A Time for Prayer

Every Friday morning after drop-off, a small group of of parents meet in the school Oratory, on the second floor, to pray the rosary together. It is a very informal gathering and usually lasts about 20-30 minutes, and is a great opportunity for reflection and a chance to pray together for intentions. "We even have "cheat sheets" to help us through," says Villa mom, Nancy Buck. Children and guests are welcome as well.

Villa Maria Presents: Oh, The Places You'll Go Spring Concert

On May 9th, student musicians from Villa Maria Academy and St. Aloysius Academy performed at Villa's Spring Concert: OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO.

The theme of this year's concert was travel. For the musical program, song represented a different travel destination. Each music teacher choose a song and location to go along with it. Mr. Kelly's voice was recorded as "The Cat in the Hat," and voiced the introductions to each song in the rhyme scheme that Dr. Seuss uses in the book "Oh, The Places You'll Go."

The show began with Villa's Music Prayer and ended with the school's Alma Mater. The musicians entered and exited to a Drum Cadence performed by the St.AA Percussion Ensemble and the musicians enjoyed “strutting” to this lively beat. During the Concert, the students who represented Villla Maria Academy in the Archdiocesan Festivals were recognized and applauded.

For the final musical selection the 14 8th grade musicians wore their graduation robes and dedicated a heartfelt song "Till We Meet Again," to their classmates.

The band, choir, handbells, and string ensemble, along with all of the music teachers from both IHM Academies, Villa Maria and St. Aloysius, are to be sincerely congratulated on their outstanding performances.

Villa Girls Perform at the Concert of Excellence

On Thursday, May 2nd, several music students at Villa performed at the Office of Catholic Education Concert of Excellence at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

Over 500 students from throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia performed during the annual Concert, and our Villa girls were honored enough to perform with this amazingly talented group of students. The performances included pieces representing Choral, Classical, Jazz and Pop music.

Congratulations to the following girls on their outstanding performances:

Archdiocesan Festival Band: Erin Flynn & Mary Cipperman
Archdiocesan Honors Band: Olivia Cipperman
Archdiocesan Choral Festival: Catherine Crowe, Catherine Dudrear, Grace Murphy
Archdiocesan String Ensemble: Katharine Murray, Kaitlyn Meyers, Nicole Slaats

Several of our alums were also present and performed at the concert. Congratulations to those girls as well: Madison Leiman and Kat Alabdulla!

Mother-Daughter Social

The event was held on Sunday, May 5th from from 1:00-5:00 p.m. at the Whitford Country Club in Dowiningtown. It was for Mothers and Daughters in the 6th through 8th grades. This is a very memorable and fun event at Villa. It draws on and extends the relationship- and community-building that comes automatically between mothers and daughters at Villa. Every year, the 8th grade girls get their hair and makeup done before the event at Calista Grand Salon and Spa in West Chester. A professional photographer was present to take pictures of the mothers and their daughters. Miss Kara Rufo, Villa’s former 7th grade teacher even came back for a surprise visit and gave a touching speech about the 8th grade class – the current 8th grade class was Miss Rufo’s first class at Villa. Miss Mary Ann Gratton, Villa’s 8th grade ELA and Religion teacher, announced bios of the girls, as the 8th grade girls walked the runway and a slideshow played in the background. A DJ set the scene with great music and the girls danced the rest of the afternoon away. It was a beautiful event. Thanks to Judy O'Leary and Susan Kinmartin for running the event and to all the mothers, daughters, and teachers who attended.

May Procession at Villa

On Friday, May 3rd, Villa celebrated our annual May Procession. The second graders came dressed in their First Communion dresses, the sixth graders in their Confirmation gowns, and the eighth graders in their Graduation gowns. Parents gathered along the front drive, cameras in hand, to capture the beauty of the girls faces in the sunlight, as they proudly walked into Sacred Heart Chapel.

The May Queen, Maddie Gilbertson, and her court stood around the statue of the Blessed Mother, with a crown of flowers, and everyone quietly watched as the kindergarteners did their rendition of "Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue" at the altar. During song, Maddie placed the crown of flowers upon Mary's head, and the prayer service continued honoring our Holy Queen.

It was a beautiful service, and thank you to all who helped put it together and to all who attended. It was a lovely day!

Third Grade Habitat Project

Villa's third graders recently completed their Habitat Project, an annual project chosen by their teachers that assists in collaboration across classroom subjects and added value classes.

This year, Mrs. Hannigan and Miss Thomas chose the African Savanna. On April 23, the 3rd grade girls presented their African Savanna habitat to parents, teachers and peers. For this annual project, the girls collaborated to create a scene filled with animals and other characteristics affiliated with the habitat they studied.

The project was also incorporated into the girls’ added value classes, such as learning Swahili, playing African games in gym class and in Art they created animals that were indigenous to the area. \
The girls presented the research to everyone in the library and then took them upstairs to the 3rd grade wing to show off their habitat they created in the hallway. They did an excellent job and it was a fun learning opportunity!

Internet Safety Presentation at Villa

The use of technology has proven to be an invaluable tool to improve student engagement, to advance intellectual curiosity and to facilitate communication. On Monday, May 6, Villa Maria Academy hosted presenter, Agent Mary McCoy, from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office to teach parents, students and teachers about internet safety.

