Bear Essentials - March 4, 2018
On Wednesday, February 28, the Senior Studio Art class visited the MFA Boston. They will be creating final projects in response to the art works they saw at the museum. Mark your calendars for the Festival of the Arts to see their wonderful work on Wednesday April 25!
Looking Ahead
Featured Content
Monday, March 5: Progress Reports
Monday, March 5: Dr. Hartman discussion on drugs/vaping at XBHS, 6:30 p.m. (see info below)
Tuesday, March 6: Ursuline Rosary Group, 7 p.m., Library
Fri., Sat., March 9, 10: Winter Play: Midsummer Night's Dream
Mon.- Fri., March 12-16: Spirit Week
Tuesday, March 13: Mind and Muscle Wellness Program, 5 p.m. (see info below)
Thursday, March 15: Mission Day
Thursday, March 15: Faculty/Staff vs. Student Basketball Game, 3:15 p.m.
Friday, March 16: Rescheduled Father/Daughter Dance
Thurs. - Sat., March 22-24: Montreal Trip, Gr. 10
Tuesday, March 27: Accepted Students Reception
Thurs. Mar. 29 - Mon. April 2: No School, Easter Holiday
Wednesday, April 4: Dad's Drop Off event
From the Main Office
Re-Enrollment Forms Due
Parents of Grades 7-11: Re-enrollment forms for the 2018-19 school year are now due in the business office. Please complete this form as soon as possible if you have not done so already.
Parent Discussion on Vaping with Dr. Lester Hartman
Ursuline Academy and Xaverian Brothers High School will be hosting a talk and open discussion by Dr. Lester Hartman about vaping, what these products look like and how they work, as well as the health effects of tobacco products, on Monday, March 5 at 6:30 pm. at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood. Parents are encouraged to bring their teens with them. Click here to register.
Nominations for Excellence in Education Award
The Catholic Schools Office, with support from the Catholic Schools Foundation, is excited to announce the Archdiocese of Boston Excellence in Education Award. This annual award will honor elementary and secondary school teachers' commitment to developing saints and scholars in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Boston. These teachers will be recognized for their demonstration of strong leadership qualities, faith-filled lives, academic excellence and commitment to their students and school. Administrators, staff, parents and students are encouraged to fill out a brief nomination form by March 16, 2018, to recommend a great teacher for this award. Learn more or nominate someone here.
Spirit Week Coming Soon
UA will be celebrating Spirit Week from March 12th-16th. Students are invited to dress according to the following themes for each day:
Monday, March 12th: "Character Day" - Dress like your favorite character from a book, movie, or TV show, or even your favorite meme.
Tuesday, March 13th: "PJ Day" - Wear your pajamas to school.
Wednesday, March 14th: "America Day" - Put on your patriotic garb, or anything red, white, and/or blue.
Thursday, March 15th: "Color Day" - Each grade wears one color. Students will be told in homeroom what their "grade color" will be!
Friday, March 16th: "Different Decade Day" - Put on your poodle skirt, break out your bell-bottoms, or don your disco dress for this day that celebrates the styles of the past.
Please note that students who do not wish to dress in costume for any day should wear their UA uniform instead.
Prayerful Gathering for Parkland, FL – Thursday, March 15th
On Thursday, March 15, students, staff, and faculty members will be invited to gather during Activity Period in the auditorium to pray for the community of Parkland, Florida, and for peace in all of our schools. This student-led prayer service will bring our community together in harmony to honor those who lost their lives. Attendance is voluntary.
Father/Daughter Dance Rescheduled
Our annual Father/Daughter Dance (originally scheduled for Friday, March 2nd) needed to be cancelled due to inclement weather. Instead, we are looking forward to having fathers and daughters dance the night away on our "rain date" -- March 16th -- from 7-9 PM.
Bears in Action
Robots in Plaid Head to State Competition
Following their success at the FTC Robotics qualifying tournament on February 10, the UA robotics team competed March 3 in the MA FIRST Tech Challenge Championship at Natick High School. Congrats to our Robots in Plaid for advancing to state competition level this season. Participants at the tournament included Audrey Abraham, Taylor Bourikas, Chloe Byrne, Abby Daly, Kathleen Ryan, Hamsa Shanmugan, Kate Touhey, Molly Treseler, and Abby Wukitch.
