News From the Head of School

By Lauren Lek, Head of School

Dear Parents, Guardians & Friends,

As we return from an extended Easter Holiday Break, I would like to begin with a heartfelt congratulations to our OLP Mock Trial team, which took first place here in San Diego County and was the only all female team to compete at the State Level. After only five years in competition in San Diego, we are all so very proud of what these young women have accomplished under the guidance of Ilene Nagem '70 and our attorney coaches. Congratulations to all of our Mock Trial team members!

Just before heading out, we welcomed members of the Class of 2020 to OLP for registration day. All incoming 9th grade students and parents are invited to Spring Welcome Night on Tuesday, April 26th to connect with current students, faculty, and staff and to mingle with their future classmates.

I would also like to extend an invitation to all parents, alumnae, and alumnae parents to join us for Mass in honor of St. Joseph on Wednesday, April 27th at 10:55 am in the Holy Family Event Center as we gather together as a community of faith and welcome Bishop McElroy as our presider. As a Catholic school sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, we traditionally celebrate St. Joseph's Feast Day in March, but due to our early Easter break, we are thrilled to welcome Bishop McElroy and remember St. Joseph, our Patron Saint in April.

In our spirit of partnership I would like to end by extending my thanks and appreciation to all of our students, parents, grandparents and alumnae who joined us for the OLP Gala on March 12th. We were so very blessed with not only a sold out event on campus, but also another year of seeing the largest net revenue. The monies brought in will go directly toward supporting our young women, the academic courses, and innovative programs.

Thank you for all you do for the OLP community!

Lauren Lek
Head of School


April Updates By Jessica Hooper, Assistant Head of School

Dear Parents, Students, & Friends of OLP,

Happy Easter! As we enter this season of new life, hope and renewal we wish a warm OLP welcome to the incoming Class of 2020. We were thrilled to celebrate the achievements of the class at our Honors at Entrance Ceremony, where 58 members of the class were recognized for their high achievement on the HSPT entrance exam. We look forward to welcoming all the members of the class and their parents to our Spring Welcome Night event on Tuesday, April 26, 2016. Welcome to the OLP family, Class of 2020!

As we look towards April I invite everyone to check the OLP Athletics calendar at www.aolp.org for upcoming game dates & times for our spring sports teams. This season we have teams represented in the sports of lacrosse, archery, swim & dive, softball, track & field and sand volleyball. We are very proud of our OLP athletes!

Be sure to read below for information regarding our Spring Theatrical production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Our theatrical program has been working hard and the performances promise to be entertaining.

Also, please keep our Seniors in prayer as they attend the Senior Retreat at Whispering Winds Catholic Conference Center from April 27th – 29th, 2016.

Finally, as we look forward to the 2016-2017 school year, please note that we will begin the year on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 with Frosh Orientation and a Frosh Family Luncheon, followed by Picture Day and Class Meetings for all returning students on Friday, August 12th. The first day of classes will be on Monday, August 15, 2016. The 2016 – 2017 OLP calendar is now updated and available for your reference on the OLP website. Additional important dates can be found in the Upcoming Dates section below.

I wish you all a Happy Easter season. Thank you for your partnership in making this incredible institution what it is today.

Mrs. Jessica Hooper
Assistant Head of School




State of the Arts

Twelfth Night!
To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, Thespian troupe 4843 is producing a "Steampunk" Twelfth Night this spring! Even during Easter break, students were in the OLP theater, working out the nuances of Shakespearean comedy, "twittering" publicity messages, and turning prop pieces into fantasy gear and clock face constructions. Junior Erin Stumm is personally building and "steampunking" every fantastical costume for her college audition portfolio. Come see senior Rachel Rougas and Saints freshman Joey Rougas as the "identical" twins that confuse and confound the inhabitants of Illyria! The show is April 14, 15, 16 at 7:00, with a matinée April 17 at 2:00. Tickets are at Showtix4U.com (link is on AOLP.org). All proceeds will help students attend the Thespian Conference, where they can both train and audition for scholarships.

LAMDA
We were privileged to host an examiner from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts on March 9th and 10th. She was here to examine 18 of our students in Musical Theater, Acting, and Speech. Each student took a half hour examination where they had to perform three memorized pieces and discuss an element of their training with the examiner. A LAMDA diploma, which the student receives after passing level 8, is a prestigious academic award. (It should be noted that Benedict Cumberbach has a LAMDA diploma!) The OLP Visual and Performing Arts Department intends to continue with LAMDA certification, and there will be a unit in all future Drama classes that focuses specifically on passing the LAMDA exam.

