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.

It's Yearbook Time: Order Now!

The entire yearbook staff is working very hard this year to make the yearbook better than ever! This year, parents will once again be able to purchase space in the yearbook to send a special message or advertise their business. Purchasing space is a great way to assist the yearbook and to give your daughter a special memory. To place an advertisement in the yearbook, click here for the sponsorship form. All sponsors are due by Friday, November 16. Look for yearbook order forms in the communication envelope in November. Thank you for your continued support of the yearbook!

Fifth Grade Happenings

Exciting events are taking place in the fifth grade! The girls just finished the book, Nature’s Fury, and did a project-based learning assignment combining language arts and science. The girls studied various natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. They finished the “nature” theme by making weather forecasts, each researching a particular storm.

The next theme is “Give it all you’ve got,” which will culminate with a fifth grade talent show!

The fifth grade girls are also in the middle of the D.A.R.E. Program with Officer DelaCruz. D.A.R.E. graduation was set for November 7th.

The fifth grade is also preparing for the December liturgy, of which their class is responsible for organizing.

November 30th will be a fun day because the girls are going on a field trip to Adventure Aquarium! Going to Adventure Aquarium will help the girls learn about ecosystems for science class!

1st Graders Present Their All Saints Day Program

This Monday and Tuesday, November 5th and 6th, the 1st grade girls were able to present their oral reports on a saint that they each researched. On Monday the girls presented to the entire student body and on Tuesday they were able to present to parents and other family members. The 1st graders researched a saint at home and their findings were turned into an oral report that they read on the days of the show. Each girl also dressed up as her saint and was even allowed to use appropriate props to represent something special about her saint. The girls had a lot of practice reading and singing in the chapel with the help of Miss Connors. The school is so proud of the girls' first experience with public speaking for this year!

1st Grade Completes Cross-Curricular Unit on Bats

The 1st grade girls having been learning about bats! The girls completed a cross-curricular unit on bats where they learned a lot through informational books. They used what they learned through the books to write an informational story about bats. Students learned many things such as, the difference between fact and opinion and wrote bat facts and bat opinions. They read books about bats that were fiction such as "Stellaluna" and after reading it the girls compared and contrasted birds and bats using a Venn diagram. The girls also learned the difference between fantasy and realism in literature by reading fantasy and realistic books about bats. They even made bat t-shirts in art class with Mrs. Sturm and were able to wear them to the Philadelphia Zoo! The 1st graders went to the zoo with their 8th grade big sisters and visited the vampire bats and listened to the keeper teach them more about bats. The girls even got to see the bats being fed cow's blood! The 1st graders final project was to participate in a "Bat-a-thon" so they could adopt a bat from the Philadelphia Zoo. Miss Murnane helped the girls to create a fun “Bat-a-thon” during gym class and the girls were able to raise $601.00 allowing them to adopt several bats from the zoo!

Our Day Out

Each year, Villa Maria Academy's Parent Guild holds an annual event for mothers and daughters in grades K-5 called Our Day Out.

This year, Parent Guild volunteers and organizers have outdone themselves with an exciting day of bonding at Villa. Villa mothers and daughters will gather in Taffy's Cafe at Villa Maria Academy for a cupcake decorating class with Kathy Wolper of Kathy's Just Desserts.

The girls and their mothers are eager to participate in this creative and fun day and we can't wait to see what these little chefs can do!

Mission Day Preparations

Villa Maria Academy's annual Mission Day event has been re-scheduled for November 20th due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

The eighth grade has been working hard to prepare for the events of Mission Day. Mission Day is an exciting event to help the less fortunate. The eighth graders create and organize different activities for all students in grades K-7. The Student Council and eighth grade leadership team have also been taking donations throughout the month for the missions. The weekly contributions, along with the proceeds from Mission Day will fund the Saint Agnes Day Room, who help to support the poor and homeless in our local communities.

This is an exciting event for all grades and each class will be able to spend part of their school day in the gymnasium, that will be decorated by the eighth grade with a specific theme, and students will be able to participate in raffles and winners will be chosen at the end of the day. We are all excited for this day of service and fun!

Fall Sports Service Project

The Fall Sports teams are participating in a pillow/pillow case drive for The Rachel and Troy Foundation. The Rachel and Troy foundation helps to raise money and awareness for victims of child abuse and domestic violence. The pillow drive is to benefit the Laurel House, which is a shelter for women and children that have left a violent situation. Please send any pillows and pillow cases to Tricia Murnane.

History and Classification

Miss DiBenedetto is planning on a having a very fun and exciting week with the seventh and eighth graders.

This week in seventh grade science, Miss DiBenedetto taught the seventh and eighth grade about classification, and how to group and separate things into their right category.

In social studies, Miss D. taught the seventh grade about the thirteen colonies and how they why they were formed. She taught the eighth grade about the civil war and why it was fought.

Becoming Closer to God

Mrs. Cassidy's 6th grade class is preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. They are studying how to become closer to God. The girls will not be receiving the sacrament at Villa Maria Academy. They will receive this with their families in their own parishes. However, the preparation to receive the sacrament is done here at Villa.

Making History Come Alive in 6th Grade

In Mrs. Anuszewski's 6th grade ELA class, the girls are learning about the past and making it come alive. They are working on a Blabberize Project, in which they choose a famous person who passed away and do research on that person to find out what was significant about their lives. Then, using Blabberize, the girls will write a narrative about the person's life they choose and present it to the class. The girls are really enjoying this activity and the chance to be creative while using technology.

A Blabber is a talking picture. For students who are more visual/artistic learners, using this program provides them with the opportunity to display learning through creativity.

This Week in Science Lab...

Mentos and Soda project: 3rd grade
This week, the third grade tested which type of soda would have the largest reaction to a Mentos and soda combination. Mrs. Duke took the girls outside in the courtyard to perform the experiment. In both classes, Diet Pepsi was the winner. The excitement of the girls during this project was contagious!

3D Cell Project: 7th grade
The seventh grade has been working hard on building a 3D model of a cell, as they are in the process of learning all about cell theory in science class. Their models have to include every part of the cell (either animal or plant). The girls are very excited about this project.

Music Notes

In Miss Connors music class, the 7th grade girls are learning about jazz which will tie in with the book they are reading in Mrs. Loftus' E.L.A. class called Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie.

The 8th grade girls are in the process of gathering information from students to use in their survey about musical interests.

Miss Connors is also busy teaching the girls songs for Halloween and preparing for the November Liturgy, in which the sacramental candidates for First Holy Communion and Confirmation (grades 2 and 6) will be presented.

The ABC's of Preschool

This week, Mrs. Albanese and the PreK-4 group were learning the letter “P” in the alphabet. During this week they did many activities that had to do with the letter “P.” They painted pumpkins, got dressed in their pajamas and ate pancakes. Next week they will be learning the letter “B” and making bats for Halloween.

Fun In Kindergarten

This week in Mrs. McKenna's kindergarten class, the girls just finished their unit on Johnny Appleseed and did a sink or float experiment. Students were given an apple, and asked to predict if the apple would float or sink when placed in water. The kindergartners found out that apples float.

This week, the girls also were learning their colors and how to spell them.

And for a Halloween lesson, Mrs. McKenna is going to teach the girls all about the skeletal system.

There are so many fun things going on in kindergarten!

Art Across the Curriculum

This past month Mrs. Sturm has been very busy with all of her classes and various art clubs. Mrs. Sturm is the adviser for the Service Art Club which is starting up again for sixth, seventh and eighth graders. She assists in the student’s ability to plan art themes for Family Bingo Night, Mission Day and the Christmas Bazaar. This year’s Family Bingo art theme was the Philadelphia Phillies and the eighth produced wonderful banners and decorations for Villa’s Halloween Mission Day event. The other grades are actively creating art projects as well. Kindergarten is in the midst of sewing some beautiful apples and sixth grade is working on Asian Fish Art called Gyotaku. Mrs. Strum combines artist’s backgrounds and art history with all art projects she teaches. The girls really appreciate her knowledge and dedication and have lots of fun with all their projects.

Villa Sports Update

By: Jane McCool, Athletics Director

Believe it or not, we are heading into the final weeks of play for our sports teams!

Our Field Hockey teams are preparing for the last two league games, their match-ups with Country Day School of the Sacred Heart and Gwynedd Mercy Academy. These are must wins for the Varsity, as they hope to head into post-season play.

Our Varsity Soccer team faces St. Max this evening and SS Peter & Paul on Friday . The weather has certainly posed some issues, leaving another game with St. Max next week as a reschedule. Then, with the regular season finished, our team will head into Region 17 playoffs.

JV Soccer still has a few games to play in their season. The team is looking forward to the competition, as they have been constantly improving and honing their skills.

Varsity and JV Volleyball are both heading into the final weekend of matches before the Region 17 tournaments are played. Both squads have had very successful seasons thus far! On the 27th, Varsity will compete at Bishop Shanahan and JV at USTC. We wish them well.
Good luck to all of our fall sports teams and their coaches!!

Even though we are still in the thick of fall sports, girls in Grades 5-8 have already registered for the winter sports of Basketball and Swimming. We are really looking forward to the start of both seasons! These sports will begin in early November. For those participating, make sure you have had your physical examination and have your forms ready!!

Layers of Thought – 4th Grade Explores Density

Mrs. Lynch’s 4th grade class is doing multiple science lab experiments this week. One example is mass and density. The girls separated into groups of two, and were each given a clear plastic cup, a penny, a cork, and a grape. Mrs. Lynch and her student teacher Miss Santo each walked around and filled the girls’ cups with 1/3 honey, a little oil, and a little water. Prior to this happening, the girls were asked to write a hypothesis about what they determined was going to happen to the liquids when poured into the cup – where they would appear in relation to each other (top, middle, or bottom of the cup). After Mrs. Lynch and Miss Santo poured in the liquids, the girls had to record their observations to determine whether or not their hypotheses were correct.

The girls concluded that the oil and the water had switched places after they were added to the cup and that each layer of liquid did not mix with the other. They then added three different solids into the mixture. First they added a penny, which they observed immediately sank to the bottom. Then they added the grape, which stayed floating in the middle in the water. And finally they dropped in the cork, which they noted stayed floating in the oil on the top of the mixture.

The girls then had to draw a diagram of their findings on the back of their lab sheet and show how each object’s mass determined its density. Mrs. Lynch asked the girls to conclude why each substance separated.

The experiment was fun and engaging and the girls really enjoyed all that they learned!

Fall Book Fair - A Fabulous Success!

By: Mrs. Sarah Connelly, Librarian

As a result of the event our library will realize over 200 new books as well as renewals to the resource subscriptions linked to the library’s Moodle page: Encyclopedia Britannica, World Book Encyclopedia, and BookFlix. We will also add a monitor to the library to showcase student news, activities, and student work. Many students will benefit for years to come by the addition of the books in our library as well as the classroom libraries.

Our goal is to get our students excited about reading and learning and to keep them asking for more! The last couple of years have seen a nationwide increase in the amount of reading engaged in by elementary and middle school students. That growth is reflected in the numbers of books checked out by our Villa girls. We will build on that momentum. We look to have each and every girl discover the wonder of that book, that series, that wows her, that she just can’t put down, that gets her back in the library for more!
The Fall Book Fair allows our library to grow our collection but more importantly it sets the scene for a building-wide celebration of reading. We were all talking about books this past week. We were all celebrating Villa Spirit Day. We had a community experience to cheer for our favorite stories.

Mrs. Connelly offers a special note of appreciation to the parents and teachers who gave their time and energy to work at the fair!

We look forward to seeing you at the Book Swap in February!

Thank you for your support of the library!

4th Grade Learns about PA

Mrs. Lynch’s 4th grade class is currently learning about Pennsylvania. The students are making model magic maps of the five regions of PA including physical features: cities, landmarks, bodies of water, surrounding states, and more.

Chemicals React - 8th Grade Science Project

Our 8th grade girls are learning about elements and chemical reactions! Mrs. Velardi and Mrs. Duke, our Science Lab teacher, worked together this week to create a fun and interesting science lab for the girls. The girls learned what happens when you mix hydrogen peroxide, food coloring, warm water, dish soap and yeast. The girls were split into groups and given a specific percentage of the mixture. The teachers explained that in this reaction, the yeast in the mixture catalyzes or speeds up the normal slow decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen gas, making the reaction go much more quickly. The production of oxygen gas is made more noticeable by adding some dish soap, which makes the foam...and fun! And when the girls added food coloring, they got colored foam! It was a very exciting and interesting experiment.

3rd Graders are Learning their Times Tables!

All throughout this week and continuing into next week 3A has been learning their times tables. Each student is assigned a multiplication table such as, 12 X 12=144 and makes a rhyme. The rhymes help the girls learn their multiplication tables. After all the rhymes are written they make a song out of them. Each girl gets to sing her own rhyme in the song. There is so much learning going on in third grade!

Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum to be offered at Villa

As Villa moves forward, enhancing student’s learning in the form of digital technology, we recognize the importance of providing students with education on how best to use technology safely and securely. In addition to internet safety and security, teaching students about digital citizenship and literacy are essential in our efforts to provide the best in 21st-century education. Villa’s technology teachers and classroom teachers afford students with this knowledge currently on a daily basis, but in our efforts to go one-step-further, we have decided to partner with Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology.

The overall goal of this curriculum is to educate and empower young people to harness the power of the Internet and digital technology for learning, and for them to become safe, responsible, and respectful digital citizens. “The program was very impressive,” said Technology Integration Coach, Melissa Dow. “While we do so much here at Villa with information literacy, and we do it well, we wanted to do more. This program will continue to focus on information literacy, but it will also focus on safety and security and digital citizenship.” Villa’s Technology Coaches, Melissa Dow and Christelle Patselas will be teaching one lesson a month, beginning this month to grades 2-8 and one every other month to grades K-1. Stay tuned for more information.

"D" is for Dalmatian

Our Pre-K4 class is studying the alphabet and every week they learn a new letter! This past week they learned about the letter “D” and they talked all about dogs. Mrs. Albanese taught them how to make Dalmatian dogs out of paper bags and they sang a great song to go with it. The 3 year old class even got to sit in as an audience for the performance. This learning activity also coincidentally tied in with the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, which took place on October 4th.

Villa Welcomes Mrs. Eileen Delaney to Our Staff

Villa would like to welcome Mrs. Eileen Delaney to our family. Mrs. Delaney has been hired as our new Resource Coordinator. She will mainly assist teachers with classroom strategies for students who are experiencing difficulty in learning. Mrs. Delaney has a B.S. from Temple University in Elementary Education and an M.Ed. from Acardia in Special Education. She is dual certified. She is also certified in Project Read, Schools Attuned, Read Naturally and is currently working on her Wilson certification.

Mrs. Delaney started teaching at St. Luke the Evangelist in Glenside, PA. She was there for 7 years teaching grades 1 through 3. She received her M.Ed. in Special Education from Acardia University and went to the School District of Philadelphia for 2 years. She taught for 1 year at Avon Grove School District as a Long Term Sub in an Elementary Resource Room. She then went to the Crossroads School and was there for 4 years. Mrs. Delaney spent several years as a stay at home mom, and went back to Crossroads for another 4 years until it closed. At Crossroads, Mrs. Delaney served as a homeroom teacher and then became the reading coordinator, math coordinator and instructional supervisor.

Mrs. Delaney is really enjoying her time here at Villa so far. She is very grateful to be a part of this learning community. Her daughter Maria graduated from Villa in 2010. Maria attended Villa for 6th through 8th grades. She is now at Bishop Shanahan. Mrs. Delaney also has a son who graduated from Shanahan and is now at Delaware Community College.

Archdiocesan Festival Audition Information

Archdiocesan Festival Audition Information

Chorus
The Archdiocesan Elementary Choral Festival will be on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 , 7:00 PM at Archbishop Carroll High School, Radnor. Three Villa fifth grade choir girls will be chosen by audition to participate in this Festival and must also commit to the Kimmel Center Concert on Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 7:30 and to the two Kimmel Center Rehearsals—the first on Wednesday, April 24 at Shanahan from 12:00 to 4:00 and the second at the Kimmel Center on Wednesday, May 1 from 10:00 to 2:00. Transportation will be provided for the rehearsals.

Sister Margaret will be auditioning the 5th Grade Choir Girls during Lunch/Recess on Tuesday, October 2nd. The girls who wish to audition will be asked to sing the National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner).

Villa rehearsals for the Festival will be held on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 to 4:15 in the Projection Room as soon as the music arrives from the Archdiocese. Those who audition must commit to Tuesday afternoons, Wednesday, Feb. 27th, Wednesday, April 24th, Wednesday, May 1st, Thursday, May 2nd.


Band
Archdiocesan Band Auditions - Sunday, November 4th, 9AM at St. Aloysius Academy

Archdiocesan Jazz Band Auditions - Sunday, November 18th, 12PM at St. Aloysius Academy

Music Enrichment Ensembles have begun or are beginning.

Senior Band, began Thursday, September 27th

Choir began Thursday, September 20th

Handbells will begin on Tuesday, October 2nd (7:30-8:45)

Senior String Ensemble will begin on Wednesday, October 3rd (7:30-8:45)

Junior Band and Junior Strings will be rehearsing as an Ensemble in the near future.

Villa Sports Update

As we head into the month of October, our fall sports teams are well into their seasons. We are proud to say that our teams and coaches have been doing a phenomenal job, and have been quite successful to date.

This is the first time that Villa Maria has fielded a JV Soccer team, and the inaugural season is proving to be a good one! October promises to be an exciting month, as we face The Montgomery School, The Baldwin School, Agnes Irwin, Friends Central, and Episcopal Academy. Good luck to our team and coaches!!

Varsity Soccer, in addition to the regular season CYO games, has faced Academy of Notre Dame and The Montgomery School. The games have provided a good challenge and have afforded a wonderful opportunity for the team to pull together and demonstrate just how skilled and determined they really are. We are proud of the successful season that has thus far been enjoyed!

Added to the excitement of soccer’s success is that of our field hockey teams. Our JV Field Hockey team has played 6 games to date, and is a terrific group of talented young ladies. Early season games have helped to prepare the team for GCAL play, where Villa finds itself in second place. Our Varsity Field Hockey team is also right at the top of the standings in GCAL play. Our small squad is proving to be one that is packed with power and drive! Good luck, team, on your quest for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

Outside is not the only place you will find thrilling competition. Our volleyball teams have been doing a fantastic job! In addition to the regular season CYO games, our Varsity Volleyball team has participated in the Julia Kivlin Memorial Tournament, and will, this weekend, be competing in the Keystone Juniors Tournament at USTC. Our most recent victories over Notre Dame and ABVM have helped provide the momentum to move into the busy month of October. Our Junior Varsity Volleyball team has been doing incredibly well! With recent victories over Notre Dame and Pope John Paul II, this talented group of young ladies can’t wait to move into the second half of the season. Both JV and Varsity will be going to Upper Villa on Wednesday to see a high school practice. What a great opportunity for our girls to partner with the high school team members and learn from them!

Coming Soon : Signups for Winter Sports of Swimming and Basketball. Girls in Grades 5-8 are invited to participate in either sport. Sign-up forms and detailed information will soon be provided. If your daughter intends to swim or play basketball, it is necessary to have on file or provide a copy of a Physical Examination Form (dated Jan 2012 to present). No student may participate unless this requirement has been satisfied.