Agent McCoy educated the girls on the dangers of giving away too much private information on online gaming and social media sites. She said, "Your friends know who you are, they don't need to read it on the internet. Keep your private information private. If you use the rules when you're online, you'll stay safe." She told them that predators are lowering their ages to middle-school aged children now to try to groom them. She talked in length about Megan's Law website and parents and children taking the time to know what's going on in their neighborhoods and who is there. Not to scare, but to help them be educated on the dangers, she said.

She also covered topics such as Facebook, and other social media sites and mentioned that findings suggest more and more students in the 7th and 8th grades and juniors and seniors in high school and college are deleting their Facebook pages due to the fact that colleges and jobs are looking at those social media pages to determine admissions.

She ended her lecture to the girls with cyber-bullying. She told them the three main things to do if you think someone is bullying you is 1. Don't respond. 2. Shut off your device, and 3. Tell a trusted adult.

The girls asked many excellent questions and seemed very responsive to Agent McCoy and were pleased and thankful for her presentation.

Villa Girls Participate in Chester County Computer Fair

On May 2, Mrs. Dow and some of our Villa girls attended the Chester County Computer Fair. Several of the girls participated in the fair with projects that they worked on outside of their classroom projects. During the fair, the girls technology workshops throughout the day as their projects were judged. Congratulations to:

Graphic Design - Katie Dow and Erin Flynn
Digital Movie - Josie Heppelman and Molly Sorenson
Computer Fair Logo - Olivia Mason and Juliana Baptista
Web Page Design - Mary Rose O'Donnell, Catherine Masayko, and Sam Victor

We would like to congratulate the following girls on their placement in the fair:

Graphic Design - 1st Place
Katie Dow
Erin Flynn

Digital Movie - 1st Place
Josephine Heppelmann
Molly Sorenson

Web Page Design - 1st Place
Mary Rose O'Donnell
Sam Victor
Catherine Masayko

Computer Fair Log - 2nd Place
Juliana Baptista
Olivia Mason

The computer fair was a great experience for our girls. The girls who placed first in their category will move on to the state competition at Dickinson College on May 22 where they will compete against students from all across the state of PA.

Forensics Spells S.U.C.C.E.S.S. at Villa

A competitive academic team, moderated by 6th Grade teacher, Donna Anuszewski, the Villa Forensics team, is two years plus now with winnings at each tournament they compete at.

On Saturday April 27 at the Holy Ghost Preparatory Speech Tournament Nina P. placed second in all three of her preliminary rounds in Poetry while Audrey C. place third in Poetry overall for the tournament. In the Prose competition, Lauren D. placed third and Dana McI. placed fifth. Another great job by our the VMA Forensics team!

What a testament to our wonderful teachers and students!

The Gift of Giving

At Villa, girls are encouraged to maximize their capabilities, to develop positive self-images and to use these gifts to lead and serve others. In true Villa spirit, a few of our girls recently used their "gifts" (literally) to help our retired Sisters at Camilla Hall.

Ellie and Madigan, second graders at Villa recently had a birthday party. Instead of bringing gifts for the girls, they asked their guests to bring toiletries for Camilla. The girls visited the sisters and took what they had collected to Camilla. The girls are shown with a banner signed by the sisters.

Celebrating First Communion

The spiritual formation of each student is a vital component of the educational experience at Villa Maria. We are proud to say that this weekend our First Communicants joined us at the table of the Lord for the first time.

Congratulations to all our girls on this wonderful step of their spiritual journey. We are so proud of you! And thank you to all of our wonderful teachers and parents for your spiritual guidance.

Student Art Exhibited at Bishop Shanahan High School

Every year, Bishop Shanahan High School hosts a Student Art Exhibition and invites all Catholic elementary schools in the area to submit art work from five of their students.

This year, Mrs. Strum, Villa’s art teacher, choose five girls based on their Ceramic Shoes art project that they created. The five students chosen were: Brianna C, Sophie G, Dana McI, Lauren O, and Julia T. The girls and their families are invited to the awards ceremony in May, and Mrs. Sturm will be present as well to support them.

The Opening Reception will take place at Bishop Shanahan High School on May 6 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. and certificates will be presented at 7:30 p.m.

All of the girls did a great job on their projects and we are very proud of their accomplishments!

Skype Spelling Bee vs. St. Aloysius Academy

Yesterday, five of our girls competed in a Spelling Bee via Skype against five boys from St. Aloysius Academy.

The girls chosen to compete were the top five winners from grades 5-8 in Villa’s Spelling Bee in January. Kathleen A., Olivia C., Emma G., Dominique O., and Maryanna G. were the five winners. Grades 5-8 gathered in the Projection Room to Skype and watch the contestants compete.

The girls defeated the boys at St. Aloysius and Dominique O. was the final winner, Maryanna G. was the runner up. The girls and boys did a great job and it was an educational, as well as a fun, experience.

Villa Girls Celebrate Women’s Day

This past Friday, the girls in grades K-8 celebrated Women’s Day by listening to successful women speak about their careers.

Villa alumna, Rachel Marlowe('02), came back to her alma mater to speak to the girls about her exciting career. Rachel serves as a choreographer, drama and dance teacher at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, as well as the assistant director and choreographer to the Ocean City Theater Company’s Junior Company. Rachel is also the coach of Garnet Valley’s Junior Varsity Dance Team. She was so grateful to be back at VMA and share her passion, which she discovered in Mrs. Comly’s dance class at Villa!