"Just Add Water"
March is "Theater in Our Schools Month," and OLP celebrated it in style on March 17th with a visit from the Yale Improvisation Team, "Just Add Water." This exciting group of Yale students did an exhibition of hilarious improvisations, including musical improvisation, during the co-curricular block. During lunch, the performers watched Lunchtime Theater and their pianist taught Allie Simpkins how to accompany musical improvisation on the piano. They then followed it with a workshop that was attended by over 300 students. We hope some of these enthusiastic improvisers will register for drama class next year!

Next Year's Shows
Next year, we are happy to announce that the fall musical will be Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and the spring Thespian Conference show will be the 2005 Broadway Musical Little Women. Watch this space for more information!



Easter Break College Tour: #OLPGoestoCollege

During the Easter break, Mrs. Heard and Mrs. Benedict guided 15 OLP students (grades 9-11) through a six-day college trip in the Northeast. We partnered with the prestigious EF Tour organization to make this a trip to remember.

Our tour started in Boston and continued through Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. In total, we visited 13 different colleges and universities (BC, BU, Northeastern, MIT, Emerson, Tufts, Harvard, Stone Hill, Brown, Providence College, Fordham [Rose Hill campus], Columbia, and NYU). This college trip gave students the opportunity to learn about many different types of colleges. Faith Beyer, a junior at OLP, states that she "realized just how much she didn't know about the college process before this trip." She now feels confident in her understanding about the different colleges and is "excited for her future."

We didn't just visit colleges though! Students had the chance to see iconic locations such as Harvard Square, Central Park, and Times Square. Additionally, students participated in sightseeing activities such as ice skating in Rockefeller Center, viewing the NYC skyline from the Empire State Building, shopping on 5th Avenue, and watching the longest running Broadway Musical, the Phantom of the Opera.

Another great feature of the trip was the opportunity to connect with recent OLP graduates. In Connecticut, we were lucky to have Isabella Halley '15 provide our group with a personal tour of Yale. At NYU, Alexa Ornelas '15 spoke to the girls about transitioning to the New York City lifestyle.

Watch a video about our trip here. It was a fantastic trip all around!



Save the Dates for the 2016-2017 School Year

In looking forward to the 2016-2017 school year, please note that we will begin the year on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 with Frosh Orientation and a Frosh Family Luncheon, followed by Picture Day and Class Meetings for all returning students on Friday, August 12th. The first day of classes will be on Monday, August 15 along with the Feast Day of the Assumption of Mary. Other dates of note include:
  • Fall Final Exams will be December 19, 2016 - December 21, 2016; Spring Final Exams will be May 22, 2017 - May 24, 2017. These are mandatory. Students are only allowed absences due to illness
  • Grandparents Day will again be on Tuesday, November 22nd preceding Thanksgiving Break
  • Christmas Break starts on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at 11 am with students returning on Monday, January 9, 2017; based on where Christmas Day fell this year it was difficult to not start too early in August while ensuring that finals could occur prior to Christmas Break – we appreciate your flexibility in planning ahead for December to ensure your daughter is present to take all exams
  • Easter Break will begin on Holy Thursday, April 13, 2017 with students returning on Monday, April 24, 2017
  • School ends on Wednesday, May 24, 2017
  • Baccalaureate Mass will be on Wednesday, May 24th and Graduation on May 25th, 2017



Finding the Charism during the Easter Season

By Lauren Lek, Head of School

I recently came across an amazing site by our Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada. They have a wonderful blog with some rich information. One post in particular was an Easter Prayer. As we are coming to the end of this Lenten season, I was particularly touched by what they had to say:

"As a group of women religious, in faith, we enter into the celebration of Easter and join with others saying that we are willing partners with God in making a place, indeed a home for godliness in our finite world, a world which can seem like the furthest removed from the Divine. God's self-gift of love in Jesus says, 'Let them make a home for me, so that I may dwell among them.' (Exodus 25:81.) To all who celebrate this feast and to all who share this journey on our planet, we wish you peace as we live God's creative intention for all."