Fall Book Fair News

Mrs. Connelly reports that planning for the Fall Book Fair is well underway! "Fly High With a Good Book" is this year's theme. Posters for the Poster Contest can be turned in anytime this week. Please remind students to put their names and room numbers on the back of their posters.

Early Learning Center and Kindergarten Classes Begin

Monday, September 10, the Kindergarten and Early Learning Center students began their journey at Villa Maria Academy. Mixed emotions filled the rooms, and while the children went off smiling and excited for their new school, parents gathered in the cafeteria for a "Boo Hoo Breakfast."

No longer the littlest ones in the school, teachers reported that during their first week, the Kindergarteners have been progressing wonderfully and are adjusting well to life at Villa.

And the littlest students of Villa Maria Academy have been enjoying all the benefits of their new education, including the facilities that Villa has to offer. Just today, Miss Murnane taught Gym to both the 3-year old and 4-year old classes. And soon, Miss Connors will be visiting their classrooms to teach Music.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Dedication of the Early Learning Center

On Friday, September 14 students, faculty and staff, parents, Sisters from the Motherhouse, and Father John Joseph, gathered as a school community in Sacred Heart Chapel for a Mass, and then together on the playground, for a blessing and dedication of the Early Learning Center.

Both students from the Lower School as well as some of our preschool students assisted with the blessing of the crucifixes and Blessed Mother images to be placed in each classroom. All students participated in a prayer, Sister Susan, Sister Mary Ellen, and Father John Joseph spoke to the excitement of the new building, and the ceremony concluded with all singing the Villa song.

A huge thank you goes out to Sister Margaret for planning the event and for all who joined us to bless our new building. Villa Maria Academy is truly making history with the opening of the Early Learning Center that has been years in the making.

The Sound of Music

As I am sure you are aware, the Fine Arts Department at Bishop Shanahan High School presents, to the public, a Broadway musical stage production each fall of the highest quality in the region. Students and faculty work tirelessly to create a memorable theatre experience that people of all ages enjoy. This year, they will be presenting The Sound of Music.

They are looking for boys and girls under 5ft tall, who can sing, act, and memorize lines. Auditions will be on September 16th at 3:30pm. Please fill out the attached form and have it returned by September 14th.

This will be a tremendous learning experience for those that participate. They look forward to the participation of all the schools in the selection process. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact ckeating@shanahan.org or via phone at 610-518-1300.

Click the link for the Bishop Shanahan Form: http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103640951195-597/Bishop+Shanahan+High+School.pdf

Fall Sports at Villa

Grades 5-8

Although tomorrow marks the official start of the school year, our fall sports teams have already been on campus and marked the beginning of their seasons. There is nothing more pleasing to the eyes and ears than the sight and sound of our happy, energized young ladies working together as a team!
Close to one hundred girls from Grades five through eight will be representing Villa Maria Academy as members of a fall sports team: JV and Varsity Field Hockey, JV & Varsity Soccer, JV & Varsity Volleyball. Our teams have been practicing for the past few weeks and are getting ready to begin games very soon. Be sure to check the website for a listing of games and matches. Good luck to our teams and coaches during the season! Thank you for all that you will do to share the good news of Villa Maria!

Creative Programming Course Beginning at Villa this Fall

Starting this Fall, Mrs. Melissa Dow, Instructional Technology Coach at Villa Maria Academy, will begin co-teaching a Creative Programming course for 7th and 8th grade students with Mary Elizabeth "M.E." Jones, Ph.D., the Department Chair and an Associate Professor for the Department of Mathematics – Computing Sciences - Physics at Immaculata University.

This course has been designed to promote STEM to Villa's middle school students. This creative programming course teaches introductory programming via creative writing. It begins by connecting the planning, organizing, and detailing of writing a story to the programming process. Creative concepts are taught first and then connected to an equivalent programming concept.

Students will work in pairs doing group activities, applying concepts and skills by creating stories, designing an animation, and implementing the animation using the Alice programming system.

The Alice programming system is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy for students to create an animation for storytelling, an interactive game, or a creating a video to share on the web.

This course recognizes the creative nature of programming, invites students who would not consider studying programming to potentially identify an unrecognized talent, and teaches introductory programming using a new approach.

Professor Jones will be coming to Villa Maria Academy on a weekly basis for this STEM initiative. Professor Jones has been a full-time faculty member at Immaculata University since 2002. She has been involved in Information Science and Technology since 1985. Her industry experience includes: project and technical management, computer systems validation, system analysis, developing training programs, and developing software applications in commercial and government industries.

Shop the BoxTops Marketplace and Help VMA!

The BoxTops Program has been a popular fundraising avenue for many public and private schools for many years! BoxTops coupons are collected and submitted to the parent company - 10 cents for every coupon. We have been quite successful in the past years raising anywhere from $350 - $1000 per year from cut coupons.

BoxTops also offers an opportunity to "cash in" on internet purchases from vendors like Amazon, LandsEnd, BestBuy, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes! (Click here for a listing of all vendors) Sign up at the marketplace and designate Villa Maria as your school and then shop through the link provided on the BoxTops site. It's as simple as that. Let's see if we can raise our goal to $5000 this year!

http://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/marketplace/BrowseStores.aspx?WT.ac=M

Earn Money for School through Giant Food Stores

Villa Maria Academy has the opportunity to earn cash through Giant's A+ School Rewards Program. You can earn money for Villa while you shop for your groceries at Giant. It's a great and easy way to help out the school! Giant has donated over $10 million since the program began and will be donating $3 million to local schools for the 2012/2013 school year. All you need to do is register online or through the school with your Giant Bonuscard. Please remember that you have to register every school year so if you have registered last year you will have to do it again this year. Registration begins on Sunday, August 26th. Click here to fill out the customer registration form if you prefer to send it in to school rather than register online.

http://www.villamaria.org/downloads/Giant%20APlus%20rewards.pdf

Teacher Professional Development: Kindergarten

In keeping up with technology, Mrs. McKenna attended the IPads in the Classroom workshop at the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) on July 12, 2012. Mrs. McKenna said it was a great workshop and she learned a lot about additional, free (or low cost) apps to integrate into all areas of the curriculum for her students.

6th Graders to Complete Olympic Quest to Learn about Different Countries

The incoming 6th graders have been given a fun summer project from their teachers, Mrs. Anuszewski and Mrs. Cassidy, that goes along with this year’s Summer Olympics in London. In order to prepare for the upcoming school year and to learn about the continents in the Eastern Hemisphere, which include Asia, Africa and Europe, students have been given an Olympic Quest to complete and bring in for the first day of school. Watching and learning about the Olympic Games in London will help to present details about many of the countries in those continents. For example, students can learn which sports certain countries excel in, which countries are not represented in the Olympics, and more. Some questions the students are being asked to answer in the Olympic Quest include, “The Olympic Games originated in which European country?”, “Which country has the most athletes?” and “Which Olympic sport is your favorite to watch?”. Watching the Olympics is a valuable viewing experience for kids and a great opportunity for students to be inspired and learn.

Villa Sports Update

By: Jane McCool, Atletic Director

With the start of the Olympics just around the corner, our thoughts have turned to the excitement of athletic competitions and the pride with which individuals and teams participate. There is anticipation, as well, of Villa Maria’s Fall Sports of Field Hockey, Soccer, and Volleyball. Before we know it, our teams will be back in action, and we can’t wait! Be sure to stay tuned for updates once school begins. There will be much activity on our fields and in our gym, and we are looking forward to fun-filled, successful sports seasons.

Villa Welcomes New Faculty Members This Fall

Villa is excited to welcome new faculty members this fall. Mrs. Jennifer Loftus will teach ELA/Religion, Miss Rosana DiBenedetto will teach Social Studies/Science. We welcome Miss Jennifer Connors back to VMA. Jen will teach music to Pre-K – 5 grade. Mr. Michael Norton will provide instrumental lessons for our students. Michael is on staff at St. Aloysius. Laura Mayerhofer will also join our Villa community as the pre-k3 aide.

Teacher Professional Development: First Grade

This summer, Mrs. Barbara Long continues to work towards her instructional technology certificate through Saint Joseph's University. Mrs. Long completed one course already, "Research in Instructional Technology.” In this course, she focused a lot of her attention on blogging as an instructional tool to enhance collaboration and writing skills. Mrs. Long was able to look at a lot of research that supports the use of blogging in school. She began a second course in July called "Planning for Instructional Technology Across the Curriculum," and is very much enjoying what information the class has had to offer her so far. Mrs. Long is also looking forward to an upcoming vacation in Sea Isle City and spending time at the pool.

New Landscaping Project at Villa

There are even more new things going on at Villa! New landscaping is being done to the front of the building outside of the main school office in order to save on maintenance costs throughout the year. The landscaping will hold its appearance throughout all of the seasons. Plans are also in place to lay stonework around the fountain in the front of the building and the names of Villa’s past principals will be etched in the stonework. Progress is being made and the finished project will make the front of the school even more beautiful.

Construction Continues on the Early Learning Center

On July 2 construction of the Early Learning Center progressed even further with the modular buildings for the new pre-school students being set in place. Some of the IHM sisters, faculty and staff members watched as the workers used a giant crane to lift the buildings and place them on the foundation. Work will continue being done to the outside and also the inside of the new pre-school buildings. The work will continue to ensure that the buildings are ready for the upcoming school year.

Teacher Professional Development: Art

Cathy Sturm, Art Teacher - This week, Mrs. Sturm will be participating in an IPAD workshop at the CCIU and next week she'll be attending a 3 day class sponsored by the Archdiocesan Office for Catechetical Formation. Fr. Chris Walsh will be the class presenter, and the class will be held at St. Joseph Parish in Downingtown. This summer, Mrs. Sturm also held a small sewing camp for some 2nd Grade Villa girls at her home in June. They learned some basic hand and machine sewing skills and had a lot of fun as well!

Air Conditioning Update

The air conditioning system continues to be installed in the second floor rooms. Lots of exciting changes are taking place at Villa and we are looking forward to showing off the new additions in the upcoming school year!

New IHM Leadership Installation at Immaculata, PA

Click below to read more.

http://www.villamaria.org/downloads/IHM%20Installation%20-%20SME.pdf

Setting Foundations

On Tuesday, June 19, the foundation for Villa Maria Academy's new Early Learning Center building was poured.

Construction on the foundation area began at the close of the school year, and the progress has been steady. Ideally, the actual building which has been built off-site, will be placed on June 30 to allow for enough time for the individual classrooms to be set-up with furniture and the necessary amenities.

The Villa Maria Academy Early Learning Center, which is Co-Ed for 3 and 4 year olds, will open on September 10, 2012. Registered students will visit the classrooms September 6-7 to become aquainted with the environment.

For more detailed information regarding the Early Learning Center and its programs, contact Jane McCool, Admissions Director at jmccool@villamaria.org.

New Classrooms Updates

On Tuesday, June 12, new carpeting began being installed in Villa Maria Academy's 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 7th grade classrooms.

The Annual Fund donations have also allowed for the continuation of Villa's 21st Century learning initiatives. Tables have been purchased and installed in the 6th and 7th grade classrooms to encourage more collaboration among students and teachers.

Villa’s Twirling Extravaganza

Villa Maria Academy’s very own baton twirling team performed for students, faculty and staff on Monday, June 4. The twirling team, which has been around for 4 years, includes students in grades K-8 and they have performed at various events including basketball games and dance showcases. The audience enjoyed the team’s presentation in which they twirled batons to “Rolling on the River” and “L.O.V.E.”. This past year the team traveled to Disney World in Orlando, Fla. where they received first place and were able to perform in a Disney parade. They also traveled to York, Pa. for a competition and won first place in their division. We are very proud of our girls and their continued success.

Villa Honors Mr. Miller

On Friday, June 1 Villa Maria Academy honored Mr. Joseph Miller who is retiring after 25 years of teaching at the school. Mr. Miller, who teaches 7th and 8th grade students in history and science, was the first male teacher at Villa and was certainly loved by students, faculty and staff. The celebration included cake, a presentation and a “quizzo” game that students participated in which included history questions and questions about Mr. Miller. Students and faculty enjoyed the celebration, which also included some great music and dancing. His presence will be missed at Villa, however we all wish him lots of luck with his future endeavors.

Villa Maria 5th Graders Skyping with Sister School in Peru

On May 30, the 5th grade at Villa Maria Academy Lower School in Immaculata, Pennsylvania set-up a Skype video conference call with Villa Maria Academy de Flores in Lima, Peru. The Immaculata 5th grade girls are currently studying South America and thought it would be a great idea to discuss the cultural differences first hand with the girls at their sister school in Peru.

Their teachers, Mrs. Wible and Mrs. Veneziale contacted Sister Mary Dee, the 4th grade teacher at Villa Maria Academy de Flores, and set up the call. The Immaculata girls prepared questions in Spanish, with help from their Spanish teacher, Senora Maria, to ask the girls. The questions ranged from “How long is your typical school day?” to “What celebrations do you have in Peru and when do you celebrate them?” to “Who is your current President?” The Lima girls, though a little nervous, were able to answer the questions back in English.

When it came time for the Lima girls to ask the questions, a loud bell began to go off unexpectedly in their classroom. Sister Mary Dee quickly escorted the girls out of the room and came back to the screen, “I’m terribly sorry, but we are having an earthquake drill! It is most likely due to the fact that an earthquake just happened this past week in Italy. They want us to be prepared. We should only be a few moments…”

Due to the unexpected circumstances, the Skype session ended before the Lima girls were able to return. However, the success of the call encouraged the teachers from both schools to arrange a similar call for the next school year.

No More Pencils, No Netbooks, It's iPads for 6th Grade Next Fall

Villa will be continuing our one-to-one technology initiative next year to not only increase students’ technology proficiency, but to use this technology for critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and research. The program has surpassed expectations and we are looking forward to continuing it next year.

After careful consideration, the administration has selected the Apple iPad to replace the Dell netbook students are currently using for the 6th grade curriculum for the Fall.

In the coming months, Villa will continue research to focus on the best practices in a one-to-one implementation of iPads, including managing iTunes accounts, filtering, and the best apps for use in a middle school environment. The 6th grade teachers have received their IPADs and have already started their professional development on implementing this program.

Great Valley BBQ Day

On Thursday, May 24th, the school community celebrated Great Valley BBQ Day.

Every year around this time, the Villa Maria hosts this school-wide fun day. Great Valley sends over a "Grill Master" who cooks all the food on a portable BBQ outside and then Mrs. Ciarlone and Mrs. Dudas, our wonderful Villa Food Service Team, help prepare and set up all the rest of the goodies for the kids and teachers.

On a nice day, the BBQ usually takes place in the courtyard, but unfortunately this year it was a bit cloudy and rainy. The girls still enjoyed every minute, eating their lunches on their beach towels in the gymnasium to music courteously provided by Miss Murnane, and then finishing their afternoon playing outside.

6th Graders Celebrate Their Heritage

On Tuesday May 22, the 6th graders participated in their annual event: Heritage Day. Each student researched certain topics, such as religion, food, and clothing on the country of their family heritage.

The girls presented their research on poster boards and prepared short presentations for their parents and guests. They also were asked to wear a representational dress of their country and to bring in a small sampling of the typical food served in that country.

After verbal presentations were given, the girls, their parents and teachers were allowed to visit each visual display for a tasting of food the girls (with the help of their parents) prepared to represent the country their country of heritage. Their second grade prayer partners, along with students and teachers from other grades also visited the displays for a little taste of history and some yummy treats!

3rd Graders Research and Present Famous Women

Each 3rd grader at Villa Maria Academy has chosen a famous woman to research and then dress-up as for the 3rd Grade’s Famous Women Project. On Wednesday, May 16th, the girls presented their famous woman to teachers, parents and guests in Villa’s gymnasium. Mrs. Hannigan and Miss Thomas’ students read biographies, completed book reports, created posters and wrote speeches about the woman they have chosen. The final presentation consisted of dressing up as the woman they chose and participating in a “Famous Women Wax Museum”, where they come to life and tell the audience a little about the woman’s life before revealing her identity to the audience. To close the program, the girls sang a song and then enjoyed refreshments with their fellow famous women and guests.

Poems written by 5th and 7th Graders Published in “A Celebration of Poets”

This year 30 of Mrs. Maureen Wible’s 5th grade students and 18 of Miss Kara Rufo’s 7th grade students had their poems chosen to be published in “A Celebration of Poets”. Creative Communication, Inc. holds contests every year to celebrate and recognize today’s student writers. The company then compiles an anthology with poems written by students in grades K-12 and teachers with five or more students who have had poems published will receive a free copy. The publication is regionally based therefore students are competing with their peers based on age and location. Less than 50% of poems received are chosen to be published so it is quite an honor to be selected. Our teachers enter students in this contest yearly and the Villa Maria Academy students always have a high amount of poems that are published.

Congratulations to all our girls!

The following 5th graders from Mrs. Wible’s class were chosen: Genevieve B., Anna B., Caroline B., Olivia C., Sophia C., Lauren D., Michaela D., Sarah D., Katie D., Annabel G., Alison G., Josephine H., Sarah H., Mikaela J., Kate K., Mary Kate K., Maria M., Amanda M., Isabelle M., Kaitlyn M., Nicole N., Lindsay O., Grace R., Catherine R., Julia S., Madison S., Claire S., Mackenzie S., Ava S., Jade T.

The following 7th graders from Miss Rufo’s class were chosen: Kiley A., Gabriela B., Sharon C., Olivia C., Brianna C., Abigail F., Madeline G., Shaelyn H., Rachael K., Liz M., Ally M., Jessie M., Devon, M., Mary Rose O., Ariana O., Nina P., Marissa P., and Samantha V.

Welcoming the Newest Villa Girls

On Wednesday, May 9, Villa Maria welcomed its newest Kindergarten class for orientation. Their beautiful dresses they adorned were just as bright as their smiles as they walked in to get their picture taken with Taffy before meeting their new teachers. The girls were taken to their classes and did an activity with the teachers before going on a tour of their new school. Wide-eyed and ready to take it all in, they asked questions and smiled their way throughout the tour. One little girl even came all dressed up in her Villa Maria Academy t-shirt! After their tour, the girls were introduced to the cafeteria and had a little snack before going to play in gym class with Miss Murnane. Returning to their classes to receive their Villa Activity Book and their pictures with Taffy, they were met by their parents, who then had a chance to meet and chat with their new teachers. Not one sad face left the school. The girls were all overjoyed to know they were coming back in only a few short months!

Celebrating Mary and [Sister] Margaret

On May 11, the entire Villa community gathered in Sacred Heart Chapel to honor Mary, the Mother of God and Sister Margaret Logrip for her 50th Jubilee. The mass was led by the seventh graders, who did a beautiful job on the readings and music. Our second grade communicants were present in their beautiful gowns, as well as the sixth graders in the confirmation gowns, and the eighth graders in their graduation gowns, as the leaders of our school. Father John Joseph was our celebrant, and as always gave a very nice homily. The girls processed with their classes in front of the school and into the chapel, as the angelic voices of the choir girls sang as they entered. Many parents joined in the celebration, as it is one of Villa’s most cherished traditions. After the crowning of the Blessed Mother, the kindergarten classes performed Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue. It was so sweet and such an endearing beginning to the mass. At the end of the service, Sister Mary Ellen congratulated Sister Margaret, and thanked all her friends and family for joining in our service. Each class then presented Sister Margaret with a spiritual bouquet to congratulate her on her Jubilee. Touched by their thoughtfulness, Sister graciously thanked everyone and requested one last gift, that the girls close the ceremony singing the alma mater for her: Villa Maria We Love You.

