Oak Hill Nuts and Bolts | March 25, 2021
A MESSAGE FROM DR. SCHROEDER It is hard to believe that we have already journeyed five weeks through the season of Lent. We started off this special season on Ash Wednesday with Mass and prayer services for all of our students. As we entered into this season, even our youngest students could tell you that Lent is a season of preparation. We use the color purple in the Church to signify preparation for a great feast. So with purple linens in our Chapel and on our prayer tables, we began our preparations at Oak Hill. We know that with any great feast, celebration, or special event in our lives that great care goes into planning and preparing, and this is true with our faith as well. Easter is after all the greatest feast we celebrate as Christians and so we find ourselves needing to set aside extra time for preparing our hearts. Next week, known as Holy Week, I encourage you to set aside these extra days off school to prepare with your families for this great feast. During Holy Week, we remember and honor the events that won our salvation. We celebrate the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, where Jesus gave us the gift of the Eucharist. On Good Friday, we commemorate Jesus' Passion and death for us on the Cross. Before we leave campus for Easter break, our students JK3-6 will have the opportunity to pray the Stations of the Cross in our Chapel. We look forward to sharing this virtual service with you next week, with reflections and prayers written by our sixth graders. Please also see below for some resources to celebrate Holy Week as a family at home. The greater the preparation, the greater the celebration! I wish each of you and your families a blessed Holy Week and a joy filled Easter. May we be always lifted up and guided by the promise of the Resurrection.
HOLY WEEK RESOURCES
The three days leading up to the great feast of Easter are known as Triduum, which is Latin for "the three days." It is one of the most important seasons of the entire Church year and lasts from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Holy Saturday. During these days we celebrate some of the most beautiful and sacred liturgies and prayers of the entire Church year. Campus Minister Katie Maxwell has put together the following resources for meaningful ways to celebrate this sacred time at home.
GIVING ALMS TO UGANDA
In February, Mrs. Kendall's second grade students began leading a Lenten almsgiving project for our sister Sacred Heart School in Kyamusansalsa Hill, Uganda. As part of their apostolic works, second graders assembled and distributed white paper bags in which students can collect money throughout Lent. We encourage you to help your children find small chores and acts of service they can do around the house to earn money for this initiative. These small acts of service can connect our children more personally to our Sacred Heart community in another part of the world. Please return these bags by Friday, April 9.
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Parent-teacher conferences will take place from 4-7:30 pm today, March 25, and from 7:30 am to noon tomorrow, March 26, via Zoom. There is no school for grades JK3-6 tomorrow. If you registered for a conference, a Zoom link for your conference would have been sent to you in your sign-up confirmation email from MyConferenceTime. Please be prompt to your conference and remain in the waiting room until the teacher invites you in at your scheduled appointment time. Please contact Jaime Bergfeld, Assistant to the Principal, at jbergfeld@vdoh.org if you have questions.
NO SCHOOL | MARCH 31-APRIL 5
Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School will be closed Wednesday, March 31, through Monday, April 5, for Easter Break. However, Oak Hill is offering a full day of childcare at Acorn Club for our families on March 31, the raffle bonus day. Space is limited; register below. If you have questions, email Mrs. Bergfeld at jbergfeld@vdoh.org.
SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR ENDS APRIL 4
Thank you to fifth graders Adriana DiPasco and Sarah Catherine Finney for their amazing pastel artwork to promote the Scholastic Book Fair to the Oak Hill community! If you haven't already logged into our homepage to order books with your child, please do so using the button below. There are many books that would make great gifts in Easter baskets.
For your convenience, here's a quick video explaining how to set up an eWallet. Remember, our Scholastic Book Fair closes on Sunday, April 4. Thanks for shopping!
BONNE CHANCE AUCTION | REGISTER TO BID
April 24 is the BIG DAY! This year's Auction, Saints Derby, is going to be amazing, and we want you to be a part of it. Register now to be ready to bid on April 24 by texting "vdohauction" to 243725.
We are bringing the party to you with Saints Derby Gift Boxes! Watch and bid while enjoying a carefully curated gift box including a custom bamboo Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill charcuterie board filled with delicious meats, cheese, and bits from Butler's Pantry; Saints Derby stemless glasses; Derby cookies from Madelyn's Cookie Company; and your choice of Rex Hill Pinot Noir or Rombauer Chardonnay from A. Bommarito Wines. Gift boxes serve 2 and are $150.00. Gift boxes purchased before April 12 will be delivered to local addresses. Gift boxes purchased after April 12 can be picked up at the School.
Share this with friends and family far and wide – all are welcome and our goal is to make Saints Derby our biggest Auction ever! Thank you for supporting our students in this way. If you have questions contact the Auction Committee at auction@vdoh.org.
PARENT RESOURCE
Our upper school parent book club has been reading Under Pressure by Lisa Damour, PhD, a wonderful book about stress and anxiety in teen girls. Lisa Damour recently hosted a webinar as a part of a parent series in partnership with ISACS called "Managing Anxiety, Stress & Parenting During COVID-19." The password to view the webinar is manage$2021 (all lowercase). This recording is available for all Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill parents until May 31, 2021.
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.
PASSPORT TO SUMMER | ATHLETIC CAMPS
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: Please contact Director of Summer Programs Dominic Key at summer@vdoh.org if you have any questions. We hope to see you this summer!
JOIN US IN PRAYER
"The Annunciation has been celebrated on March 25 since the third century, although not fixed as a feast until the Council of Toledo in 656. For early Christians, March 25 marked the spring equinox, the day God said, 'Let there be light.' (Gn 1:3) This was therefore seen as the most fitting day for God to recreate the world with the Annunciation and Mary's 'let it be done to me.' (Lk 1:38)" — Excerpt from 101 Surprising Facts about Mary, Fr. David Vincent Meconi, S.J.
We invite all to 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.
NEXT NEWSLETTER | APRIL 8
Nuts and Bolts will not be published during Easter Break. Watch for our next issue on Thursday, April 8.
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 |