Oak Hill Nuts and Bolts | April 8, 2021
A MESSAGE FROM DR. SCHROEDER Tomorrow, April 9, Oak Hill will host its fourth annual International Festival! Students, faculty, and staff will celebrate the diversity of peoples, places, cultures, religions and languages throughout the world. As we prepared for this day, I reflected on a speech from a couple years ago when Pope Francis addressed a gathering of world religious leaders at an interreligious meeting. He spoke about the need to work together across all divisions, and the power of his wording struck me. He said: "There is no alternative: we will either build the future together or there will not be a future. Religions, in particular, cannot renounce the urgent task of building bridges between peoples and cultures. The time has come when religions should more actively exert themselves, with courage and audacity, and without pretense, to help the human family deepen the capacity for reconciliation, the vision of hope and the concrete paths of peace." (Excerpt from Pope Francis's address on February 4, 2019.) Each grade level has been studying a different nation, and our hope is that they gain a greater understanding and appreciation of our global world and come a little closer to the work that Pope Francis calls us to. What activities do we have planned? We will begin the day checking in and boarding Oak Hill Airlines Flight 4921 at 8:05 am in homerooms. Captain Schroeder, our pilot, and Flight Attendant Carswell will welcome passengers through video, share facts, and point out places of interest in each country. Upon landing, students will grab their passports and take off to "travel" around the world. They will explore two countries in depth and choose from videos created by their peers to explore the other six. Among the videos will be musical performances created by fourth through sixth grade. The day will also include an international art gallery, family culture sharing displays, a door decorating contest, and international games. Finally, the day will conclude with the Joia World Percussion Ensemble performing outdoors for the students.
Our hearts are filled with gratitude! Last week, a member of our parent community, Dr. Maria Perez, volunteered to host a vaccine clinic for the Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School faculty and staff who had not yet had the opportunity to be vaccinated. The doses were provided by the pharmacy where Dr. Perez works, Beverly Hills Pharmacy. Oak Hill second grader Onzo Perez helped his mom set up and prep for the clinic, which was held in Kenefick Gym. Thank you to Sandy Conway, our school Nurse, and Kate Conway '10, for assisting. This act of kindness means so much to our dedicated faculty and staff, who have taught in person five days a week in the midst of a global pandemic. Many thanks, Dr. Perez!
Congratulations to Grace Billhartz '21, Villa's recipient of the Archbishop May Service Award. This honor recognizes outstanding leadership and a commitment to community service and is awarded to one senior at each Catholic high school in the archdiocese.
HENNING FEATURED IN U.S. CATHOLIC MAGAZINE
Dean of Academics and Theology Department Chair Stacy Henning was featured in the April 2021 Issue of U.S. Catholic Magazine! Mrs. Henning was interviewed alongside other Catholic educators for her approach to Catholic sex education. Mrs. Henning created a curriculum for students in grades 7-12 called "Healthy Bodies, Healthy Relationships." For Henning, effective Catholic sexuality education must broadly address "how we love and connect to one another," and not be limited to biological information. Her curriculum covers a wide range of topics, including values and decision making, friendships, body image, stress and anxiety management, healthy communication, boundaries, and developing a cultural critical lens to sift through media messages. "It's about our entire personhood and relationships." Henning says. Read more about the innovative work Mrs. Henning is doing to educate our students in a positive and loving way.
ALMS GIVING FOR UGANDA
If students have not yet returned their alms bags for our sister Sacred Heart school in Kyamusansalsa Hill, Uganda, please send them tomorrow, April 9.
CITY NATURE CHALLENGE 2021: ST. LOUIS
Calling all citizen scientists, nature enthusiasts, and ecologists! All ages, backgrounds, and abilities needed! The greater St. Louis region will be competing in the 2021 City Nature Challenge, a global competition taking place in hundreds of cities and metropolitan regions around the world!
What's the Challenge? To see which city can document the most species in 4 days.
How can you participate? Between April 30 and May 3 get outside, whether in your backyard, local park, or favorite nature spot anywhere in the St. Louis metropolitan region, and take photos or sounds of animals, plants, and other life-forms using the free iNaturalist app. In addition to helping St. Louis compete in this global challenge, your observations will become data that could benefit local lands and waters.
Want to dig a little deeper? If you consider yourself skilled at species identification, consider turning your casual observations into research-grade data from the comfort of your own computer. You can help identify uploaded images and sounds May 4-9.
Results will be announced Monday, May 10, so be sure to upload and identify your observations by Sunday, May 9.
Check out the City Nature Challenge FAQ for more information.
UNIFORM FITTING DAYS
Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill's 2021 Uniform Fitting Days are scheduled for Tuesday, May 18, from 10 am to 7 pm and Wednesday, May 19, from 10 am to 4 pm at Just Me Apparel, 232 Old Sulphur Springs Road in Manchester. A 10% discount will be offered on some uniform items during these two days. Orders may be placed in person, online, or by phone. However, Just Me Apparel suggests visiting their store for your first order to ensure proper fitting. Price lists are now available in the Parent Portal.
To learn more about Just Me Apparel's hours of operation and any precautionary measures being taken, please contact them at 636-391-3551 or cs@justmeapparel.com.
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.
JOIN US IN PRAYER
We invite all to join us each Wednesday at 8:00 am to pray the Rosary together for our VDOH community. Weather permitting, we will continue to gather in the Front Bowl. In the event of rain, we will meet in the Chapel. If we must move indoors, please enter the building through the Portry Door and head up the stairs to the Danis Parlor for a health check in before proceeding to the Chapel. 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.
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!
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 |