Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School

Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School
1929 Main Building of Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School
Address
801 South Spoede Road St. Louis, Missouri, 63131 United States
Coordinates	38°38′37″N 90°24′59″W / 38.64361°N 90.41639°W / 38.64361; -90.41639Coordinates: 38°38′37″N 90°24′59″W / 38.64361°N 90.41639°W / 38.64361; -90.41639
Information
Type	Private, Co-Ed (Grades JK-6), All-Female (Grades 7-12)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic, Network of Sacred Heart Schools
Established	1929
School number	314.432.2021
Principal	Ms. Katie Komos (Grades JK-6) Sr. Donna Collins, RSCJ (Grades 7-12)
Head of school	Sr. Donna Collins, RSCJ Ms. Mikaela White (Acting Co-Heads of School)
Grades	JK–12
Enrollment	615 (2014-15 school year)
Average class size	15
Student to teacher ratio	9:1 student/teacher ratio
Campus size	60 acres (240,000 m²)
Color(s)	Maroon and White
Mascot	Saints
Rival	St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis)
Accreditation	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools ^[1]
Average SAT scores	1818
Average ACT scores	29
Newspaper	Tower Talk
Yearbook	Entre Nous
Tuition	$19,450 (Grades 7-12) $16,220 (Grades 5-6) $15,595 (Grades K-4) $13,500 (Grade JK)
Alumni	6,700
Website	http://www.vdoh.org

Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School is a private, Roman Catholic school in Frontenac, Missouri, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis and governed by the Society of the Sacred Heart. Villa Duchesne is an all-girls school with grades 7 through 12. Oak Hill is a coed elementary school for age 3 through grade 6.

History

Villa Duchesne was established in 1929 by Reverend Mother Mary Reid of the Society of the Sacred Heart on the former Lang and Jaccard estates in Frontenac, Missouri as a boarding and day school for young women. When the Society of the Sacred Heart arrived in 1927, the 60 acre campus was completely wooded other than a rustic log cabin which would serve as the first home of the school's religious community and still stands today. The nuns employed the architectural firm of O’Meara & Hills to build a French chateau of Missouri limestone with twin Norman towers as the building's signature feature. Despite strikes, intense weather conditions, torrential rains, and even the death of one of the contractors, the school's original building was completed on time for the start of classes on October 1, 1929. At the time of opening, 127 students from 20 different schools registered for classes at Villa Duchesne. A few weeks later, local Catholic families convinced the Sacred Heart nuns to open a kindergarten for twenty students that was housed in the campus' rustic log cabin.

Despite being founded at the onset of the Great Depression, the school grew and thrived throughout the 1940s and 1950s. By the mid-1950s, the school's original debt had been retired, and the Sacred Heart nuns under headmistress Mary Gray McNally, RSCJ, began to plan for the construction of a chapel wing designed by Marguolo & Quick that would complete the original 1929 plans for the school building. On November 9, 1957, the first student Mass was held in the school's new chapel, a wing constructed through the generosity of the school's parents and benefactors that also contained infirmary facilities for aging members of the Religious of the Sacred Heart community. Due to the success of the campaign to build the chapel wing, a student activities building designed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (later named the "Thelma Kenefick Activities Building" after the school's longtime Athletic Director) containing a gymnasium, locker rooms, and indoor swimming pool opened in 1961.

Despite drastic changes in the Roman Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council in 1962, little change occurred at Villa Duchesne until 1968. At this time, a local sister school, the Academy of the Sacred Heart of St. Louis (affectionately referred to as "City House") in the Central West End neighborhood near the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, was merged into Villa Duchesne adding 226 students to the student body. From 1968-1969, new facilities such as the three "Pod" classroom buildings designed by Curtis Ittner on the upper campus and the Activities Building and Christina M. Busch Gym on the lower campus were also built to accommodate expansion of the school's elementary division. In 1970, the boarding school program was discontinued, and the school welcomed its first layperson as head of school, C. Robert Wray. In 1973, Wray would lead the reorganization of the elementary division into a coed program named "Oak Hill School" (a fitting moniker due to the majestic oak trees on the campus as well as the fact that the last name of the school's patron saint, Rose Philippine Duchesne, means "of the oaks") was founded to serve students in grades JK-6.