Other speakers included Dr. Kelly Potts, Emergency Medicine Resident, Dr. Missy Delaney, VMA parent and OB/GYN, Mary Beth Delaney, VMA parent and Director of Strategic Planning for QVC, Margaret Moses, registered dietitian, Helena Astolfi, VMA parent and immigration lawyer and Colleen Crossed, VMA parent and fitness instructor and business owner.

The girls learned a lot about these professional women and they took the time out to share their career information with everyone. We were pleased to have an alumna return back to the school to speak as well as our VMA parents and other guests. Women’s Day is a great opportunity for the girls to learn about these professions from successful women in the workplace.

Father-Daughter Dance at Aronimink Golf Club

On the evening of April 13th, the eighth grade girls and their fathers shared a night of fun and dancing at Aronimink Golf Club. This annual dance is cherished by both parties as a special bonding night before the girls graduate. It's simple but traditional.

The night was full of musical fun for both parents and children alike. Daddies go to show off their groovy moves, and the girls has a blast enjoying each other on the dance floor and in the photo booth.

As a special keepsake from the night, a professional photographer was their to capture portraits of the dads and their little princesses. What a wonderful memory for the girls (and their dads!) to have before their little girls move on to high school.

Early Learning Center Students at the Zoo!

On April 15th, the four-year old students in Mrs. Albanese and Mrs. Klinger's class went on a trip with their parents and teachers to the Elmwood Park Zoo!

Located in Norristown, the Elmwood Park Zoo currently maintains a collection of about 300 animals indigenous to the Americas. Highlights of the collection include jaguars, bald and golden eagles, Chacoan peccaries, howler monkeys, bighorn sheep and timber wolves.

The zoo is perfect for young children, as it has special educational programs for kids and a playground situated right in the center of all the animals for the children to play. For Preschool students, they teach them what animals make good pets or bad pets, and let the zoo animals help them find out. They also teach the students to look at their five senses and see how the zoo animals use their senses in similar and different ways.

The students really enjoyed seeing all the animals and getting to spend time learning about them!

1st Grade Grandparents and Special Persons Tea

This past Friday, our first graders had their annual Grandparents and Special Persons Tea where they were able to show their appreciation for their grandparents, aunts and uncles. The family members were invited to the Projection Room where the girls presented a program, which included reading poems as well as singing songs to the special people in their lives. The girls then escorted their families to the main Motherhouse Dining Hall where they enjoyed tea, sandwiches, desserts and other assorted snacks. While in the Dining Hall, the moms who organized the event set up a photo opportunity and printed the photos out for the girls to glue to a card and give to their special persons. The moms who volunteered did a beautiful job with the butterfly decorations, food and activities. Thanks to everyone who made this day so perfect for the girls and their families.

Villa Alums Help to Organize and Attend Emily's Dash Event

On December 30, 2012, at Whitford Country Club, family, friends, and fellow Villa alumnae gathered together to honor the 10th anniversary celebration of the life of former student Emily Grace Koenig ('04), who passed away suddenly at the age of 12 from bacterial meningitis.
The occasion was beautiful and unique, just like Emily, and it was a perfect opportunity for her fellow classmates to reunite in support of their dear friend 10 years after her passing. Alums Susan Venema ('04), Lany Wenke ('04), and Erin Eife ('04), along with their Villa moms, all attended and assisted with the event.

"Emily was a dear friend to my daughter, Susan Venema. Emily and Susan sat next to each other in Mr. Miller's seventh grade class at Villa Maria Academy. As you can imagine, that tragic December day touched so many lives. Emily was loved by so many. Keeping her memory alive was important to us. So, when we heard about "Emily's Dash" it seemed only natural to participate in an event that would honor Emily. The end result was over whelming, a night for all to remember ... renewed friendships, shared family love and fund raising for a cause close to all of our hearts. Emily's Dash was a huge success ... evident that wonderful evening at Whitford Country Club. Emily's legacy will continue, in our hearts for many years to come. We were proud to be part of this wonderful event. Hopefully, all of our efforts will help to find a cure for this dreadful disease," said Mrs. Venema.

Also in attendance were current and former faculty and students of Villa Maria Academy. Villa former principals, Sister Mary Ellen Tennity IHM and Sister Rosemary Walsh, IHM, Villa's current principal, Sister Susan Joseph IHM, Villa's second grade teacher, Sister Maureen Ruth IHM, and eighth grader, Megan McCallister ('13), current winner of the Emily Koenig Award. Former winner of the Emily Koenig award, Grace Olenzak ('12) was also present. Among other alumnae present at the event were Holly Funk ('10) and Caitlin McCallister ('08).

The Emily Grace Koenig Award is presented annually at the Passing of the Light Ceremony to a VMA seventh grade student. The recipient, who exemplifies Emily's values and virtues, is chosen by her classmates.

When asked about the personal meaning of the award, Mrs. Koenig responded, "Villa Maria holds a special place in our hearts because Emily thrived and blossomed there. It is our last "school" memory of her. By presenting students with this annual award, we feel great joy at being able to carry on her legacy at Villa and stay connected with the school. It has become a highly respected award in the school community which also means a lot to us. Each year, the students selected to receive the award have been wonderful, and the sisters, the recipients, and their families very appreciative. We are grateful for this opportunity to make a positive difference in Emily's memory."

