Villa Walsh Academy NEWSLETTER
November 2024
VILLA SERVES
eCollege BoardreleasedPSATscoresearlierthismonth. Studentscanaccess theirscoresbyloggingintotheir College Boardaccounts. Juniorshavebeen having individual meetings to discuss theirresults and collegeplanning.
Pleasebeawareofupcomingtest dates andregistration deadlines. Studentsinninth andtenthgrade willstarttomeetwith Mrs. DevinsaerthestartoftheNew Year. PleasecalltheGuidance Officewithanyquestions.
Parents/Guardians:if yourdaughteris planningontakingany upcomingstandardizedtests,includingAPexamsinMay,and requires accommodations,pleasecheckwith theguidanceoffice toensureallof herpaperworkisuptodate.
COLLEGECORNER
eClassof2025isencouragedtonotifyGuidancewithcollege decisions.While weknowthe waitingpartofhearingbackfrom collegescanbe challenging,weaskforyou to keep the faith.
Studentsshouldalso update theGuidanceOfficewith anyscholarship awards.
Alltranscriptrequest formsfor January1stdeadlines weredueDecember9,2024
Ifyourdaughter hasnotsigned offon her diploma name and/or been measured for hercap andgown,she should stopintheGuidanceOffice assoon aspossible. Researchscholarships!Somenationalsourcesinclude: www. fastweb.com and www.collegeboard.org.ereis alsoscholarship informationon theGuidancewebpageandindividualcollege websites.
PEERTUTORING
Peertutoringremainsavailable forallstudents whofeel they couldbene tfrom some additionalhelpwitha class.esignup for requestingandprovidingpeertutoringcan befoundon the dooroftheGuidance Office.PleasestopinoremailMrs.Devins ifyouhave anyquestions.
FoodDrive
Under the leadership of EmmaNaughton’26andJane Guarnieri’26,VillaWalsh studentsfrom7thto 12thgrade competedagainst eachother to bringinneeded fooditems for ouranksgivingfooddrive. Cansoffruitand vegetables wereincompetitionwithbagsof riceandbeans,muffin mixandbreakfastcereal. Allgradesandfacultyperformed generouslyandover60bagsofpantryproductswerecollected andbagged. ewinner of thegrade competitionwasour fabulous andgenerousfreshmen! e Parishof St.Agnes in Patersonpickedup thedonationsasourstudentshelped to loadthetruck. Manythanks tothe Villafamilieswho helped tomakethisa success.
Coats
Sandwichedbetween anksgivingandChristmas, Anne Rionda’27,organized a children’s coatdriveforthe families atSt.Margaret’sofScotlandinMorristown. Inadditiontoa bake salefromwhichAnneused the funds topurchasejackets, thecollectionbroughtin over 80coatsand jackets forkidsand theirfamilies.
Toys
One of ourVillaServeselves, JulianaKenworthy’28,was busyorganizingallthe other elvesthisholidayseason to bringin toys forsome needylocal families. Donationsof stuffed animals,toys,artsandcra suppliesweresortedand distributedbyMary’sHands atSt Margaret’s Church. e generosityoftheVillaWalshstudents,teachers andtheir families allowsus tocontinueourmission to servelocallyand globally.
OperationSmile
For some fallfun, andtoraise funds for OperationSmile this year,MarieMangier’26 and JaneAnderson'26,organized the VillaWalshjuniorsandseniors,who went head-to-headin theiryearlygameofPowderpuffFootball. Inadditiontothe game,bakedgoods,cocoa,andt-shirts were soldinaneffortto raisefundsforOperationSmile surgeries.
eresultsofthese effortsenabledus tosendacheckfor $1,400to Operation Smile.
Operation Smileisan internationalmedical charitythat provides surgeriesforchildrenandyoungadults indevelopingcountrieswho arebornwithclelip,clepalateandother facial deformities. In additiontothe girlswho participatedin thegame,thisyear’sgame hadlotsofhelpfromMr.RayMosso,Mrs.JenFleury,Mr. Edward NoonanandMr.MichaelParrillo.
