 |
News From the Head of School By Lauren Lek, Head of School
Dear Parents, Guardians & Friends,
This past month, I had the privilege of spending time with our Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet along with members of the faculty at St. Joseph High School Lakewood and St. Mary's Academy. The legacy of these tremendous women vibrantly continues in each of their ministries. As you walk in to the main office, take a moment to see the new art installment just adjacent to the main door. Current art teacher and alumna, Diane La Costa '08, spent time during our Christmas Break to ensure that our CSJ family tree mural is up and ready for all to see.
On behalf of all of the parents, alumnae and friends of OLP who have already leaped at the opportunity to sponsor an element of our upcoming annual gala, L'affaire en Bloom, thank you! Words cannot express my gratitude and appreciation for your support. The planning and details that have gone into this years' event will ensure an unforgettable night!
For those of you who have not yet purchased tickets, or are interested to learn more about the sponsorship opportunities, be sure to do so quickly. This is an evening that you do not want to miss! It is a special opportunity for our entire community to come together: parents, grandparents, alumnae, alumnae parents, community partners, faculty, staff and our Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. For more information, please visit our website or feel free to reach out to Emily Devereaux in our Advancement Office.
In addition to our annual Gala, this month also brings with it a multitude of opportunities to celebrate our Catholic, CSJ identity. On Thursday, February 4th our community will come together to honor current students who exemplify what it means to live out the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. At the Miss OLP Assembly, the school will honor a sophomore, junior or senior who exemplify the spirit of OLP and the CSJ charism. This is a time-honored tradition, and first began in 1947. Women were chosen for their spirit of gentleness, peace and joy. The legacy began with Patricia Arnold, and still continues today.
We also extend the invitation for all to join us for Ash Wednesday Mass on Wednesday, February 10th at a special 9:15 a.m. time in our Holy Family Event Center.
I wish you all a blessed February, and thank each and every one of you for all you do on behalf of our 750 young women!
Lauren Lek
Head of School
February Updates By Jessica Hooper, Assistant Head of School
Dear Parents, Students, & Friends of OLP,
We begin this February with the celebration of Catholic Schools Week. Today more than 212,000 ethnically diverse students attend Catholic elementary and high schools in the United States. With almost 17,000 teachers educating these students, if Catholic schools were a public school district, they would be the second largest in California. The outcome of Catholic schools is beyond measurable statistics. However, we know that 99% of students who graduate from Catholic high schools earn diplomas (compared to the public school rate of 78%) and that approximately 85% of Catholic school students pursue studies at the collegiate level (compared to 39% of public school graduates).
Catholic schools offer thriving academic environments; moreover they are institutions that challenge students to foster and live their faith, to think beyond themselves and to actively contribute to the world around them. Catholic Schools Week provides us a wonderful opportunity to express gratitude to all who contribute to supporting these institutions. On that note, I would like to expressly thank all of our OLP parents and/or guardians who sacrifice on a daily basis to make an OLP education possible for their daughters. An OLP education is one of the greatest gifts our students will ever receive.
Course selections are currently taking place across grade levels 9 through 11. Students have selected their courses via Jupiter Ed and will be meeting individually with their counselors during the month of February to affirm and confirm course selections. Parents, please discuss and review your daughters course selections via Jupiter Ed and contact her assigned counselor with any questions or concerns. The 2016 2017 course selection guide can be found on our website or by clicking here. To learn more about the new course offerings please consider viewing the presentation from our Course Advisement Night. The presentation is 15 minutes in length and can be viewed by clicking here.
Anyone that has been on campus between the hours of 25 p.m. knows that Spring Sing is in full force! We hope that you are able to join us for one of our annual Spring Sing performances on either Friday, February 26, 2016 or Saturday, February 27, 2016. Both performances begin at 7:30 and tickets can be purchased through the OLP website. Please note that the entire week of February 22nd through February 26th consists of early dismissals (12:45 p.m.) to help accommodate Spring Sing preparations.
Please consider joining us as we celebrate the beginning of lent with our Ash Wednesday Mass on February 10, 2016. Please note that this mass will take place at 9:15 a.m. in the Holy Family Event Center.
Thank you for your continued partnership in the education of your daughter.
Mrs. Jessica Hooper
Assistant Head of School
Join Us At Spring Sing!
All four classes are busily getting ready for Spring Sing 2016. The theme this year is Streets! The Freshmen are dancing down Canal Street in New Orleans, the Sophomores are busy trading on Wall Street, the Juniors are taking a ride down Pacific Coast Highway, and the Seniors are having "Nightmares on Elm Street!" If you come to OLP any afternoon, you can hear the voices of all four classes busily rehearsing for the performances on February 26th and 27th.
