November 19, 2021
Happy Thanksgiving!
No School Wednesday, November 24 - Monday, November 29.
Classes resume Tuesday, November 30.
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Community Voices: A Message from our Chief Advancement Officer
Time, Talent, and Treasure
You're asked to give of these items often -- by your church, your alma mater, your favorite community organizations, and by Ursuline. It is my hope that you will become, and remain, involved with Ursuline as a volunteer, a donor -- or both!
I'm aware that already this school year, you've been asked to support Ursuline in so many ways. But here's why supporting Ursuline's annual giving program is so important. Tuition alone does not cover the complete cost of educating our daughters, especially in these times. The Fund for Ursuline helps to bridge that gap. A strong giving program makes technology improvements, tuition assistance, co-curriculars, and enrichment programs possible. And every dollar helps.
How can you show your support?
- Consider a donation in response to the appeal you received in the mail or make a gift online.
- Sponsor, donate an auction item, or buy tickets to Ursuline's Got Talent, being held virtually on December 12.
- Support Ursuline with opportunities in 2022 as well, like the Day of Giving and the 30th Anniversary Fore the Girls Golf Tournament being held June 20 at Blue Hill Country Club.
- If you're a parent of a senior, consider the tradition of supporting the Senior Parent Gift Fund.
This Thanksgiving, let's live the spirit of Serviam. Giving Tuesday is November 30th. We give thanks for you, and instead of asking yet again for a donation on this global giving day, we will ask that you remember someone else in need. . . someone who needs help with food, clothing, or some other crucial item.
Please contact me if you have any questions or wish to discuss how you can become involved.
Gratefully,
Joe Ziska P '22
Chief Advancement Officer
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News and Announcements
Reminder about Student Supervision on Campus after school
Please be reminded that students are expected to leave campus by 5:00 p.m. unless they are participating in a supervised co-curricular activity such as an athletic practice/game, drama practice, a service activity, or another adult-supervised activity. Thank you in advance for complying with this important safety practice.
Xaverian Bus Reminder for Monday, November 22
Local Motion and Montrose Bus - First Student will pick up at 3 p.m. on Monday, November 22nd. All other buses will not run from UA due to Xaverian's early dismissal.
SLA Meal Accounts - New Policy Effective December 1
Effective December 1, 2021, we will be restricting student SLA meal accounts that have accumulated high negative balances. Once an account has a balance due of $30, the purchasing capabilities will be limited to a lunch only; snacks and desserts will be restricted until the account balance is resolved. Over the holiday break, we are kindly requesting that all families log into their child's account at schoolpaymentportal.com to replenish funds or pay outstanding balances. With the new negative limit, students will be reminded at check out when their balance is getting low and parents will receive emails from SLA should their child's account go negative and will continue to communicate as their balance nears the limit of thirty dollars overdue. SLA is committed to working with Ursuline administration to ensure that all students are able to eat lunch, regardless of their account balance, so please be aware that we will not let students go hungry. If you have any questions about this change, please contact Dean of Students, Brittanny O'Meara, at bomeara@ursulineacademy.net.
SLA Food Service Cookies for Cans Drive
SLA Management is getting ready for its 5th Annual Cookies for Cans food drive. We will participate in this event during the last week of November (11/30– 12/3). Cookies for Cans is a week-long event when students are invited to bring in non-perishable food items to their SLA Café in exchange for a freshly baked cookie. Students can receive up to 1 free cookie per day. The food collected from this event will be donated to the Dedham Food Pantry.
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Campus Ministry
Soup and Spirituality
At Ursuline, being shaped in the image of God is not a one-time event or the product of a single religious education class, but a rich, ongoing growth into the full humanity that God desires for each of us. In that spirit, all alumnae and parents are invited to join Soup and Spirituality, a three-week Advent journey of prayer and meal sharing meant to foster personal and communal spirituality. Soup and Spirituality will be held from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the Tea Room on Tues., Nov. 30, Tues., December 7, and Tues. December 14. An Advent prayer book will serve as the foundational resource for Soup and Spirituality. RSVP here and please be certain to include your address on the sign up sheet so that it may be sent in advance of the first gathering. We look forward to sharing the beauty and simplicity of this Advent journey together!
Heart to Heart
This month's Heart to Heart newsletter from the Central Province Office of Mission and Identity focuses on the gift of music. We hope you enjoy this reflection from our own Susan Glancy, Fine Arts Department head!