Proceeds from the fundraiser netted approximately $40,000 and went to the Emily's Dash Foundation. The Emily's Dash Foundation is dedicated to supporting charitable efforts that relate to the life of Emily Grace Koenig (7/8/90 - 12/11/02).

Check out the event's website: www.emilysdash.org to view the write-up and photo presentation under Events, An Evening's Stroll through Paris.

1st Grade Learns Geometry and Builds Castles

The 1st grade class learned about geometric shapes and took what they learned to create beautiful castles out of the shapes. The girls used household items such as paper towel rolls and boxes and worked with their parents to create the structures. This was a fun and educational experience for the girls. And after their Grandparent's Tea, the girls were able to show their grandparents their beautiful castles!

Villa B.A.L.L. Success

As I'm sure you have heard, the B.A.L.L. proved again to be a great financial and social success for Villa this year. The food was delicious, the decorations, surf contest, and Jimmy Buffet music provided for a summer-like atmosphere amidst the cool weather, and the company of course was what made it the best! To date, the Parent Guild has provided Villa with a check for $75,000 to continue the air conditioning installation on the entire First and Terrace floors of the building. Thank you to all of our wonderful families and friends of Villa for their support!

Never a Dull Moment in the 5th Grade

The 5th grade has some fun activities coming up. The girls and their teachers are going to St. Aloysius on Tuesday, April 16th to have their Reading Olympics competition. The 5th grade girls and boys have combined to form four teams. Each team has read 11 books over the last few weeks and they will answer questions about the books during the competition. Whoever has the most correct answers at the end will be the winner.

On Tuesday, April 22nd the 5th grade girls are going on a field trip to WCU (West Chester University) for a planetarium show and then to QVC for a Studio Tour.

5th Grade Presents Annual State Show

The fifth graders worked hard researching the 50 states up until March 19th when they performed their annual State Show for students and parents. The girls learned all about 50 states and compiled their knowledge into this creative and informative program. They sang and danced about their findings as well as showed everyone presentations introducing each region of the United States. Their teachers, Mrs. Wible and Mrs. Veneziale, and the girls did an excellent job at the State Show and we are very proud of all their efforts.

Forensics Success Continues

On Saturday March 22 at the Philadelphia Catholic Forensics League Speech Tournament at Archbishop Ryan High School Liz McK. won 1st place and Audrey C. won 3rd place both in the Poetry completion. This was a special win for Liz. She had her very first 1st place win at this same tournament as a 6th grader!

6th Grade Celebrates Saint Patrick’s Day

The 6th grade class celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day with a party and a special guest. Molly S’s mom, who is originally from Ireland, gave a fantastic explanation of the history of Ireland. She especially concentrated on how important it is to continue our heritage and follow our customs no matter what country we are from. The girls enjoyed the good food and learning more about Ireland during this fun holiday.

5th Grade Skypes with Yellowstone National Park Ranger

Mrs. Veneziale, Mrs. Wible and the 5th grade had a wonderful opportunity to Skype with Ranger Cara from the Yellowstone National Park Service last week. The girls studied and researched National Parks across the United States and prepared questions ahead of time. Ranger Cara shared important and unique facts about Yellowstone with the class. The girls learned many things, one of which is that Yellowstone is one of the largest active volcanoes in the world and it is approximately 2,221,766 acres. How interesting!

Choir Girls Sing at Motherhouse

This past week the 8th grade choir girls sang to the Sisters in their Dining Room during lunchtime on St. Joseph’s Day. St. Joseph is one of our Community Patrons and the visit coincided with two great Feast Days, St. Patrick and St. Joseph. The girls learned an “Irish Blessing” to sing to the Sisters and the visit was a big hit. Sister Margaret and Ms. Connors hope to take a group of choir girls from various grades to visit and sing for the sisters once a month.

When I Grow Up: Kindergarten Career Learning Culminates

Over the past few weeks, Villa’s kindergarten classes learned about different careers by listening to special guest speakers. Most recently, the girls learned about being a hair stylist from parent, Mrs. Cosgrove, and even had their own mannequin heads to practice styling hair! They were also taught what it was like to be a florist from Sister Susan, who used to work in her parents’ flower store. And this past Friday, the girls learned all about being an IHM Sister from Sister Nancy, who took the girls on a tour of the Motherhouse. The girls had fun during this experience and after the tour got to color pictures of Sister Nancy and Sister Susan and received a special gift: glow-in-the-dark rosary beads! The kindergarten classes enjoyed learning about these careers and the culmination of the project yesterday, consisted of them each choosing which career they would like in the future and coming to school dressed as someone from their chosen profession. Sister Susan and Sister Nancy were thrilled even to have one of the students dressed as an IHM Sister!

Connecting Movement, Rhythm and Words

Villa's PreK-3 students are working on a Nursery Rhyme Unit. They are currently making a nursery rhyme book. Students have been working with word families and singing Rhyme Time. They have played Rhyming Word Bingo on the SMARTboard and Picture-Rhyme Concentration. Senora Maria has even taught the students some of the Nursery Rhymes in Spanish!!!

Nursery Rhymes are good for the brain. Not only does the repetition of rhymes and stories help to teach children how language works, but it also builds memory capabilities that can be applied to all sorts of activities, such as the Rhyming Word Bingo and Picture-Rhyme Concentration game. Singing nursery rhymes allows all kids—even shy ones—to feel confident about singing, dancing and performing because they are so easy to grasp and fun. Learning Nursery Rhymes really helps students to see the connection between movement, rhythm and words.

