Winter Issue 3, December 2015

Issue 3, DECEMBER 2015In this issue:

Fall Dance ................ 1

Celebrating St. Cecilia Day ........................... 2

Turkey Trot .............. 3

Delaney Athletic Conference .... 4

Sports Banquet.......................... 4

CHELSEA NOTES

IMPORTANT REMINDERS: • Good luck to all students taking exams

this week. Christmas Break begins at the end of classes on December 18th.

• The second-annual Alumni Christmas Party will be held at Chelsea on Sunday, December 20th from 7-10 p.m. All Chelsea alumni are encouraged to attend.

• Clip your Box Tops over break; the House competitions for most Box Tops collected will begin in January. Visit btfe.com to sign up for special coupons and contests.

• Classes resume on Tuesday, January 5th and this will be a half-day, with dismissal at 12:30 p.m.

• Parents, please join us for the Chelsea Parents Association General Meeting on Wednesday, January 6th at 7 p.m. in the Atrium.

Chelsea Academy 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, VA 22630 administration@chelseaacademy.org

Above: Chelsea Upper School studentstake to the floor at the Fall Dance. Below: Ninth-grade students Monica Costanzo and Sam Peters are all smiles after placing in the top three of the Fall Dance swing contest.

On Saturday, November 7th, Chelsea high school students gathered at the barn on the property of the O’Donnell family for the first high school dance of the year. The rainy weather cleared in time to accommodate a crowd of about 80 students, teachers, and parents. In addition to warm apple cider, treats, and baked goods, students enjoyed dancing in the barn, bonfires and conversation outside, and good company everywhere.Senior Peter Little kept everyone moving to a variety of music, from swing dancing to line dancing and even a bit of disco. Mr. and Mrs. Fernandez led everyone in dancing the Virginia Reel, and students competed before a panel of judges in a swing dance contest. First place went to junior Stuart Nolan and sophomore Emi Cueto. Senior

Michael Echaniz and junior Kathryn August took second place, and freshmen Sam Peters and Monica Costanzo placed third. Chelsea’s House representatives are hard at work to plan the school’s Winter Dance, which will take place in January.

FALL DANCE HITS ALL THE RIGHT NOTES

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Inspired by Chelsea students, the audience at the school’s annual Festival of St. Cecilia traveled to a galaxy far, far, away . . . along the Shenandoah River . . . . on the country roads of Appalachia . . . . . . and to the manger in Bethlehem.A music and arts competition marked by songs, recitations, vocal, and instrumental pieces, Chelsea Academy’s Annual Festival of St. Cecilia honors the patron saint of music and showcases the musical and artistic talents of the school’s students. Held on the day before Thanksgiving, the event offers Chelsea students in grades four through twelve the opportunity to perform both with their Houses and individually. Each House is required to present a song or

medley as a group, as well as one Shakespeare selection. Roper House performed the Christmas carol, “What Child is This?” and Fisher House presented a medley of songs from the Star Wars movie saga. Colet House sang “Country Roads” by John Denver, while its sister house, Pole, performed the ballad “O Shenandoah.” Individual student selections included piano, violin, guitar, and vocal pieces, and dramatic readings, performed individually or with other students. All performances were evaluated by an independent panel of judges, and each House received points according to how they scored in the competition. The judges awarded Fisher House first place, followed by Pole, Colet, and Roper, respectively.

Chelsea Students Mark the Thanksgiving Holidaywith Music, Arts, and Athletic Competitions

Top: Fisher House’s Peter Little, Addison Lagarde, John Briggs, and Matias Cueto put their own creative touches on “Dueling Banjos.”Middle: Pole House eighth-grader Agnes Wingate performs. Bottom: Gretchen Siegel, Bernadette Rohr, Anastasia Puray, and Agnese Janaro of Pole House in the double, double, toil, and trouble scene from Macbeth.

Gobble…Gobble…GoneChelsea students and teachers celebrated Thanksgiving a week early at school, thanks to Mrs. Benyo, who

organized and prepared a hot lunch featuring roast turkey and all the trimmings. The individual pumpkin pies were especially popular, as Christian Nittinger and Christopher Benyo demonstrate.