Seventh Grade Shakespeare Video

Villa at the Drive-In

This year, The Villa Maria Academy Spring Concert had a whole new look and feel. The gymnasium was transformed into a drive-in theater, complete with the large screen to showcase the technology aspect added into the concert.

Miss Mello and Mr. Hemsley created short trailers as a preview of each song that was going to be played by the Company. The girls were involved as the actresses and actors in the trailers.

By far, one of Villa's best concerts! Between the music, the singing, and all the trailers, the energy of the audience was through the roof!

Congratulations to the Villa Company of Villa at the Drive-In: band, choir, handbells, strings, and stage crew. And bravo to Miss Mello, Mr. Hemsley, and Sister Margaret for all your hard work and dedication to this event. It truly was a success!

The First Graders are Blogging!

Did you Know? The First Graders are blogging! Mrs. Crowley's class blog is used primarily to show off the pieces of work done with technology. Mrs. Crowley's class posts to the blog whenever they have a new piece of work or when they have done something exciting in the classroom.

"The parents have been really great about leaving us comments and every time we get a new one I show it to the girls," says Mrs. Crowley. "We also have a cluster map on our blog to show us where in the world our visitors are coming from."

The link to Mrs. Crowley's class blog is: http://firstgradefrog.blogspot.com/.

Local Pottery Artist Comes to Villa

Our Villa Art Program will be hosting a “Visiting Artist” on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. Mr. Corey Johnson, a West Chester University Fine Arts Graduate, is a local potter. Mr. Johnson will be doing demonstrations for Students in grades 3 thru 7. Parents, as well as teachers and staff, are invited to attend a special demonstration by Mr. Johnson at 3:30pm that same day. It will be held in the Art Room.

Mr. Johnson offers pottery lessons for both children and adults at his studio. Information about these classes will be available in the art room. Please contact Mrs. Cathy Sturm for more details: csturm@villamaria.org.

Dean Karnazes, Guest Speaker at Villa on May 8th

On May 8th, Villa Maria Academy will host guest speaker, Dean Karnazes. Dean is one of The North Face’s sponsored athletes and a motivational speaker. He is currently in our area for an event through Trail Creek Outfitters.

Dean will be at Villa on the Morning of May 8th to talk to our girls at 10am (K-2) and 11am (3-8). After his talk, we will be hosting a brief meet and greet reception for Dean. There will be one to two girls from each grade represented at the meet and greet.

Dean’s information is below:

The North Face Never Stop Exploring Speaker Series
Dean Karnazes presents Life in Motion

Event overview:
Trail Creek Outfitters hosts an evening with The North Face athlete, ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes.

Presentation description:
“Superhuman” best describes Dean Karnazes's 2006 feat of running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. Ranked among TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, in 2011 Dean brought fitness home to millions with his 3000-mile, 75-day, coast-to-coast Run Across America, televised on Live! with Regis and Kelly.

Ticketing information:
General admission tickets are free and reserved seating is $8. VIP tickets are $20 and include reserved seats at the presentation as well as an exclusive run and dinner with Dean Karnazes. All VIP ticket sales benefit The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County.
For tickets and more information, visit www.thenorthface.com/speakerseries.

VIP benefit information:
Join Dean Karnazes and your hosts from Trail Creek Outfitters and The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County to pre-run the 5K course of the TLC Stateline Loop, followed by dinner. VIP ticketholders will meet at 6pm on Tuesday, May 8, at Stateline Woods Preserve.

Welcoming Our Newest Faculty Member

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Mrs. Carolyn Furia, our newest faculty member at Villa Maria Academy.

Mrs. Furia will be assuming the position of School Secretary after Mrs. Clark's retirement at the end of this school year. Mrs. Furia started working with Mrs. Clark this week to begin to learn all that she can about Villa Maria.

Please stop by the Main Office and welcome her to our school family next time you're in the building.

The 4th Grade Researches the Inventions of Ben Franklin

The 4th Grade girls have been researching one of Ben Franklin’s inventions with a partner and then using an online program called Museum Box to present their information and pictures.

Miss Devine and Mrs. Lynch then had the girls write scripts so they could present their virtual “box” on the Smart Board and explain the facts and pictures in an interesting way (pretend reporters, teacher/student, etc.).

The girls presented their research on Monday and Tuesday of this week and came up with some very entertaining ways of doing so.

National Dance Week

There have been several special events in the Dance Studio this past week for National Dance Week. Girls from several grades were involved in demonstrating special cultural dance.

In one class, there was an Indian dance demonstration by Sryia J., and in another, a Hawaiian dance by Charlee O. Girls in after-school Musical Theater have been singing and dancing for their dance classes as well.

On April 25th and 26th, sisters Sofia and Caroline C. performed Irish Dances with their soft shoes and hard shoes.

Ms. Nancy and the girls also practiced some Tap dance in several of the classes. The girls were able to try on tap shoes to dance with from Ms. Nancy's "Suitcause of tap shoes."

Educational Research in 6th Grade Math

Over the next few weeks, Mrs. Dow and Mrs. Cassidy are working together to conduct a research study for Mrs. Dow's graduate school class. They are determining the effectiveness of using Peer Instruction (a teaching methodology) facilitated by Socrative (a web based polling system). They are focusing on teaching surface area and volume.

All the girls receive the same instruction. A randoml selected group uses PI and Socrative for practice problems. The other group practices in the traditional manner. Mrs. Dow's hypothesis is that the students using PI and Socrative will have a better understanding of the material.

They are hoping that this is the case and that they can implement PI and Socrative as a teaching methodology in math next school year.

Gratitude for the Graduates

Be sure to stop by Villa on Thursday, May 3 at 7:00 p.m. for the Spring Concert: Villa at the Drive-In. It is wonderful to have so many from the Graduating Class involved in the Music Department. The Music Department would like to thank them for their SERVICE and their LEADERSHIP.

Alianna Buck, Contra Bass
Nicole Burke, Choir and Hand Bells
Abigail Cashel, Choir
Catherine Cullen, Cello & Hand Bells
Maria Dulin, Choir
Celeste Flahaven, Violin
Ashleigh Jaramillo, Choir
Lydia Kao, Choir & Violin
Grace Kurocki, Hand Bells
Madison Leiman, Violin
Casey McCoy, Choir
Olivia McCloskey, Piano for Band, Hand Bells, & Choir
Caroline Mullen, Choir
Erin Nucifora, Choir
Anna Radie, Choir
Emma Shackleford, Choir
Natasha Walters, Trombone.

Also, Miss Murnane has learned to play an instrument, too. She is a valued and dedicated member of the Hand Bell Choir.

Science Symposium Video

Third Grade Habitat Project Completed

April 24th, marked the revealing of the Third Grade's Native American Habitat project to their parents.

The girls and their teachers have worked tirelessly on perfecting every piece of this project and the result is simply that. The hands-on collaborative nature of this project, and the amount of research that goes into it really allows the girls an easier time to assimilate all the information and be able to relay that information back to their teachers and parents in a way they can truly understand it.

This project is an annual project that each third grade completes. Mrs. Hannigan and Miss Thomas feel that the children are better able to be assessed with a project of this nature because of the amount of time and effort the girls put into the different aspects of the project. There is something for each child in the way of learning. And the girls are learning to work together. It's better than providing the children with a test at the end of the unit. With this type of project, the students have such an in depth understanding of the culture of the habitat they are researching and can easily explain what they have learned instead of memorizing the information for a test.

Preparing to Receive the Sacrament

The Second Grade has been working hard preparing for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion, which takes place this Saturday, April 28th at Villa Maria Academy.

In preparation, Sister Ruth and Mrs. McDermott have been teaching the girls the different parts of the Mass and the responses. "Practices have been going very well, and I feel the girls are prepared for Saturday," said Mrs. McDermott.

In the halls near the Second Grade classrooms, you can see the banners that the girls have created with their parents as a remembrance of their First Holy Communion.

This Friday, April 27th, the Second Grade will have their retreat before their big day. Father John Joseph will attend the retreat with the girls and speak to them about receiving the Sacrament. The girls will also work on little projects to help them to prepare for Saturday. One of the projects is a Communion Book. Mrs. McDermott said they will also bring with them "letters from their parents and grandparents that they will be able to open and read. It's a wonderful day!"

First Holy Communion will take place in the Sacred Heart Chapel at 11:00 a.m. this Saturday.

Villa Science Fair Symposium

On Wednesday, April 25th, students at Villa Maria Academy will be participating in a Science Fair Symposium.

The girls have been working hard since the beginning of the new year on their projects. All grades, including Kindergarten, will be taking part in the Science Fair. Grades K-5 will have classroom displays, while Middle School students will have their own individual displays.

The girls will begin bringing in their displays on Monday and Tuesday the judging will begin. The gymnasium will be closed to the public on both days. On Wednesday, there will be an Open House in the gym, and all projects will be on display. The Symposium will take place in the evening at 7:00 p.m. for parents and friends.

Sports update – Week of April 16

By: Jane McCool, Athletics Director

Now that we are back from what was, for everyone, a relaxing and renewing Easter break, we find ourselves in the heart of the spring sports seasons. Thanks to this exceptionally warm spring, we were able to practices for weeks before Easter (emphasis on the plural, since in previous, colder years, we have considered ourselves quite fortunate if we were able to practice even a couple of times on the fields before the first games!).

Our Track team started things off in their meet this past Sunday. We might be a small team, but our Villa runners are determined, high-spirited young ladies who are having a fabulous time when practicing around school and on the track during meets.

Having already encountered five non-league opponents in pre-season play, our lacrosse teams have given us reason to look forward to a league season that will be both successful and exciting. It is refreshing to drive by the fields during after school practices and see so many girls enjoying the sport!

Our Softball teams are well on their way to memorable seasons. Varsity Softball has actually played one league game (against Nazareth Academy), and made the long trek worthwhile by returning home with a W ; following suit, our JV Softball team met its first league opponent (SS Peter & Paul) already, and made quite an impressive debut with the victory.

Be sure to visit the school website and check the athletics calendar. Between our coming back from break and May 15th, there will be a total of 3 Track Meets, 24 Lacrosse games (JV & Varsity), and 16 softball games (JV & Varsity) for you to enjoy.

See you on the fields or at the track!!!!!

Celebrating Earth Day in Dance

Earth Day is a day early each year on which events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth's natural environment. Today, Ms. Nancy and the girls celebrated Earth Day a bit early in dance class.

In class, Ms. Nancy taught the girls certain yoga poses that had to do with Earth Day for their warm-ups: the Tree pose, the Seal pose, the Cat pose, etc. After warm-ups, the girls practiced improvising the cycle of a seed!

Villa Music News

The Villa Maria Academy Symphony will compete in the National Catholic Band Association this Saturday, April 21st at Villanova University. In previous years, the Villa Concert Band has received consistent ratings of “Excellent” at this competition. This is the first time Villa is competing as a Symphony (Winds, Brass and Strings together as one group). Villa may, in fact, be the only school to perform as a Symphony, as we are one of (if not THE only school) that has an in house Symphony Orchestra.

On Saturday, April 21st, Katie Murray, Madison Leiman and Lydia Kao will represent Villa Maria Academy at the Archdiocesan Elementary String Festival.

The Villa Music Program will also be offering summer lessons this year. The lessons are open to anyone, even if they are not in the band/strings or even if they’re not in the school (brothers, friends, family, etc). Contact the Main Office for more details.

Helping Villa, Helping Others

During the month of April, Villa Brownie Troop #4435 will be collecting new and gently loved toys. The Brownies will sort the toys and our very own Villa Pre-School will benefit from the selection. All of the remaining toys for older children or those not able to be used by the pre-school will be organized and donated to several local charities. Make sure to check the Villa Communications Envelope for more information about what, when, and where to drop off your items.

Dance Showcase

Congratulations to all the Villa girls for their performances in the Dance Showcase the past two weeks! And a big round of applause to Ms. Nancy for all her hard work with the girls, and to the teachers for all their support and assistance.

Both age group performaces were wonderful! From the little ones graceful ballet dances, to the older girls hip hop dances, smiling faces and clapping hands were not shy in the gymnasium. The girls put so much of themselves into the dances, that you couldn't help but smile.

There were even some special performances from our After-School Dance groups and some of our more experienced performers.

Always special days, you can see how much the girls truly enjoy themselves as well as being up on stage to make others happy.

Grandparents and Special Persons Tea

This past Friday, the 1st Grade invited their grandparents or someone very special to them to Villa for an afternoon tea party.

The girls started out their afternoon giving presentations on how much they love their special guests and what they mean to them. Miss Patselas assisted the teachers with the PowerPoint presentations for the girls, and Sister Margaret taught the girls beautiful songs to sing to their guests.

After their presentations, the girls escorted their grandparents and special guests to the Motherhouse dining room, where there was a beautiful spread of tea sandwiches, bit sized treats, and desserts made escpecially by the 1st grade mothers, and of course, tea served in beautiful china tea cups!

Outside the dining room, the girls were able to take a photo with their special guests near a pretty little tea set. What a special treat for them to take home! It was a beautiful afternoon filled with hugs, kisses, food, songs, and lots of love.

Women's Day Fun

On Friday, Villa hosted its annual Women's Day career event. This year, the theme was Inspiring Women: An Exhibit.

Jamie Apody, Sports Reporter and Anchor on 6ABC News, was the keynote speaker. She spoke about her passion for sports and newscasting and how she did not allow the fact that she was one of only a few women in that field of work to discourage her from achieving her dreams. She said Villa was "one of the best schools she had ever spoken at." And she commented on the girls attentiveness and the quality of their questions.

Also in attendance was one of Villa's alums, Jessica Kara ('87), a Food Scientist for Just Born (makers of Peeps). It was the first time Villa had ever had a Food Scientist at Women's Day, and to make it even more special, knowing that Jessica was one of our own really impressed the girls. And even more excitement came about as she said good-bye to each girl and they were handed a bag a goodies from Just Born!

The girls were also very impressed by Web Creator, Mary Bingham, Award Winning Author, Jane Kirkland, Founder of Spa Style, Janice Christian, Artist/Designer, Rebecca Raubacher, IHM Novice, Sister Melissa, and Fitness and Motivational Coach, Sarah Carkner.

We would like to thank all of these women, who gave up their time to show our girls what it means to be an inspiring women in today's world.

Fourth Graders Perform a Collaboration Activity

The 4th grade girls have been hard at work writing scripts and stage directions to perform scenes from “Maniac Magee” Part One. They had to collaborate with each other, be creative with props and costumes, and make sure their skit is accurate to their assigned scene in the story. The girls have been very engaged in this activity. They also have a stronger understanding of the story after completing this activity and performing their own skits and watching the skits of their peers.

Villa 8th Graders Win Writing Contest

Three 8th grade Villa students participated in a Teen Day Writing Contest organized by author, Beth Kephart, the author of one of their summer reading books. We are pleased to annouce that all three girls are the winners: Maria D., Celeste F., and Olivia McC. Ms. Kephart said, "In fact, they were the best three from all the schools and all the age groups." The girls were invited to attend a workshop at 1:30 on Saturday, March 24th at The Spiral Bookcase, a new independent bookstore in Manayunk. They were asked to invite their friends and family join them in the park in Manayunk at 3:00 so they could read their pieces, meet the authors, and meet the editor of the magazine, among other things. You can check out Beth Kephart's blog here: http://beth-kephart.blogspot.com/2012/02/anticipating-teen-day-in-manayunk-with.html

To read the girls' work, visit: http://thespiralbookcase.com/?p=646

Villa Sports Update

By: Jane McCool, Athletics Director

Taking a trip to Florida for the Phillies’ spring training is usually a dream come true for most people. The fact that baseball season is beginning certainly brings a smile to the faces of many, so to be a part of that excitement is amazing. But the other reason why people who go to spring training are in an enviable position is the fact that they get to travel some place warm and sunny.

Well, we needn’t travel south to find warm and sunny days in March!! We have our very own spring training weather right here in Pennsylvania!! And if you have been on our campus after dismissal for the past two weeks, you would agree that it’s definitely Spring Training time here at Villa. The driveway around school and the athletic fields have been taken over by our track, lacrosse, and softball teams. We are pleased to say that our spring sports program involves almost one hundred five of our students! Our coaches and athletes have been enjoying every minute of this wonderful weather, and are preparing for games and meets to begin. Be sure to check out our website for the dates of what are certain to be exciting events!!! Good luck to our teams!

Keep Little Ones Active After School with Gymnastics

One of the most overlooked sports is after school gymnastics. It may not be as popular as the other sports, however, gymnastics is a sport that can help your child develop flexibility, coordination, discipline, and build social skills. Your child does not need to be the next gymnastic star. This activity will help with exercise and coordination while also building social skills.

The girls who participate in the National Kids Gym, LLC after-school gymnastics program at Villa have been learning so much already since their first trimester began. Miss Jamie, the instructor, has been helping the girls to improve on many skills, such as handstands, backward rolls, bridges and pullovers on the bars. On the balance beam, the girls have learned to “hop like a bunny” down the beam while trying to stay on.

Eighth grade Villa student, Maria Dulin, has been assisting Miss Jamie with her instruction after school. "Having Maria there has been great for the girls. They get to know one of their "big sisters" at Villa a little better, Maria gets to learn how to help the girls improve their techniques, and it helps me to focus more one-on-one with each student during the class," says Jamie. "The girls have been doing so well, and I know it's because the small class size and Maria's help allows for more time with each student."

This session is quickly coming to an end. The last day of class is April 2nd. The second session starts on April 16th. If you have any questions, contact Jamie at Nationalkidsgym@gmail.com.

Four Villa Students Participate in 20th Annual Archdiocesan Choral Festival

Best of luck and congratulations to the four 5th Grade Music students who will be participating in the 20th Annual Archdiocesan Choral Festival. The Concert for the public will be on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 at Archbishop Carroll High School, Radnor at 7:00 pm and will last about an hour. It is very entertaining and suitable for children of all ages. Tickets are $5.00.

The four girls have been working since January to memorize the music and the lyrics to the eight compositions which must be known perfectly when they go to Archbishop Carroll on the 3rd of April. The day of the festival, the conductor will teach the girls movements to make the experience for the audience aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, as well as the ears.

The four girls representing VILLA are: E. Joey C., Kaitlin D., Josephine H., and Anna L.

Villa Sports Update

By: Jane McCool, Athletics Director

Although the trees are budding, and spring is in the air,
there’s one more winter sports team whose story I’d like to share.
The team is Varsity Basketball – Girls Catholic Academy League
Their story is amazing!! It’s news that’s really BIG!

Together since November, through practices and games,
they earned a reputation … made for themselves a name.
This Varsity group of eleven played every game with heart,
they reached the goal they’d set for themselves before the season’s start.

They wanted to be the best “team” that anyone had ever seen
They wanted to inspire, and to realize their dream:
which was to win their contests, but much, much more than that,
to do so with integrity, with sportsmanship, with class.