Immaculata Students Observe Villa Using Technology in the Classroom

Professor Sharon McGrath from Immaculata University and six of her students visited Villa this past Monday to observe Pre-K, 1st and 6th grade using iPads in the classroom. The Immaculata students are learning the theory part of technology in the classroom, and researching different apps, but Ms. McGrath wanted them to see students in action. At Villa the students are exposed to many new technologies, iPads being the newest. During their observations, Immaculata students found that the Pre-K and 1st grades have 5 iPads each that are shared between the two classes in that grade, and the students are able to take turns using them for Centers for learning math, reading, problem solving and other activities. When observing the 6th grade class, where every student has their own iPad, the Immaculata students saw that they use the iPads to create presentations, take notes, use Google Docs to do research and much more. We were pleased to have these students visit and see how Villa uses technology to benefit its students.

Staying Safe - Villa Purchases New AEDs

Villa is staying ahead of the game for the safety of our students and has purchased multiple AEDs, Automated External Defibrillators, for use around the school in an emergency. The school has always had one AED on-site in the gym, which they are currently updating. Villa’s full-time registered nurse, Noreen Flemming, thought it would also be beneficial to have one next to the nurse’s office, as well as a portable AED for Ms. McCool for our sports teams to use. The AED machines purchased are Philips HeartStart Defibrillators. Every other year, Villa holds a CPR and AED training course after school for the staff and coaches to complete. This year’s training will be held in April.

Learning in a Different Language

The girls in grades K-8 are learning about various topics in Spanish, like new vocabulary words and information about the culture of different countries. Grades K-7 are learning new vocabulary words, like transportation in Kindergarten, clothing in 1st grade, and family in 2nd, 3rd and 5th grade. The 3rd and 5th grade classes are bringing in a family photograph and describing it using their newly learned words. 4th grade is learning food vocabulary words and will be preparing their own menu using 21st century technology. The 6th grade girls are learning about the calendar and words such as the Holy Days and months. The 7th grade classes are learning furniture words and will design their own houses using a shoebox or the computer. 8th grade is learning about the cultures of different countries. They will discuss things such as what people in these cultures eat, their presidents, languages and places. The girls projects will culminate in creating a PowerPoint about their research. Understanding a second language is so important in today’s world and these students are truly benefiting from this valuable opportunity.

Villa Celebrates Saint Patrick's Day with Irish Dancing

This past Friday, in celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day, Villa girls who are involved in Irish step dancing put on a performance for the school. Sophia C., Caroline C., Genevieve G., and Erin F. all participate in the McDade-Cara School of Irish Dance in Newtown Square and dressed in their solo dresses to put on a show for everyone. Some of the girls’ moms, Mrs. Crossed and Mrs. Galik, explained the basics of Irish dance and the traditions behind the girls’ shoes and dresses. The girls are very busy this time of the year and put on performances for St. Joseph’s University, Villanova University and in Philadelphia. Great job girls! Thank you for sharing your talent with us.

4th Grade Iroquois Project

The 4th grade classes have been learning about the Native American tribe, the Iroquois. The girls worked in groups to present skits about Iroquois traditions that they learned in class. They were asked to create webs that included facts and information that they learned during their research, and then create mini skits to present their information.

This week, the girls will present in front of a green screen and pictures of items that represent the Iroquois tribe will be displayed behind them, such as the “longhouses” they lived in. The girls learned many things about the tribe such as how they lived and the roles of men and women.

Pre-K Celebrates 100th Day

On February 27 Villa’s Pre-K students celebrated their 100th Day of Pre-K. The students made 100th Day hats and learned a 100th Day song that they shared with the Lower School by parading from the Early Learning Center all the way to the Motherhouse. Mrs. Connelly videotaped the kids singing their song and visiting Sister Mary Ellen and a few other Sisters over at the Motherhouse. The students also visited Sister Susan in her office!

VMALS Forensics Team is Off to a Great Start

The VMALS Forensics Team is off to a great start this year. At the Waldron Mercy Tournament on February 14, Evelyn C., 6B, won the award for Excellence in Impromptu Speaking, Madeline G., 8B, won the award for Excellence in Prose and Lauren D., 6B, and Mary Kate K., 6B, won the an award of Superiority in Duo Interpretation.

At the Ancillae-Assumpta Academy speech tournament on March 9, Madeline G., 8B, placed second in the Prose competition and Nina P., 8B, placed third in the Poetry competition.

The Forensics team has three more tournaments coming up this season and we are sure the girls will be a continued success!

March Madness for Books

This year our 8th grade girls are celebrating March Madness, but not with basketball. Ms. Mary Ann Gratton, 8A, and Mrs. Sarah Connelly, Villa’s librarian, noticed how much the girls enjoy reading and have teamed up to create March Madness for Books from mid-February to mid-March. Book titles have been released and the girls will vote on their favorites in order to narrow it down and ultimately decide the winning book of the March Madness for Books contest.

Helping Hands, Smiling Hearts

In February, Mrs. Albanese and Mrs. Tornambe organized an afternoon of collaboration with the Student Ambassadors and the preschoolers to create cards for the IHM Motherhouse Sisters.

The seventh grade Student Ambassadors brought in stickers and partnered with the preschool students to help write the cards while the younger students decorated them with stickers and drawings.

