Villa Voice Summer 2019 VillaVoice Summer 2019 | Page 2

Administration From the Principal’s Desk Dear Friends, As I reflect on another productive, successful, and faith-filled year, I am amazed at the many accomplishments by the incredible students and faculty at St. Ursula Villa. This edition of the Villa Voice highlights the ways we celebrate and strengthen our Ursuline heritage through our newly implemented “Ursuline Student of the Month Program” and through original music that has been embraced by our students and our larger Villa community. In addition, in our ongoing efforts to enhance communication with our Villa parents and encourage family engagement, we piloted “Seesaw,” a new app that allows Villa parents to view photos, videos, activities, and lessons from their child’s classroom. Seesaw received very positive feedback and will be utilized school- wide in the upcoming year. You can learn more about it in this issue. As technology continues to expand into our classrooms, we don’t want to overlook the benefits of balancing screen time with green time. In this issue, we look at how St. Ursula Villa incorporates outdoor programs with indoor learning to give our students a comprehensive educational experience. This edition also highlights our long history of partnering with Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts. The foundation of scouting aligns closely with our Villa values and allows students the opportunity to learn collaboration, leadership, and service to others. In April, our Villa community enjoyed another fun and successful Villabration. The game night-themed event raised a total of $230,000 and honored the families who will depart the Villa with their graduating eighth graders. Over $75,000 was raised to support our tuition assistance fund in response to former Villa parent Kent Wellington’s heartfelt special appeal. Sadly, we say good-bye to two of our iconic teachers who have spent decades developing bright young minds here at the Villa: Meg Coogan and Dodd Smith. Our school nurse, Jeannine Blatt, is retiring after 13 years of taking care of Villa students and staff. Diane Hopper, Director of Advancement, is also retiring. Diane was the guiding force behind two successful Capital Campaigns. We wish them all the very best as they begin their new journeys. Thank you for being a part of our Villa community! Sincerely, Polly Duplace, Principal Kent Halaby, Assistant Principal Lisa Wolfer, Director of Early Childhood Board of Trustees Matt Iacobucci, Chair Kim Ciesick Kathy Blum Desmond Susan Dorward Marianne Scott Emmert Dan Ferris Chip Gerhardt Karen Jahnke John Meisenhelder Jim Neyer Judy O’Donnell Dan Scullin Jody Nienaber Sedler Judy Wimberg Chip Workman Contributors Meg Coogan Carla Dreyer Polly Duplace Sr. Margie Efkeman, OSU Kent Halaby Diane Hopper Matt Iacobucci Michelle Jones Terri Lessnau Charlotte Loflin Maripat Price Laura Riehle Marta Runnels Jody Nienaber Sedler Dodd Smith Kristy Thomas Address St. Ursula Villa 3660 Vineyard Place Cincinnati, OH 45226 Phone [phone] www.stursulavilla.org Alumni Kindly direct all updates, address changes, or other correspondence to [email protected] or at www.stursulavilla.org/alumni Polly Duplace, Principal In this Issue: 01 From the Principal’s Desk MISSION STATEMENT St. Ursula Villa, a codeucational Catholic elementary school in the Ursuline tradition, nurtures the whole child, fosters academic excellence, and instills 1 a Christ-centered commitment to society. 04 Graduation 08 Highlights & Happenings 15 Annual Report 24 Alumni News