They won the Christmas Tournament, finished at Gettysburg near the top,
won every regular season game and proved they just could not be stopped.
Breezing through the semi-finals, to the Championship game they went
and through those exciting quarters, every ounce of energy spent.

Regular Season Champions and Playoff Champs, as well,
of them we couldn’t be prouder, this success story we’re happy to tell.
They’re a team to be admired, congratulated too
To our GCAL Varsity, we’re extremely proud of you!!!

Eighth Graders Recognized for Receiving High School Scholarships

Congratulations to the following 8th graders for their scholarships to High School:

Academy of Notre Dame:
Catherine Cullen - Academic
Casey McCoy - Academic

Country Day School of the Sacred Heart:
Gabrielle Heinsinger - Academic
Madison Leiman - Music
Lydia Kao - Academic

Villa Maria Academy:
Olivia McCloskey - Academic/Music
Catherine Cullen - Academic
Laura Zecca - Academic
Lydia Kao - Music
Abigail Cashel - Academic
Madeline Hughes - Academic
Casey McCoy - Academic

Westtown School:
Laura Zecca - Academic

Villa Forensics Students Awarded for their Accomplishments in Speech

Congratulations to Madeline Gilbertson, who won 1st Place in Prose and Liz McKenzie, who won 3rd Place in Poetry at the Ancillae Assumpta Academy Speech Tournament on Saturday, March 10th.

Jamie Apody To Be Keynote Speaker at Women's Day

Did you hear the great news? Jamie Apody, Action News Sports Reporter/Anchor, will be the keynote speaker at Villa Maria Academy's annual Women's Day event on March 23rd.

Jamie came to the Action News Sports team from , after her position as the Sports Director at KDBC in El Paso, Texas. Jamie was named the 2005 Sportscaster of the Year by El Paso Inc. and was one of their most honored sports journalists.

We are lucky to have Jamie join our event and bring her expertise in Sports Journalism and her enthusiam for sports in general to Villa Maria Academy's young women.

Fifth Grade State Show

The fifth graders have been working hard the past few weeks researching and practicing for the annual State Show. Presenting their research on the 50 states in the U.S. by region, the girls even incorporated video technology into their presentation this year. Each video introduced a new region of the U.S., and then the girls got up on stage to present the rest. Complete with song and dance numbers, there was a lot of swinging going on in the Villa Maria Academy gymnasium this afternoon. Ending with a beautiful rendition of 'God Bless America,' the girls put on a fabulous performance for their classmates. A big thank you to Mrs. Wible and Mrs. Veneziale for all their hard work as well.

Villa Girls Take First Place in Penn State Baton Competition

The Annual Penn State Blue Sapphire Baton Competition was this past weekend. Russells Baton Twirlers Megan B. and Ava S. both placed 1st overall, in their respective age group for the Individual 3-part Blue Sapphire Classic. The girls have been working very hard and learning a great deal this year.

Five Girls Awarded at the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science

Five girls took part in the PJAS (Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science) this weekend at ET Richardson Middle School: Devi took First Place, and Grace, Dana, Shaelyn, and Olivia all took Second Place for their presentations. Devi will go on to Penn State in May to give her presentation again. "The students choose their own topics and using transparencies and notecards, gave presentations of 10 minutes or less," said Mr. Miller, facilitator of the PJAS group. "I am so proud of them for their accomplishments." Congratulations girls!

Middle School Fitness Club

Beginning March 15th, Miss Rufo will be starting a Middle School Fitness Club. Classes will be held on Thursdays after school during the third trimester and is open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students.

The fitness program will be geared towards the middle school students. Some of the exercises will include: Pilates, Total Strength, Kickboxing, Interval Training, Cardio, and Zumba.

If your daughter is interested in staying fit and having fun with her friends, sign her up today!

Jump Rope for Heart

This week in PE class, Miss Murnane is doing a program with the girls called Jump Rope for Heart. This is the Second Annual Jump Rope for Heart event at Villa Maria. Jump Rope for Heart is a great event to help raise awareness for basic heart health. With heart disease ranking as the number one killer among women in the United States, it is important that our girls learn now how to keep their hearts healthy. To keep the event fun and low stress for all we are just asking for a simple one dollar donation from every girl, so that Villa Maria can help add to the American Heart Association’s research. Every girl is automatically registered to win a prize at the end of the week. Any girl who attempts and completes a Jump Rope for Heart Challenge will receive an additional name in the drawing.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Miss Tricia Murnane at tmurnane@villamaria.org

Artist of the Month

Mrs. Sturm began “Artist of the Month” in September 2011, with the purpose of giving recognition to those students who extend great effort in their production of a particular art piece. The monthly display gives evidence of exactly what each class has worked on during their art time. “Since there are many student who strive to do their best here at Villa, it is not difficult to choose a different student each month,” said Mrs. Sturm. It is important to note that the display doesn’t necessarily highlight the most talented artists, but rather those artists who have worked hard to produce their own best work.

The month of February showcased much of the art the girls created for the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Art Contest. The following girls artworks are on display:

Grade 8 – Grace Kuroki – African Art
Grade 7 – Rachael Kinmartin – Asian Art
Grade 6 – Olivia Mason – Tessellation
Grade 5 – Amanda McGurk – Mexican Art
Grade 4 – Tara Watson – Celtic Art
Grade 3 – Alexis Ocampo – Native American Art
Grade 2 – Amanda Seneca – Byzantine Art
Grade 1 – Julia Youakim – Greek Art
KA – Elle McCarthy – Egyptian Art
KB – Rylon O’Donnell – Egyptian Art

The Kindergarteners especially enjoyed creating their “Egyptian Princesses!” The medium used for these pieces was oil pastel.

To all our Villa artists, keep up the good work!

VMA Sports Update

By: Jane McCool

As the month of February draws to a close, our fourth of five basketball teams has wrapped up its season. The hopes and dreams of an amazing group of girls have been realized. Back in November, our CYO Varsity basketball team began practicing, and set out to accomplish two things: be successful and have fun. During the next three months, this team would work toward that goal and achieve, in the process, something wonderful. Villa’s CYO Varsity team was definitely successful, but more importantly, developed and deepened a team spirit that was evident in their enjoyment of every practice and game.

During the course of the season, Villa posted only one league loss and headed into the post-season tournament at the top of the standings. We faced the one of the toughest teams in the first round of playoffs and came away with the win; round two resulted in a decisive victory, advancing us to the semi-final game; and a win there sealed the deal to assure an appearance in the championship game. It was a see-saw battle for three quarters of play until we stormed into the fourth quarter to take the win. Congratulations to our Champions! Thanks for providing us with great basketball and also great example of working together as a team to achieve a goal.

World Class Tae Kwon Do at Villa Maria Academy

Here is an after school program that not only teaches children important character and life skills, but benefits your school, too!
The World Class Kids course will be holding after school courses for children K-5, in which students will be introduced to basic martial arts and the positive character traits they teach. The black belt instructors from Master P’s World Class Tae Kwon Do Centers have volunteered their time to the program, and all proceeds as a result are donated to the school hosting the course. Five classes cost $20 total, followed by a graduation ceremony.

Villa Girls Participate in Twirl Mania International Competition

Among the after-school activities offered here at Villa Maria Academy is the wonderful opportunity to participate in Baton Twirling. Tammy Russell brought the program to Villa Maria several years ago, and we are extremely grateful! Recently, four of our students represented Villa Maria Academy in the Russell School of Baton’s appearance in the Twirl Mania International Competition held at the Disney Wide World Of Sports Arena in Orlando, Florida.

Our very own Megan Bradley, Ava Sulkowski, Mikaela Juskalian, and Mikenzie Juskalian were on the Junior Twirl team that received second place medals for their performance. Megan and Ava also received medals for their amazing work in the solo division. The senior team from the Russell School became the 2012 International Dance Twirl Champions, while Miss Tammy and Miss Holly captured the 2012 Freestyle pairs championship. This was an incredible opportunity for our girls, as well as a wonderful honor for the Russell School of Baton. This success represents a great deal of hard work on the part of coaches and team members. Villa Maria Academy is proud to recognize the accomplishments of our girls, and we are grateful to and for the Russell School of Baton.

Lenten Practice

This past Wednesday, Lent began with our Ash Wednesday prayer service at Villa. For the classroom Lenten prayer practice this year, Villa students and their teachers will be praying for the schools in our area that are affected by the Blue Ribbon Commission results. Each classroom will “adopt” one of these schools to use as the center for their prayers. Each class will write a letter to their “adopted” school simply stating that they will be praying for the school and their faculty and staff during this season of Lent. Each week, during your Stations of the Cross, each class will include a prayer for their “adopted” school. Sister Margaret has written a beautiful pray for each classroom to use during this time. The “adopted” schools will also be included in each class’s intentions throughout the day.

Researching Native Americans

Our third grade has been working hard on their research for their Native American Habitat project for the past several months. It is a hands-on collaborative project in which the girls work in groups and research different habitats of the Native Americans. During the course of this project, the girls and their teachers also decorate the third grade wing to resemble the Native American Habitat. They have already begun their decorating and we are so excited to see the completion of this project. Check back for more soon!

Villa Sports Update

Congratulations to our GCAL Junior Varsity Basketball Team!! As you know, our teams are wrapping up their seasons, and the latest to finish is this terrific group of fifth and sixth graders. They have given us yet another reason to celebrate. Our Girls Catholic Academy League Junior Varsity squad finished their amazing season at the top of the standings and earned the title of 2012 Champions. Posting only one loss in regular season play, they did more than achieve a championship … they went from good to great during their months together. In a recent reading, I came across this: “A community spirit enables young people to achieve their best and perform at their highest levels of mental and physical ability while teaching the lesson that the team achieves together.” This group of girls has been an inspiration, as they set a goal for themselves at the beginning of the season and worked tirelessly to achieve it. We are proud of our GCAL JV team and thank them for the manner in which they rose to the top!

Professional Development: Learning to Change Mindsets

Last Thursday, February 16th, one of our Instructional Technology Coaches, Miss Patselas, had a wonderful opportunity to attend a webinar titled, “Changing Mindsets, Motivating Students”. This webinar focused on tools and strategies for teachers to help with the wide range of studen’t learning needs and levels of preparedness. The presenter, Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., a renowned psychologist and author of Mindset: The New Science of Success, discussed how teachers can use new discoveries in cognitive development to improve student motivation and engagement. Miss Patselas is just finishing her book as part of her professional development reading and was very excited to hear her speak about how she applies her book to the classroom.

Dr. Dweck discussed how there are two types of mindsets, fixed and growth. A fixed mindset is when intelligence is a fixed trait and there is no room to learn. A growth mindset is when intelligence is a malleable quality; a potential that can be developed. Finally, she gave many examples of how this applies to students and how to develop a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset, such as proper praising and the power of yet, as in “I might not be able to solve this problem yet, but I will figure it out!” She has found that students who believe intelligence is a fixed quality as more likely to avoid challenging tasks, while students who believe intelligence can be developed with effort tend to be more successful.

Miss Patselas enjoyed the webinar and found it to be very beneficial to help students develop more of a growth mindset of learning and not to get stuck in a fixed mindset.

A Fresh, New Look

All blackboards in K, 1, 2, Music, and Dance Rooms will be resurfaced beginning Friday, February 17th. All blackboards will be replaced with Whiteboards in these rooms to help bring classrooms up to the standards that Villa holds.

Villa Sports Update

By: Jane McCool
“One person practicing sportsmanship is better than a hundred teaching it.” This is quite a timely quotation from Knute Rockne, as it applies to experience this past weekend. Our Junior Varsity CYO teams appeared in the Region 17 playoff tournament, and what impressed me the most was the manner in which they played the games. More important that any of their wins was the quality of their sportsmanship, and they are to be commended for their performance in the games. “Catholic school sportsmanship is characterized by honesty, integrity, good judgment, love of competition, cheerfulness, self-control in defeat, and unending graciousness in victory.” Their months of practicing and playing games together resulted in a success that cannot be measured. They were successful because they played as a unit, understanding that “the success of the group is more important than the celebrity of the individual.” Congratulations to our CYO JV Blue and CYO JV White teams and their coaches! Thank you for representing each of us at Villa Maria Academy.

Student Recognized by Amateur Athletics Union

Abigail Cashel in 8A has been recognized by the Amateur Athletics Union for her track and cross country efforts and is featured in the 2011 edition of “The Best Athletes of the AAU”. In addition to participating in her parish CYO track and cross country teams, Abby has received several awards for placing in her age group at various 5K events. Congratulations, Abby!

Villa Maria Academy First Grade Tweeting

Villa Maria Academy Lower School first grade students are using the latest trends in social media to communicate with parents and teachers by tweeting at the end of each day using Audioboo, a mobile and web platform that effortlessly allows you to record and share file for the rest of the world to hear. Each day, the girls choose a class reporter to represent the class and their learning experiences during the school day. The students not only have the opportunity to utilize technology from an early age, but they have the opportunity to experience an authentic way of practicing speaking and writing skills. Communicating with others using social media is an important part of our society for these little digital natives, and at Villa Maria the girls are immersed in these forms of communication on a daily basis. The first grade class class has an Audioboo account that is linked to a class Twitter account. Mrs. Long, the first grade teacher, invites parents to follow the girls’ experiences via Twitter to see how well they are progressing.

Villa Student Wins Champion of Service Award

Congratulations to Natasha Walters, who participated in the College Prep Invitational (CPI) at the 2012 Wellington Equestrian Festival. There were 175 riders from across the country who participated from grades 8-12. She was one of the youngest participants. She placed third in jumping in her class. She also won the CPI Champion of Service Award for her community service and GPA. She won $750 in scholarship money for college.

Student Achievements in Music

The Archdiocesan Honor Band (Grades 6-8) and Archdiocesan Festival Band (Grades 4-5) are audition-only ensembles that showcase the best musicians from the entire Archdiocese. With the help of Mr. Hemsley’s instruction, our Villa girls all placed in the top 3 spots in their instruments. Shannon Smith (French horn) was in Honor Band, Olivia Cipperman (1st Clarinet, 3rd chair) and Jordan Rudy (1st Saxophone, 2nd chair) are in the Festival Band. The Honor Band concert was held last Friday (the 3rd) at Pope John Paul II High School, and the Festival Band concert will Sunday, February 12th, 4:30pm, at Archbishop Prendergast High School. The girls are expected to learn the audition material and concert material on their own, and be ready to play when they report to rehearsal (there are only two or three rehearsals of the entire group before the concert). All participants involved in the bands, as well as their instructors work very hard for this achievement. The bands are a wonderful opportunity to meet and befriend other student musicians from the Archdiocese and to improve as an ensemble musician, learn new repertoire, and most importantly have fun.

The Archdiocesan String Orchestra is an orchestra comprised of players of Violin, Viola, Cello and Bass who come from the Archdiocesan Elementary Schools. Acceptance is by appointment only and past students have performed in the Kimmel Center. This year’s Orchestra will take part in a string festival which ends with a gala performance in the Spring. With the help of Miss Mello’s instruction, the following Villa girls will be participating in the performance: Lydia Kao, Violin, Madison Leiman, Violin and Katharine Murray, Violin attending.

Congratulations to all of our musicians and thank you to Mr. Hemsley and Miss Mello for their attentive instruction.

Catholic School's Week Fun

What a week! Excitement and laughter flooded the building from all angles. Beginning with a beautiful Charism Mass on Sunday displaying the togetherness of St. Aloysius and Villa Maria, and ending in a fun-filled game of basketball, Catholic School’s Week proved to be a success.

Presenters from The Crime Victim’s Center of Chester County visit to talk to the girls about self-respect, respecting others, cyber bullying and other topics of concern for the Anti-Bullying Program. John Cassidy, Magician and Entertainer, visited on Thursday and had balloon animals and magic tricks that really entertained the girls. Taffy’s birthday was also celebrated on Thursday at lunch and all Taffy’s friends were there to commemorate the occasion. The Annual House Volleyball Game returned again this year on Friday, and St. Maria Goretti House won the Taffy Trophy. The girls enjoyed a wonderful halftime show with the Russell School of Baton girls, as they did a rendition to Proud Mary, and Ms. Nancy’s Theatrical Dance Group performed to Zip a Dee Doo Dah. There was a successful middle school flash mob to Party Rock Anthem, which even surprised Sister Mary Ellen, followed by the culminating event of the day (and the week), the Student-Teacher Volleyball Game won by 8B and the B classroom teachers.

Thank you for all who played a part in organizing the week and all who were present to celebrate it! Here’s to next year!

Villa Baton Twirlers Go To DisneyWorld

We want to wish our Villa Baton Twirlers Ava, Megan, Micheala and Mickenizie good luck as they will be twirling in their first ever international event held in Diney World, Florida...Way to go!

Villa Girl Scouts Win 100th Anniversary Badge Contest

Congratulations to girl Scout Cadette Troop 41159 (Leaders: Beverly Buckta, Patti Cramer, Peggy Doran) for their winning design for the Girl Scout Service Unit Patch. The sixth grade girls in this troop are from Villa Maria Academy, Montgomery School, and St Peter and Paul.

Before entering the contest, the girls worked as a team and brainstormed various ideas. Ryan Doran, Sydney Porreca, and Isabella Astolfi started brainstorming about how important this patch is during this 100th Birthday Celebration year of Juliette Low – when Girl Scouts all started. Julianna Mattei, Alexa Clarke, and Abigail Buckta started talking about how things have changed for girls through time and the impact of Girl Scouts. Christina Cramer, Miranda Bedics, Gigi Harris, and Gabrielle O’Leary all talked about the impact of one lady on the world. Next thing you know the girls came up with an idea of drawing the world with a single Girl Scout standing on it casting her pink shadow across it just as each one of them can make a big difference in the world. They all started to draw and quickly recognized the artistic skills of Gabrielle O’Leary. A quick vote was cast and Gabby was nominated to make the Troop’s brainstorm come to life!

In the end, the girls created a great interpretation of how Girl Scouts are in every part of the world and how they leave their mark!! The girls in Troop 41159 will be honored and presented with a pizza party award at the Service Unit’s GS 100th Year Birthday Event where close to 300 Girl Scouts are expected to attend. Many girls will soon be wearing this patch, so be on the lookout for it and don’t forget to congratulate our group of creative thinkers!

Villa Sports Update

We are heading down the final stretch in our winter sports of basketball and swimming.

Our swim team, 2012 GCAL Champions, wrap up the season with two final meets this week. What a success story this season has been!!

As for our basketball teams ... Our GCAL JV team is currently in first place with two games left to play; our GCAL Varsity team, also with two games remaining, has an undefeated record and heads into the playoffs as the number one seed; our CYO Varsity team has posted one loss, has one game yet to play, and heads into playoffs in a top-seeded position; our CYO JV teams have completed their regular season play and done so quite successfully. They head into playoffs this weekend.

As we conclude the regular season games and meets, we traditionally recognize our eighth grade team members. This week, we are enjoying the privilege of expressing gratitude to a phenomenal group of eighth graders. We thank them for their leadership and sportsmanship. What they have contributed to their teams, on and off the court, in and out of the pool, cannot be measured. We are so proud of our eighth graders and congratulate them on a job well done!!!

Good luck to our teams and coaches in post-season play!!