DiversityCafe'
DiversityCafe'meets each weektoraise“cultural awarenessfor everyone.” Recent discussions included raising cultural awareness andwaystoimprovethe standardoflivingfor NativeAmericans livingin theUnitedStates.rougha lunchtime bakesale,students wereabletoraise$175dollarsto helpimprovethe livesofour NativeAmericans.
VILLA ARTISTS
Comesee ourVillaartists’work displayedatthe Sotheby's Art& Home Gallery on SouthStreetin Morristownforthemonth of December.Galleryhoursare12-5pmTuesdaythroughSaturday.
AspecialOpen House forfriendsandfamilywill be hosted duringthe weekofDecember9th-14th. erewillbelight holidayrefreshments andasmalltoken of appreciationforthe studentsinvolvedintheexhibit.
Featuredstudentsinclude:
Seniors -AugustinaMartinez-Ferretti,AveryPoruczynski, LizzieKandziolka
Junior - AlexaPerez
Sophomores -EmilyMurphy,IsabellaPropperStuehr,Cecilia Timmons
Freshman - SorayaTomas,JosieRezza
MannequinDesign
Mrs.CheiferandMrs.Laganawouldliketo thankallofthe designerswho participatedin VWA’sirdAnnual Mannequin Design Competition.eawardswereasfollows:Freshmen ArayaSingh'28 and NicoleAragon'28 wonBestin Show. Runner-Up Awardgoes toeighth gradestudents Richa Lanjewar'29and EavanMartin'29. eBest Seamstress award goestoJulianaKenworthy'28.Seniors AbriannaEsposito'25 and CeciliaMaione'25,sophomore BlytheDudley'27 and freshmen SienaLanni'28,ZoeLenz'28 and SatineNadar'28 all created beautifulgarments,whichaddedanadditionalOohLa Lato theVWAFashion Show.
Specialthanksto Mr.Wendorff for the fabulouspedestalsand Mrs.Grabowskiforfacilitatingeachstepoftheprocess.
CAMPUS MINISTRIES
AllSaintsDayLiturgy
Academystudents andfaculty,joinedbyfamilymembersand friends,assembledinSt. LucyChapelto celebratetheFeast ofAll Saintson Friday,November 1st.Students from theClassof2025 led thecongregationbycarryingthecrossandcandles,proclaiming thereadings,leadingthe prayer ofthe faithful,bringingup thegis atthe offertory,andsingingwith thechorus.
SpecialthankstoOliviaChang’25,LeahCosta’25,Maria Costello’25,So aJordao’25MadelineKnagenhjelm’25, Ines Lemee’25,SophieLewandowska’25, ErinLyons’25,Malia Nugent’25,KaitlynPavagadhi’25,MarthaSmart’25,Claudia Steinberg’25,and MeganYoung’25,for theirreverenceand prayerfulexample inthisjoyouscelebration.
JuniorRetreat
emembersoftheClassof2026tooka dayawayfromacademics andextra-curricularsfortheirclassretreat on Wednesday, November6that theShrineofSt.Josephin Stirling. With talksandsharings,adoration andmass,thestudents enjoyed awelcomebreakfromtheir obligationsand activities. While onretreat,the students assembled “necessitybags” containing toothbrushes, socks, soap,handwarmers,mints,andmore,along withhandwrittennotes ofencouragement,to bedistributedbythe FranciscanFriars oftheRenewalin theiroutreach totheworking poorin Newark. Students enjoyed thebeautifulweather in peacefulsurroundings whileworkingtogether toprovide for their brothersandsistersinneed.
