We Need to Hear From You!
Did you get our survey that was sent on October 21? Please fill it out!
As part of the reaccreditation process we are surveying parents of sophomores, juniors and seniors. If you received it and filled it out, thank you! If you have not, please do so before Friday, November 6.
We'd love to hear from as many parents as possible.
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| Reserve Your Tickets to "The Mousetrap" today!
The weekend of November 21-23 The Good Fountain Players will present Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap," a mystery about a group of strangers who become stranded in a boarding house during a snow storm, one of whom is a murderer.
Call the Main Office at
617-696-3241 to reserve your tickets today!
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Register Online for Parent/ Teacher Conferences
November 20
5:30-8 p.m.
November 21
7:45-10 a.m.
Registration will be open Monday, November 17, 8 a.m. through Thursday, November 20, 11:30 a.m. A link to the process is on the Academics Page of the Fontbonne Academy website. You will be led through the process by our registration software. You may contact Mrs. Carol George at 617-615-3010 or e-mail her at cgeorge@fontbonneacademy.org if you have technical difficulty scheduling your appointments.
For those who do not have internet access, your daughters can make appointments for you on the computers at school.
Thank you!
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| Memorial Mass November 12
7 p.m.
Please join us at the annual Memorial Mass on
Wednesday November 12
at 7 p.m.
in the Convent Chapel
It is a lovely service graced by both the current school choir and the alumnae chorus, an evening of remembrance and celebration of our deceased loved ones.
We hope you'll join us. |
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Interested in a Laptop Purchase?
Let us know!
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November Calendar
Spirit Day kicks off the Holiday Raffle Card season.
November 3
Thanksgiving Food Drive Begins
November 9
Open House 12 - 2 p.m.
November 11
Veterans' Day, no classes
November 12
Memorial Mass, all are welcome
Convent Chapel
7 p.m.
November 14
Report Cards Issued
November 18
Scholars' Night Class of 2013
November 20
Mother St. John Fontbonne Day Prayer Service/
National Honor Society Induction
1 p.m. Fontbonne Auditorium
Reception for NHS Inductees
and their Parents
2 p.m. Multi-Purpose Room
Parent/Teacher Conferences
5:30 - 8 p.m.
November 21
Parent/Teacher Conferences
7:45 - 10 a.m.
November 21-23
Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap
Performed by The Good Fountain Players
November 26
Spirit Day, early dismissal
Holiday Raffle Card sales begin
November 27
Thanksgiving Day |
Making Strides for Breast Cancer Walk a Great Success
Many students walked October 5 and raised $4,500 for breast cancer.
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| Halloween Winners!
Congratulations to the 2008 Halloween Costume Contest winners. From left to right: Corine McGarty '09 as Captain Crunch, Clarissa Palmer '10 as Steve Urkle, Kayla Stravin '12 as Tic Tacs, and Elizabeth Ruscio '11 as a hippie. Congratulations to Ms. Barbara Ryan for taking top honors in the Learning Community costume contest (below). Thank you to everyone who participated for your creativity and enthusiasm!
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Shopping
for anything
online?
Start here!
Attention shoppers! When you use the Amazon.com link on the Fontbonne Academy website, a percentage of your purchase will benefit Fontbonne Academy. Start your shopping there!
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| From the Principal
Mary Ellen Barnes
Fontbonne students love the new T-shirts.
"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart." Seneca
Thanksgiving focuses on our grateful hearts, and at Fontbonne Academy we have so many reasons to be grateful, beginning with the people who make up our community. Your daughters stand at the head of the list with the energy and joy they bring each day to their learning. I continue to be amazed at how well they know Fontbonne's mission, articulate it easily and informally, and live it each day even when they don't know they are doing so.
Very close to the top of the list also are the adults who teach your daughters and, in some real way, that is every adult employed at Fontbonne. A part of each job description is that we serve as teachers by our example and our living out the mission in whatever job we hold. We are grateful to have extraordinary faculty members who work directly with your daughters. They are not only highly credentialed in their subject areas, skilled teachers, and consummate professionals, but also deeply committed to the mission of Fontbonne Academy. They love their jobs and it shows in their availability to their students before, during and after the school day and their high expectations for student success. A senior recently wrote: "[Fontbonne] becomes a place where the people who are here genuinely want to be here ... this is the type of environment that fosters the highest evolution of maturity and thinking." Thank you to the Fontbonne adults who motivate and inspire this senior--and lots of other students--each day.