Villa Maria Academy Bullying Prevention Program

Villa Maria Academy is aware of the importance of fostering a safe environment for the girls from an early age. They have taken the initiative of creating a bully-free program that is geared towards all students. The program first started five years ago when a mother of a student who had experienced bullying at her previous school contacted Villa Maria’s nurse. Noreen Flemming, the school nurse, who always cares for the girl’s health and well-being, took the initiative to call the Crime Victim’s Center to come speak to the girls about the issue of bullying. The Crime Victim’s Center of Chester County’s mission is to reduce the effects of sexual assault and other crimes on victims, witnesses, and family members through direct services, prevention/education, and counseling. The Prevention/Education Department aims to educate the community about the needs of victims, as well as a way to reduce the risk of victimization.

The program lasts for a week, usually during Catholic School’s Week, and two presenters come directly to each individual classroom at different scheduled times to talk to the girls about self-respect, respecting others, cyber bullying and other topics of concern among young people. Each presenter talks about issues concerning each individual age group using different techniques such as role-playing scenarios. These presentations make girls aware of the importance of a bully-free environment. The girls are very enthusiastic about learning about this topic, asking questions to the presenters, and afterwards giving their feedback to their teachers and the nurse.

Villa and Malvern Prep Perform Disney's Aladdin Jr.

Middle schoolers from Villa Maria Academy and Malvern Prep performed Disney's "Aladdin Junior" this past weekend Januaru 27-29 with the Malvern Theatre Society. The students performed for both middle school classes on Thursday, and their opening performances for the public were on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Villa's Ashleigh Jaramillo touched hearts as she sang "A Whole New World" while gliding across the stage on the flying magic carpet with Aladdin (Malvern's Christian Frank). And Casey McCoy lit up the stage (no pun intended) as this Aladdin's female version of the Genie.

Congratulations to all who participated for their fantastic performances! And a big thanks to Mrs. Velardi for her work with Jim Fry from Malvern to direct this special performance.

KA and KB: Exploring Their Future

While their graduation is still many years away, twenty-three smart and adorable young ladies are exploring different career paths with the "When I Grow Up" project. These ladies surely will not have any trouble choosing opportunities that will make them successful; each of them possesses unique qualities and a Villa Maria Academy education that is second to none.

With the help of the parents, KA and KB students will be exposed to numerous career opportunities during the first three months of the year.

Regardless of what these future women end up pursuing professionally, they will assume very successful leadership and service roles withing the family, the local and global community and the universal Church, per Villa Maria Academy's mission.

Photo: Girls learning what it takes to be a chef.

Marine Scientist Visits VMA

On Friday, January 13th, marine scientist Dr. Ellen Prager interacted with the 6th grade via Skype from her home in Florida. Dr. Prager answered questions from the students and spoke of her various experiences exploring the ocean floor.

You can visit the sixth grade science blog at http://mrscoceanexplorers.blogspot.com

Geography Bee Winner

The National Geographic Geography Bee was held on Thursday, January 5 at Villa Maria. Contestants for the bee were representative of grades 5-8. After two rounds of intense questioning, the final round determined the 2012 Winner, Laura Zecca, Grade 8. Runner-up was Grace Buck, Grade 6. Miss Kristin Thomas coordinated the event, assisted by Mrs. Betty Veneziale, Miss Jennifer Devine, and Miss Mary Gratton.

Villa Maria Academy’s Visit to Villa Open House will be held on January 11

Villa Maria Academy’s Visit to Villa Open House will be held on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.

Visit to Villa will allow you to meet our students and teachers, as well as an opportunity to experience:
• Guided Tours With Students
• Classroom Demonstrations
• The ONLY iPad Program for Young Women in the Area – EACH Kindergarten classroom has 10 iPads to use as centers
• 1:1 Netbooks in our Middle School - EVERY Middle School Student Engages in learning through use of A netbook

Parking Available in Visitors’ Lot in the rear of the Academy. You will be directed from there.

The main presentation will take place in the Projection Room at 9:30 a.m.

If you have any questions about Visit to Villa, or anything else regarding admission to Villa Maria Academy then please call Ms. Jane McCool, Admissions Director, by phone at (610) 644-4864 ext.100 or email her at jmccool@villamaria.org.

http://www.villamaria.org/vm.asp?page_name=admissions_visit

VMA Resource for iPads

If you bought your daughter an IPAD or ITOUCH for Christmas and are discouraged because it does not support Flash.....we have the app for you.

Download the free app called Rover. Rover is a web browser (like Safari or Chrome)set up for children.....so if you go to the First In Math site through Rover the Flash will work. It is a browser that makes going to the internet safe for children.

For adults, you can download the app ISWIFTER and if you need to access a video or web site that uses Flash, the Flash will work. So if you want to watch a movie from Amazon...access by using the ISWIFTER browser.

Villa in Sports

JV Girls Basketball Wins Holiday Tournament

The CYO JV girls basketball team won the SS. Philip & James Santa Hoops Holiday Tournament! Click here for more.

GCAL JV Basketball
The GCAL JV girls finished at the top of their bracket! Congrats!

GCAL Varsity Team Championship Game New Year's Day
The Varsity girls basketball team participated in the IHM Delaware tournament and brought home a championship trophy. Congrats!

Good luck to our GCAL teams in today's games at Waldron Mercy Academy.

Villa Swim Team Won Meet Yesterday
The Villa Swim team won yesterday's meet against Waldron Mercy Academy. Congrats girls! It was a terrific team effort.

Geographic Bee at Villa

On Thursday afternoon, January 5, the Geography Bee will be held for grades 4-8. There is a preliminary round held within the classrooms before Christmas, and the listed students are their homerooms’ winning contestants. Each of these contestants will compete on January 5th to determine who will be the winner from the school wide bee. The winner will then take a written test, and if she qualifies (is within the top 100 scoring students based on the test), she will represent Villa at the state competition, held in the spring.

Catie Cullen won the school competition, qualified within the top 100 students, and represented Villa in the State Competition in 2011 in State College.

Villa JV Girls Team Wins Holiday Basketball Tournament!!

The JV girls basketball team won the SS. Philip & James Santa Hoops Holiday Tournament. They played in the championship game on December 30th, defeating St. Cornelius 19-18. The girls went undefeated, going 4-0 through the tournament.

The team won the December 29th semi-final game in triple overtime to advance to the championship game. You cannot imagine how exciting this game was, with both teams going back and forth right down to the last seconds. They truly deserved the victory with how hard they played.

Congratulations go out to: Carly Brogan, Mary DeSimone, Nikki Klien, Julia Samar, Mackenzie Smith, Anna Bozzi, Ryan Doran, Mabel Hannah, Julianna Mattei, Marianna Gattuso, Madison Sautner, Sammi Smith, Gabi O'Leary, Mickala Devlin.

Tech and Learning Magazine Honors Sister Mary Ellen Tennity, IHM

Sister Mary Ellen Tennity, IHM has been named as a runner-up in the Leader of the Year Contest sponsored by Tech and Learning magazine. Sister was nominated for her visionary leadership particularly in the area of technology implementation and integration. Congratulations, Sister Mary Ellen! We are so proud! Sister Mary Ellen continues to model effective leadership qualities that she teaches the students daily.

http://www.techlearning.com/article/52050

Christmas Pageant

Each Christmas season, the Villa community gathers in Sacred Heart Chapel to celebrate the miracle of Jesus' birth. Led by the eighth grade, choir, and handbells, the Christmas Pageant allows everyone to pause and witness the wonder of the season. We encourage you to take a break from the hectic holiday season to come and experience the wonder of the Christmas Story. We hope to see you there!

Christmas Pageant
Thursday, December 15, 2011
1:30 p.m. for Students
7:00 p.m. for Parents and Guests

Computer Programming for Seventh Grade

Computer Programming for Seventh Grade
Mrs. Dow and Mr. Miller will soon be working with the seventh grade on a technology project in the area of computer programming. The language used with the students will be "basic." The project will begin after the new year and help the girls to advance their technology skills.

8th Grade Chemists

8th Grade Chemists
In chemistry class the eighth grade girls are testing the effects of sodium hydroxide on strands of hair. They are learning how the bonds of hydrogen and sulfur are broken down in the hair which then makes it curl. Then, they will be using another acetic acid to reverse the curl to the hair therey reforming the sulfur bonds. They will learn that hair is made of polypeptide chains and that it is the inner cortext that is affected by perm solution. They will be using a microscope the analyze the hair at a closer level. This is not an unusual lesson for Villa eighth graders. Working hands-on with real chemicals is part of their curriculum. These girls are shaping their futures in the world of science.In chemistry class the eighth grade girls are testing the effects of sodium hydroxide on strands of hair. They are learning how the bonds of hydrogen and sulfur are broken down in the hair which then makes it curl. Then, they will be using another acetic acid to reverse the curl to the hair therey reforming the sulfur bonds. They will learn that hair is made of polypeptide chains and that it is the inner cortext that is affected by perm solution. They will be using a microscope the analyze the hair at a closer level. This is not an unusual lesson for Villa eighth graders. Working hands-on with real chemicals is part of their curriculum. These girls are shaping their futures in the world of science.

AREUFIT Smoking Prevention Program

On Tuesday, the AREUFIT Smoking Prevention Program, offered by AREUFIT Health Services, Inc., an Independence Blue Cross affiliate, visited Villa Maria to educate the fifth grade on smoking prevention. This is the eighth year that Villa has participated in the program. It is a smoking prevention program that coincides with the D.A.R.E. program that the fifth grade just completed last week, so it was a nice tie-in. Villa alumna, Natalie Burke ('03), is one of the instructors for AREUFIT Health Services and was present to help educate the girls. "It was nice to see a friendly face," said Nurse Flemming. Natalie was the Vice President of her class at Villa and is now a graduate of the University of Scranton. She hopes to continue her education to get her masters and work in the health and wellness field in the future. Thank you to Natalie for "giving back" to Villa. Now our girls can go out and "give back" to their communities all they have learned about smoking prevention.

The Annual Fund

The Annual Fund supports our top priorities and makes an immediate difference in the day-to-day life of our students and faculty. The key to a successful Annual Fund is a broad base of participation. Our goal is 100% participation! Your gift, in any amount, is vital to ensuring Villa Maria's bright future. Together, we can make a difference!

If you still wish to make a donation before the end of the tax year, it's not too late! Your donation may be made online or by mailing in the Commitment Form that was mailed home.

As each donation comes in, a footprint will be placed on the wall with the donor or family name. It is our hope to fill the wall by the end of the campaign year.

If you should have any questions about sending in a donation, or donating online, please contact Erin Tornambe at etornambe@villamaria.org, or (610) 644-4864 x107.

Congratulations to...

Our GCAL Varsity Basketball Team who was runner-up in their tournament.

Congratulations to...

Our Blue Rocks Holiday Card Contest Winners: Caroline Brown in 5th grade and Cara Wankmiller in 3rd grade.

Annual Fund Update

Week 4 is upon us and we are now at $18,525. Thank you to all our generous families who have such big hearts. Your gifts are ensuring your daughter's future success.

Above is a chart tracking the progress from each class. 6A is in the lead. 'Tis the season of giving! Even a little goes a long way!

As each donation comes in, a footprint will be placed on the wall with the donor or family name. It is our hope to fill the wall by the end of the campaign year.

Check our Goal Thermometer by clicking here.

If you should have any questions about sending in a donation, or donating online, please contact Erin Tornambe at etornambe@villamaria.org, or (610) 644-4864 x107.

Christmas Bazaar Giving Tree

As the holiday approaches, the Villa Maria girls are taking the opportunity to help the less fortunate with their generosity. The Christmas Bazaar Giving Tree was open on Monday, December 5th and each girl was asked to bring in a gift for a boy or girl in need. The day of the Christmas Bazaar, the stage had a beautiful tree with the presents that each girl donated.

Together the Villa Maria community is making Christmas a little brighter for less fortunate families in the Delaware Valley. Partnering with The Delaware Valley Children's Charity on this project and the Villa Angels program has been an amazing experience for our girls. This local organization works with dozen of human service agencies throughout the Delaware Valley. And we are so fortunate to be working with them. What ties us closer is that the program was co-founded by a Villa mom. And a big thank you to Miss Patselas for organizing the event. We are hopeful that this year's Villa Angels and Giving Tree Programs will help each of the girls to understand the true meaning of this blessed season.

D.A.R.E. Graduation

Today, the 5th grade girls received their certificates for D.A.R.E. graduation. Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons taught from Kindergarten through 12th grade.

The D.A.R.E. program is more than just drug prevention education; it 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. curricula integrates the latest in research-based strategies into the world's largest and most effective educational delivery network----D.A.R.E.

Congratulations to all our graduates! And thank you girls for being such good leaders in your communities.

Girls on the Run 5K

On Sunday, December 4th, the sixteen Villa girls in grades 3, 4, and 5 that participated in Girls on the Run, ran their 5K at Downingtown West High School. We would like to congratulate these girls for all their hard work and dedication this season. They did fantastic! And thank you to Patty Heppelmann, Tricia Murnane, and all the coaches for encouraging the girls and making the program such a success! Girls on the Run is an after-school program that inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident, using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.

Providing a Safe Environment

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes - Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes - Eyes and Ears and Mouth and Nose - Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes!!!!

Wondering what that song has to do with our curriculum? Ask one of our First or Second Grade Students and they might tell you about the lesson Miss Murnane just taught them on Safe Environments, Trusted Adults, and NO, GO, TELL. These are all parts of the Archdiocesan Safe Environment/Safe Touching curriculum that we have been teaching the last two weeks in all grade levels. First grade, Second Grade, and our Middle School have completed these lessons with Miss Murnane and their Religion teacher already. By next Tuesday we will have completed every grade level. Though this is a very serious topic and at times an uncomfortable one to talk about, the girls have been very receptive and cooperative with all the information. At the end of each lesson Miss Murnane has encouraged the girls to continue the conversation with their parents and other trusted adults in their lives.

Internet Safety Training

Mrs. Dow taught the 7th grade a unit on Internet Safety and then the girls helped her present to grades 3-6. They played videos, performed skits, and presented information in 5 areas including: privacy, viruses, netiquette, cyberbullying, and social networking.

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English at all levels of education. Each year, NCTE provides an opportunity for teachers to continue their professional growth during a weekend long conference in which they are immersed in information sessions, networking opportunities and meet and greets with various authors. Villa Maria was able to send Miss Rufo and Miss Gratton, two of our middle school teachers, to this conference. They attended many valuable sessions on literacy education. Furthermore, our teachers met renowned authors such as: James Patterson, James Dashner, Nicholas Sparks and Laurie Halse Anderson. Miss Rufo and Miss Gratton are excited to share what they have learned with their colleagues and to begin implementing these practices into their classrooms.

Holiday Hope for Heroes

For their service project, the third-fifth grade girls of Girls on the Run wrote heartfelt letters of thanks and happiness to a soldier for the holidays. The soldier, who is stationed in Afghanistan, is a close friend of Ms. Murnane (a Girls on the Run coach) The girls were really excited about this project and not only were the letters hopeful of his return, but the girls explained how happy he should be that he is a hero and that so many people are praying for him. Ms. Murnane will ship the letters out as a holiday care package, as our hero will not be coming home for the holidays. We are so grateful to all those who protect our country and have given so much so we can live safely.

Why Choose a Girl's School?

For one thing, girls at single-sex schools are more likely to explore non-traditional courses. Girls at single-sex schools have more diverse role models of their own sex. At an all-girls' school, the most amazing "computer geek" is a girl, the student council president is a girl, and the top scorer on the math exam is always a girl, the best athletes are girls, etc. That experience tells younger girls, it is OK to excel in math, sports, and girls can be really smart with computers too!

We have added a page on Villa's website under Admissions so you can see just why choosing a girls' school was the right choice for your daughter.

Flamenco Dancing

On Thursday, December 1st, the Seventh Grade girls of Villa will be attending a Latin American Festival with their Spanish Teacher, Senora Maria, and their dance teacher, Miss Nancy Santamaria. The event will take place in the Alumnae Hall Theater at Immaculata University. Senora Maria and Miss Nancy will be taking the girls to this festival so they can have a more hands-on experience to learn about different clothes and dances, as they are learning about these in their classrooms. They will be talking about the art of Flamenco dancing and some other Folklore dances. This cultural event is a great opportunity for the girls to immerse themselves in another culture.

Second Grade Thanksgiving Play

On Monday, November 21, the Second Grade students at Villa Maria put on a Thanksgiving Play for the Kindergarten Class. Dressed in pilgrim bonnets and indian headdresses, the girls recited poems and things they learned about the first Thanksgiving, which each began with the letter of the alphabet that they were holding.

First Grade Hosts Thanksgiving Feast

On Tuesday, November 21st, with the help of their teachers and a few dedicated parent volunteers, the first grade students at Villa Maria Academy hosted a Thanksgiving Feast. The girls baked their own cornbread muffins in the school cafeteria as their contribution, while their generous parents sent in more than enough delicious food to satisfy everyone. The girls and their teachers, Mrs. Long and Mrs. Crowley, recited a Thanksgiving prayer before their feast to bless their food, as all students at Villa Maria do each day before they eat their meals.

They feast ended with dessert and fun. One family donated their tee-pee for the girls to play in so the feast would feel even more authentic. And in spirit, the girls wore pilgrim bonnets and indian headdresses. And Mrs. Sturm even had the girls create their own place mats in Art class to decorate their tables.

A Happy Thanksgiving was had by all!

Congratulations to...

Our Villa girls who will be dancing and twirling with their groups in the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

November Alphonsian Ambassadors: Marielle Picinich, Julia Thackrah, Eleni Seneca, Amanda McGurk, Grace Murphy, Norah Crowley, Annie Shaw, Madeline Samar, Alexa Dougherty

Congratulations to...

Our Villa girls who will be dancing and twirling with their groups in the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

November Alphonsian Ambassadors: Marielle Picinich, Julia Thackrah, Eleni Seneca, Amanda McGurk, Grace Murphy, Norah Crowley, Annie Shaw, Madeline Samar, Alexa Dougherty

Backpack Education Safety

On November 21, Dr. Brian Shuffler, DC of Integrative Health Chiropractic Center, visited Villa Maria and spoke with the girls on the alarming dangers associated with improper backpack use in children.

The girls watched a video and Dr. Shuffler gave them a post-test on what they had learned from his lecture and the video.

Fourth Grade - Where in PA? Webinar

The 4th Grade girls of Villa Maria Skyped on Thursday, November 17 for the "Where in PA? Webinar." The girls Skyped with four other elementary schools in Pennsylvania and gave clues about what city we're in and at the end, the other schools had to guess where our school was located. This year, Mrs. Lynch and Miss Devine had the girls focus on presenting their facts in the form of a newscast. It is important for the students to learn the new ways of social media that are offered.

iPads for Kindergarten

The Kindergarten classes at Villa Maria Academy are having their first immersions into touch-screen technology. Each kindergarten class received five iPads on November 15, 2011 that will be used in class by the students. The iPads will be used as centers, which means that the class will be divided in groups of five to have a chance to work on the iPads while the other groups take turns working in the computers and other activities. Teachers will use the iPads to enhance the learning experience of the students and the applications added to them are in relation to the topics explained by the teacher in class. Some examples of the applications added to the iPads are games and activities related to math, reading, music, art, etc. As the need arises, there will be more applications added to them in order to develop and enhance the learning of these young girls. Teachers at Villa Maria are proud to incorporate technology into their classrooms and teaching techniques to start raising spirited students that will be able to compete with others in this new technological era.