NovemberAllSoulsRemembrance
Onceagain,VillaWalsh honoredthememoryofallofourbeloved deadwithits annualAllSoulsWreathofRemembrance,located outsideoftheBusiness Officein BrowneHall. Withthe namesof deceasedfamilymembersandfriendsof Villa’scommunitywritten oneach cross, everyonewasinvited topraydailyfor ourloved ones throughoutthemonthof November. eReligiousTeachers Filippinialsorememberedour beloved deceasedattheirdaily massesduringNovember inSt.Lucychapel. Maythe soulsofthe faithfuldeparted, throughthe mercyofGod,restinpeace.
SoupKitchenMeal
MembersofVillaWalsh’s Campus Ministry,moderatedby Ms. ColetteGeraghty’15 gottogether intheReginaPaciskitchen onMonday,November18th toprepareamealfortheSt.Martin dePorressoup kitchen,sponsoredbytheFranciscan Friarsof theRenewalatMost BlessedSacramentfriary. With generous donations fromVilla’scommunity,studentsfromthe Class of 2026 wereabletocookandassemble ahearty meal for morethan150of thefriars’ neighborsinNewark,which includesboththe homeless andtheworkingpoor.isnew initiativewillallow studentsfrom everygradetoparticipateonce amonth inthecorporalworkof mercytofeed thepoor.
SeniorOvernight
OnTuesday,November13thandWednesday,November14th, theClassof2025embarkedonaSeniorOvernightatthe FilippiniSisters’RetreatHouseinMantoloking,NewJersey.
esenior classwasjoinedbySisterElaine,Sister Helen,Sister Bruni,Mrs.Negrin,andMrs. Manley. Ms.Geraghtyjoined the group onWednesdaymorning. estudentsweretreatedto timeonthebeach, manyfunactivities,a movie,andgoodfood! estudents alsoled andparticipatedinmass.
estudents had time forenjoymentsuchas gingerbreadhouse competitions,trust-painting,cornholegames,balloon charades, makingvideos,andVilla Walsh wreathdecorating! e students alsohadtime togrow together asaclassandre ectontheir time atVillaWalsh.
WeareproudofyouClass of 2025,well done!
VWAanksgivingMass
On Tuesday,November26,beforedepartingforanksgiving break, students, alumnae,parents,administration, faculty and staff gatheredinSt.LucyChapeltogivethanksandpraiseto Godforthemanyblessingsreceived,doingsoin thecontextof aEucharistic Liturgy. FatherBrianSullivan,pastorofChrist theKingparishin NewVernonofferedtheMass. Hebeganhis homilywithhissurprisesingingoftherefrain, “It’s themost wonderfultimeofthe year!” Father Brian’shomilyfocused onhowprecioustime isandbecauseitseems to beinshort supply,when weattentivelyspend timewithothersweare giving them apricelessgi. MembersoftheSophomore Class led the congregationinworship. Manythanksto AzariahAndrews’27, MaeveDam’27,AngelinaDattolo’27,LiaGriffin’27,Katelyn Hadzima’27,AlexaLombardi’27, IsabellaNilio’27,Ava Sansano’27,LexiStappas’27,EllaTrzesniowski’27, Caroline Tully’27,andKieraVowells’27, whoproclaimed thereadings andpetitions,sangtheresponsorialpsalm,orcarriedthecross, candles,andoffertory.
Wealso extendourgratitudeto the chorusandMr.PaulDaher, Choral Instructor,forbeautifullyenhancingourworship and helpingustogiveexpressiontothegratitude thatresidesin our hearts.
ROBOTICS
Sisters1stRoboticsTeamHostsGirlScoutRoboticsEvent
On November 13,Sisters1st, hostedan excitingcommunity outreacheventwith theHardingGirlScoutJuniorTroop. Eightenthusiastic fourth-gradeGirlScoutsandtheir twotroop leaders joinedus fora day lledwith learning,collaboration, andhands-onactivities.e event kicked off with awarm welcome from Mrs.Nugentand AngelinaRizk’25,followed by anengagingpresentation onsimple machinesfrom Maeson Honan’27.egirlsactivelyparticipated inidentifying machinesaroundtheroombeforesplittingintosmallgroups tobuildtheirownrobotic armsusingLegosand motorized components. eircreativityand teamwork earnedthem a roboticsbadgeasthey successfullycompletedtheir robotic arm projectsinjust20minutes!