The students enjoyed each other's company while doing something nice for our IHM Sisters who are so supportive of our efforts at Villa Maria Academy.

5th Grade Learns About Composting

Mrs. Veneziale's, 5B, class is learning about energy and renewable resources. Recycling goes hand in hand with those lessons about renewable resources. The sun provides energy which allows plants to convert this energy into food. These plants feed both people and animals (who also feed people). The girls are learning that composting allows us to reuse the valuable resource of the sun’s energy.

The 5th grade girls will be making a composting bin in science lab, with Mrs. Duke, and will add leaves from outside and compostable materials from their lunches. The hope is that the girls will use the freshly composted soil in the spring to grow flowers.

2013 Science Symposium

These past few weeks, the Villa girls have been hard at work on their Science Fair projects for last week’s Science Symposium.

The fourth grade investigated topics such as the Stroop Effect and oil spills and determined what materials and clean-up methods were most time-efficient. Third grade grew primrose plants and used four different liquids to “water” them. They were studying how this affects plant growth. In the fifth grade, 5B performed experiments to test how water temperature and salinity affect the density of water. And 5A studied test taking conditions to see what factors improve and which factors inhibit test performance. All grades worked so hard and learned a great deal from each of their projects!

Below are the 6th, 7th and 8th grade winners for each category.

6th grade:

Earth Science:
1.Claire Dobson
2.Maria Martino
3.Genevieve Becker
HM:Ava Sulkowski

Life Science
1.Francesca Giangiulo
2.Lauren Devletian
3.Skylar Bass
HM:Anna Levine

Physical Science:
1.Molly Sorensen
2.Jade Tortorice
3.Sophia Crossed
HM:Katie Dow

7th grade

Earth Science:
1.Samantha Dougherty
2.Olivia Mason
3.Bridget Hogue
HM: Rachel Guenthner

Life Science:
1.Nina Smith
2.Grace Hall
3.Abigail Dinehart
HM: Shannon Smith

Physical Science:
1.Katie Murray
2.Lindsay Dickenson
3.Gabrielle O’Leary
HM: Nikki Klein

8th grade:

Earth Science:
1.Morgan Montieth
2.Lauren Turco
3.Brianna Cummings
HM: Shaelyn Hand

Life Science:
1.Alexandra Melvin
2.Madeline Gilbertson
3.Sharon Cashel
HM:Jacquelyn Shanley

Physical Science:
1.Isabella Oliva
2.Rachael Kinmartin
3.Ariana O’Leary
HM:Paige Lachman

Villa and St. Aloysius 5th Grade Classes Collaborate for Reading Olympics

A few weeks ago the 5th Grade hosted a day of collaboration with St. Aloysius’ 5th grade in preparation for their upcoming Reading Olympics.
During the gathering the classes set up the teams, which consist of 8 girls and 8 boys. The students named their teams and played some games to get to know one another. They were then assigned to read 11 books which they will answer questions for in April at the Reading Olympics. This collaboration is a great way to encourage reading. The kids enjoyed a fun and engaging day.

Villa Maria Geography Bee

On Friday, January 11, the Annual National Geographic Geography Bee School Competition was held for contestants in grades 4 through 8. Prior to the school wide competition, a preliminary round was held within the 4th through 8th grade classrooms to determine the finalist for the school bee. Our finalists, Amy McHale (8A), Mary Rose O’Donnell (8B), Christina Cramer (7A), Gabi Martino (7B), Lauren Gaetano (6A), Michaela Devlin (6B), Caroline Spitz (5A), Olivia McKenzie (5B), Colby Dobra (4A), and Heather Styslinger (4B) competed to determine our school’s winner. Gabi Martino from 7B prevailed as the victor of the National Geographic Geography Bee School Competition. Gabi has since taken a written test to determine whether she will qualify to represent Villa at the state competition, held in the spring.

8th Grade Presents a Poetry Reading

Last Friday, the 8th grade girls wrote and presented their own poems in front of their classmates and the 7th grade girls. Some poems were funny like the poem “A Magical Dolphin”, a love story about a dolphin and an octopus. Others were a little more on the somber side, including “Growing Up” and “Class of 2013”. These poems talked about graduation and happy memories. All of the girls did a great job and their poems were very creative. Maybe we have a few famous poets in the making on our hands!

Villa Students to Compete in Mathletes Competition at PJPII High School

The Mathletes Department at Pope John Paul II High School is hosting an annual competition for elementary school students on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 in their school cafeteria at 3:00 p.m. and some of our Villa girls will be in attendance to compete!

The competition will follow the High School Varsity Mathlete format. Students will work by themselves during two individual rounds and work as a team of five during the team round.

Topics that will be covered during the three rounds are: whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percents, area, perimeter, and word problems.

Mrs. Velardi has assembled two teams (an A and B) to go to the competition. They have begun practicing this week and will continue to practice during a few recess periods next week in preparation for the competition.

Mrs. Velardi and the girls are very excited about this opportunity!

7th Grade Teaches about Jesus

The 7th Grade religion classes recently completed a six chapter unit on Jesus and shared their knowledge with the kindergarten and first grade girls. After completing the unit, both Religion classes created a Weebly, an easy, drag & drop interface to create your own website. The 7th graders worked collaboratively with each other to take each chapter and create a children's story and activity centered around the content of the chapter. The girls then visited the younger girls and paired up to teach them the material using what they created on their Weebly pages.

