Community Voices: A Message from the Arts Department |
Everyone's famous in one circle or another. (said by the character Gossip in Brian Hampton's play 'Gossip') On February 3rd and 4th, at 7 p.m. in Angela Hall, Ursuline Theatre presents an evening of Winter One Acts. Our festival play Gossip by Brian Hampton brings the reality of gossip to life and visually shows how it infects everyone. Our student-led one act is a murder mystery called Office Hours written by three seniors, Grace Culver, Emma Dooley, and Sophia Vernacchio and directed by senior Georgia Kazis. It is set on a college campus. Our final play is called A Bowl of Soup by Kendra Thomas. Certain foods connect us to our family and moments that have affected us deeply. The smell of something cooking, even a simple bowl of soup, can trigger powerful memories and speaks to us in a way that nothing else can. In this play, five teens share what their unique bowls of soup mean to them. We will be collecting cans of soup over the next week and at the plays to donate to the Dedham Food Pantry. The Drama program is excited to be heading back to the METG High School Drama Festival on March 4th at Marshfield High School. They are one of eight schools performing at Marshfield that day, with over 120 schools from around Massachusetts taking part in the festival. Our Visual Arts classes will continue to share their work with the community through the gallery displays in Angela Hall. National Art Honors and the Racial Justice Club have almost completed their collaboration for Black History month. Please stop by during the month of February to view this powerful project. Our Chamber Ensemble has begun rehearsing again after the Christmas/Winter break. They are a small group, but committed to making beautiful music. New members are always welcome and it is never too late to join. Please speak with Mrs. Glancy for more information. Choral Group year continues to be a busy one. The week they returned from Christmas break, they headed into Boston to sing at a Women in Leadership breakfast, hosted by the Irish American Partnership. Having learned a piece in German for the Christmas concert with the Parkway Concert Orchestra, they showed their linguistic abilities by singing a song in Irish Gaelic. They are looking forward to singing at a collaborative concert with Xaverian Brothers High School sometime in March (more information to follow) and participating in the MICCA Choral festival at the beginning of April. Glee Club for grades 7 - 12 is a non-auditioned group of students who are dedicated to the art of singing and performing. We are always looking for new members. The Glee Club will be singing songs from musical theater for their spring concert. The Bearitones have been working hard over the last few weeks. They will be singing at Montrose School's a Cappella Jam on Friday, February 10th at 7 p.m. We look forward to seeing you at our many events. If you have any questions about visual arts or the performing arts, please reach out. Warm regards, |
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Susan Glancy Fine Arts Department Chair, Choral Director, General Music Teacher, Drama Director/Teacher |
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| OUR NEW WEBSITE IS LIVE! After months of planning and collaboration, our newly designed site has launched. Visit our fresh, user-friendly and informative website at https://www.ursulineacademy.net |
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| WINTER THEATRE PRODUCTION Join us Friday, February 3 and Saturday, February 4, 2023 for Ursuline Academy's presentation of Three Winter One Act Plays. A Bowl of Soup by Kendra Thomas, Office Hours by Grace Culver '23, Emma Dooley '23, and Sophia Vernacchio '23, and Gossip by Brian Hampton. |
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| ANGST MOVIE SCREENING RESCHEDULED The School & College Counseling Office and the Ursuline Parent Guild invite parents, guardians, and friends of Ursuline Academy to attend a special screening of the documentary Angst, Raising Awareness around Anxiety. Tuesday, February 7th 6:30 pm with post-film discussion Angela Hall Dr. Rebecca Platt, consulting psychologist to Ursuline Academy, will join us for a post-film discussion about what we can do to help our children and identify signs of stress and anxiety. You may contact Director of School & College Counseling Amy Cembor at acembor@ursulineacademy.net with any questions. RSVP HERE if you are able to attend on February 7th. |
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| SERVIAM GOES DIGITAL! The digital version of our 75th Commemorative Edition of Serviam Magazine is now available! Flip through seventy-five years of Ursuline history. You can view the online edition HERE. If you did not receive your copy of Serviam, please contact Janet Reynolds, Director of Annual Giving, at jreynolds@ursulineacademy.net. |
