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Dear Friends,
From the
Principal’s Desk
When the 2019-20 school year began, we were looking forward to another year of academic
accomplishments, faith celebrations, and exciting activities. We did not anticipate the COVID-19
pandemic that would prompt the rapid change from traditional learning to distance learning and
that we would all need to embrace a very different learning environment. I am proud of St. Ursula
Villa’s teachers’ efforts as they continued their dedication and commitment to delivering the same
high-quality academic instruction and educational content in this new format. I remain grateful to
Villa parents for their patience and understanding throughout these last few months.
In this edition of the Villa Voice, you will learn how we went from teaching in the classroom to
educating our students through distance learning. This process was challenging but our faculty
and staff worked together to create a curriculum that was engaging and instructive for every
grade level. Our focus on faith this year included a Villa Family Day of Service in February in
which our St. Ursula Villa families came together to volunteer at Matthew 25 Ministries to grow
our school’s family outreach and service to others. You can read about that along with our other
faith focused activities from this past year in this issue.
Our annual Villabration event, originally scheduled for March 28th, was re-scheduled for June
6th as a virtual celebration beginning with online bidding then culminating with a Facebook Live
Virtual Villabration. Our Villa community came together to show their support as we took this
event from gathering on campus to broadcasting it through social media.
This edition also features a photo collage of our legacy families of St. Ursula Villa alumni who are
now Villa parents! I hope you will enjoy looking at the pictures of these parents and their kids.
We are sad to say good-bye to one of our longest serving and most beloved teachers; Ms. Kathy
Finkbeiner is retiring after 44 years at the Villa! She has devoted her life to educating and
developing young minds and has been a valuable member of our faculty. Another long-time
staff member, Ms. Maripat Price, retired from her position as Development Associate this past
December. We wish them both all the best in this next phase of their lives.
As most of you know, I retired as the principal of St. Ursula Villa at the end of the school year.
I have been very blessed to have been at the helm of such a special school for the past nine years.
I appreciate all the encouragement, support, and trust the Villa community has shown me during
my time here. I am confident the Villa will continue to grow and flourish in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Polly Duplace
MISSION STATEMENT St. Ursula Villa, a codeucational Catholic elementary school in
the Ursuline tradition, nurtures the whole child, fosters academic excellence, and instills
a Christ-centered commitment to society.
Administration
Polly Duplace, Principal
Kent Halaby, Assistant Principal
Lisa Wolfer, Director of Early Childhood
Board of Trustees
Jody Sedler, Chair
Suzy Dorward
Marianne Scott Emmert
Dan Ferris
Paul Frodge
Matt Iacobucci
Karen Jahnke
Craig Maliborski
John Meisenhelder
Jessica Metzger
Bill Mulvihill
Jim Neyer
Tracy Sagester
Peter Stautberg
Judy Wimberg
Chip Workman
Contributors
Cari Brehse
Polly Duplace
Sr. Margie Efkeman
Kathy Finkbeiner
Kent Halaby
Terri Lessnau
Maripat Price
Marta Runnels
Trey Savage
Kristy Thomas
Moira Veech
Lisa Wolfer
Address
St. Ursula Villa
3660 Vineyard Place
Cincinnati, OH 45226
Phone (513) 871-7218
www.stursulavilla.org
Alumni
Kindly direct all updates, address
changes, or other correspondence
to [email protected] or at
www.stursulavilla.org/alumni
On the Cover
St. Ursula Villa social media posts
captured innovative, impactful,
creative, and heartfelt moments
of the 2019-20 school year.
In this Issue:
01 From the Principal’s Desk
04 Graduation
08 Highlights & Happenings
15 Annual Report
23 Alumni News