Advent Concert Celebrates the SeasonOn Sunday, December 13th, Mrs. Foeckler’s new middle school boys’ and girls’ choirs joined the Chelsea all-school choir to perform a wonderful selection of classical and Christmas musical selections. Thank you to Mrs. Foeckler for helping us celebrate the birth of Our Lord with the sound of young voices joined together in beautiful song.

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After the music and arts competition, students moved outside for the Annual Turkey Trot. Upper School students chose a 5K running or walking course, and Lower School students ran or walked a distance of two miles. Houses were awarded points based on their top finishers as well as number of students in each House who participated. In the House competition, Colet took first place, Fisher came in second, Pole took third place, and Roper finished fourth. In the Girls 5K, Theresa Olohan took first place with a time of 21:22, Gretchen Siegel came in second with a time of 22:26, and Sophia Tammera took third place with a time of 25:30. In the Boys 5K, first place went to Augustine Siegel with a time of 17:12, Max Lagarde took second with a time of 19:04, and third place went to Declan O’Donnell with a time of 20:46. In the Girls 2-Mile race, Agnes Wingate came in first with a time of 13:51, second went to Janey Olohan with a time of 13:57, and Nichole Hillaert finished third with a time

of 14:39. The Boys 2-Mile race finishers were Benedict Siegel in first place with a time of 11:48, Joseph Hillaert in second place with a time of 12:13, and David Foeckler third

place with a time of 13:35. Theresa, Augustine, and Benedict set new school records. Congratulations to all the performers, runners, and walkers for a wonderful event.

Top: Chelsea students running in the 5K eagerly await the start of the race. Bottom: Turkey Trot runners and walkers tackle the 2-mile course around the Chelsea Academy campus. Left: Benedict Siegel sets the pace.

Chelsea Notes is a monthly publication of the Chelsea Parents’ Association Communications Committee, including Lisa Selner, Danuta Coble, Sharon Nittinger, Karen Shannon, Shari Schäffer. Special thanks to Ashley Maciag, Lorraine Tammera and Emilia Benyo (photography).

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Chelsea Debuts in the Delaney Athletic ConferenceAlthough this was Chelsea’s first season in the Delaney Athletic Conference, all the fall sports teams finished well. The Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team, Girls’ Varsity Volleyball, and Girls’ Cross Country teams each placed second in the DAC conference championships. Congratulations to all our student athletes and their coaches and to the following students, who were recognized by the coaches in the conference:

Ten Chelsea athletes were honored by the coaches in the DAC, including Hannah Lee and Holly Anderson (above, right); and below, left to right: Theresa Olohan, Gretchen Siegel, and Augustine Siegel.

SPORTS UPDATES

SoccerAugustine Siegel, 1st team

and co-conference MVPAntonio Sotelo, 1st teamMatias Cueto, 1st teamMax Nicholson, 1st teamJohn Briggs, 1st teamAndrew Hunt, Honorable Mention

Cross Country MVP: Theresa Olohan Most Improved: Patrick Pilon Joan of Arc: Gretchen SiegelVarsity Volleyball MVP: Holly Anderson Most Improved: Mia Adamec Joan of Arc: Ana SoteloJV Volleyball MVP: Rose Norris Most Improved: Celi August Joan of Arc: Bridget AugustMiddle School Volleyball MVP: Ainsley BrooksMost Improved: Erika Nittinger Joan of Arc: Adrienne McShurley Varsity Soccer MVP: Augustine Siegel Most Improved: Declan O’Donnell Lionheart: John BriggsJV Soccer MVP: Benedict Siegel Most Improved: Greg Buono Lionheart: Joseph HillaertMiddle School Soccer MVP: Benedict Siegel Most Improved: Nicholas Deary Lionheart: Michael Townsend

Fall Sports Banquet Salutes Student AthletesOn Wednesday, November 4th, Chelsea student athletes, parents, and coaches gathered for the Fall Sports Banquet to honor our student athletes in fall sports. Each coach chose an MVP, Most Improved, and Richard the Lionheart/Joan of Arc Award recipient. Congratulations to:

VolleyballHolly Anderson, 2nd team,

all conferenceHannah Lee, 1st teamCross Country State Championship MeetGretchen Siegel, 1st teamTheresa Olohan, 1st team