Their charism is one so rich in the gospel values of loving others within our midst, but also a challenging charism to be in the world, but not of the world. That challenge, as Paul speaks of in Romans 12:2 to not conform to the patterns of this world, but to be counter-cultural, to present a model of Christ that is different than what so often our media holds up. This is so often the same challenge our students are confronted with.

As this Lenten season is concluding, I challenge all of us to consider how we strive to be cognitively conscious of the model that we set forth that illuminates this spirit of our CSJ charism, to create "a home for godliness," a welcoming place for all to see God, feel God's presence and know that they are cherished.





Summer Enrichment Camps at OLP

The Academy of Our Lady of Peace is excited to offer fun and educational summer enrichment camps for middle school students. Please share this information with your family and friends who have middle school students in their families.

This summer OLP is adding summer enrichment camps to its summer school program. These camps will take place during the regular summer school session, June 13-July 22, but will be one week long.

Female students entering the fifth, sixth, seventh & eighth grade in the fall can experience the magic of an all-girl school environment. Camps are taught by OLP teachers and alumnae. Most camps will take place from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm, with a few camps taking place from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm. All camps meet Monday through Friday. The cost of each camp is $150.00. The deadline to enroll is April 30th.

The following are the camps being offered this summer. You can find the camp descriptions and enroll online here.
  • Adventures in Engineering
  • Building a Better World: A Summer Experience in Sustainable Design and Engineering
  • CSI San Diego
  • Food Science
  • Introduction to French Language and Cooking
  • Lindy Hop Dance Camp
  • Math in Dance
  • Meet an Artist - Be an Artist!
  • Musical Theatre Fun!
  • "Not-So-British" Baking Camp
  • Shaking Up Shakespeare
  • Summer Flute Intensive
  • Theater Camp
  • The Big Apple Dance Camp




Alum Profile: OLP Sisters Put Service into Action

Every year, Lisa Lane '07 and her OLP sisters choose a philanthropic endeavor to support. This year they chose Stand Up For Kids. The girls recently gathered together along with other friends and Saintsmen and assembled more than 400 "emergency bags" to pass out to homeless youth in San Diego.

They spent weeks gathering all the supplies necessary to fulfill their goal. It was an incredible experience for Lisa's mom to watch this generation of young adults carry on the mission of giving back to the community. Through their strong Catholic beliefs and education, these young adults are carrying on the importance of service and we are so proud of them. The OLP sisterhood is vibrant!

The OLP women pictured above are: (from left to right) Mia Taravella (2007), Lisa Lane (2007), Elise Alianelli (2007), Francesca Sofia-De-Giovani (2007), Kaleigh Lane (2018), Courtney Young (2007), Erica Reilly (2007), Vanessa Reilly (2010), and not pictured Brittany Lane (2004), Eva Velez (2007).


Thank You to Our Gala Sponsors!

The Academy of Our Lady of Peace (OLP) thanks the current parents, alumnae parents, alumnae, sponsors, donors, board and committee members, faculty, staff, and community members who supported our current students through their attendance and participation in our 31st annual fundraising gala, L'affaire en Bloom. Through your overwhelming generosity, OLP was able to once again exceed expectations by raising upwards of $130,000.

Thanks to partners like you, these funds will immediately and directly benefit current students in the form of much-needed supplemental funding to support educational and co-curricular programs, as well as upgrades to technology. OLP is incredibly grateful for your donations and continued support of our 750 students.

A very special "thank you" to:

Honorary Event Chair
Ann Navarra '63

Board and Board Emeritus Matching Grant Patricia Boer ‘55 Clair Kennedy ’81 Gayle McMahon Martha McRoskey Jill Napier, CSJ Kathleen Olsen Coreen Petti Virginia Rodee, RSCJ ’53 Peg Stehly

Blue Diamond Sponsor McKinney Advisory Group

Sapphire Sponsor Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet

Turquoise Sponsors Marguerite “Terry” ’77 and David Camarata Marathon Construction Corporation St. Augustine High School

Topaz Sponsors Julie and Mike Coughlin Cheryl and Jaime “Jim” Hernandez Lauren and John Lek Mary and John O’Connor Zoraida and Gary Payne Toni and Rick Russo Peg Stehly Gayle and Derek McMahon

Please make room on your 2017 calendar for next year's gala, as we anticipate another unforgettable evening!