Open your Heart: Pajama Party!

Villa Maria Academy's Little Flower Club sponsored a pajama party today to benefit the Pajama Project. The Pajama Project provides warm pajamas and books to needy children, many of them waiting to be adopted. They are for children who do not know the comfort of a mother and many of them have been abandoned or abused, most deprived of any love at all.

Today, the Villa Maria girls will be wearing their pajamas to school and donating a book or a pair of new pajamas to a child in need. We appreciate your support in delivering warm sleepwear and nurturing books to children in need. The Pajama Project depends on the generous support of volunteers, supporters, event hosts, pajamadrive sponsors, and of course, donations of cozy new pajamas and new children's books.

For any further information or questions contact Corinne Murphy 610-524-1910 or cmurphy@ascensionpress.com.

Annual Fund Update

Thank you to all who have given to the Annual Fund so far. On behalf of the entire school, faculty and staff, your generosity is helping to provid a lifetime of value for your daughter and her school.

When you send in a donation, a footprint will be placed on the wall with your name. It is our hope to fill the wall by the end of the campaign year.

Enhacements for Teaching and Learning completed
to date because of your contribution and support:

• 10 iPads for Kindergarten
• Attendance at the National Council of Teachers of English for grades 7 and 8
• Professional Development workshop on Common Core Standards
• Purchase of 2 teacher iPads and training

Check the SupportVMA tab on our homepage and click on Annual Fund to find out how well we are doing!

If you should have any questions about sending in a donation, or donating online, please contact Erin Tornambe at etornambe@villamaria.org, or (610) 644-4864 x107.

Praying for Each Other

This year, Villa Maria Academy's Camilla Prayer Partner is Sister Regina Fidelis Colavechio. Each month, the grade that has the monthly First Friday Mass organizes something nice for Sister Regina. This month, the sixth grade wrote cards and bought a plant to show Sister Regina they were thinking of her and praying for her.

Leadership Opportunity

Miss Tricia Murnane, Villa Maria's Physical Education and Health teacher, is currently in the process of restructuring the school's wellness program. As
part of her on-going professional development, Miss Murnane has been researching ways to incorporate a "whole person" approach to
well-being that includes: physical wellness, educational wellness, spiritual wellness, social wellness, emotional/mental wellness, and environmental wellness. She is looking for parent, student, and teacher volunteers that have a similar interests and backgrounds in these wellness domains to be part of the new VMA wellness team. If you are interested in being part of this fun adventure please email her: tmurnane@villamaria.org.

We Believe...in Our Girls!

On November 4, 5, 11, and 12, Malvern Theatre Society performed their adaptation of Miracle on 34th Street,a heartwarming story about a little girl's (Susan Walker, played by 5th grader, Francesca Giangiulio) doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle - Santa Claus - and her discovery that dreams do come true if you really believe.

We are so proud to have had ten of Villa's 5th grade girls perform in the production: Francesca Giangiulio, Jordan Rudy, Emma Kenney-Hynes, Josephine Heppelmann, Kate Kimmel, Caroline Brown, Katie Dow, Mackenzie Smith, Anna Bozzi, and Joey Capucao.

Congratulations to...

Our Varsity Volleyball team who competed in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Tournament last week. They defeated Our Lady of Peace and finished 3rd in the Archdiocese.

Our Soccer team who won Region 17 over the weekend and then participated in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Tournament and made it into the quarter finals.

We are so proud of you, girls!

Annual Fund Update

It is our pleasure to inform you that the Annual Fund is off to a wonderful start! Thank you to all who have given so far. Your generosity means more than you realize.

Outside Sister Helen's office, the Advancement bulletin board has been updated by the Student Ambassadors to reflect our theme for this year's Annual Fund "Footprints for the Future." You will begin to notice footprints being added around the board with donor's names on them. As each donation comes in, a footprint will be placed on the wall with the donor's name. It is our hope to fill the wall by the end of the campaign year.

We will also be providing updates on our funds raised to-date, by class participation and on our website thermometer. Check the SupportVMA tab on our homepage and click on Annual Fund to find out how well we are doing!

If you should have any questions about sending in a donation, or donating online, please contact Erin Tornambe at etornambe@villamaria.org, or (610) 644-4864 x107.

Founder's Day Fun

Each year for Founders' Day, on November 10th, Sister Mary Ellen gathers the girls in the gymnasium after prayers and retells the story of Villa's founding with a new twist. This year, she asked Sister Margaret to teach the girls a song. She chose the "O Susanna" tune by Stephen Foster because the melody was catchy, repetitive, and easy to rhyme. The third grade was chosen to sing the song and did a beautiful job! Miss Patselas also assisted Sister Margaret to find a singable accompaniment for the girls on the internet.

Holiday Mail for Heroes

In an effort to help our girls understand the importance of saying "thank you" to our veterans, Villa Maria has been asked to be part of the 2011 American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes. The American Red Cross is asking us, as patriotic Americans, to send a touch of home this holiday season to members of our U.S. military, veterans and their families, many of whom will be far away from home this holiday season. This is an opportunity for teachers and students to share appreciation and thanks for the sacrifices members of the U.S. Armed Forces make every day to protect our freedom. We have been asked to write our cards to veterans. Teachers will be using this service project to tie into an activity that they may be doing for Veterans Day.

Villa Soccer Team Wins Region 17 Championship

On Saturday, November 5, the Villa Maria Academy Soccer team won the Region 17 Championship against Sts. Simon and Jude. They won 2-0 in the final half.

Congratulations girls! We are so proud of you!

Co-ed Pre-school at Villa Coming Soon! Information session November 14th

At Villa Maria Academy, we believe that high quality early childhood programs offer learning opportunities that have significant impact on children's succes. With a 166-year legacy of educating children, we have already achieved excellence in educating grades K-8. We are now pleased to be able to offer you the next step, a co-ed pre-school that will open in the Fall of 2012. Our pre-school will be open to students aged 3 and 4. We will be hosting an informational session on November 14th at 9:30 am. Please forward this to anyone you know who may be interested. Please R.S.V.P. to Jane McCool at jmccool@villamaria.org or (610) 644-4864 x100.

Where are they now? Looking for Alumae

Where are they now?
We are looking to re-connect with all our Villa alums. If you know of anyone who has graduated from Villa Maria Academy Lower School, please have forward this email to them so they can update their profile for our records! Any questions, please contact Erin Tornambe at etornambe@villamaria.org or (610) 644-4864 x107.

Congratulations to...

Our Villa Soccer and Volleyball Teams!

Our Villa actresses for their outstanding performances in Malvern's production of Miracle on 34th Street!

And good luck to all who are auditioning for Aladdin!

Welcome Back Alumnae!

The community at Villa Maria Lower School is seeking to connect with former students. Please consider updating your Alumnae Profile by clicking the link at the bottom of the page. You can also follow our school or alumnae Facebook pages. Can't wait to hear from you!!

http://www.villamaria.org/vm.asp?page_name=alumnae

Congratulations to...

Our Mission Day Basket Winners

Villa Helps Toys for Tots

The JV Field Hockey teams will sold Halloween themed hair ribbons for $1 from October 25th-27th in the gym before prayers. The girls were permitted to wear the ribbons through Mission Day to help support the cause.

In addition, the Soccer team sponsored a bake sale on October 24th-25th during lunch.

All proceeds from the fundraisers went to Toys for Tots.

Mission Day

The time has finally arrived; Mission Day took place this Monday, October 31 in the gymnasium of Villa Maria.

Mission Day is a fundraising event held each year at Villa by the eighth grade leadership team. The eighth grade girls have been preparing for over a month to create a wonderful display in the gym, decorating signs and tables, as well as finding the appropriate costumes to go with their carnival theme.

The day of the event, the gym was divided in different carnival-like stations: clown hair and carnival fingers, cotton candy land, karaoke, dress-up photos, face painting, scary tales, the magnificent Haunted House, and many others. Every grade took turns in visiting Mission Day, from Kindergarteners to middle schoolers, all of them having a wonderful time while helping the community.

Our girls demonstrated great teamwork and leadership skills by putting this event together and making sure that everybody had a wonderful time. Thank you to our event staff (eighth graders), our parent volunteers, and all the Villa students and teachers for making Mission Day a success.

The Villa Little Flowers Initiation Ceremony

At a beautiful ceremony on Friday, October 21st, Sister Mary Ellen and Sister Susan, blessed our twelve members including those from the 3rd and 4th grade classes. The Villa Little Flowers will be recognized at the 1st Friday Liturgy in November. Inspired by St. Therese of the Little Flower, Villa Little Flowers is a new mother-daughter club that formed this year whose primary goal is to grow together in virtue, faith and as a community.

All Saints Day Program

This past week, the first grade presented their "All Saints Program" in the chapel at Villa Maria for the student body on Wednesday and on Thursday for the parents. The girls dressed up as their favorite saint and they prepared a description to read aloud. The girls were proud to present their research to the crowd.

We thank Mrs. Crowley, Mrs. Long, and the girls for all their hard work and a wonderful job on presenting!

Making Bowls and Filling Hearts

A group of Villa Maria 6th graders got together back in September to make pottery bowls for the Empty Bowls program which benefits Phoenixville Area Community Services (PACS), an association that serves disadvantaged families through community services/food pantry, etc.

The bowls were fired and sent to PACS in anticipation for the fundraiser that will be held Friday, November 4 from 4:00-9:00 p.m. at the Kimberton Fire Hall, Rte 113 in Kimberton. Organizers for the event, including local potters, were thrilled to receive the bowls and have decided to display them in the window at Artisan's Café/ Gallery on Bridge Street in Phoenixville, since last week.

The cost for the event is $20 per person and includes a soup/break dinner and handcrafted ceramic bowl of your choice to take home and keep. All proceeds go to PACS. Tickets are on sale in advance from PACS 610-933-1105 or at the door. Or please contact Nancy Buck for more information: nasbuck@msn.com; 610-827-1569 or 610-212-0504.

St. Aloysius Boys and Villa Girls Partner Together

Villa Maria's third grade girls invited the boys of St. Aloysius Academy for a morning of collaborative projects at Villa Maria Academy this past Friday.

Both boys and girls gathered together in the gymnasium of the school where they participated in various fun activities. The morning started with some Spanish lessons by Mrs. Maria Pieras, Villa Maria's Spanish teacher. Mrs. Pieras wrote the months of the year and the days of the week words in both Spanish and English on separate index cards and handed one to each child. The children then had to find their corresponding partner with the English or Spanish word. Then, they continued with Social Studies lessons where they collaborated together on a group poster. The kids were very creative in coming up with important messages to put on their posters. The messages ranged from "No smoking while driving," "No hunting down wildlife," to "Wear your seatbelt" and "No texting while driving." At the end of the session, each group had an opportunity to present their poster to the rest of the kids.

The event culminated with a group picture, and a pizza lunch for the kids and their teachers.

Byer's Choice Dolls Order Met

The Parent Guild is pleased to announce that we were able to meet our order requirement for the Villa Maria Byers Choice Custom Dolls. We have received confirmation from Byers Choice production that our doll order will be shipped out on November 18th. This means we should have doll orders sent home with the daughter you specified on your order form during the week after we return to school from the Thanksgiving Holiday. For those parents who have made special arrangements for delivery, you will be contacted some time that week by telephone to arrange to pick up your doll order.

Congratulations to...

Our Archdiocesan Choral Girls:
Each year, the Archdiocese sponsors Music Festivals. Each year, music students audition to participate in these events. Congratulations to our 5th Grade girls who were chosen to participate: Katie Dow, Joey Capucao, Anna Levine, Madison Sautner, and Josephine Heppelmann. The Archdiocesan Choral Festival will be held on April 3rd, 2012 at Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor.



Our October Alphonsian Ambassadors:
Claudia Becker, Kiley Atkins, Sydney Porreca, Anna Levine, Molly McGurk, Lia O'Brien, Michaela Shackleford, Maura Nolan, Madigan Morrissey, and Audrey Nehr.

Good luck to our Varsity Field Hockey & Soccer teams who are in the league play-offs this week!!

Become a Villa Angel

We are so excited to once again be able to offer our Villa community the opportunity to "adopt" a child or children in need, through our Villa Angel Program. We proudly partner with the Delaware Valley Children's Charity (dvcconline.org) to bring this very special program to the hearts of our Villa Maria community. Click here for the letter is also in the communication envelope on TODAY. We ask that all forms are returned by Monday, October 31st and packets will be distributed by November 2nd. Packages are asked to be delivered to school Monday or Tuesday morning November 28th and 29th. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Miss Patselas at cpatselas@villamaria.org.

Early Learning Center to Open in the Fall of 2012

Planning continues for the Fall, 2012 opening of the Villa Maria Academy Early Learning Center. An information session will be held on November 14, 2012 at Villa Maria to outline the program offerings. Please navigate to the Pre-School Education page and complete the form for information or to RSVP for the November 14th event.

http://www.villamaria.org/vm.asp?page_name=preschool

Congratulations to...

Our JV and Varsity Volleyball teams on their undefeated season with 6th consecutive wins.

Our Soccer team on their undefeated season. It looks as if they are heading into the play-offs as the #1 seed.

Our Varsity Field Hockey team starts their play-off season on Monday. They only have 1 loss this season.

Our JV Field Hockey team on their successful season.

It's Time for Yearbook!

The entire yearbook staff is working very hard this year to make the yearbook better than ever! This year, parents will once again be able to purchase space in the yearbook to send a special message or advertise their business. Purchasing space is a great way to assist the yearbook and to give your daughter a special memory. To place an advertisement in the yearbook, click here for the sponsorship form. All sponsors are due by Thursday, October 27. Look for yearbook order forms in the communication envelope in November. Thank you for your continued support of the yearbook!

Villa Dad Gives Lesson on Chemistry

Mr. Flahaven, father of Aylish and Celeste,

visited the 6th grade on October 13th with examples of each element in the periodic table that he has been collecting for years. Amazed, the girls were able to view each element and even touch and smell the non-dangerous ones. He showed a demonstration of different charges, such as neon and xenon. And he even showed the girls real gold, frankincense, myrrh, and explained why these were probably chosen to give to baby Jesus on his birth. When he spoke of the combustibility of phosphorus, one girl asked about the worst chemical reaction he had ever heard of, and he went on to explain about the atomic bomb exploding in Hiroshima.

A Swinging Success

The Villa Maria Academy Advancement Office would like to thank all the sponsors, Villa families, and friends for the support of the 15th Annual Golf and Tennis Classic!
The rain stayed away for a beautiful, fun-filled day on October 11th. Villa dads and friends joined in to take the JetBlue Challenge and participated in a $50,000 Shootout. Although no one walked away with a hole-in-one during the Shootout, Dr. Larry Smedley, of Smedley Orthodontics in West Chester, won closest to the pin and was named the JetBlue Challenge Champion.

And congratulations to all the rest of our tournament winners!

1st Place Winners: Mike Rudy, David Calveresi, Mike Carli, and Gary Warzecha

Closest to the Pin Winner: Mike Carli

Longest Drive Winner: Andrea Connors

All-Aboard!

Thanks to many volunteers, last week the Villa gymnasium was transformed into a Disney Crusieship and dozens of pizza orders were placed for Pizza BINGO.

The girls created the Disney characters for the walls in art class and the volunteers decorated their lives away! Another successful and FUN event added to Villa's list!

Congratulations to all our BINGO winners!

The Book Fairies

Ah, there is nothing like the smell of a new book.

This past week, the library overflowed with brand new, tightly bound books from Barnes & Noble waiting to be snatched up and given away. To be held in the hands of their new owners. Not yet written in, not yet doggie-earred. Not yet thrown into a backpack or purse, in a suitcase, or a briefcase, or slipped under the sheets of a bed.

The Book Fairies, Mrs. Connelly and Mrs. Pieras, created a wonderland of stories and games all perfectly placed for the girls and their families (and our teachers and staff too) to begin checking off Christmas and birthday lists. The girls were even allowed to purchase gifts for teachers off their 'Wish Lists.'

With each book purchase, an entry was allowed to be placed into a drawing to win a Barnes & Noble Nook.

Congratulations to...

The Villa Volleyball teams, who did an exceptional job in their weekend games. Varsity and JV both won their matches on Friday. Varsity finished runner-up in the St. Alphonsus tournament on Saturday. And both Varsity and JV won on Sunday. In the JV game, it went to the final serve of the final game of the match to secure the win.

The Villa Field Hockey team defeated Ancillae on Friday and both JV and Varsity won 5-0. Varsity wond againt St. Norbert's yesterday. Congrats!

Congratulations to the Villa Soccer team, who won their big game yesterday against Simon and Jude. They won 3-0.

Get Up and Dance

After School Dance & Drama are starting out very well! The girls are doing Yoga on Tuesdays, our Villa Maria Yogini's, and singing and tapping their troubles away in Musical Theater, Tap class and more! Creative Drama for K-2 is closed! Broadway Jazz and Intro to Acting are hits with our Villa dancers and actors, too!

Ms. Nancy is still welcoming late registrations for the other classes.

Villa to Start Engineering Club

Villa Maria Academy has been selected by NovaCANE, Villanova Community Action by New Engineers, for initiation of an engineering club.

NovaCANE was established in 2009 to inspire young minds by offering hands-on educational opportunities in the fields of engineering and science. This group of college students and Dr. Dinehart has successfully initiated engineering clubs at St. Martin of Tours in Philadelphia and St. Edmond's Academy in Wilmington.

Each meeting will start with a brief presentation on an engineering topic and be followed with a hands-on, group activity. The lessons and group activities will be supervised by Villanova University engineering students. The VMA club is open to all 6th grade girls and will begin in October.

Villa Girls Join Kennett Symphony Children's Chorus

The Kennett Symphony Children's Chorus is an educational outreach of the Kennett Symphony of Chester County and gives area singers an opportunity to perform high-caliber, age-appropriate repertoire that is culturally and musically diverse. Three young ladies from Villa were accepted to sing with the ensemble, Mary Catherine D., Emma K. and Anna K. They are all very excited about being part of such a wonderful experience.

Family Mass and Picnic

The Annual Family Mass and Picnic was held on Sunday, September 25. Parents, students, and faculty attended the Eucharistic Liturgy celebrated by Father John Joseph in Sacred Heart Chapel. Blue and white teams competed in a number of various games and events.

The highlight of the day was the golf ball drop with Sister Mary Ellen as the bombardier! Check out this video!

http://tinyurl.com/3zzqaj9

Middle School Now 1-1 with Netbooks

Villa's commitment to advancing technology now puts our computer to student ratio at the middle school level at 1:1.

As of yesterday morning, an excited sixth grade received their netbooks and Mrs. Dow gave them a tutorial on the care and use of their new equipment.

We can now proudly say that our dedication to 21st Century Learning is being proven as we prepare our digital natives to move into the future.

Back By Popular Demand...

Girls on the Green is coming next week! The girls began discussing the event in gym class with Miss Murnane and may start bringing in their items this week. The donated items will be collected to benefit the IHM Literacy Center.