We invite all of our alumnae to join us and hope to see you all at the historic Balboa Theater for OLP's 45th Annual Spring Sing! Click here to purchase your tickets today. Please contact Mrs. Herb at [email protected] for any ticket questions. We'll see you there!
Help Your Daughter Avoid Long Lunch Lines
Our partnership with The French Gourmet is off to a great start. The delicious and healthy food options have drawn big crowds! You can help your daughter avoid long lines at the Pilot Cafe by setting up her MealTime Account instead of paying with cash or credit. This system will allow you to make secure online payments into your student's school meals account, view all transactions and account balance.
The MealTime Online payment website uses the most up-to-date security components available in the banking industry. All data transmitted is encrypted and authenticated every time you use the website. Your credit card information is only used to process your deposit. It is never stored on any website computers.
Click here to access instructions to set up a MealTime account.
Additional information about our partnership with The French Gourmet and new food service offerings can be found at aolp.org.
Cheer Competition Season in Full Swing
Every year, the OLP cheerleaders participate in regional and national competitions held throughout southern California. The 2015-2016 Silver and Blue teams are about halfway through their competition season, and they are doing very well so far. In early January, the OLP Blue competition team placed 3rd in their JV Non Tumbling division at a Regional competition in Yorba Linda hosted by USA, or the United Spirit Association. In the same weekend, OLPs Silver competition team placed 2nd in their Super Varsity Intermediate division at the Southern California Winter Classic in San Diego, hosted again by USA. Along with these amazing results, Blue and Silvers overall scores for their performances earned them both bids to USAs National competition in mid-March later this year. The next weekend, both Blue and Silver performed at the CheerPros State Championships at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, California. This is a much larger competition involving many schools from throughout Southern California that compete as teams as well as individual stunt groups; scholarship opportunities are also made available to those who apply. This time, the Silver competition team placed 2nd in their division, narrowly missing 1st place by a margin of .4. The Blue competition team placed 1st in their division, earning championship sweatshirts to go with the trophy and banner they earned from their performance. Based on Silver and Blues routines, scores, and placements, both teams received full paid bids to attend the CheerPros National Competition, also taking place in early March.
In anticipation of these two National Competitions, both the Blue and Silver teams have been putting a lot of time and effort in to strengthening their routines at practice on top of cheering for the OLP and Saints Basketball teams. Their next competition, the Aloha State Championships, is scheduled for February 14 at the San Diego Convention Center. If you are interested in showing some support by coming to watch them perform or maybe to cheer them on please contact the Cheer Advisor, Miss Rodriguez, for ticket information as well as performance times. You can watch the performances here and here.
Art Outreach: Common Grounds Coffee Cart
Congratulations and thank you to Anna Burchak, class of 2016! Anna won the design contest to create a new menu board for the Common Grounds coffee cart. Miss La Costa's Art II class was instructed to use the list of menu items and create a brand-new, beautiful sign. The challenge was to make something artistic and creative, yet readable with clear pricing. Our delicious new French Gourmet catering service, who sponsors our upper plaza coffee cart, is very happy with Anna's beautiful new menu! Since Anna graduates this year and hopes to attend college abroad, she is happy to leave this legacy on OLP's campus for years to come!
Two OLP Students Chosen as LegiSchool Essay Contest Winners
Congrats to Katie La Costa '17 and Ana Paola Rubio '17 who were selected as winners of the 2015-2016 LegiSchool Essay Contest. Katie and Ana Paola will receive round trip travel to the State Capitol on March 2 to meet with state leaders and lawmakers. During their visit, they will meet with lawmakers, receive a VIP tour of the Capitol, and speak with state leaders to share their thoughts and opinions on this important topic. We also had two students place as finalists: Katrina Alberto '17 and Claire Egan '17. Less than 10 percent of students made it as finalists, so this is an accomplishment they should be proud of!
LegiSchool is the same organization that has sponsored OLP over the last years to go to Sacramento for the town hall meetings. Mrs. Nagem made this a mandatory assignment in her AP U.S. History Class and the students were so glad she did!
Students Attend USD WorldLink Conference
A group of OLP students attended the USD WorldLink conference with Mr. Kirschbaum and Mr. Gonzalez. WorldLink is a year-round, practice-based program that provides opportunities for high school youth from San Diego and Baja Mexico to meet world leaders and experts.
Through WorldLink's innovative and experiential focus on global education, students learn about issues facing us locally and internationally, and engage in thoughtful discussions about solutions in a forum where their voices are heard and valued.
The students enjoyed a transformative day of learning. More information about WorldLink can be found here.
Tuition Assistance News
REMINDER
Please remember that tuition must be current through February, 2016 at the beginning of the fourth quarter on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.