UA Students in Spain for Foreign Exchange Program
Ursuline sophomores Elizabeth Fronsaglia and Kristina Wronski have returned from a 2-week Spanish Exchange program coordinated with Xaverian Brothers High School. The students went to Valencia and lived with host families and visited numerous sites in the south of Spain including Xativa, Altea, Benidorm, and Sagunto, before traveling to Barcelona. They loved eating Spanish food (especially orxata and paella, which are local to Valencia) and improving their Spanish by spending time with their host families. Spanish students participating in the exchange came to Boston and stayed with us back in October. Thank you to Ms. Cummins and Ms. McNally for chaperoning this trip.
Ursuline sophomores Elizabeth Fronsaglia and Kristina Wronski have returned from a 2-week Spanish Exchange program coordinated with Xaverian Brothers High School. The students went to Valencia and lived with host families and visited numerous sites in the south of Spain including Xativa, Altea, Benidorm, and Sagunto, before traveling to Barcelona. They loved eating Spanish food (especially orxata and paella, which are local to Valencia) and improving their Spanish by spending time with their host families. Spanish students participating in the exchange came to Boston and stayed with us back in October. Thank you to Ms. Cummins and Ms. McNally for chaperoning this trip.
Athletics
UA Basketball in State Tournament
Congrats to the varsity basketball team for its 55-47 win in the first game of the State Tournament against Bishop Stang H.S. this past Wednesday, Feb. 28. The game on the Reynolds Center court was Ursuline's first ever home playoff game. The team next faces Norwell today at 6 p.m. at South Shore Vocational School due to a power outage at Norwell HS. Any further changes will be communicated via Twitter.
Spring Sports Tryouts
Tryouts for spring sports will begin on Monday, March 19. Please submit all of the required paperwork, including documentation of a physical exam within the last 13 months, by March 9. Links to the paperwork and tryout schedules are available on the Athletic Forms and Tryouts page of the UA website.
Faculty/Staff vs. Students Basketball Game
The Annual Faculty/Staff vs. Students Basketball Game will be held on Thursday, March 15 in the Reynolds Center gym as part of UA's Spirit Week activities. The UA community is encouraged to attend to support the opposing teams. Who will win this year?
Ursuline Dramatic Arts
Drama Club Performs Cheaters at XBHS
UA Drama performed their METG one-act play Cheaters at a joint-presentation and talk-back at XBHS on Thursday, March 1. Xaverian performed their play The Seafarer. It was a fantastic collaborative evening of the two schools working together, performing, and providing feedback on each other's plays. (*METG – Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild. 135 schools across Massachusetts participate in this festival.)
Pictured left to right: Sofie Hayes, Grace Kenney, Diana Lynch, Molly McDonald, Catherine Tracy, Sabrina Nedder, Sawyer Strouth, Caroline Reichard, and Sydney Hester
Drama Performance of Midsummer Night's Dream This Weekend
Upcoming Show: Please come see UA Drama's performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Ursuline auditorium this coming Friday, March 9th & Saturday, March 10th. Both shows are at 7 p.m. and are FREE to students with their Ursuline ID!!!
Auditions for Spring Musical
Ursuline Drama is holding auditions for our Spring musical, The Sound of Music, on Monday, March 12, from 3-6 p.m. and Wednesday, March 14 from 5-8 p.m. (Callbacks: Friday, March 16 from 3-6 p.m.) Auditions will be held in the Ursuline auditorium. To schedule a time slot to audition, please contact Mrs. Schnatterly (pschnatterly@ursulineacademy. net)
or Mrs. Glancy (sglancy@ursulineacademy.net).
Audition details: Ursuline girls will be asked to sing "The Sound of Music" and boys auditioning from other schools are asked to sing "Edelweiss." There will also be cold readings from the script.