The donations will allow the girls a try on the putting greens that will be set up during gym class next week. Girls can purchase up to 5 additional trys on the putting green for $1 a try. Any girl that gets a hole-in-one will go into a drawing to win the grand prize: $100 shopping spree at this year's Christmas Bazaar and a private lunch
with Mom (or Dad).

We are also looking for volunteers during next week's gym classes to assist with the putting contests. Please direct any questions or your volunteer availability to Miss Murnane at tmurnane@villamaria.org.

Congratulations to...

Our Varsity and JV Volleyball teams who both opened the new season with wins!

Our Soccer team who has already won 7 games total this year!

Our Varsity and JV Field Hockey teams who have been winning in the GCAL League.

*Note: Parents/Friends - if you have any pictures of these events, please forward them to Erin Tornambe at etornambe@villamaria.org so we can display our pride!

Easy Ways to Earn Benefits for Villa

Box Tops for Education
Did you know you can earn cash for Villa by clipping Box Tops coupons from hundreds of participating products? All you have to do is cut the coupons and ither mail or send them to Villa with your daughter. You can also earn eBoxTops when you shop online! Click here to learn more.

GIANT A+ School Rewards
Are you a frequent shopper at GIANT Food Stores? Now you can earn money for Villa at GIANT. Register your BONUSCARD online and select Villa Maria to begin earning cash. Click here to register.

Back to School Social

One of the best ways to begin to build that home-school connection is to take the opportunity to visit the world your daughter inhabits every day and meet the people in charge.

Research shows that parent involvement in schools helps students achieve more and schools thrive. And at the Back to School Social on Sunday, we had such an amazing turn-out of parents that it's no wonder we call ourselves a 'family.'

This year, the teachers prepared presentations through videos online for the parents to preview the curriculum beforehand, allowing for a relaxed atmosphere with more emphasis on personal interaction. And Mrs. Dow's technology presentation sure turned some heads with all the amazing new things the girls are learning. The days events flowed just as nicely as the drinks and the delicious food and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Many thanks to our Parent Guild Committee, our teachers, and our school leaders, Sister Mary Ellen and Sister Susan, for putting together such a wonderful event.

First Week Brings Jitters and Excitement

Surrendering to the summer's end and wasn't the only issue on people's minds last weekend. Questions surrounding the first week of school rumbled like thunder in the hearts of both parents and students. Will I get the teacher I want? Will I make new friends? Will my work be more than I can handle?

But despite all that, pleasant anticipations surface as well. The thought of seeing friends every day, of learning new things, the challenge of another year, reconnecting with past teachers and getting involved in their favorite after school sports and programs.

At Villa, when our students are asked how they feel about the first day of school they tell it from their smiling hearts. "I'm excited to be back," "I can't wait to have lunch with my friends and see my old teachers," "I can't wait to see Taffy." Happy faces and laughter fill the halls again, and already signs of learning are present. In the classrooms, in the hallways, student work is proudly displayed like portraits in an exhibition. Each and every piece alive and vibrant, carefully placed for all to see.

Nervousness is slowly being cast away, along with summer memories, and the girls' minds are open and ready for the new year ahead. They are settling in. And so are we. Here's to another year!

VMA -St. AA Charism Day

On September 1st, the faculties and administration teams of VMA and St. AA met at Villa Maria to explore the concept of "Teacher as Leader." The day began with a prayer service in Sacred Heart Chapel. Sister Marganne Drago, SSJ presented an explanation of the changes in the Roman Missal and Sister Rita James Murphy, IHM offered her thoughts and insights of a teacher leader in an IHM school. Following lunch, the teachers further defined their role as teacher leadership in a collaborative project.

Professional Development

Good teachers form the foundation of good schools, and improving teachers' skills and knowledge is one of the most important investments of time and money that an educator can make. It is suggested that professional development can assist in improving teacher's classroom practices significantly and lead to improved student achievement, which is why the faculty and staff at Villa Maria take every opportunity possible to better their practices.

This summer, our faculty and staff attended the following conferences, seminars, and courses: ISTE Conference, Partners in Mission Conference, Discovery Education Workshop, Preserving our Catholic Identity Seminar, and Understanding by Design Train the Trainer Seminar, and FACTS Tuition Management Training Seminar. And many of our teachers continue to move forward toward completion or have just finished completing their Masters in Education, taking courses such as "Teaching as Inquiry," "Applying Theories of Learning to Interactive Technologies," "Teaching and Learning: Linking Theory to Practice."

"We are always striving to be better," says Sister Mary Ellen.

In this photo: Sister Mary Ellen, Mrs. Dow, Mrs. Wible, Mrs. Veneziale, Miss Pastelas

Drama Programs to Begin this Year

New this year, our Villa girls will have the opportunity to participate in a partnership drama program as well as an after-school drama club.

"Poof! Whaddaya Need..."
How about a little drama in our lives? All thanks to wishes and friendship, Villa Maria Academy Lower School will now be partnering with Malvern Prep to form a drama program for 5th through 8th graders. The program is expected to run from November to the end of January, and will culminate in the performance of Disney's "Aladdin" on Malvern's main stage. Jim Fry, a teacher at Malvern, and our eighth grade teacher, Mrs. Bridget Velardi, will be co-directing the show. A rehearsal schedule will be given out before November and try-outs for the performance are tentative for the beginning of November. Stay tuned!

More Than Just Dance
In the first Trimester, the After School Dance Program will include Ballet, Broadway Jazz, Lyrical and Tap dance choices for different age groups. There will be some new offerings such as Creative Movement and Pre-Ballet for K-1, Kids' Yoga for K-3 and Musical Theater including singing and movement for grades 3 through 5. Our new dance teacher, Ms. Nancy Santamaria, will be teaching these classes. We hope to have some different offerings in the second trimester.

We're also thrilled to be offering Creative Drama for K through 2 and Intro to Acting for grades 3 through 5. We're happy to welcome Donna Kelly Romero from Villa Maria Academy High School to instruct the girls for these programs.

In addition, Ms. Santamaria will also weave some Storytelling and Drama components into the weekly dance program throughout the year.

We are excited for all our new offerings. It is sure to be another amazing year at VMA!

We Welcome Our New Teachers

This year we are pleased to welcome four new teachers to the Villa faculty.

We are happy to say that we will now be offering two Kindergarten classes for the 2011-2012 school year. Mrs. Kate McKenna will be joining the ranks as our second Kindergarten Teacher. Mrs. McKenna was most recently the Instructional Technology Coordinator at the Chester Upland School District. She was the Academic Technology Director at the Agnes Irwin School for 2 years and was the Director of Technology at Waldron Mercy Academy for 9 years. She also taught Kindergarten and 4th grade at Waldron for 7 years and has an additional 6 years of teaching experience. She gained her experience in the computer field working for 10 years for a large computer company as a regional and national training and marketing support manager. She currently lives in Drexel Hill with her husband and has 3 children. She also teaches cardio kickboxing at the YMCA.

Mrs. Adria Crowley will be taking the place of Miss Pastelas in our First Grade. Before coming to Villa, Mrs. Crowley taught first grade for four years at St. Kevin School in Springfield. Prior to becoming a teacher, she was a classroom aide at St. Kevin for five years. She is originally from Springfield and now lives in Drexel Hill with her husband. Mrs. Crowley brings with her many talents including singing, and will be joining Sr. Margaret as a cantor at our school liturgies.

Mrs. Shannon Duke, will be our new Science Lab teacher. Mrs. Duke grew up in Bucks County and went to high school at Villa Joseph Marie High School for Girls. She went to college at the University of Delaware where she earned a BA in French Education. She attended graduate school at Holy Family University where she received an M.Ed. in Elementary Education. After taking time off to raise a family, she is thrilled to be back in the classroom, doing what she loves best!

Ms. Nancy Santamaria joins us as our new Dance teacher. She is a dance teacher/choreographer, artist and poet. She owned and operated her dance studio in Drexel Hill/Havertown where she happily taught children and adults. In the summer, she teaches Creative Movement & Dance at Upper Darby Summer Stage and Drama to the Camp Friendship special needs campers. Nancy is a presenter of retreats for women and liturgical dances at Daylesford Abbey. She has high hopes for all the dancing at VMA!

Please help us to extend a very warm welcome to the new members of our community. We appreciate everything all of our teachers do for our children and it is especially important that we remind them of that.

In this photo: Ms. Nancy Santamaria, Mrs. Shannon Duke, Mrs. Kate McKenna, and Mrs. Adria Crowley

Talented Youth

We would like to extend our congratulations to eighth grader, Catie Cullen. Catie is being recognized at an awards ceremony for the 2011 Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth search for her High Honors level scores she received on the SAT tests. The awards ceremony will take place at Albright College Merner-Pfeiffer-Klein Memorial Chapel in October. Congratulations Catie! We are so proud of your accomplishments.

Photo to come

Sisters & Brothers Working Together

Maya Angelou said, “I don't believe an accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers… Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at.”
Villa Maria Academy along with their brother school, Saint Aloysius Academy, work closely together partnering in many endeavors to exemplify just that thought. Just recently, both schools joined forces on a branding advertisement now published on www.malvern.patch.com, collectively bringing the awareness of the IHM traditions of teaching and learning from the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the community at large.
It is their hope that the advertisement will help to reinforce how valuable a single-gender Catholic education is, and how it is especially influential at such a young age. The mind is the most impressionable when one is young. The 21st Century faith-based learning encourages students to perceive and maximize their capabilities, to develop positive self images, and to use these gifts in service to others.
Patch.com is a community-focused news and information site online which is targeted to specific towns and communities in areas throughout the country. Its stories report on extremely local news from trusted writers and photographers that live in the communities that they serve.
Business and organizations within each community possess their own Patch page that can be “followed” and shared on Facebook and Twitter. On each page, announcements can be posted, along with pictures and happenings, and each includes a space for reviews of the business or organization. Villa Maria’s page is located on the MalvernPatch and Saint Aloysius’s page is located on the BrynMawr –GladwynePatch. Check them out and review them. Help spread the word about the wonderful education your son or daughter is receiving.

Passing of the Light

As the newly appointed [seventh grade] members of the Student Council carried the school flags and banners into the chapel with honor, their eighth grade graduates followed behind slowly, gracefully, in a sea of blue and white to the graduation hymn. Parents, students, teachers and staff watched as the eighth grade bestowed their responsibilities upon the school’s new leadership team, eagerly waiting to accept the tasks at hand. The beautiful service concluded with an honoring of certificates for various clubs and activities throughout the year. We wish our eighth graders courage, hope and love and all the best for their futures and thank them for an impressive display of leadership and reverence throughout the years. And we welcome our new leaders with gratitude and anticipation for their new role in our family.

Villa Twirling Team to Win Their First Competition

The Vill Twirling Team had their first regional competition held at the Toyota Arena in York, PA on Sunday, May 29th by Twirling Unlimited. The girls won for their division! Congratulations girls. We are so proud of you.

In this photo: Kaite Dow, Ava Sulkowski, Megan Bradley, Mikaela Juskalian. Not pictured: Olivia McKenzie

Relay Team to Compete at Archdiocesan Finals

The VMA 4x100 relay team competed at the CYO Area E Track Championships at Plymouth Meeting HS on May 15, 2011. Our hardworking girls are now on to the Archdiocesan finals this weekend at Franklin field! Congratulations girls and best of luck!

In this photo: Ryan Doran, Marie Christine Coppa, Miranda Valerio, Bridget Hogue

Villa Twirling Team to Win Their First Competition

The Villa twirling team had their first competition this past weekend and we are thrilled to say that they won their division! Congratulations girls! Keep up the good work.

Photo to come...

Connecting with the Past

On May 23, sixth graders from Villa Maria Academy Lower School celebrated Heritage Day with their classmates and supportive parents.
As part of their annual celebration, the girls were asked to research one of their family heritages and prepare a visual display as well as appear in the native dress of their chosen country.
After verbal presentations were given the girls, their parents and teachers were allowed to visit each visual display for a tasting of food the girls (with the help of their parents) prepared to represent the country their country of heritage. Their second grade prayer partners, along with students and teachers from other grades also visited the displays for a little taste of history and some yummy treats!

Photo: Sixth grade class in the dress of their country of heritage.

State Computer Fair

Congratulations to the following Villa girls who qualified for the PA Middle School Computer Fair at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA:

Digital Movie
Meredith Valente, Bridget Forde, Claudia Becker

Desktop Publishing
Laura Zecca, Devi Donthineni

Multimedia
Christianna Mason, Cat Sloat, Grace Rodden

Graphic Design
Grace Kuroki, Julia Hardie, Caroline Mullen

Webpage Design
Meg Flood, Grace Lewis

Thanks for representing Villa, girls! Well done!

Traditions of Honor and Praise

It’s an overcast Friday the 13th at Villa Maria Academy Lower School, but the birds still chirp and the rain holds off long enough so that the May Procession, in honor of Our Lady of Fatima, can take place. Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary lead the procession, as the girls of Villa Maria and their teachers follow in prayer behind them. Faith, family and tradition play an important part in Villa Maria’s culture and parents of students also gather to take part in the merriment of the occasion. The second grade classes, in their First Holy Communion gowns, are last to enter. Sister Maureen Ruth follows behind with a crown of flowers for the Blessed Mother. On this day, Villa Maria also celebrates the First Holy Communion of Colby Dobra and the Twenty-fifth Jubilee of Sister Maureen Ruth. In celebration of her Jubilee, Sister Ruth is honored with the crowning of Mary, Queen of the May. Congratulations Colby and Sister Ruth! We are so proud of you.

Villa Girls Have Big Hearts

Students at Villa Maria Academy Lower School volunteer their leadership and service skills in the community and worldwide.

The girls at Villa Maria Academy have been busy this year dedicating their time and talents to several great causes. Their selfless acts depict how Villa girls use their talents in the most positive ways.
Samantha Smith of 4th grade decided to spread love this Valentine’s day by sending Valentine care packages to troops as her personal thank you. Care packages contained candy, protein bars, calling cards, Valentines, movies, video games, baby wipes, hand sanitizers, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and much more. Samantha succeeded in sending 403 pounds of “Love,” thanks to her classmates and friends.
Brittany Young of 6th grade was honored for her exemplary volunteer service with a state-level Certificate of Excellence from The 2011 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. Brittany volunteered her time by playing her violin for the elderly who are in nursing homes. Presented annually by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSAP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people across America for outstanding community service activities.
Maura Nolan of 1st grade was recognized by the Nemours Fund for Children’s Health for her gracious donation to their organization. Maura decided to have a climb-a-thon for her 7th birthday to raise money for Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in lieu of birthday gifts and in honor of her cousin, Katiri.
Sarabeth Henne of 8th grade traveled to Senegal, the most Western part of Africa, with Providence Church of West Chester on a medical mission. Sarabeth’s mother, a nurse practitioner, also participated in the trip. While there, Sarabeth and her mother prepared vaccinations for homeless boys in the city. She has been dedicated to this mission for the past three years and intends to continue medical missions in Senegal since it now feels like “home.”
These are just a few examples of how Villa girls devote their time by giving back to the community. Service is key to leadership, and for children this needs to be taught and modeled. The students are taught that leadership is primarily related to the power of their influence which is an important part of the mission at Villa Maria Academy Lower School.

Women Lead the Future

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” On Friday, April 15th, a team of successful women did just that for the uppers of 300 young girls at Villa Maria Academy Lower School.
Women’s [Career] Day at Villa Maria was both educational and fun. From Vocations Directress, to Nuclear Engineer, to Master Martial Arts Instructor, to 1992 Head Coach of the US Olympic Women’s Basketball Team and more, guest speakers brought positive inspiration and achievement to students’ inquiring young minds. Along with showing appreciation for their careers and love of being leaders, speakers also showed the girls how to have fun at work.
The most inspirational of speeches was given by Keynote speaker, Basketball Legend, 1992 Head Coach of the US Olympic Women’s Basketball Team, and VP of University Advancement at Immaculata University, Theresa Grentz. Grentz has influenced numerous students with her radio, TV and public speaking encounters. She spoke to the girls about the importance of being a leader and striving to be the greatest they can be in life. She exemplifies the power of women and their influence on the future, which is an important part of Villa Maria Academy’s mission.
Along with showing appreciation for their careers and a love of being leading women in their field, speakers also showed the girls that they can have fun at work. Mid-day focused on Martial Arts and the day concluded with a relaxing and energizing Yoga and Zumba class to demonstrate healthy and active lifestyles.

In this photo: Keynote speaker, Theresa Grentz and Villa girls Grace Papandon, Tara Watson, and Madeline Pongia.

A Sweet Lesson

In honor of tax week, Miss Devine decided to do a role-playing activity with her girls in 4B for their lesson on Taxation. The activity was developed to help the girls to understand how the colonists felt about unfair taxes.
Miss Devine divided the girls up into groups by choosing roles out of a hat. Most of the girls became colonists, while others became tax collectors, two for parliament, and one girl had the honor of being the king.
Miss Devine gave each of the colonists money (M&Ms) in a cup to symbol their salaries. While handing out the "salaries," she explained that it was the two girls in parliament's job to create laws on what to tax the colonists. Once the rules were drawn up, the girls who chose the tax collector roles would then go around collecting how much each of the colonists owed in taxes, while the king oversaw the process.
The first tax imposed on the colonists was a property tax. Parliament said "Each girl sitting in a desk will owe 3 M&Ms." All the girls groaned. Some even tried to sneak out of their desks to avoid being taxed! Colonists were also taxed on jewelry, hair accessories, and outfits. If a tax collector approached a girl and she was bankrupt and could not pay her taxes she had to go to jail (a cardboard cut-out area in the corner of the room).
At the close of the lesson, Miss Devine discussed with the girls how they felt about their positions in society and about the unfair taxes imposed on the colonists. The colonists were in uproar that they didn't know they were going to be taxed on certain items of clothing and accessories that they wore to school that day. The tax collectors felt powerful at first when they were taking the money, but were upset with the fact that they did all the work and did not get paid as well as parliament or the king. The girls in parliament expressed happiness at having received the chance to make the rules and make good money. And the king felt powerful at having had to do nothing but collect the money and said that everyone deserved it and shouldn't complain.
It was a fun and interactive lesson and both the girls and Miss Devine were very pleased with the results. And the girls were happy to eat the M&Ms at the end too!

(In this Photo) Katie Dow, “tax collector” collecting the M&Ms from the "colonists."

Philadelphia Independence President's Challenge

On March 31, 2011, Villa Maria Academy Lower School welcomed Val Henderson and Leigh Ann Robinson, players from the Philadelphia Independence Women’s Professional Soccer Team to their Added Value Curriculum Open House. During their visit, Val and Leigh Ann spoke to the girls about soccer and the importance of healthy, active lifestyles.
Independence Outreach Manager, Danielle Duff, worked closely with Villa’s Physical Education Teacher, Tricia Murnane, to coordinate the event. “I think the more we are able to expose our girls to athletics and strong female role models the better,” said Murnane.
The positive impact of the visit stirred talk of bringing the Independence back to Villa to promote a new program that they recently became advocates of: the President’s Challenge. The challenge is a 6-week program requiring youths, ages 6-17, to participate in physical activity for 60 minutes each day, 5 days per week. The Independence are working to promote the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) to the greater Philadelphia area. All participants who complete the program will receive a certificate signed by the co-chairs of the President’s Council, Drew Brees and Dominique Dawes.
Villa Maria Academy is excited about the opportunity of partnering with the Independence for this program. Having the players visit the school and promote this program is teaching the girls about community involvement as well, which is an important part of the school’s mission. The program kick-off date will be April 18th at Villa Maria Academy Lower School. Players from the Independence will be present to educate the girls on the program and be there to support their efforts.