Deadline is Approaching for Tuition Assistance Applications For the 2016-17 School Year
- Tuition assistance applications for the 2016-17 school year are being accepted through Financial Aid for School Tuition (FAST) only. (https://www.ismfast.com/FastPage.php?id=512af214f58a71d2a50066d85d5e886a)
- The deadline for completed applications and 2015 tax returns (federal and state) to be submitted is Friday, February 19, 2016
- All complete applications submitted by February 19, 2016 will be given first priority for consideration for tuition assistance awards. If there are funds remaining, late applications will be considered once all required documentation is received. Please note: Even if applications are submitted by the February 19, 2016 deadline if they are incomplete they will be considered late.
- Academy of Our Lady of Peace school specific application questions must be answered. If the questions are not answered, the application will be considered incomplete.
- Applications must be submitted with a complete 2015 tax package in order to be considered. A complete 2015 tax package includes: all W-2s and/or 1099s, K-1s if applicable, federal return, state return, and all schedules (ie. Schedule A, B, C, D, etc if included with the tax return).
- Taxes must be signed or documentation of e-file must be submitted with the taxes
- Applications with any discrepancies between application information and submitted taxes will not be given priority consideration and will be considered incomplete.
- OLP highly suggests scanning and uploading tax returns to FAST. Mailing your tax return to FAST will delay your application by 10-14 days. This delay will hold up review of your application by the tuition aid committee.
- Due to the early tuition assistance application deadline PLAN AHEAD MAKE AN EARLY APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR TAX PREPARER OR CPA
Alumnae Profile: Q & A with Emi Koch '07
1. What did you learn at OLP that gave you the confidence to travel the world and start your own organization?
OLP empowered me with the confidence to travel the world and start my own organization through a social service trip to Tijuana, Mexico. I signed up for the trip for the social aspect (because my friends were going) but the experience completely shifted my world perspective, popped the little bubble I was living in. It forced me outside my comfort zone and and I've never been able to get back inside. I remember standing in a garbage dump that was also a community where people lived, and looking back across the US-Mexico border at downtown San Diego. My entire life, I had lived just over there beyond this landfill and never once had given any thought nor inquiry about the living conditions on the other side of the fences. I was greatly impacted by the resiliency and dignity of the local residents of the landfill. The trip was one experience which ignited fire inside me for social justice and human rights that has since driven me forward.
On campus, I believe I developed the tools necessary to engage with the life experiences you are faced with outside those pristine white walls.
2. Did you learn any particular lessons during your time at OLP that helped you get where you are today?
Yes, I discovered that math was most definitely not my strong suit and perhaps a career in the creative arts and humanities would be better. I also understood that building relationships with both peers and mentors was both a skill and a privilege. I also figured out that in a world full of superficialities, people really appreciate genuine actions.
3. How do you use what you learned at OLP to succeed in your current career?
At OLP, I discovered how to juggle homework and extracurricular assignments with my own adolescence and pursuing professional surfing. Learning how to do this (through trial and error) not only made university doable but also life today, managing my nonprofit and our fiscally-sponsored projects while grant-writing, facilitating workshops, earning extra cash here and there, traveling, filmmaking, surfing, and attempting to have a social life.
4. Any particular teacher or class that impacted you to this day during your time at OLP?
I took a creative writing class at OLP where our first day of class, Mrs. Turner hung a world map on the wall, upside down. Mind. Blown. She taught us how to view the ordinary in an extraordinary way. Also, I vividly remember my Peer Counseling class when Ms. Teal shared with us the astounding fact that if the world was comprised into a village of 100 people, only one of those individuals would have a college education and access to a computer. I will never forget that. At the time, I wasn't considering going to college. I just wanted to be a professional surfer (as I realized I was better at wave-riding than algebra). However, upon hearing this statistic, I felt that I had an absolute responsibility as the one person in my village with the opportunity to go to college and access to a computer, to not only earn my university degree but make sure I used it in such a way that the 99 other villagers would have their fundamental human rights met also.
5. Any advice for OLP students or grads who want to start a nonprofit?
Do you want to experience sleepless nights, living hand-to-mouth, staying in grant-writing while your friends are out, rejection…while also experiencing complete, undeniable bliss, overwhelming moments of creativity, encounters with incredibly courageous individuals, in addition to getting to know yourself on a whole new level? Definitely, starting a nonprofit is not for the faint of heart. Many of my colleagues equate it to having a teenager. It takes a lot of work, but it is so worth it. I wouldn't trade those all-nighters or stressful situations for anything. Those have lead me to pure, untainted, grassroots happiness, love, and peace. If you're up for the challenge and also have something you are seriously passionate about (because you will be tested to the 299240129 degree), then I'd say go for it and I'm available by email if I can provide some support in any way.
To learn more about Emi's nonprofit and fiscally-sponsored initiatives, visit www.beyondthesurfaceinternational.org and www.coast2coastproject.org.
|
|
|
 |
|