There are many reasons that we are grateful for you, parents and guardians, beginning with the faith you have put in Fontbonne Academy by entrusting your daughter to our care during her high school years. You play the primary role in her education and work diligently to carry out that responsibility. We could not educate your daughter without your support and for that we are very grateful.
Your participation in the life of our school is critical to our success. This was so evident in the numbers who attended the first Parents Guild meeting this school year. A special thanks to those of you who already participated in our NEASC reaccreditation study by completing and returning your parent/guardian surveys. The beauty of email--in 24 hours we had one-third of our parent responses. A downside is that an email can get "lost" quickly as new emails fill our e-mailboxes, burying the survey and causing us to forget to respond. Your opinion and voice are so important to Fontbonne's present and future especially in this transition year. If you haven't already responded, please go back and dig it out. The survey was sent to you on Tuesday, October 21.
A spirit of gratitude could be lost in these uncertain economic times, but grateful thoughts can restore our balance. As we sit around the Thanksgiving table, we will remember that we are richly blessed. Our true riches are not material possessions, but the people in our lives who care about us so much that they call us to be our best. Happy Thanksgiving! |
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From the President
Dear Parents and Families,
Tomorrow is Election Day and despite what seems an interminable campaign, there is great energy and excitement about this election. It is a great civic moment to underscore our spiritual message at Fontbonne--changing the world depends upon each and every one of us.
Here in the United States we have, and often take for granted, the right to demand and act on behalf of change in our government and its conduct in the world. It is extraordinary, really. Democracy gives us the right and the freedom to call for change. Our Christian faith gives us the moral imperative to call for change.
What do we need to do if the world is not just? If our country is not living up to its highest aspirations? If our people have slackened in their efforts to make the world a better place for all? As Christians, we are affirmatively called to take action by the light of our faith; as members of this democracy we are given the means by which to take action, each of us enfranchised at birth.
We hear every day that the country is crying out for leadership. How about starting with ourselves? Let us vote our hopes and not our fears. Let us lead by example, not just at the polls but in our everyday lives. "You must be the change," as Gandhi said, "that you want to see in the world."
Americans are not divided into angry enemy camps, as much of the election-year rhetoric would have us believe. We are deeply united in our love of country and our desire to fulfill its promise, from one generation to the next. So as we reflect with gratitude in this month of Thanksgiving, let us be grateful for our birthright and the opportunity in this democracy to begin anew. Let us lead by caring enough to celebrate every vote as an expression of our living democracy.
Sincerely,
Dr. Anne Malone '69
President
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Monthly Spotlight:
Ms. Killgoar's Theology Class
Instructor Kerry Killgoar wanted to bring the story of Paul--a truly dynamic figure--to life in the classroom, so nine years ago she wrote a play which freshwomen have performed every year since.
There are no small parts in this production. Each student in Mrs. Killgoar's two classes plays a valuable role in the play, from the part of St. Paul (played this year by Anaika Joseph and Olajumoke Moses) to the lighting technicians (Lauren Haley and Kiah Edwards).
The play appeals to multiple intelligences, since it is a visual, verbal, physical, social, and musical experience. Furthermore, students utilize technology, searching the internet for first-century fashion tips as they prepare their costumes. They also learn about the significant role that women played in the life and development of the early Church.
This year's performance of "Paul: A Man with a Mission" will take place on Wednesday, November 5th. Click here to see the play programs, featuring the artwork of Freshwomen Zeena Bartolome, Marisa Adams and Lina Qin.
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Guidance Department
Invests in College Planning Resource
The Guidance Department is pleased to introduce Family Connection from Naviance, a web-based service designed especially for students and parents. Family Connection is a comprehensive website that you and your child can use to help in making decisions about courses and colleges. Family Connection is linked with Counselor's Office, a service that we use in our Guidance Office to track and analyze data about college plans, so it provides up-to-date information that's specific to our school.