(Photo: left to right) Val Henderson, Sam Teece, Madison Olenzak, and Courtney Olenzak (alum ’09), Leigh Ann Robinson at Villa Maria Academy’s Added Value Curriculum Open House.

AVC Open House

March 31st not only brought with it a chill in the air, but a fantastic night for our AVC event! Thank you to all the AVC teachers for showcasing the talent of our girls and for coordinating such fun activities for the children and their parents. And thank you to all the teachers and parents for your support. From beginning to end, this night was surely a success and brought along with it awareness and excitement.

A Call for Celebration

Congratulations to Samantha Victor of 6B on her First Holy Communion! Samantha celebrated her special day with both her family and the Villa family on First Friday Mass on April 1, 2011, followed by a celebration with her classmates and teachers. We are so proud of you, Samantha!

Celebration of the Arctic

On March 25th, the third grade celebrated the revealing of the "Arctic", which has been their culminating activity for the past several months. The girls presented a PowerPoint presentation in the library and then guided their parents on a tour of the arctic habitat. It was a job well done by both the girls and their teachers Miss Thomas and Mrs. Hannigan!

5th Grade State Show

The girls of both 5A and 5B performed in the State Show on March 29th. They displayed all they learned about the USA. Not only did the girls tell us everything there is to know about each region of the US, but they performed a few song and dance numbers as well. Great job, girls!

Science Fair Video

Enjoy this video prepared for our school Science Fair.

AVC Open House Video

The AVC Open House was held on Thursday, March 31st. The event provided an opportunity to showcase our "added-value" curriculum offerings-art, library, music, physical education, science lab, Spanish, and technology. Check out the 2011 AVC video!

Nemours Fund for Children's Health Recognition

We are delighted to share that Maura Nolan of 1A was recognized for her gracious donation to the Nemours Fund for Children’s Health. Maura held a climb-a-thon for her 7th birthday to raise money for Nemours/Allied I. duPont Hospital for Children, in lieu of birthday gifts and in honor of her cousin, Katri. We are very proud of Maura’s self-less decision and are honored to have her represent Villa Maria Academy in such a positive manner. Congratulations, Maura, on a job well done!

Boston Ballet School Acceptance

Congratulations to Chandlee Cann on being accepted to Boston’s Ballet School’s 2011 Summer Dance Program- Newton! Chandlee is still unsure If she will be attending, however, she is very excited about this honor. We are proud of your accomplishment and wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors as a dancer!

Speech Tournament Winner

We are very proud to announce that Liz McKenzie of 6A won 1st prize on March 14th in the Poetry competition for the annual Philadelphia Archdiocesan Elementary Speech Tournament at Archbishop Ryan High School. The selection she read was “The Graduation Speech” by Cheryl Costello-Forshey. Liz only began reading this piece about three weeks ago, so both her effort, as well as her achievement are outstanding!

Bullying Program

On Monday March, 14th, the Chester County Health Department visited Villa Maria Academy to share their Bullying Program with the girls in every grade. Miss Dee, a representative from CCHD, shared a story, “Act Like a Friend”, with Miss Patselas 1A class. She asked the girls what they could do to make others feel good and Madison Frank responded, “They can be nice to you and not bully you.” The girls were very interested in what Miss Dee had to share with them and ended the presentation with a coloring activity that taught the girls how to decide when someone was being nice and when someone was being a bully. We were very privileged to have the CCHD come and share such valuable information with the girls.

Presidential Recognition

Special congratulations go out to Brittany Young who was awarded the Presidential Volunteer Service Award! Brittany devoted hours of service by playing the violin at local nursing homes and was among the top 10 percent of all applicants from the state of Pennsylvania in this year’s program. The Presidential Volunteer Service Award recognizes American’s of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country. Congratulations, Brittany, on your continuous efforts to honor your family at VMA.

Sixth Grade Science Class

Mr. Turco presented a fun and informative lesson for the 6th grade on Friday, March 4th. Mr. Turco, who is a licensed professional, helped the girls to understand the different ways to create chemical reactions. Mr. Turco directed an activity in which the girls were able to experiment with chemicals other than baking soda and vinegar to assist them in setting off their volcanoes. Mr. Turco, thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us!

Pennsylvania Geographic Bee Semifinalist

Congratulations to Catie Cullen for being one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2011 Pennsylvania Geographic Bee! Preliminary rounds were held within the 4-8th grade classrooms. One winner from each class advanced to the School-Wide competition held in January, and Catie Cullen won the school-wide event. She then went on to take a written qualifying test that was mailed in. Based on her results from the written qualifying test, Catie has qualified to represent Villa at the State-Level of the competition on April 1 at Penn State University. One winner from each state and territory will advance from that competition to the national competition, held May 24 - 25 in Washington DC. This is the first time a Villa student will advance to the State-Level Competition for the National Geographic Geography Bee. This is the third year we have held the National Geographic Geography Bee at Villa.

National-Level Competition contestants compete for the following:
- First Place – a $25,000 college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society, $500 in cash, and a trip to the Galapagos Islands
- Second Place – a $15,000 college scholarship and $500 in cash
- Third Place – a $10,000 college scholarship and $500 in cash
- Seven Runners Up - $500 in cash for each runner up

Congratulations Catie and best of luck at States!

Computer Fair Winners

The following girls participated in the Chester County Computer Fair and were awarded prizes in the following areas: Digital Movie - 1st: Meredith Valente, Bridget Forde, Claudia Becker, 2nd: Olivia McCloskey, Anna Brower, Lydia Kao;
Desktop Publishing - 1st: Laura Zecca, Devi Donthineni,2nd: MaryRose O¹Donnell, Marissa Pichinich, Sam Victor; Multimedia - 1st: Christianna Mason, Cat Sloat, Grace Rodden, Graphic Design - 1st: Grace Kuroki, Julia Hardie, Caroline Mullen,2nd: Kirsten Young; Webpage Design - 1st: Meg Flood, Grace Lewis. Congratulations to our students and to Mrs. Melissa Dow, Computer Fair moderator.

PJAS Science Fair

The following girls placed in the recent PJAS Science Fair. First place: Maria Dulin, Devi Donthineni, Grace Kuroki, and Olivia McCloskey; second place: Lydia Kao. First place students will travel to Penn State for the next round. Mr. Joseph Miller is the moderator of the team.

D.A.R.E. Graduation

Congratulations to our 5th grade students who celebrated the completion of the 10-week D.A.R.E. program on Tuesday, February 22. Prayers written by Elena Kufta and Eleni Seneca were read; Bridget Hogue, Olivia Mason, Shannon Smith, and Miranda Valerio read their winning essays. The class was taught by Officer Keri de la Cruz.

Archdiocesan Elementary Strings Festival

The following students performed with the Archdiocesan String Orchestra at Archbishop Carroll High School on Saturday, February 19: 1st Violin - Ashley Frankenfield, Grace Hall, Madison Leiman, and Christianna Mason; 2nd Violin - Lindsay Dickinson and Katharine Murray; Cello - Grace Lewis. Congratulations!

Archdiocesan Elementary Choral Concert

Congratulations to Miranda Bedics, Abigail Dinehart, and Ryan Doran who participated in the Archdiocesan Choral Concert at Bishop Shanahan High School on February 16th. Special thanks to Sister Margaret Logrip, IHM for preparing the students for the concert. The students are pictured with Sister Mary Ellen Tennity, IHM, Principal of VMA; Sister Margaret Logrip, IHM, Director of Music Activities and Sister Susan Joseph, IHM, Assistant Principal.

Archdiocesan Elementary Festival Band

Thea DeJong and Marie Christine Coppa represented VMA Sunday, February 13th at the Archdiocesan Festival Band Concert at Archbishop Wood where they both played the flute in the ensemble. Thea earned the honor as acting first chair flutist for the concert.

Dental Health Presentation

Dr. Thomas Watson, DMD met with primary school students on Friday, February 11th and delivered an interesting presentation about dental health. Dr. Watson is the father of Dana, grade 3, and twins Tara and Nicole, Grade 1.

First Grade Geology Class

Mr. Greg Smoot and his wife, Liz presented a fun and informative geology lesson in 1B's classroom. Mr. Smoot, who is a licensed, professional geologist, helped the girls to understand the different types of rocks and how they were formed. Mrs. Smoot directed an activity in which each girl chose a crystal and identified it. Mr. & Mrs. Smoot, thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us!

Madeleine Hardie Performs with the Archdiocesan Elementary Honor Band

Eighth grade flutist, Maddie Hardie, performed with the Archdiocesan Honors band at Archbishop Wood High School on February 4. Maddie auditioned for participation in the band in the Fall of 2010 and, once selected, attended all rehearsals to prepare for last night's performance. The Archdiocesan Honors Band will perform at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia in March, 2011.

VMA Celebrates Taffy's Birthday

Taffy, the beloved giraffe mascot of VMA, celebrated her 5th birthday on Thursday, February 3rd. The festivities began at lunchtime with the arrival of Taffy's friends - Minnie and Mickey, Winnie the Pooh, Goofy, and the St. Aloysius Wildcat. Taffy and friends mingled with all the students and shared ice cream sundaes provided by the Parent Guild. Later in the afternoon, Taffy and the Wildcat faced off in a game of Family Feud in the gym. To the students' delight, Taffy and family won the round and the day!

VMA Spelling Bee

Congratulations to all the students of Villa Maria who participated in Monday's Spelling Bee.This year's Spelling Bee Champion is Dominique Ocampo. First runner-up is Nikoleta Testa.

VMA Geography Bee

The VMA Geography Bee was held on Friday, January 14. Students from grades 4-8 competed in the finals. VMA school Geography Bee Champion is Catie Cullen, second place went to Holly Funk, and third place to Olivia Williams. Congratulations girls!!

VMA Students Show Their Love for the Troops

Students at Villa Maria Academy recently completed a collection for our troops in Afghanistan. VMA students were asked to contribute small items such as batteries, socks, snacks, powdered drinks, and soap to send to the troops. The idea was presented to the Leadership Council by Samantha Smith, a fourth grade student. Samantha is pictured with a friend as she prepared all the collected items for delivery.

VMA Launches Online Magazine

Villa Maria Academy has moved into the realm of online publication with "Intercessions." The inaugural edition includes themed articles relating to leadership, parenting, spirituality, teaching, and learning. The online magazine features a blog written by Sister Mary Ellen Tennity, IHM, principal of VMA.

http://intercessionsmagazine.com/

Archdiocesan Honor, Festival Band, and Choral Participation Announced

Congratulations to Ryan Doran, Marie Christine Coppa, and Miranda Bedics who will be representing Villa Maria Academy in the Archdiocesan Elementary Choral Festival in February and again at the Kimmel Center in March.

In addition, Madi Hardie and Alayna McDonald have been chosen for participation in the Archdiocesan Honor Band. Marie Christine Coppa and Thea DeJong will represent VMA in the Archdiocesan Festival Band. Congratulations to all our musicians! We are proud of you!

VMA Celebrates Art Contest Winner

Congratulations to 5th grader, Olivia Mason. Olivia's artwork has been chosen for the 2011 PA Attorney General's Drug Awareness Calendar. Olivia has been invited to a luncheon in Harrisburg on December 15, 2010. In addition, she will also receive a $200 savings bond. Special thanks to Mrs. Cathy Sturm, art teacher at VMA, for coordinating this contest. Watch for Olivia's artwork on the December, 2011 page!

Founder's Day

The students, faculty, and staff of Villa Maria Academy celebrated IHM Founder's Day on Wednesday, November 10. The day began with an assembly in the gymnasium with Sister Mary Ellen Tennity, IHM, school principal, retelling the story of the founding of the IHM Congregation by Rev, Louis Florent Gillet in 1845. Second grade students visited the IHM Motherhouse and provided lunchtime entertainment for the Sisters. Students from 5-8 grade traveld to Camilla Hall to play the IHM version of "Are You Smarter Than an IHM."

Kindergarten Color Day

October 29th 2010 (Immaculata, PA). The Kindergarten class at Villa Maria Academy Lower School have been working on recognizing and spelling color words this month. They were each given a color and encouraged to come to school dressed up in and wearing as much of her assigned color as possible!

Mission Day 2010

October 29, 2010 Immaculata, PA . At Villa Maria Academy Lower School’s Annual Mission Day, the gym came frightfully alive when; through their service and leadership, the current eighth grade class planned and executed various Halloween type carnival activities for the school. All the proceeds for the Mission Day will support Villa Maria Academy’s efforts to offer monetary assistance to many of the charities Villa Maria supports every year.

The Eighth Grade girls conducting one of the many activities for their Annual Mission Day.

Mello and Hemsley Enjoy International Duet

Mello and Hemsley enjoy international duet

Two Whitman residents traveled to the origins of their craft for a month-long intensive in Paris.
By Jess Fuerst
Add Comment Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Aug. 19, 2010

Christine Mello and Ben Hemsley spent part of the summer in the City of Lights where they learned about music, did a little sightseeing and tasted some find food.

South Philadelphia is 3,705 miles from Paris, France. The distance, however, seems like nothing to Whitman residents Christine Mello and Ben Hemsley.

“It was my first time in Europe,” Hemsley of Second Street and Oregon Avenue, said. “I thought it was wonderful and I can’t wait to go back. The people are very friendly … and it was very clean for the most part.”

Mello, a cellist, and Hemsley, a composer, spent July in an exclusive music composition and theory program held annually at Paris’ La Schola Cantorum. Acceptance is through an audition process and about 50 musicians and artists from around the globe come to France’s capital for the intensive.

“It was a great experience. It was a lot of learning, but it was nice to be in the place where it all happened,” Mello, from Second and Oregon, said. “One of the best things is that I can take it back here and use it in everyday life as a performer and a teacher.”

The two friends traveled across the Atlantic to study with some of the greatest composers in their respective fields, as well as students who put modern twists on timeless classics.While Hemsley focused on his personal compositions, Mello worked with various composers playing their works until they were satisfied with the sound.

“It was great. It was both advanced enough for musicians who are out of college and in grad school, but it focused on the basics. The program comes from a style that no matter your musical discipline, you should be well-versed in everything, a well-rounded musician,” Hemsley said. “You get to study with some of the tops composers in Europe.

“Also, there were some very fresh perspectives, ways I hadn’t thought of thinking of things before — the faculty there was presenting new ways of thinking.”

Though most hours were spent indoors soaking up knowledge, Mello and Hemsley took advantage of their limited free time to see sights such as the Eiffel Tower and Louvre. They even managed a train ride out to the grand castle at Versailles.

“It was the first time I was in France,” Mello, 28, said. “Paris is a great place. The French are totally misunderstood. There are a lot of misconceptions about them, but they are awesome.

“Paris is just like Philadelphia — there are so many areas and such great food and people are so nice, so many little nooks.”



Mello grew up in Pennsport and attended St. Maria Goretti, 1736 S. 10th St., a place, she says, played a huge role in determining her future career.

“There was something so magical about Goretti. I never felt picked on by everyone because I played the cello,” Mello, who was encouraged by a teacher to take up the craft, said. “I had pink hair in college. I listened to classic rock. There was something so passionate for me about classical music. My classmates and the school were so supportive of that.

“I never felt nerdy about it. I’m so happy I’m at such an advantage. It was such a great environment to grow and learn who I am.”

Mello relishes every opportunity to sing the praises of her hometown and the opportunities it afforded her as she feels South Philadelphia is not always recognized for these traits. After graduation she moved on to undergraduate work at the College of Music at Temple University and is currently in the process of earning a graduate degree in music history.

Hemsley, on the other hand, made his way to South Philadelphia a little over a year ago. Born in Drexel Hill, he attended college in Boston at the prestigious Berklee College of Music and continues his studies in Philadelphia with a mentor.

“I work with Benjamin Boyle. He suggested that I look into the program [in Paris]. He works for them, as well. I study composition privately with him. He lives in Philadelphia, he’s a local composer,” Hemsley, 26, said.

After he got word of the program, Hemsley alerted Mello of the idea and the two sent in their respective audition pieces; Hemsley’s consisting of an original composition and Mello’s, a taped piece of her playing. Both also submitted essays and other materials.

“The program is based on a the music of Nadia Boulanger — her teaching style was a very new style, a new way to learn. With that radical type of teaching she changed the face of music,” Mello said of the French composer and educator who is credited with teaching some of the most influential and revered composers of the 20th century.

Mello, who teaches cello, violin and viola, and Hemsley, who is band director for a middle school, fill their lives with music and the joy of passing it on. The program enriched their understanding and fueled the passion they already had for their art.

“I could continue teaching cello my whole life, helping to build or rehab the city orchestra. So as long as I’m doing music,” Mello said.

Hemsley is similarly drawn to his craft, as well as tapping away on his drum set, which is an instrument he began playing in fourth grade.

“I don’t have any good reason to give you why I’m drawn to it. I just know if I’m not doing it something is not right,” he said. “There is a need to compose and create — not to create junk but to create real beauty.

“I’m waiting for my skills to improve so I can play along with the Mummers. I love the music that they play. It’s from the 1890s or 1900s, and it’s like someone is punching [the notes] out at a bar on a slightly out of tune piano.

“It is just absolutely joyous music.”

http://www.southphillyreview.com/news/lifestyles/Mello-and-Hemsley-enjoy-in

Student Council Spreads More Than Goodwill

The eighth-grade leadership team at Villa Maria Academy started the school year out with a cherished Villa tradition...the annual peanut butter & jelly drive. Hundreds of jars of hungry tummy-filling sandwich spreads were gratefully collected and delivered this week to the Archdiocesan Food Pantry.

Villa Welcomes New Faculty Members

Villa Maria Academy welcomes seven new members to the faculty, including (l-r) eighth grade teacher, Bridget Velardi; Kindergarten aide, Patricia Grube; second grade teacher, Sister Maureen Ruth IHM; Assistant Principal, Sister Susan Joseph IHM; seventh grade teacher, Kara Rufo; and Music Program Director, Sister Margaret Logrip IHM. Not pictured, fourth grade teacher, Jennifer Devine.



Founded in 1872, Villa Maria Academy is a Catholic learning community for girls in the IHM tradition of leadership and service. Dedicated to its elementary students in kindergarten through fifth grade and middle school grades six through eight, the Academy is located in historic central Chester County in the town of Immaculata, Pennsylvania.



Contact: Mary Salinas
(610) 644-4864 x 107
msalinas@villamaria.org

www.villamaria.org

Villa Maria Curriculum Initiatives

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWRwx6rH1WI

Philly.com - Academy’s goal: Every student at the head of the class

Check out Philly.com's coverage of Villa Maria's lessons on Leadership for sixth through eighth graders. From October 10, 2007

"Two years ago, Sister Mary Ellen Tennity decided she wanted to grow leaders at Villa Maria Academy.
Not just a handful of girls. Sister Mary Ellen resolved that each and every one of the 380 students at the Chester County school would become strong, principled decision-makers."

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/10327022.html