In 1977, Ann Caire, RSCJ, was appointed headmistress of the school. Caire would oversee the school until her retirement in 2001, and during this time, great growth in the student population and development of the school's curriculum, athletic programs, and co-curricular offerings occurred. In 1989, the Duchesne Building, an administrative building housing Oak Hill's early childhood programs and specialty classes, opened as the first major building project on campus since the late 1960s. The Duchesne Building replaced the school's former riding stables and preschool facilities, and it would be further expanded in 1999 to house a state-of-the art library, technology center, art classroom, music classroom, and French classroom to serve the lower school students.

Dr. Sam Sciortino, former Oak Hill principal and long-time Parkway School District administrator, transitioned into the Head of School role in 2002 upon Sr. Caire's retirement. Under Sciortino's leadership of the school, the school's original 1929 Main Building was preserved and air-conditioned for the first time in school history in 2004. At this time, athletic facilities were also upgraded on campus as several new fields were created on campus, a fitness center was constructed in the Kenefick Gym, and the tennis courts were moved to the lower campus in an effort to expand the school's parking. In 2006, a new residence was purchased adjacent to campus to house the school's religious community, and in 2007, the former cloister in the 1929 Main Building was renovated to provide needed classroom and office space for the high school division. In 2009, former faculty member and City House alumna Lucie Nordmann, RSCJ, would assume the role of Head of School. Under Nordmann's leadership, further updates were made to the campus and Oak Hill was expanded to accommodate three-year-old students in a new junior kindergarten program.

In 2013, Elizabeth A. Miller, was appointed Head of School. In the fall of 2014, Sr. Donna Collins, RSCJ, former Secretary General of the Society of the Sacred Heart, assumed the role of principal for the young women of Villa Duchesne in grades seven through twelve. At the same time, Ms. Kathleen M. Komos, a long-time lower school faculty member, assumed the role of principal of grades junior kindergarten through six for the young girls and boys of Oak Hill. Under Miller's leadership, the Stubblefield Alumnae Internship program, a new internship program for the school's young alumnae, was created, and the Acorn Club, a free extended day program for Oak Hill students was introduced. On July 1, 2016, Mr. Michael F. Baber, a former Assistant Head of School at Convent of the Sacred Heart (Connecticut) and current Interim Head of School at Academy of the Sacred Heart (Grand Coteau, Louisiana) will assume the role of Head of School of Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School.

Sport

Villa Duchesne sports include field hockey, volleyball, tennis, lacrosse, soccer, golf, basketball, swimming and diving, racquetball, cross country, and track and field. In 2010, Villa Duchesne won the MSHSAA golf state championship. Villa Duchesne is also well known for its field hockey program, and the St. Joe vs. Villa Duchesne field hockey game is a popular rivalry game.

In 2011, Villa Duchesne captured the Missouri Class 3A Volleyball Championship led by a core group of seniors who helped the team to a 2nd place finish in 2009.

While Villa's teams compete under the "Saints" name, it is not uncommon to see the school's mascot, Sophie the Squirrel, at home games and meets.

One noted sports alumnus, Stephanie McCollister (Huey), excelled in swimming (where she was nationally recognized for her mastery in flip turns), track, and volleyball.

Tradition

Villa Duchesne places a large emphasis on tradition, specifically on Sacre Coeur and French tradition. Some traditions are Conge, the family picnic, gouter, and cache-cache

Notes and references

↑ NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-23.

High schools in Greater St. Louis

Missouri public high schools	Affton Bayless Beaumont Brentwood Central VPA Clayton Cleveland Eureka Farmington Fern Ridge Fort Zumwalt East Fort Zumwalt North Fort Zumwalt South Fort Zumwalt West Fox Francis Howell Francis Howell Central Francis Howell North Gateway Hazelwood Central Hazelwood East Hazelwood West Holt Kirkwood Ladue Lafayette Lindbergh Maplewood Richmond Heights Marquette McCluer McCluer North McCluer South-Berkeley McKinley Mehlville Metro Normandy North County (Bonne Terre) Northwest Oakville Orchard Farm Pacific Pattonville Parkway Central Parkway North Parkway South Parkway West Ritenour Rockwood Summit Roosevelt St. Charles St. Charles West Seckman Soldan Sumner Timberland Troy Buchanan Union University City Vashon Warrenton Washington Webster Groves Windsor Wright City