All seniors have been given their registration codes for the Family Connection website. Parents of seniors will be receiving a letter explaining the benefits of the program and how to access your daughter's accounts. In the second quarter, sophomores will be given their registration codes for the Naviance program in sophomore guidance class to begin updating activities and building resumes. Parents of juniors should look for further information about Naviance at the beginning of the third marking term when we begin the college process with the juniors in guidance classes. Contact Mrs. Maura Spignesi at mspignesi@fontbonneacademy.orgwith any questions you may have.
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Parents Guild Kickoff Meeting Update
Parents Guild officers, from left to right: Treasurer Michelle Frank, Vice President Rhonda McCall, Co-Presidents Maria and Steve Kirk.
Over 70 parents attended the fall meeting of the Parents Guild. Co-president Steve Kirk P'10 welcomed parents and described the dual role of the Parents Guild: to provide a variety of social opportunities for parents to get to know one another and find friendship and support within the school community; and to support the vital fundraising efforts of the school. Mr. Kirk introduced each of the committee chairs who spoke briefly about the many ways parents can be involved at Fontbonne. He mentioned that the Parents Guild is still looking for a parent (or two) to chair the school's spring fundraiser "Evening of Stars." The Parents Guild is also selling a t-shirt and selection of fleece vests and jackets embroidered with the Fontbonne name for any parent interested in showing their school spirit.
The featured speaker of the meeting was Maria Sarte, Director of the Office of Mission and Ministry, who gave a short history of the Sisters of St. Joseph and showed a clip from a documentary about the sisters that will premiere at the upcoming St. Louis Film Festival. Ms. Sarte explained that everyone in the Fontbonne Community--faculty, staff, parents, and the girls--share a common bond with the strong, courageous nuns who founded this order to help those in need.
Ms. Barnes noted how pleased she was with the large turnout at the meeting and thanked the officers of the Parents Guild for their hard work and commitment to the school. She also reviewed some of the changes planned for the current and upcoming school years and took questions from the group.
Perhaps the best part of the evening occurred AFTER the meeting was adjourned: parents stayed and visited for another hour, chatting and enjoying the wonderful food provided by the Hospitality Committee. Rhonda McCall, the Parents Guild vice president, did an outstanding job of decorating the room with pumpkins and gourds, making it the perfect place to enjoy a brownie and cup of coffee with friends on a cold fall night.
The schedule for upcoming Parents Guild events, volunteer opportunities, an order form for the Fontbonne clothing, as well as all the officers' names and contact information can be found on the Parents Page of the school website www.fontbonneacademy.org. You may also email the co-presidents Steve and Maria Kirk at parentsguild@fontbonneacademy.org for more information.
For more information on the Parents Guild or to download the brochure, please click here. | |
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Investing in Team Captains
 Brian Sullivan, an alumnus of The National Outdoor Leadership School, offered a seminar this summer for team captains.
Leadership is more than a "buzz word" here at Fontbonne Academy. Team captains must be students in good academic standing who have obtained written support from an administrator. Applicants are also required to write an essay explaining how and why they would prove to be a successful leader.
This summer team captains attended a seminar designed to bolster their leadership skills. They reviewed skills and discussed difficult scenarios that they may encounter as a team captain, and resolution tactics. The seminar, held at Fontbonne, was led by Brian Sullivan, an alumnus of The National Outdoor Leadership School.
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Fontbonne Celebrates Milton
The Select Chorus filled the Milton High School Field House with song at Celebrate Milton.
On Sunday, September 28, 2008 the town of Milton gathered for the 15th annual ¡Celebrate Milton! event--15 years of growing richer through diversity. The weather did not dampen the spirits of the participants and residents alike as they gathered in the Field House at Milton High School. Every year more than 70 exhibitors, including local businesses, schools and community groups, come out to share what they do to serve the Milton community. Fontbonne students showed their school spirit by sharing with our neighbors what Fontbonne Academy is all about. Student representatives painted the faces of children with ducks, our mascot, and spoke to both familiar and new faces about our excellent college preparatory program for young women. Our Select Chorus and Step Squad kicked-off the day's performances on the main stage setting the joyful tone for the day with beautiful voices and unified steps in rhythmic beats.
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Fontbonne Academy 