Collaboration Day With St. Aloysius

On February 15th, the Villa and St. Aloysius fifth grade girls and boys got together for a day of collaboration in preparation for their Reading Olympics.

The Reading Olympics will take place this Spring. Stay tuned for more information!

Middle School Girls Celebrate Engineers Week with Presentation

On Tuesday, February 19 the middle school girls will celebrate Engineers Week with a presentation from real-life engineers who are also Villa Nova alumni. They will learn about what it’s like to be an engineer and more. NovaCANE, a group of Villa Nova’s engineering students, has been leading an engineering club at Villa Maria and we thank them for this presentation and the opportunities to learn more about engineering.

Baton Team Will Compete in Florida!

A big Good Luck to Mikaela Juskalian, Mikenzie Juskalian, Ava Sulkowski, and Micaela Shackleford who will be competing in Disney World Florida at the Twirl Mania International Baton Twirling Championships. These girls are all members of the Russell's All-Star Twirling Team and the Villa Maria Twirling Team. Good luck girls!!!

VMA to Dance in the MainLine Dance Festival

Some of the girls will be performing in the First Annual Main Line Dance Festival being held on February 19th at The Episcopal Academy. The girls have worked really hard. This is such a great opportunity and a way to represent VMA. Good luck girls!!!! Come out and see a great show at 7:00. Tickets can be bought at the door. Any further questions please contact Miss Holly Russell at hrussell@villamaria.org.

Celebrating Chinese New Year!

Both first grades have been learning all about China. Along with research and projects, Mrs. Eileen Delaney spoke to both classes about her adventures in China with her family and her visit to the Great Wall. She educated the girls on the history of the Great Wall with a slideshow presentation of images and facts.

Their unit of study culminated with a Chinese New Year celebration on February 11th. During the celebration, the girls watched a tutorial during their meal on how to properly use chopsticks - the girls found it fun and interesting, but were much happier when they were presented with forks to finish their rice. The day ended with the decoration of their own Chinese dragon fans.

Learning and Creating through Photo Story

The 4th Grade is researching Native Americans and just finished creating their Photo Story.

There were several steps to this project. First, the girls researched either Paleo, Archaic, or Woodland Native Americans in several areas- Hunting & Gathering, Tools & Innovations, Shelter, Settlement Patterns, Time Period, and Interesting Facts with a partner. Then, with their partner, they made a Power Point slide for one of those categories for their group (Paleo, Archaic, or Woodland). They then made their own artifacts (recreating tools, drawing maps, etc.) to be used for clip art in their slides and I took a picture of these artifacts with Miss Devine's iPad. Next, they wrote scripts to be read with their slide and Miss Patselas, one of our Technology Coaches, recorded them. Finally, the Power Point slides and scripts were looped together in Photo Story by Miss P. for their final product.

The project is posted on both 4th grade Moodle pages for view.

Bullying Program Comes to Villa

On Monday and Tuesday of this week representatives from the Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County came to visit the girls in all grades to discuss the topic of bullying.

The girls participated in different activities per grade such as the “Highway to Help” game in fourth grade that discusses why a person chooses to bully, the role of bystanders in a bullying situation, and strategies for anyone who is getting hurt by a bully. In kindergarten they participated in a "Playground Pal" activity, in which they identify kind behaviors that good friends demonstrate.

Villa was happy to have the CVC come and teach the girls about bullying and how to prevent it. Bullying can be a very serious issue and the more information the girls know the better. You can visit http://www.cvcofcc.org/ for more information about the programs.

Kindergarten Classes Explore Career Options

In the upcoming months Villa’s kindergarten classes will be learning about different careers and eventually dressing up as their favorite.

Each year the girls have their “When I Grow Up” project and decide which career most appeals to them. They come into school that day dressed up as their favorite and talk about the responsibilities they would have if they were to have that career as a job.

Parents and friends have been coming in to talk about their careers in January and so far the girls have learned about being an orchestra conductor, a bus driver, a newspaper reporter and more! The girls will learn about many more careers in February and March.

Photo: In January Mr. Zaffarese came and taught the girls about being a newspaper reporter.

Third Grade Learns Swahili

The Third Grade is learning all about the African Savanna for their Habitat Project this year. On January 28, Mr. Pat McKenzie, came to speak to the girls about Kenya, a country in East Africa that lies on the equator. Mr. McKenzie spent some time in Kenya during his studies at the University of Scranton.
He began with showing the girls pictures of major cities in the United States and had the girls guess which cities they were. He showed them a picture of Kenya’s capital and largest city is Nairobi, and the girls were surprised as to how similar it looked compared to many of the U.S. cities. He also explained other similarities such as how out of all the 69 languages spoken in Kenya, English is one of their most common next to Swahili. The girls were thrilled to learn a few words in Swahili, some of which they were surprised to have already known from watching Disney’s The Lion King, such as “Simba” – Lion, “Nala” – Gift, and “Rafiki” – Friend. He also taught them, “Jambo,” which means Hello and “Nyumbani,” which means Home.
Mr. McKenzie spoke to the girls about the different types of “homes” in Kenya. He told them that many people were lucky enough to live in the big city of Nairobi, but others weren’t so lucky and lived in poverty in slums. He also talked of an orphanage of sick children that he visited called “Nyumbani,” which was run by a priest. The priest took over the orphanage years ago and brings medicine in to help save the sick children.
Mr. McKenzie also talked to the girls about the school in Kenya – he showed them three different schools – a school for street children, a private school called Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, and a private all girls school in the city of Nairobi . It was a nice connection to tie in with Catholic Schools Week and their Habitat project.

