On Friday, February 23, we celebrated the Class of 2024 having 100 days until graduation. During the breakfast, we discussed several upcoming important dates and planned activities for our seniors. ese events include St. Gerard eld day, senior retreat and graduation rehearsal dates. We appreciate all who helped in making this event special! We look forward to these exciting occasions as we celebrate our Class of 2024!
Career Day was held for all students on March 8. Villa Walsh enthusiastically welcomed 20 alumnae back on campus to speak tostudentsaboutvariouscareer elds.Wealsowereexceptionally fortunate to welcome someofour alumnaevirtually from all over theworld!Studentsattended vedifferentpanelsandlearnedabout various careers in business, medicine, law, nance, education, entertainment, advertising, and many more. Alumnae shared a wealth of knowledge and discussed their personal and career journies. We are grateful to our alumnae for donating their time tomakethedayasuccessaswellasallwhohelpedinplanningthe school-wideevent!
ePSAT10for studentsingrade 10 willbe administeredon Tuesday,April16,2024.
ePSAT8/9forstudentsingrade8and9 willbeadministered onTuesday,April 23,2024.
GUIDANCEREMINDERS
Seniors:Ifyouhavemadeyourdecision onwhereyouwillbe attending andhavedeposited,pleasewithdrawyourapplications fromotherschools.
SeniorsareSTRONGLYencouraged tospeaktoMrs.Devins aboutcollegeoptions.
Pleasenotify theguidance departmentofanyscholarship awards.Also,pleasecheck theGuidancewebsiteforscholarship opportunities.
Seniorsneedto maketheircollegedeposit byMay1.
Juniors:Pleaseremember toregister forupcomingstandardized test dates.
Sophomores&Freshmen: Studentsarecontinuingtomeet individuallywithMrs.Devinstodiscusscareer andcollege searches.
Shouldanystudent need atranscriptorworkingpapers,please stopintheguidanceofficeoremail Mrs.Devins atdevinse@ villawalsh.org.
eGuidanceDepartmentwillbehostinga CollegeNightfor parentsofstudentsingrades9 through11.More information will besharedas details are nalized.
A big thank you to all the students who collected and contributed toourbookcollectionforthechildrenandfamiliesatSt.Margaret’s ofScotland ParishinMorristown. Aspecial shout-outgoes toDr. LisaLemkeforhercontributionandtoKaylaCastellano’25forher collection of over200books!
Not even an earthquake could rattle the desires of Villa Serves to serve! OnSaturday,April6,thedayaerour4.8earthquake,seven members of Villa Serves volunteered at St. Margaret’s church in Morristownata“FaithandFun”event. AnneRionda’27,Claudia Steinberg’25, Elizabeth Kandziolka’25, Nora Dam’25, Gemma Cafasso’26, Kayla Castellano’25, and Caroline Tully’27 played giantConnectFour,distributedbooksandappliedfun,temporary tattoos to anxious children of the parish. In addition, children and their families were able to sign up for library cards with the Morristown Library.
Inadditiontoanearthquake,thesolareclipsegaveusanopportunity tohaveamoon-themedbakesale.MaesonHonan’27andCaroline Tully’27bakedtheir“stellar”cookiesandraised$57dollarsinone hourforChristinthe Cityanditsmission.
SpecialOlympicsisthelargestsportsorganizationforchildrenand adultswithintellectual disabilities,providingyear-roundtraining and activities to millions around the globe. Under the leadership of Abrianna Espositio’25 and support from Cecelia Maione’25, andKylieMazzei’25,studentssoldfashionbracelets,earrings,and ankle bracelets during the lunches. eir creative efforts brought some“bling”toVillaWalshandover$400dollarsfortheworkofthe
SpecialOlympics.Inaddition,Abriannawasabletocombinethis witha Special Olympics“Plunge2024"pagewithatotaldonation of$3,849dollars!
Nora Dam’25 and Meaghan O’Malley’24 organized a tough competition among the grades to bring in diapers, wipes and necessary creams for needy local families. Aer a creative PR campaign,theseniorclasswonthecompetitionbybringinginover 90 items, but the tallies were close. ank you for the generosity ofourVillaWalsh students andtheirfamilies.