eexcitementcontinuedastheGirlScouts delved intothe worldofcoding.Aer watchinga videoabout programming, theysplitintogroupsto debuga line of code foranNXT Mindstormrobot.Oneteamnotonlygottheir robotrunning butalsoexperimentedwith writingadditional code,while others worked through sowarechallenges with persistenceand problem-solvingskills,earninganotherbadge in theprocess.
edaywrapped up with ademonstrationofourvery own competition robot,"Riri"and an encouragingintroduction to thecompetitiveroboticsworldby MaliaNugent’25 and Shalini Patel’26.MarthaSmart’25concludedtheaernoonteaching thetroophowtocreatea meaningful presentationto earn theirshowcasingbadge.Itwasa memorableevent lledwith inspiration,creativity,andthespirit of collaboration!
ATHLETICS
FALLSPORTS
SoccerVarsity
efollowingathletesreceived post-seasonawards: Jane Anderson’26, IsabellaPizzo’25,andAveryPoruczynski’25 NJAC1stTeam Liberty Division; Clodagh Bateson’26 NJAC2ndTeamLibertyDivision;and SkylerPela’26 NJAC All-ConferenceHonorableMention. IsabellaPizzo’25 received Morris CountyGirls’SoccerCoachesAssociation AllMorrisCounty 3rdteam,and JaneAnderson’26 and AveryPoruczynski’25receivedMCGSCAAllMorris County HonorableMention.Congratulations!
Aspecialthankyouandgoodluckto ourseniors, Abrianna Esposito,So aJordao, KylieMazzei,SkylerPela, Captain IsabellaPizzo,andCaptainAveryPoruczynski.Wewillmiss you!
VolleyballVarsity
efollowingathletesreceived post-seasonawards: Sabrina Waivada’26,NJAC1stTeam Independence Division; Emily Murphy’27 and NoraDam’25,NJAC2ndTeamIndependence Division;and ClaudiaSteinberg’25NJACHonorableMention IndependenceDivision. SabrinaWaivada’26,alsoreceived the NJISAAPrep BAll-Star TeamHonorableMention. Congratulationstothe Volleyballteamforearningthe titleof NJACIndependenceBlueDivisionSportsmanshipwinner!Way togo,Volleyball!
TennisVarsity
efollowingathletesreceived post-seasonawards: Olivia Chang’25 and MaliaNugent’25 NJAC2ndTeam(1st Doubles) LibertyDivision; OliviaParrillo’26 and AlexandraRezza’25 NJAC2ndTeam(2nd Doubles)Liberty Division;and Kaitlyn Pavagadhi’25NJACHonorableMention (3rdSingles)Liberty Division.
CrossCountryVarsity
eVWA CrossCountryteam nishedits 2024seasonwitha Non-PublicBStateGroupChampionshipaswellasastrongteam nish atthe NJSIAA Meet ofChampions.CompetingatHolmdel Park on November9th,the teamcapturedits2ndconsecutive Non-PublicBStateGroupChampionship.iswasthe 8th overallgroup titlefor VillaWalshAcademy. Leadingtheway for VillaWalshwere BlytheDudley’26and MargaretBoler’25 who nished 1stand2ndplaceindividually. Ina dominating performance,the team scored atotalof25pointswith Martha Smart’25,AmeliaKleinle’26,and ErinLyons’25 nishing6th, 8th,and12th respectively.
eNon-Public BStateChampionship earned theteam aberth intheNJSIAAMeetofChampions onNovember 16th,also at HolmdelPark. Runningagainst thetop14teams fromNJ,VWA hadastrongteamperformance, nishing in11th placeoverall. is concludedaremarkableseason thatsawthegirlswin NJAC LibertyDivision,NJACSmallSchool,MorrisCounty,NJISAA Prep B,andNon-Public BState championships.
