead of having crosses marked on our foreheads. In other ways, though, the rhythm of the ritual and prayer allowed me to reach deeper into my personal experiences of receiving ashes year after year throughout my life. It was very comforting!

In Pope Francis' homily yesterday, he reminded us that while "we are dust and to dust we will return…upon this dust of ours, God blew his Spirit of life." Such powerful imagery that centered my focus for the day! He went on to say in his homily, "So we should no longer live our lives chasing dust, chasing things that are here today and gone tomorrow. Let us return to the Spirit, the Giver of Life; let us return to the Fire that resurrects our ashes, to the Fire who teaches us to love. We will always be dust, but as a liturgical hymn says, 'dust in love.' Let us pray once more to the Holy Spirit and rediscover the fire of praise, which consumes the ashes of lamentation and resignation."

I pray for a blessed Lenten journey for you and yours.

A complete copy of Pope Francis' Ash Wednesday homily from February 17 is available at: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/02/17/pope-francis-ash-wednesday-homily-240043

Priest prepares the Host at Ash Wednesday Mass

Oak Hill students celebrate Ash Wednesday.

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.
"Jesus wished to become indebted to St. Joseph for the necessities of life, and of this holy patriarch alone it may be said that he saved the life of his Savior." - Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat

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.

If you have any questions, please contact Financial Services Coordinator Tracy Smith at tsmith@vdoh.org or 314.810.3531.

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. Sponsorships are created and paid for online. Download the flyer below for instructions. 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.

YEARBOOK SPONSORSHIP

SPIRITUALITY SERIES

The third and final presentation in the 2020-21 Sacred Heart Spirituality Speakers' Series, Prayer and Reflection, will take place at 10 am Friday, March 5. Join Shirley Miller, rscj as she presents "Do Not Forget What Your Eyes Have Seen." With her beautiful photographs and thoughtful personal reflections, Sister Miller will explore the beauty of God's love in nature and in all creation. Sr. Miller served 40 years as a teacher and administrator in three Sacred Heart schools—Woodlands Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois, Duchesne Academy in Omaha, and the Academy of the Sacred Heart, the Rosary, in New Orleans—and has spent past fifteen years in the mission advancement office for the Society of the Sacred Heart in Saint Louis. Please join us on Zoom.
Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/98759802818?pwd=bElENWtRSnlpRVVBazc0TmZaRVJsUT09
Meeting ID: 987 5980 2818
Passcode: 847841

BONNE CHANCE AUCTION | $10,000 RAFFLE

And they're off! The gates are open and the race to sell 1,000 raffle tickets by March 12 has begun. For every raffle ticket a student sells, there are individual, class, and School incentives. If the entire student body sells 1,000 raffle tickets by Friday, March 12, Mr. Baber has agreed to award a day off of school on Wednesday, March 31—an extra day for Easter Break! In addition, the grade level that sells the most tickets by March 12 will receive an out-of-uniform day and a visit from the Kona Ice snow cone truck.

There are two easy ways to play.

Buy tickets online in a few simple steps through our new, OneCause interface. Buying tickets online allows you to pay with your credit card and registers you for online bidding during auction week. Please enter the first and last names of the student who sold you your ticket under Tab 2: Who is this ticket for?. You may leave all other contact information in that tab blank.
To pay with cash or check, ask your favorite student about buying a paper ticket. Paper tickets will be sent home with students in today's Thursday folders.

$10,000 RAFFLE

If you have questions, please contact the Auction Committee at auction@vdoh.org.

PASSPORT TO SUMMER

Summer athletic camps welcome students to campus to advance their knowledge and skill in a variety of sports. Youth sessions include basketball, field hockey, and volleyball and are open to boys and girls from all schools. High school sessions include basketball, cross country, field hockey, soccer, tennis, and volleyball. Due to MSHAA regulations, high school sessions are limited to students enrolled at Villa Duchesne for the 2021-2022 school year. Learn more:

PASSPORT TO SUMMER

Please contact Director of Summer Programs Dominic Key at summer@vdoh.org if you have any questions. We hope to see you this summer!

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.

LUNCH ORDERS

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.

NOMINATIONS