AmeliaKleinle’26ledacollectionofshoestobedistributedthrough Soles4Souls,anon-pro torganizationthat“turnsshoesandclothing intoopportunitiesforeducationandemploymentforthoseinneed.”
OperationSmile
JesseKramer’24sharedwithVillaServesaninformativevideoon theworkofOperationSmile,particularlyinGhana. Malnutrition continuestopreventbabiesandchildrenfromundergoingsurgery andourcontributionstoOperationSmilehelptoensurethatpatients are ttoreceivecare.
ChrismMass
TwoVillaWalshAcademystudentsattendedandactivelyparticipated in the Chrism Mass at St. Johnthe Baptist Cathedral inPaterson,NJ, ontheeveningofTuesday,March26,2024.SophieLewandowska’25 andMarieMagnier’26representedVWAastheybroughtforwardthe oil of catechumens for blessing by Most Reverend Kevin J. Sweeney, Bishop of Paterson.
In this special Liturgy, held once each year during Holy Week, the bishop, joined by the priests of the diocese, gather at the Cathedral to celebrate the Chrism Mass, and thus manifests the unity of the priests with theirbishop. Herethebishopblessesthree oils—theoil of catechumens, the oil of the in rm, and holy chrism — which will beusedintheadministrationofsacramentsthroughoutthediocesein thecomingyear. istraditionisrootedintheearlyChurch,andgoes back even further into Old Testament times. e oil of catechumens is used to anoint someone shortly before receiving Baptism. e oil ofthein rmisusedintheAnointingoftheSick,andtheoilofchrism isusedboth inCon rmationandHoly Orders.
Villa Walsh Academy is grateful to have had the opportunity to experiencethisspecialLiturgy rst-hand. Weprayforourbishop,our priests and deacons, and all those whowill be the recipients ofGod’s manygracesandblessings,astogether weform one body inChrist.
YouthForumwithBishopSweeney
is month Villa Walsh Academy students and Ms. Geraghty joined other Catholic high schools students and campus ministers in the PatersonDiocesetoparticipateinayouthforumentitled“AnEncounter with Youth” hosted by Bishop Sweeney at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison.
In celebration of Women’s History Month in March, Diversity Cafémadeanddistributedcardsofappreciationtofemalefaculty members. In the words of Michelle Obama, “Here’s to strong women. May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.” ank youtoallthestrongwomenwhoinspireus!
MayisAsianAmericanandPaci cIslanderHeritagemonthand a time to recognize how generations of Asian Americans and Paci cIslandershaveenrichedAmericanhistory. Tokick-offour celebration, Diversity Café displayed food, cultural information and fun activities at AprilFest this year. Students enjoyed fun tattoos,coloringpagesandfoodsamples. Aspecialthankyouto the LemeeFamilyfor theirgenerosityandhelpwiththisevent.
DiversityCaféisalsoplanninganInternationalDayonApril25 during both lunches. If your family has food that honors your culturethatyouwouldliketoshare,pleasecontactDiversityCafé teacher/ adviser, Mrs.Karen Cunico at cunicok@villawalsh.org tobe partof thisevent.
AsanextensionoftheSynodonSynodality,PopeFrancis’endeavorfor the Catholic Church to work with young people to help forge a path inthemodernworldbaseduponlistening,discernment,andmission, the day was lled with prayer, icebreakers, small group discussions, andadoration.
BishopSweeneystressedtheimportanceoflettingCatholicyouthknow thattheirvoicesareheardbytheChurch.“Itisimportantwelisten to all members of the Church and that includes our young people who arethepresentandfuture ofourChurch.”
Atimetobondandgrowintheirfaith,theVWAstudentslearnedabout manydifferentfacetsofwhatitmeans tobeapartoftheChurch,and howtheyeachhavethepotentialtoimpactnotonlythefuture,butthe present Church. e day was just the beginning, as we will continue thehaveopendiscussionsthataddresstheroletheChurchmusttake tosupportyoungpeople.
Some of the VWA students were asked to be on Bishop Sweeney’s podcast,so beonthelookoutforthatover thenextmonth!