December After-School Service Opportunities
Thursday, December 2: White Oak Cottages
Thursday, December 9: Community Servings
Wednesday, December 15: Tea Room event for New Life Furniture
Students can sign-up for these events through the Google Forms found on Campus Ministry Service.
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75th Anniversary Speaker Series - Molly Burhans
Making Land Work for Good: Property as a Powerful Force for Change
A Virtual Event with Molly Burhans,
Executive Director and Founder of GoodLands, Thursday, December 2, 7 p.m. via Zoom
"Molly Burhans wants the Catholic Church to put its assets - which include farms, forests, oil wells, and millions of acres of land - to better use. But, first, she has to map them."
Molly Burhans is an internationally-recognized leader in cartography, social entrepreneurship, conservation, and innovation for faith-based impact-driven property use and management. She founded GoodLands to mobilize the Catholic Church to use her property wisely to enhance her existing ministries and missions — to care for creation, to end homelessness, to welcome the stranger, to deliver programs and services to the right places and at the right times, and to support her own fiscal sustainability.
Click here to register. An email with the Zoom details will be sent upon registration.
Molly Burhans is a recipient of the Sierra Club's 2021 EarthCare Award, the 2019 United Nations Young Champion of the Earth Award for North America, a 2021 National Geographic Emerging Explorer, a 2020 Henry Arnhold Conservation Fellow, and an Ashoka Fellow for social entrepreneurship. Molly was profiled in the New Yorker in February 2021.
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Ursuline's Virtual Gala on Sunday, December 12
Students! We need your talent! Submissions due Monday, November 29. You could win a CASH PRIZE when our Virtual Gala returns on Sunday, December 12.
Click here for Talent Criteria.
Click here for Self-Recording and Submission Instructions.
Parents! We need you too!
Purchase a sponsorship or event registration, donate to help fund auction gift baskets and raffle prizes, and most of all, plan to join us virtually on Sunday, December 12!
Click here to purchase a sponsorship or tickets.
Click here to make a cash donation for our auction.
Your sponsorship may include a custom UA swag bag, and/or home delivery of dessert and exclusive French Les Ursulines wine to enjoy during the show!
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Life on Lowder Street
Ursuline Annual Powderpuff Game this Tuesday!
The annual Junior vs. Senior Powderpuff football game is on Tuesday, November 23 from 3 - 4:30 p.m. on the back field. All are invited to cheer on their favorite upperclassmen in this beloved Ursuline tradition!
UA Bookstore Open Hours Next Week
New sweatpants and joggers, as well as a new long-sleeved t-shirt have arrived! The store will be open during activity period and all lunches on Monday, Nov. 22 and Tuesday, Nov. 23, as well as after school and during the Powderpuff Game on Tuesday, Nov. 23. Come in and see what's new!
Save the Date! Christmas Movie Gathering on Friday, December 3
All students are invited to stay after school on Friday, December 3rd to watch the movie Elf in Angela Hall to kick off the holiday season. Students are welcome to bring a blanket and a snack to get comfy and enjoy the movie. Students should plan to be picked up at 5 p.m. following the movie.
Ursuline Math Club Offers Homework Help
Ursuline's Math Club will be offering stop-in homework help sessions every Day 5 Activity in Mrs. Jud's classroom, RC 208. We have student volunteers willing to help you in any math subject from Pre-Algebra all the way to AP Calc! We hope to see you there!
UA Students Participate in AMC Math Competition
On Wednesday November 10, thirteen students participated in the AMC 10/12 math competition hosted by the Mathematical Association of America. That afternoon after school, students gathered in room 012 and for 75 minutes worked hard at 25 very challenging math problems. As one student said upon leaving, "that was humbling!" Results will be announced within the next 6 weeks by the MAA. Kudos to all of those students for their diligent work that day as they accepted this math challenge! Participants: Calista Adler '22, Vassiliki Boutalis '22, Grace Culver '23, Mia Daoust '23, Payton Evans '24, Sophia Harper '24, Alison Irving '26, Caroline Killilea '23, Onyekachi Nwazojie '25, Nina Polansky '23, Kayla Sullivan '24, Erin Uniacke '23, and Meghan Walker '23.
Class of 2023 Service Project
Earlier this month, the Class of 2023 class parents organized a parent-daughter service opportunity. They spent time cleaning up trash in the areas around Rustcraft Field and Dedham Pool, supporting the junior year service focus of the environment and being a good neighbor to the Dedham athletic facilities our teams use.
