Dear SUA Community,
The 2024-2025 school year is off to a great start! First, Lelia and I want to thank you as parents and guardians for sending your incredible daughters to Saint Ursula Academy. It is such a pleasure to reconnect with the students and see how much they also are enjoying being back on campus with each other.
From the first day of school to Dawg Day, we had a lot of memorable moments last week. My favorite by far was when the girls came together to sing our school song, “A New Dawn,” after Mass to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption last Thursday. Just in case you have not ever witnessed this event, here is the video. The sense of sisterhood is very special here at SUA, and the tradition of singing our school song after Mass is one time when it is very easy to feel it. I felt so grateful that we are all together again - and with the Class of 2028 and our new students to make us complete. This week is another SUA tradition of Welcome Week. The students enjoy the theme days and express their school spirit as a way to celebrate the new school year.
This week we also welcomed eleven students from the Canary Islands who will be shadowing their SUA host sisters as part of a Spanish exchange program. These young Spanish women are being trained to be future leaders of their country, and part of their enrichment involves spending a month in an American high school to learn about our educational system and culture. Additionally, we are blessed to have a German exchange student who will be with us for the entire first semester through our partnership with AFS. Many thanks to our SUA students and families who have welcomed these exchange students into their homes. These exchanges are mutually beneficial as our students have the opportunity to increase their global and cultural competency right here on campus through interactions and friendships with young women from around the world.
Finally, a friendly reminder that next Tuesday, August 27, is a remote learning day for students. Our faculty and staff will be engaged with professional development and preparations centered around the new '25-'26 schedule. Teachers will assign asynchronous learning activities that students can complete at home during the school day. If it would be helpful for your daughter to work on campus on August 27, she is welcome to be here during regular school hours. Please email Jenna Fischesser, our school administration office manager, at jfischesser@saintursula.org by Friday of this week so that we can make arrangements.
As exciting as a new school year can be, transitions can also come with their own set of challenges as well. Please let us know if there is anything that we can do to help your child during these important weeks.
Go Bulldogs!
Kathy