HolyWeekPrayerService
VillaWalshAcademymarkedthesolemnityofHolyWeekbywalking withJesusandMaryontheWayofthe CrossonWednesday,March 27in St.LucyChapel.
eStationsoftheCrossisanancientCatholicpracticeof joiningwith theworldwideChurchinrememberingthesacri cesthatJesusmade for us on Good Friday, from His condemnation, the carrying of the crossonwhichHewoulddie,thepainandhumiliationHeendured, and the mercy and consolation He received from Mary, Veronica, Simon of Cyrene, and the weeping women of Jerusalem, until His burial ina tombsuppliedby Josephof Arimathea.
Villa Walsh Academy’s Chorus, directed by Mr. Paul Daher, set a reverenttonefortheprayerservice,leadingthecongregationinsong and lament before, between, and aer each Station. Special thanks to the eology Department, including Sr. Laura Bezila, M.P.F., Ms. Colette Geraghty’15, Sr. Helen Sanchez, M.P.F, and Mrs. Laura Williamsforpreparingthe students tolead theAcademy in prayer.
At the conclusion of the prayer service, students returned to their schooldayinsilence,tobetterprepareandcontemplatefortheevents ofHolyWeek.
ank you to the following students who helped us to ponder each Stationbyreading,carryingcrossandcandlesaroundthesanctuary, or leading the congregation in intercessory prayer: Delaney Caughey’24,SarahChambeau’24,JesseKramer’24,GraceMesce’24, Nicole Muniz’24, Erin Parker’24, Nadia Pinsonault’24, Clara Ainsworth’25, ElizabethKandziolka’25,MadelineKnagenhjelm’25, Marissa Noonan’25, Malia Nugent’25, Sadie Smith’25, Cierra Wolckenhauer’25, Bridget Drew’26, Elizabeth Edattel’26, Jane Guarnieri’26,ClaireImossi’26,EmmaNaughton’26,Cameron Shull’26,AlexisSica’26,GeorgiaDoyle’27,EmilyMurphy’27, Isabella Orosz’27 Ava Sansano’27, Caroline Tully’27, Ella Trzesniowski’27, Kiera Vowells’27, Juliana Kenworthy’28, Satine Nader’28, Layla Vreeling’28, Catherine Azares’29, EveMartin’29,EmmaMurphy’29.
At the second district event at Montgomery High School, Sisters 1st’s robot RiRi ranked 5th out of 36 teams. is earned Sisters 1st FRC Team 8513 the honorable position of Alliance Captain for the playoffs, which meant they had the opportunity to choose 2 other teams to join their alliance to maximize their chances of winning.Sisters1ststrategizedwiththeirallianceteamswithstrong determinationandefficientteamwork–twode ningcharacteristics ofTeam8513!roughtheirstrategicplanningandapproach,Sisters 1st reached the exhilarating nals. Although they lost the nals, theyalsoreceivedtheJudgesAwardandwiththeir2ndplace nish, theyearnedtheopportunitytocompeteatLehighUniversity–the FIRSTMid-AtlanticDistrictFinals.
Inpreparationforthiscompetitiveevent,Sisters1stworkeddiligently on upgrading RiRi to make her an even ercer opponent. e BuildTeamchangedthewheelsinRiRi’sverticalshooter,allowing RiRi to score notes into the speaker even quicker and with more force than before, and worked on ne-tuning RiRi’s autonomous mode–the15secondsatthebeginningofeachmatchwhereRiRi ispre-programmedtofunctiononherown.WithRiRibackintop shape,Sisters1st wasready forLehigh.
At Lehigh, RiRi faced multiple difficult teams but proved to be a strongcompetitorevenastheteam’sranking uctuatedthroughout the weekend. In between matches,Sisters 1st hadthe opportunity tomeetoneoftheirmainsponsors,Johnson&Johnson,andshare more about their team. Mr. Paul Gioioso, the Johnson & Johnson representative, expressed great admiration towards RiRi and the story of the team.Unfortunately,Sisters1st was not selectedto be in a playoff alliance with another team, but they were honored by receiving the Industrial Design Award. Sisters 1st was still very proud of RiRi, and they were ranked 19th in their district of NJ, eastern PA,andDE,qualifyingthem for Worlds!