Inpostseason honors, BlytheDudley’26,MargaretBoler’25, MarthaSmart’25,AmeliaKleinle’26,andInesLemee’25 were allnamedto the1st teamallNJACLiberty Conferenceteam whileErinLyons’25wasnamedHonorable Mention. Blythe Dudley’26,MargaretBoler’25,andMarthaSmart’25, were eachnamedto theAll-MorrisCounty teamby theMorris CountyCoachesAssociation. Finally,NJ.comnamed Blythe Dudley’26 and MargaretBoler’251st teamAllNon-Publicand Martha Smart’25 3rdteamAll-Non-Public.
WINTERSPORTS
SwimmingVarsity
OurVW swimmers areexcitedto havetheir own team thisseason andhavebeenworkinghardinswimanddrylandpractices.eyare lookingforwardto thestartofthe seasonandour rst teambonding pizzaparty beingheldon Dec 19th.emembersoftheswim teamare KylieMazzei’25,CameronShull’26,SierraWarjanka’26, LaurenPetrie’27,AnneRionda’27, and LaurenDoss’28.eteam captainsthis seasonare CameronShull’26 and AnneRionda’27 is isCoach Callahan’s1stseason as theHeadSwimCoach,andhe isveryexcited tobepartof theVillaWalsh Community. eswim teamwouldliketo wish allofthe otherwintersportsgoodluckthis season!
BasketballVarsity
Asthevarsity team gearsupforthenew basketballseason,the Vikings are poisedforanexciting anddynamic yearonthecourt. Witha blendofexperiencedplayers and freshtalent,welook forwardto aseason fullofgrowth, teamwork,andcompetitivespirit. Ourteam isanchoredthisseason byourdedicated senior, Isabella Pizzo’25,whobrings invaluableexperienceandleadership to the court.Herguidancewillbe crucial as wenavigatethe challenges andtriumphs of theseason.Wehaveastrongcoreofeightreturning players: IsabellaPizzo’25,CaraFitzpatrick’26,eresaBowers’26, EllenDiDomenico’26,So aKearns’26,MichelaVaccaro’26,Lexi Stappas’27,and CarolineTully’27whoarefamiliarwithoursystem andhavedevelopedasolidchemistry overthepastseasons.eir continuityandunderstandingofour strategies willbe asigni cant advantageaswe competeagainsttough opponents.
Addingto our rosterarefourpromisingnew players, Charlotte Stager’26,Katherine“KC”Canon’28,KendalKiraly’28, and SerenaSabatella’28,whoaresettoplaymajor roles thisseason. eseyoungathletesbringfresh energyandnewskillsetsto complement ourseasonedplayers.eirdevelopment and integrationinto theteamwillbeexcitingtowatchastheycontribute tooursuccess. eveteranpresence and youthfulenthusiasmblend tocreate abalancedandversatileteamdynamic.
Weaimto competeat thehighest level,demonstrateresilienceand sportsmanship,andmake signi cantstrides individuallyandasa team.Everypractice,game,andchallenge willallowusto learn, grow,andpushourlimits.Ourjourney beginsthisweekwith scrimmages versusMorristown on 12/9/24athomeat4pmanda pairofroadtrip scrimmagesto Vernonon12/11/24andParamus Catholicon 12/14/24.eupcomingseason promisestobeoneof dedication,hardwork,andmemorablemoments. Let’sgo,Vikings!
BasketballJV
VillaJV Basketball isback foranotherunforgettable season. Playersreturningfromlastyear'ssquadare IsabellaNilio’27,Eve Loughran’27,GabriellaFarag’27 and MiaSpataro’27.Promising newcomers include NatalieBrinkworth’28,So aVelez’28, VivienneQiao’28,AdrianaRizk’28 and CeciliaTimmons’26 NoraDam’26isthe JV teammanager.
eteamhasbeen hittingthe hardwood oor andpreparingfor scrimmages against MorristownandVernon. Wekickoffthe basketballseasonagainstMorrisCounty Schoolof Technologyon 12/18.