Show Dates: Friday, May 18 & Saturday, May 19
Dress Rehearsal: Thursday, May 17
Serviam
Upcoming Service Opportunities
Tuesday March 6th: My Brother's Keeper
Wednesday March 7th: Catching Joy
Wednesday March 14th: Ellis Nursing Home
Tuesday March 20th: Boxed Lunch Project
Saturday, March 24th: Norwood Food Pantry
Please sign up for all events with Ms. McNally in Campus Ministry.
Mission Day is March 15
On Thursday, March 15, the entire school community will celebrate "Mission Day" – an Ursuline Academy annual tradition! Homerooms have collaborated to turn our classrooms into spaces where students will enjoy service activities, fun games, and tasty treats. All proceeds raised will be contributed to support Ursuline Missions, as well as other charitable organizations supported by UA. Click here for more information on Mission Day and suggested donations.
Supporting Ursuline
Mind and Muscle: Evening of Yoga and Wellness
On Tuesday, March 13, current families and alumnae are invited to engage mind, body and spirit in the new Reynolds Family Athletic & Convocation Center. An evening discussion about living a healthy lifestyle facilitated by Mary Ambrefe '84, P'18 will be followed by a yoga class with Elizabeth King P '20, '22. Light supper at 5 p.m. Program begins at 5:45 p.m. All welcome. RSVP to specialevents@ursulineacademy. net.
Parent Volunteers Needed for Accepted Students Reception
Admissions season is in full swing, and acceptance letters will be going out in early March. All admitted students and their families will be invited to an accepted students reception on Tuesday, March 27. Parent volunteers are needed to help with check-in, greeting and serving refreshments between 6 and 8 p.m. If you are able to help, please email Janet Reynolds at jreynolds@ursulineacademy.net.
Fore the Girls Golf Tournament
Early Bird Registration Open
Early bird registration is open! UA's 26th Annual Fore the Girls Golf Tournament is Tuesday, May 29 at the Blue Hill Country Club. Cost per player is $250 and includes a light lunch, player gift, round of golf and dinner. All proceeds support the Ursuline athletic program! Click here to see all of the ways you can participate in the school's second largest fundraiser.
Lowder Street News
Women in Leadership Roundtable
Four Ursuline alumnae were joined by bestselling author-illustrator Peter H. Reynolds on Friday, March 2, to speak with juniors and seniors at UA's 21st annual Women in Leadership event. After Reynolds opened the event by encouraging students to pursue their passions and make their marks by living personally meaningful lives, the four alumnae told stories of their professional and personal journeys. We offer our deep appreciation to our guest speakers for sharing their experiences with us!
Keziah Furth '03, Peter H. Reynolds, Anna Dolan '11, Stephanie Klimov '06, Sarah Vartanian '06 and President Rosann Whiting.
Not Going to Montreal? Sophomore Outing Planned
Not going to Montreal? Join classmates at King's Dedham for a night of bowling and fun! Our sophomore class parent reps have reserved 4 bowling lanes at King's Dedham for Thursday March 22, 6-8 p.m. to accommodate up to 28 bowlers. Price will include 2 hours of bowling, shoe rentals, food and beverage. (Final price will depend on how many bowlers sign-up but will be between $30 and $40.) If enough moms are interested, it can be planned as a mom and daughters event! Please RSVP if you are interested to Margot Fronsaglia (Elizabeth's mom) at mfronsaglia@gmail.com.
New in the Ursuline Library
Students looking for something other than course readings can check out the new book display in the library to see what has recently arrived. Click here for the new booklist for March. Also newly arrived in the library are two books donated by UA alumna Stephanie Klimov '06 after her visit for our annual Women in Leadership roundtable: a copy of her YA fantasy novel, The Aeonians, and a copy of the anthology Between Heroes and Villains which includes her short story "The Fate of Patient Zero."
On the Calendar
Dads! A morning event just for you and your daughters! Mark your calendars now to bring your daughters to school on Wednesday, April 4, and stop in for coffee and a bite to eat with the girls and other UA dads.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Ursuline Academy | 85 Lowder Street | Dedham, MA 02026 | 781.326.6161