OurgirlswillattendtheculminatingchampionshiphostedbyFIRST onApril17-20inHouston,Texas.WatchNews12NJnextweek,as anchorKurtSiegelinwillbementioningourteamon“JerseyProud”.
GoSisters1st!
YouAREWomenWhoDoings!
LacrosseVarsity
e2024varsitylacrosseseasonhashadapromisingstart. Whilepostinga0-4start,theteamhassomeexciting upcomingmilestones.Atprinttime,Seniorgoalkeeper LaurelHamilton’24isonegoalshyof300saves,and sophomoreeresaBowers’26is vegoalsawayfrom reachingher100thcareergoal,andwehopetoseeboth ofthoseathletesreachtheirrespectivemilestonesat AprilFest. CaraFitzpatick’26andEmilyMurphy’27 also recordedtheir rstcareervarsitygoals.
Varsityplayersincludeseniors ReeseMcChesney’24, LiliannaWendorff’24,NadiaPinsonault’24,Laurel Hamilton’24,and MeaghanO’Malley’24;juniors IsabellaPizzo’25,KaylaCastellano’25,SkylerPela’25, NoraKra’25,MarissaNoonan’25;sophomores eresaBowers’26,GiseleLongo’26,So aKearns’26, CaraFitzpatrick’26,MichelaVaccaro’26,andJillian Paolino’26;freshmenCarolineTully’27andEmily Murphy’27
LacrosseJV
JVVILLAXhashadagreatstarttothe2024season. EachoftheJVathleteshashada erceshowingonthe eld.Wehavemultiplereturningplayers:NoraKra’25, MarissaNoonan’25,CoraReardon’25,Angelina Rizk’25,AlexandraRezza’25,MeganYoung’25,Jane Anderson’26,CaraFitzpatrick’26,JillianPaolino’26, AlexaPerez’26,MichelaVaccaro’26,AlexisSica’26
Ourteamalsogainedseveralnewcomers,including onesophomore,CameronShull’26,andfourfreshmen, AngelinaDattolo’27,GeorgiaDoyle’27,Isabella Nilio’27,andBiancaPetrucci’27.Our rsttwogames haveproducedsolidwinsoverLivingstonHighSchool andRoxburyHighSchool.
Welookforwardtocontinuingoursuccessduringour AprilFestgameagainstKittatinnyHighSchool.
GolfVarsity/JV
egolfteamopenedtheseasonwithastrongeffort againstthedefendingMorrisCountychampions, Chatham.Withtwogoodroundsbyco-captains Holly Smitreski’24andNoraDam’25,theteamledmostofthe matchbeforeChathamclosedstrongandwonthematch bysevenshots.
Nextupwasaverystrongsquad fromNewarkAcademy. eout-of-conferenceopponentwillprobablychallenge forastatetitlethis year.egirlsplayedwelland got
somevaluableexperiencebeforedroppingthematch. e VWAteamearnedtheir rstseasonwinwhentheydefeated MountainLakesbythirteenshotsinahomematchatSpring BrookCountryClub.RebekahSaxon’27 led aconsistentteam effortwitha48.BridgetDrew’26 shotapersonalseason-low 52.
eteamisveryyoungwithonlyonesenior Holly Smitreski’24,onejuniorNoraDam’25,threesophomores
BridgetDrew’26,KristinaDangler’26,AmeliaKleinle’26 andelevenfreshmanRebekahSaxon’27,ValentinaReale’27, SarahPorr’27,KieraVowells’27,KatelynMcGowan’27, OliviaBarsemian’27,AvaSansano’27,LexiStappas’27,Ella Trzesniowski’27,LiaGriffin’27,andPeytonSimmons’27.Our teamconsistsofplayerswithvaryinglevelsofexperience.Due totheharshweatherthisspringourteam,likeallNJteams, hasn’thadmanyopportunitiestogetoutonthegolfcourseto play. Despitethat,eachplayerontheteamhasimproved,and welookforwardtohavingastrongsecondhalfofourseason.
