Dear SUA Community,
One of the favorite parts of my role is sharing the wonderful things that our SUA students are accomplishing. In addition to last week’s article about the Mock Trial’s success, I have a few more highlights.
Several weeks ago, I mentioned that our students participated in the Ethics Bowl, a competition in which school teams analyze real-life, complex ethical issues to determine the most ethical action. Teams are judged on clear presentation skills, their ability to analyze all sides of the issue, respectful discourse, and the quality of constructive criticism that they offer the other team. Coached by Mrs. Elsbrock, one of the two SUA teams was a finalist in the Great 8, representing the only all-girls school in the competition. The following students were part of the SUA team: Caroline Critzer, Audrey Dammarell, Claire Foster, Erin Harding, Ellie Meyers, Giulia Minghetti, Norah Noble, Pippa Schaupner, Raven Schewe, Mabel Smith, Rachael Spieser, Elise VanKerckhove, and Molly Wehner.
This past weekend, the Saint Ursula Academy chapter competed in the Tech Olympics at the GE Aerospace Learning Center. Mrs. Rosen and Mrs. Wainscott coached the SUA team, and senior Eva Winchester served for her second year as the Chapter Coordinator of the event, a significant leadership role within the sponsoring organization, INTERalliance. The entire SUA chapter worked on an impressive project titled Algae: Fueling the Future, which explored how algae could be converted into biofuel for transportation. Their research incorporated chemistry, coding, data analysis, business ethics, and more.
The SUA team performed exceptionally well in the initial presentations and earned a spot in the Chapter Showcase, where the top three teams presented their work to the entire Tech Olympics. A fun fact: two of the top three teams came from all-girls schools. The SUA presenting team earned second place among more than twelve participating schools and were the top-ranked all-girls team. The presenting team members were Caroline Critzer, Claire Foster, Erin Harding, Caroline Reinhart, and Olivia Rosen. Additional members of the SUA chapter who also contributed to the project’s success were Naomi Brown, Reese Frondorf, Claire Geiger, Ellie Meyers, Lizzie Schildmeyer, and Tily Shepherd.
We are incredibly proud of these young women for their intellectual curiosity, leadership, and commitment to excellence that define a SUA education.
As we head into this Lenten season, our school will participate in an Ash Wednesday Prayer Service. In this Sunday Message to the girls, I shared the words of Pope Leo XIV’s Lenten message as they speak beautifully to the needs of our hearts and world today:
“I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves.
Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.”
I wish you a Lenten season filled with reflection and grace.
Go Bulldogs!
Kathy
We will celebrate International Women’s Day on Wednesday, February 25.