Together,westrive tobeGREAT…Go Villa!!
BasketballMiddleSchool
eVilla Middle SchoolBasketballTeamconsistsofthe following players: CarolineCaughey’29,eodoraHronides’29,Emma Murphy’29,LucySmart’29,ElodieTuck’29,JeanelleCantave’30, AvaKloster’30,LucianaSuzuki-Scotti’30andmanager Naomi Scotto’29
eteamhasstartedtheseason strongwith a3-1 record. Captains LucySmart’29and ElodieTuck’29 areleadingthissmall butmightyteam.Witha strongwin over St.Elizabeths, Lucy Smart’29 washigh scorerwith 17points, AvaKloster’30had15 pointswithanamazingfour3-pointers, and ElodieTuck’29had 12hard-foughtpoints. JeanelleCantave’30 chippedin2 baskets, and EmmaMurphy’29alsohada basketduringthe Dover win 33-14. CarolineCaughey’29wasareboundingmachineatthe CraigSchool game,adding10 points; eodoraHronides’29had abig3-pointshot,andLucianaSuzuki-Scotti’30alsochipped in abasket.eteamlooksforwardtoafuntrip toeFamished FrogandateampicturewithSanta on theMorristown Green onDec 19th!ey willcelebrateChristmas withtheir annual sweet ChristmasParty,makingchocolate-coveredpretzelsand strawberries anddecoratingtheir gingerbreadhouse.
WinterTrack
When it’s freezingoutside,theWinterTrackteamcomestolife. Youcansee the21 braveathletes runningaroundon campus, regardlessofthe temperature or windconditions.isyear’s Winter Trackteamis an experienced group ofhard-working runners, throwers,jumpers,vaulters,andhurdlers.Seniors MargaretBoler’25and AmaliaHronides’25 leadthe team as captainswhilebeingable tofallback on theexperienceand commitmentofthe otherseven seniors KaylaCastellano’25, MariaCostello’25,So aJordao’25,InesLemee’25,Erin Lyons’25,AveryPoruczynski’25andMarthaSmart’25. ejuniorsonthe team are BridgetBoler’26,BlytheDudley’26, EmmaNaughton’26,JillianPaolino’26, and AvaSeaman’26. esophomoreclassisrepresentedby IsabellaPropper Stuehr’27,Azariah Andrews’27,EmilyMurphy’27,and Bianca Petrucci’27.ElizabethKinney’28,LindsaySheaffer’28,and HaileySimmons’28arepromisingadditions tothe team from the freshmenclass.
CoachYombor andCoachLadolcetta welcome Coach Chaudruc as avolunteercoachandgreatresourceforallthings track and eld.eteamis preparingforthe rstmeeton Saturday, December 14,2024,atDrew University.VillaWinterTrackwillbe competing allthewayintothe beginningofMarch.
Goodlucktotheteam!Stayfocused,workhard, and enjoyeach other’scompany!
AthleticLeadershipCouncil(ALC)
eAthleticLeadership CouncilheldtheannualVilla’sNight Inon November 8attheSr.DorisLavinthalAthletic Center.
egirlsenjoyeddinnerfromtheMexicanSpicefood truck, playingvolleyballandbasketball,andrelaxingattheposter coloringstation andRelaxationStation,wherethey made friendshipbracelets andfreshenedupwithfacemasks.Due to the rerestrictions,wecouldnotmakes’mores bythe repits, butthatdidnotstopusfrom makingmicrowaves’moresand playingcornhole! Itwasa greattime!Way to go ALC!
LookandlistenforannouncementsfromVillaNationChair NoraDam’25 aboutVillafan themesas thewinterseason gets underway.Help usshow the winter teamsourVWAspirit!
enext ALC meetingisonDecember12th,whenJVSoccer CoachEmmaShatelwillspeaktothe ALCmembers aboutthe effects of socialmediaonathletes'performance.