SpringTrack&Field
eVillaspringtrackteam,aka“SPRACK”,consistsofsenior captains JesseKramer’24 andDelaneyCaughey’24,juniors
MargaretBoler’25,AnnaCollins’25,MariaCostello’25, AmaliaHronides’25,So aJordao’25,LeiaLange’25,Ines Lemee’25,ErinLyons’25,AveryPoruczynski’25,Martha Smart’25,SadieSmith’25,DelaneyYosh’25,sophomores
JohannaAguilar’26,ClodaghBateson’26,Gemma Cafasso’26,GraceCalvano’26,ElodieCooney’26,Blythe Dudley’26,EmmaNaughton’26,BerniceFernando’26, EmiliaKapas’26,NinaMcLaughlin’26,andthreeenergetic freshmen, AzariahAndrews’27,MaeveDam’27,andIsabella Orosz’27.Wealsowelcomeanewassistantcoach,Katie Moritz,whocomeswithplentyofenergyandexperienceto supportCoachYomborandCoachLadolcetta. “SPRACK” startedouttheseasonwithtwo“double-dual” meetsversusParsippanyHillsandMountainLakesand versusHanoverParkandMorristownBeard.Plentyofgood performancessetthetoneforacompetitiveseason.Several athletesonthisteamhavethepotentialtotakedownoneorthe otherVWAspringtrackschoolrecord.
enextfewweekstheteamwillcompeteinseveralrelay meets,culminatingintheMorrisCountyRelaysonMay1, 2024,atRandolphHighSchool.OtherbigmeetsaretheNJAC ChampionshipsandtheMorrisCountyChampionships,the NJISAAPrepMeet,andtheNJSIAAStatesChampionshipsin earlyJune.
Goodlucktotheteam!GoSPRACK!
Soball
VillaWalshSoballisback!OurJVSoballteamisexcited tobebackonMcEwanFieldandfullofenthusiastic,hardworkingplayers!erosterincludes Colleen‘Jackie’ Walsh’24,GraceMesce’24,CatherineCollum’24 (team manager),Catherine‘Katie’Lane’24 (teammanager), Sarah Chambeau’24,KaitlynPavagadhi’25 (captain),Claudia Steinberg’25 (captain),RoisinYosh’25,AgustinaMartinez Ferretti’25,LilyMeier’25,JaneGuarnieri’26,Katelyn Hadzima’27,IsabellaPropperStuehr’27,AnneRionda’27, andKatherine‘Katie’Treacy’27.Wekickedofftheseason withabigwinagainstDoverHighSchoolaway,winning 14-4!eteamlookedforward totheAprilFesttournament. Unfortunately,thegamewascutshortduetotheweather andaninjury.ButnotbeforeKaitlynPavagadhi’25 andLily Meier’25hittheballandmadekeyplaystoshowwhatit takestobenamedtotheAll-Tournamentteam!Waytogo, KaitlynandLily!WearegoingtoFDUonTuesday,April16, towatchthetwocollegeteamscompeteandcheeronthe localteam.Welookforwardtoreturningtothe eldthis weektoprepareforournexthomegameagainstDoverthis Friday,4/19.
Comeoutandcheeruson! Let’sgo,SOVWA!
eMarchALCmeetingwasheldonMarch20th.eALC is hosting Movie Night on April 19 and will take a trip to MicrosoinNYConApril29.
enextmeetingisscheduledforMay16th,whenthe20242025ExecutiveBoardmemberswillbeannounced.
e April Booster meeting was held on Monday, April 8 in the SDLAC Study Room. e Booster Team Parents shared updates about each team and plans for bonding events and dinners.MuchofthemeetingwasspentdiscussingtheDinner &GolfFundraiseronursday,May2.
Please contact Booster Club President Lynne Connor to volunteer to serve on a committee and look for our weekly newsletters via email showcasing sponsors, special announcements,andwaystoparticipate.
WehopetoseeyouattheDinner&GolfFundraiseronMay2!
Warmerweatherisrightaroundthecorner! StockuponspringfashionsattheVWABoutique!
Refresh your uniforms and show your school pride with someVWAmerchandisedesignedforyoureveryneed!
SHOPPINGISEASY!
e boutique is open online every day for your shopping convenience: stores.villawalsh.com
VillaSHINES!
(http://stores.villawalsh.com/)
