Volume 4, Issue 2 • December 2016
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Volume 4, Issue 2 • December 2016 1959 2016 Update from the Board of Directors What does it mean to be a Villa student in Villa Madonna Academy Leadership Team 2016-2017? Our Benedictine tradition with its Sr. Mary Catherine Wenstrup, OSB emphasis on distinctive core values is a culture Prioress Mrs. Mary Paula Schuh that pervades the Villa experience and molds Board Chair students into confident, articulate young adults. Mr. Tom Lux Is a Villa education relevant in today’s fast-paced Vice Chair world? Absolutely, and the stories in this edition Mrs. Janet Baugh of Villa Vistas about our community service, Director of Admissions Mrs. Soshana Bosley ’91 our students’ accomplishments, and Villa’s Elementary Principal commitment to STEM will wow you. Mrs. Pamela McQueen High School/Jr. High Principal Active, engaged learning takes place in Mrs. Maureen Regan Villa’s classrooms. Villa students are scholars, athletes, actors, artists, and Director of Advancement musicians. They have a passion for learning and achieving at the highest Mrs. Donna Wesseler levels. More importantly, however, our students care for each other and for Director of Finance those in our community. Our outstanding faculty and staff are leaders and Office of Advancement Staff coaches in the classroom and never cease to amaze us. Mrs. Amy Holtzman Communications As we finish 2016 and look forward to 2017, Villa’s future shines bright. Many Mrs. Becky Motley of you know that we have engaged The Paremos Group of Dayton, Ohio to Alumni Relations Mrs. Jenn Thiemann assist with preparation of a new Strategic Plan for Villa Madonna Academy. Database Manager The effort has included school administration, board members, faculty, staff, parents, and alums. We have made great progress and expect to finalize Copyright 2016. Villa Madonna Academy. the plan in February. We wanted to take this opportunity to share with you All rights reserved. Villa Vistas is an official publication of Villa Madonna Academy for one piece of the Plan, the draft updated Mission Statement: Villa Madonna alumni, family, and friends. Academy, a private, Catholic, K-12 school educates students in a Christ- Our Mission: Focused on the Benedictine centered community rooted in the Benedictine traditions of scholarship, tradition of scholarship, service and hospitality, service, and hospitality. These are exciting times for Villa! As we plan and Villa Madonna Academy, a private, Catholic, dream a future for Villa, I am struck by the excitement that this planning has K-12 school, develops lifelong learners prepared generated. We look forward to sharing details with each of you. to lead in the global community. With the Christmas season upon us, let us take time to reflect on the Benedictine values which define the culture of our school. We are a On the Cover community that promotes spiritual development founded on love of God, Every family has its own cherished Christmas traditions. Villa Madonna Academy is no different. hospitality and respect for others, service, and stewardship. In these days of We are excited to share with you our look at Holidays 2016, so many years distant from the birth of Jesus, these values are to be through the Years. Our cover features students in 1959 lighting an Advent Wreath and some members of our cherished and shared. current kindergarten class in their costumes for the annual Christmas Pageant. We hope you enjoy this On behalf of the Board of Directors, administration, faculty, staff, and walk down memory lane as much as we did. students of Villa Madonna Academy, wishing the blessings of the Christmas season to you and yours! Mary Paula Schuh Chair, Board of Directors Front: Patty Callahan Schneider `82 and Donna Fedders Bornhorst `83 2 • Villa Vistas Volume 4, Issue 2 Back: Christina Griffith `84 and Debbie Warner Gregg `83 “He should first Service show them in deeds rather than words all that is good and holy.” - St. Benedict Service is one of the Benedictine values upon which Villa Madonna Academy was founded, and service is ingrained in all of the students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Students, faculty, and families work together in a collaborative spirit to help those in need. In the fourth grade, students brought in baby products for expectant mothers at the Rose Garden Mission in Covington, Kentucky. Other students volunteered at November’s Prepare Affair to help families in our area get their yards and homes ready for winter, and students and teachers worked together serving hot meals to people at the Mary Rose Mission in Florence. Time and again, the students who participate in this type of work tell us how good it makes them feel to help others. Alex Maté`21 gets an assist from Jackson