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Athletics Updates
Congratulations to the Soccer, Swimming and Diving, and Volleyball teams on successful seasons.
Swimming and Diving Season Wrap-Up
Ursuline Swimming and Diving placed 6th overall (209 points) in their first year of swimming in the Division 1 States. The successful end of the season began on Thursday in Dedham with Meghan Walker '23 and Kelly Folwell '24, both placing in the top 16 of the diving competition. Kelly placed 11th with 336.80 points and Meghan finished 15th with 311.95.
States continued on Saturday in Wellesley for the swimmers and began with a bang. The 200 yard Medley relay team of Cara Hill '26, Isabella Lombard '23, Maddy Smith '22, and Mary Powers '23 finished in 5th with a season best 1:52.97. In the next event, Jennifer McGrail '22, broke the school record in the 200 yard Freestyle held by Libby Gormley '18 with a time of 1:58.60. Powers joined the team theme of dropping time with a season best in the 200 yard Individual Medley, 2:19.28, placing 10th overall. Smith continued her fast swimming, winning the 100 Fly with a 58.43; capping her Fly career winning both South Sectional and Division 1 States for the 2021 season. Joining her in the top 5 was McGrail with a 1:00.87. Lombard finished 7th in the 50 yard Freestyle with a 25.29. Hill swam a season best 55.91 in the 100 yard Freestyle, placing 8th.
The 200 yard Freestyle relay of Grace Morash '26, Vivian Krawiecki '24, Powers, and McGrail came in 8th with 1:48.27; another top 10 finish for Ursuline. To conclude the meet, the 100 Backstroke featured three Ursuline swimmers and all three scored to add to the total for the meet. Leading in the 100 backstroke was Lombard who won her second career individual State championship with a winning time of 59.09. Powers finished her busy day with a 1:13.43 in the 100 yard Breaststroke and placed 12th. The final event of the day, with thunderstorms brewing outside, was the 400 yard Freestyle relay of McGrail, Lombard, Hill, and Smith. The team came in 3rd, tied with Brookline, with a final time of 3:44.74. What a way to finish the season; congratulations to the entire team!
UA Hosts Special Olympics Basketball
This past Saturday, Ursuline hosted a Special Olympics/Unified Basketball tournament with teams from Franklin, Lynn Tech, Melrose, Plymouth and Weymouth. There was a lot of excitement among the spectators in the gym watching the games. Special thanks to Annalee Petrella, Sophia Harper, and Fiona Crowley (left to right in photo) for all their help. Later in the day Ursuline hosted St. John's School of Wellesley in a basketball clinic for twenty-two girls. Special thanks to Fiona Crowley, Annalee Petrella, Nina Vermette, and Coach Morgan O'Donnell for showing the girls various drills and workouts.
Winter Sports Tryouts Begin November 29
Winter Sports tryouts begin on Monday, November 29 for Basketball and Ice Hockey. Skiing and Winter Track will begin on Tuesday, November 30. Please see the website for actual times and locations. Paperwork was due in on November 16. All paperwork must be turned in to be eligible to participate.
Fitness Center Schedule
The UA Fitness Center will be closed for the weeks of Nov. 22 and Nov. 29. Thank you!
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International Travel
International Trip to Japan, April 2023
Ursuline Academy is planning an international trip to Japan for students in April 2023. Current 10th and 11th graders are eligible to enroll. The tour itinerary will include Tokyo, from the Imperial Palace to video game mecca; folk villages and gardens in the Japanese "alps" Kanazawa and Takayama; an overnight in a traditional Japanese inn (Ryoken); Kyoto with its Geisha district; a Tea Ceremony and traditional dancing show; Himeji Castle; and a visit to Hiroshima (atomic bomb site) via bullet train. April is cherry blossom season in Japan. Enroll at: explorica.com and use Tour Center ID: Petti-9568. Contact Mrs. Petti in Room 104 or email lpetti@ursulineacademy.net with questions.
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Friendsgiving
Thanks to everyone who prepared and participated in Friendsgiving yesterday, especially our Tea Room staff who prepared a full Thanksgiving meal, our facilities crew who set up the Tea Room family-style, and to our Dean of Students, Ms. O'Meara, who organized the event. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Quick Links
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Ursuline Academy | 85 Lowder Street | Dedham, MA 02026 | 781.326.6161