Author Kathy Miller to Visit Villa Maria Academy

We are excited to announce that award-winning author/photographer Kathy Miller will be visiting Villa Maria Academy on Thursday, January 17. Her nature program focuses on the behavior of chipmunks, backyard birds and other critters.

According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study, today’s youth spend an average of 44 hours per week staring at electronic devices, creating America’s first generation to grow up emotionally and physically disconnected from nature. One goal of this presentation is to stimulate an interest in nature by exposing students to natural behaviors they can observe in our local environment. It will include photography tips, and inform students how to use their observations to create stories and artwork.

Kathy will be visiting with grades K-5. Parents are able to purchase an autographed copy of her book by clicking the link below.

http://www.villamaria.org/downloads/Kathy%20Miller%20visit%20to%20Villa%20M

Christmas Pagentry

On December 13th, Villa families gathered in the evening in the Sacred Heart Chapel for their annual festive, joyful and inspired tradition of celebrating the birth of Jesus. The Christmas pageant also featured singing and dancing by members of the student body.

The choir, handbells, and eighth grade actresses put on a very beautiful performance. The angelic voices of the choir girls and ceremonial chimes of the handbells and fluid movements of the dancers among the dimly lit chapel created such a touching scene to celebrate the birth of Christ.

It is so important they we share this special moment with each other and with our children each year to help them to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Reindeer Training

The girls have been having so much fun in gym class! Last week, Miss Murnane's K-2 students went through reindeer training. The girls had to practice running around the gym for one Christmas song to get a cardio workout like the reindeer do on Christmas eve.

Then they had to go through the following stations: Cloud jumping, roof top balance beam, sleigh pull, tree top maneuvering, and toy toss into the chimney.

The girls not only go a great workout, but had fun and enjoyed being in the holiday spirit.

Reaching Out to Serve

We are extremely proud of our GCAL JV Basketball team members who volunteered their time at the 35th Annual Brian's Run. The girls did a tremendous job, servicing more than 1,100 runners as they passed the water station. The girls worked very hard and represented Villa Maria Academy in a wonderful way.

Girls on the Run 5K Race

Over the weekend, our Girls on the Run members participated in the 5K race at Downingtown High School. We are proud to announce that every one of the Villa runners completed the 5K, with most finishing in the top 20% of their age groups. Madison Frank and Skylar Kelly won 3rd and 4th place, respectively, in their age group. Congratulations to all our runners!

Visiting the Past

Before Thanksgiving, the first graders took a field trip to the Ridley Creek State Park Colonial Plantation.

The Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation is an authentic living history site dedicated to promoting the understanding of 18th century farm life in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The plantation provides high quality, research based experiences to the public.

The girls learned about William Penn from one of the "colonists" and how he founded Pennsylvania. They were also taken on a tour and learned about how to make candles, how to cut wood, how to get water out of a well, how to weave, and how important a black smiths was in the 1700s.

They had a wonderful time with their teachers and chaperones. Check out the video clip in this week's video news on Moodle!

Fifth Grade Happenings

The fifth grade is preparing for D.A.R.E. graduation and First Friday Mass that are both next week.

D.A.R.E., Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons taught from Kindergarten through 12th grade. Each year, Villa Maria offers this program to it’s fifth grade students. The D.A.R.E. program teaches students good decision making skills to help them avoid high-risk behavior to ensure they grow up healthy, safe and secure. The new D.A.R.E. curriculum integrates the latest in research-based strategies into the world's largest and most effective educational delivery network----D.A.R.E. The girls will receive their certificates next week.

The girls and their teachers will be going on a field trip to the Adventure Aquarium this Friday to learn more about the ecosystems and tropical rainforests. They are also busy learning about the United States and their State projects, to prepare themselves for the upcoming State Show.

Preparing For a Time Honored Tradition

Each holiday season, the eighth grade students not only prepare themselves starting with Mission Day, but they also begin preparing for Christ's birth by putting on a Christmas pageant.

For the past few weeks the girls have been preparing with tryouts for all the roles in the nativity play. The choir and handbells have also been practicing their songs and the Villa community is excited to be a part of this cherished tradition.

The Christmas Pageant will take place in Sacred Heart Chapel on December 13th at 1:30 p.m. for the students and at 7:00 p.m. for the parents.

Mission Day Fun!

Today, the Villa school community celebrated Mission Day. The eighth grade turned the Villa gymnasium into Candyland. With events such as karaoke, face painting, a cake walk, candy station and sweets stations, the classes were able to visit the gym at specific times to take full advantage of all the events.

The students were asked to bring in a canned good to gain admission to Mission Day. There were boxes placed outside the gym, along the bricks, for the collection. Once again, the eighth graders had a collection of new/gently used coats, socks, gloves, toys, etc. The students who brought in these items received free tickets for their contributions.

Every year, the girls enjoy this fun event and their donations help to remind them of Villa's commitment to service. The weekly contributions along with the proceeds from Mission Day will fund the Saint Agnes Day Room, who help and support the poor and homeless in our local communities.