Bond `21 as he helps with a painting project The need for food and other donations in our community is great, and Villa students for Prepare Affair. and their families always step up to help meet the need. The high school hosts a monthly bagged lunch collection for the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky. Students in the middle school and junior high Y Club worked together on a service project collecting non-perishable items for GO Pantry. The response to the effort was overwhelming. The food will be used to fight hunger in Boone County. Children there can get GO Bags of food to help them fill a food gap in their homes. Service is who we are. It’s what we do. We thank you, our Villa families and friends, for helping our students with this mission, and we hope that they will leave Villa with a commitment to serve their communities and to make an impact wherever they may go. Fourth grade students collected diapers, toys, and more for mothers at the Rose Garden Mission. Sixth grade students show some of the food they and other members of Mrs. Darlene Wellman and Elizabeth Acuff `21 work in the kitchen the Y Club collected for GO Pantry. at the Mary Rose Mission. December 2016 www.villamadonna.org • 3 Junior High / High School Improve Your Edge Each year, Villa’s seniors have a unique opportunity to learn interviewing, etiquette, and networking skills during the fall Improve Your Edge program. Students receive tips from career coach Julie Bauke and image consultant Jill Haney. This program helps prepare the students for the college, scholarship, and job interviews they face in the coming year and gives them life skills to help them put their best foot forward. Julian Giordano `17 practiced interview skills with Mrs. Molly Halpin HONORS Bernosky `03 and Dr. Teresa Izquierdo. Advanced Placement WORKS OF ART Villa art students are leaving their marks around the ED PLAC Honors C E N M community. Eileen Bunch `17 (left) and Regan Collins `19 A E Forty percent of Villa students who took Advanced V N (right) were selected as winners in the Kenton County D Placement exams this year were recognized as T A Attorney’s Office Why I Love America calendar contest. The AP Scholars. 2016 contest encourages students to think about government, AP Scholar - received scores of 3 or higher on history, and patriotism through art. Regan and Eileen’s three or more AP Exams: Camryn Bellish `17, HO S pictures will be featured in the 2017 calendar. David Blincoe `17, Natalie Boucher `17, NOR Eileen Bunch `17, Emma Hendy `16, Sam Kunkler `16, Jack Lin `17, Sean Malone `16, William Martin `17, Scott McQueen `17, Chris Nutini `17, Nahal Pahlevani `16, Jake Schenthal `17, and Gabrielle Schulte `16 AP Scholar with Honor - received scores of at least 3.25 on all AP exams and scores of 3 or higher on 4 or more exams: Maya Jaafari `16 and Eve Jung `16 AP Scholar with Distinction - received scores of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams: Emma Bateman `16, Chloe Boehmer `17, Elizabeth Byun `16, Connor Collins `17, Sarah Ernst `16, Alex Kenkel `16, Catherine Martini `16, Madeline Mitchell `16, Olivia Nester `16, Sydney O’Connor `16, Asha Ramesh `16, Becky Rice `16, Matt Schubert `16, Serena Thaman `16, Nick Weaver `16, and Mary Wurtz `16 Junior Cayce Cobaugh’s art is prominently displayed on a National Merit News downtown Cincinnati building. Cayce was part of a team Villa Madonna Academy High School that created the ArtWorks Toy Heritage mural on a building continues its National Merit success. on West Court Street. It’s a bright homage to Cincinnati’s Eileen Bunch `17 (right) is a National toy history and is sure to stir up childhood memories for Merit Semifinalist. About 1.6 million juniors many. entered the National Merit Scholarship program by taking the Preliminary SAT (PSAT). Sixteen thousand of them were named National Merit Semifinalists. Semifinalists are eligible to continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships. Camryn Bellish `17 (left) was named a National Merit Commended Student. Commended Students are among the top 5% of the PSAT test takers. 44 •• Villa Villa Vistas Vistas Volume Volume 1, 4, Issue Issue 1 2 TRADITION LIVES ON Junior High / High School Singing at All-State Choir Villa Madonna Academy Junior High was well- represented at the Kentucky ACDA All-State Choir concert in Bowling Green. Every Villa student who auditioned was accepted into this prestigious program. Emily Richardson `21, Aidan Poole `21, Grant Forster `21, Kylie Gonzalez `22, George Menkhaus `21, and Mark Schutzman `21 were selected for the choir. Thanks to chorus teacher Amanda Rood It’s a tradition each fall for seniors to host for supporting the students in their endeavor. a picnic and games for the high school WORKS OF ART and junior high students.