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FEMALE DIVERSITY AWARD Ursuline Academy, has earned the College Board's APĀ® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for expanding young women's access to both AP Computer Science A and AP Computer Science Principles. This award acknowledges 1,105 schools for their work toward equal gender representation during the 2021-22 school year. Ursuline is one of only 64 schools to be recognized for achieving this important result in both courses. |
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| IMPORTANT DATES IN FEBRUARY 2/1: Prospective Student Visit Day 2/3 and 2/4: Winter Theatre Production 2/8: Class of '23 Parents host "Pastries with Parents" 2/9 Mass for Justice and Peace 2/14: Legacy of Love Breakfast (for alumnae and their daughters) 2/20: President's Day, no school 2/21 - 2/24: Winter Break 2/22: Ash Wednesday 2/28: Trivia Night for parents, alumnae, and faculty/staff |
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GET YOUR COPY OF OLIM! The 2022-2023 Ursuline yearbook, Olim, is available for purchase by students in grades 7 through 11. All seniors will receive a copy of the yearbook at no charge in the fall of 2023. You may order your copy through our yearbook vendor, Walsworth (QR code shown right.) |
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ATTENTION CLASS OF 2024 SAT and ACT Prep Class at Ursuline. As counselors meet with students to review their PSAT scores and set a testing plan, Summit Test Prep will again be offering their prep course to juniors in advance of the March SAT and the April ACT. Take a look at the fliers to learn more about the SAT class HERE or the ACT class HERE |
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| ATTENDANCE REMINDERS Please notify the school of absences before 8:00 am by contacting the Attendance Line by emailing attendance@ursulineacademy.net (recommended) or calling (781) 801-1589. Please use the Attendance Line instead of sending a paper dismissal note. This ensures that your absence/attendance information is received immediately and recorded accurately. This is a safety & security matter. Students must sign in or out with the office upon arrival or dismissal from school. The parent/guardian does not need to come into the building unless your daughter is being dismissed from the Nurse's office. |
CORI FORMS We are grateful for our parent and community volunteers who help us throughout the year. If you plan to be a volunteer at Ursuline for ANY events throughout the 2022-2023 school year, you do need to be CORI-checked. Please fill out this FORM, and bring it with a photo ID to the main office or the business office at 112 Lowder Street at least a week prior to volunteering to have it verified. |
PARENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES |
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| PARENT DONATIONS FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK In recognition of Catholic Schools Week, we plan to celebrate our Ursuline Faculty and Staff on Tuesday, January 31 with a continental breakfast sponsored by the Ursuline Parent Guild. Parents are needed to donate food and paper items, and also to help set up the breakfast that morning. Parents are asked to sign up here to help with this special morning event for our teachers and staff. Thank you for your help! |
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| FORE THE GIRLS A little "birdie" told us it's time to start chatting about the Fore the Girls tournament! We are pleased to announce that Steve Palenscar P'27 will be our tournament chair this year. Our first kickoff meeting to learn more will be on Thursday, February 2 at 8 am in the Alumnae Room (2nd floor of the Reynolds Center). Drop off your daughters and join us for a brief gathering. Not a golfer? Not a problem. There are many aspects of this event with which we need assistance. Know of someone who would also like to get involved with you? Bring them along! The tournament will be held on Monday, May 15, 2023 at the Blue Hill Country Club. Save the date and spread the word to your fellow golfers and UA supporters! |
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| MASS FOR JUSTICE & PEACE Ursuline will hold a Mass for Justice and Peace on Thursday, February 9th. This special liturgy will focus on our Catholic teachings: care for the poor and vulnerable; solidarity of our one human family, regardless of race, ethnicity, religious, or economic differences; the life and dignity of all people; fair wages and treatment in civic matters; peace, equality, and social justice among all; and discipleship of Christ. Details to follow. |
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| TRIVIA NIGHT IS BACK! REGISTRATION OPEN! Mark your calendars! Trivia Night in the Tea Room is back on Tuesday, February 28th. Gather at 6:30 pm for refreshments and conversation. STUMP Trivia begins promptly at 7:00 pm. Get ready to compete against teams of parents, alumnae, faculty, staff, coaches, etc. in a very fun game night. Sign up here. All team members must be 21+. |
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| BIG & LITTLE SISTER LUNCH EVENT Next Thursday, in celebration of our students during Catholic Schools Week, Big and Little Sister families will gather for a lunch trivia competition. All students are part of a family, whether or not they are specifically paired with a Big/Little. Reminders of family groupings will be emailed to students. May the brainiest team win! |
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ROBOTS IN PLAID WIN THE MOTIVATE AWARD Ursuline's robotics team, Robots in Plaid, went to their first qualifying event at Andover High School last weekend. The team finished in 9th place and won the Motivate Award, which recognizes the team that displays gracious professionalism and enthusiasm for the philosophy of FIRST Robotics. The team will go onto their next qualification event on February 12th. |
SPEECH TEAM HAS CONTINUED SUCCESS! The Speech Team had yet another successful Saturday on January 21st at the Keith West Memorial Tournament at Boston Latin. Competing against 39 other schools, our students excelled in their categories. Starting with our veteran students: Sana Dhillon ('23) placed 2nd in Radio, Kelly Folwell ('24) placed 1st in Poetry and 2nd in Prose, and Natalie Moran ('23) placed 5th in Radio and 5th in Impromptu. Emily Helm ('24), Meagan Keaney ('23), Maryan Paldo ('23), and Madeline Regnier ('23) continued to build their bids towards States, each placing in the top 15 of their categories. Our Novices also had great success - Grace Erhunmwunse ('26) placed in the top 15 of her category, Grace Jean ('26) placed 4th in Novice Oral Interpretation, and Cailin Kelly ('24) placed 3rd in Group Discussion. Grace Jean and Cailin Kelly have also secured one bid to States each! Our next stop is NCFL Qualifiers in February, and the team could not be more excited! |
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| Congratulations to the Varsity and Junior Varsity basketball teams on their victories over Cardinal Spellman last Tuesday. They host Notre Dame of Hingham tonight, with JV at 5 pm and Varsity at 6:30 pm. The Varsity Ice Hockey teams travels to Marlboro on Monday afternoon to play Hopkinton. The JV Ice Hockey team will host Needham on Wednesday at the Roche Rink at 4 pm . The Track team travels to the Reggie Lewis Track on Monday for a 5 pm race. The Ski team is hoping to get on the ski slopes this week. Results of last week's race are posted in the gym. Spring sports informational meetings were held during the past two weeks. The students were given information on paperwork deadlines as well as the beginning of tryouts. The numbers for those interested in the various sports so far are: Golf: 14, Lacrosse: 59, Softball: 35, Tennis: 15, and Track and Field: 43, for a total of 166. PLEASE NOTE: No student is allowed to use the equipment in the fitness center without adult supervision. We have found students in there using the equipment in a non-safe manner. We do not want anyone to get hurt. |
FITNESS CENTER SCHEDULE All open times are for any students, faculty, or staff who would like to work out. We ask that all who are attending use the sign-in sheet. |
Monday 1/30 3:00 PM open 3:30 PM open 4:00 PM Middle School Basketball 4:30 PM open Tuesday 1/31 3:00 PM Ski 3:30 PM open Wednesday 2/1 3:00 PM open 3:30 PM open 4:00 PM JV Basketball 4:30 PM Varsity Basketball Thursday 2/2 3:00 PM open 3:30 PM Throwers 4:00 PM Indoor track - runners 4:30 PM Varsity Basketball Friday 2/3 3:00 PM open 3:30 PM open 4:00 PM open 4:30 PM open |
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TRIP TO FRANCE: JUNE 15-29, 2024 Paris and the Riviera! Current sophomores and juniors are eligible for this trip. This tour will have two bases: Paris and the Riviera. From these locations we will explore French history from the Middle Ages to the 21st century by means of the great art and architecture of France. Contact Mrs. Petti at lpetti@ursulineacademy.net for more information about how to register for this trip. To enroll in this tour contact Explorica at: www.explorica.com/Petti-9404 |
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SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES! What are you doing this summer? Take a look at the options listed HERE for ways to explore different academic interests and possible future college majors. Check back frequently as more opportunities will be added as we become aware of them. |
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Junior Ring Ceremony! Congratulations to the Class of 2024! Ursuline's traditional Junior Ring Ceremony was celebrated as part of the Feast of St. Angela liturgy on Thursday afternoon, followed by a reception in the Tea Room. |
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| Ursuline Academy | 85 Lowder Street | Dedham, MA 02026 | 781.326.6161 |
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