Illinois public high schools	Alton Belleville East Belleville West Brussels Bunker Hill Cahokia Calhoun Carlinville Carlyle Central Civic Memorial Collinsville Columbia Dupo East Alton-Wood River East St. Louis Edwardsville Freeburg Gillespie Granite City Greenville Highland Jersey Lebanon Madison Marissa Mascoutah Mount Olive Mulberry Grove New Athens North Mac Northwestern O'Fallon Roxana Southwestern Staunton Triad Waterloo Valmeyer Wesclin

Catholic Archdiocesan high schools	Althoff Bishop DuBourg Cardinal Ritter Duchesne John F. Kennedy Gilbault Mater Dei Rosati-Kain St. Dominic St. Francis Borgia St. Mary's St. Pius X Trinity

Catholic private high schools	Barat Academy Chaminade Christian Brothers College (CBC) Cor Jesu De Smet Incarnate Word Marquette Catholic Nerinx Hall Notre Dame St. Elizabeth St. John Vianney St. Joseph's Priory St. Louis University High Ursuline Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School Visitation

Other private high schools	Christian Crossroads John Burroughs School Lutheran North Lutheran South Lutheran St. Charles Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School Meramec Valley Christian School Metro-East Lutheran North County Christian School The Principia Thomas Jefferson School Whitfield School Westminster Christian Academy

Archdiocese of St. Louis

Ordinaries of the Archdiocese of St. Louis

Bishop	Joseph Rosati

Archbishops	Peter Richard Kenrick John Kain John J. Glennon Joseph Ritter John Carberry John L. May Justin Francis Rigali Raymond Leo Burke Robert James Carlson

Coadjutor Archbishop	Patrick John Ryan

Churches in the Archdiocese of St. Louis

Cathedral	Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

Basilica	Basilica of St. Louis, King of France

Parishes	St. Joseph Church, Apple Creek St. Maurus Church, Biehle St. James Church, Crosstown Ste. Genevieve Church, Ste. Genevieve Sacred Heart Church, Ozora St. Mary's of the Barrens Church, Perryville St. Vincent de Paul Church, Perryville St. Alphonsus Liguori "Rock" Church, St. Louis St. Francis Xavier College Church, St. Louis St. Mary of Victories Church, St. Louis St. Rose of Lima Church, Silver Lake

Former parishes	Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Belgique St. Mary's Church, Bridgeton St. John the Evangelist Church, Lithium St. Boniface Church, Perryville Immaculate Conception Church, St. Louis St. John Nepomuk Church, St. Louis St. Liborius Church, St. Louis St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, St. Louis

Abbey	Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Louis

Oratory	St. Francis de Sales Oratory, St. Louis

Shrines	St. Ferdinand's Shrine, Florissant Shrine of St. Joseph, St. Louis

Education in the Archdiocese of St. Louis

Higher education	Fontbonne University Maryville University Saint Louis University

Seminaries	Aquinas Institute of Theology Kenrick–Glennon Seminary

High schools	Barat Academy, O'Fallon Bishop DuBourg High School, St. Louis Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School, St. Louis Chaminade College Preparatory School, Creve Coeur Christian Brothers College High School, St. Louis Cor Jesu Academy, St. Louis De Smet Jesuit High School, Creve Coeur Duchesne High School, St. Charles Incarnate Word Academy, Bel-Nor John F. Kennedy Catholic High School, Manchester Nerinx Hall High School, Webster Groves Notre Dame High School, St. Louis Rosati-Kain High School, St. Louis St. Dominic High School, O'Fallon St. Francis Borgia Regional High School, Washington St. John Vianney High School, Kirkwood St. Joseph's Academy, Frontenac Saint Louis Priory School, St. Louis St. Louis University High School, St. Louis St. Mary's High School, St. Louis St. Pius X High School, Festus St. Vincent High School, Perryville Trinity Catholic High School, North County Ursuline Academy, Oakland Valle Catholic High School, Sainte Genevieve Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School, St. Louis Visitation Academy of St. Louis, Town and Country

Former	Higher education Marillac College High school St. Elizabeth Academy, St. Louis

Clergy of the Archdiocese of St. Louis

Auxiliary bishops	Christian Herman Winkelmann George Joseph Donnelly John Cody Charles Herman Helmsing Leo Christopher Byrne Glennon Patrick Flavin George Joseph Gottwald Joseph Alphonse McNicholas Charles Roman Koester Edward Thomas O'Meara John Nicholas Wurm Edward Joseph O'Donnell J. Terry Steib Paul Albert Zipfel Edward Braxton Michael John Sheridan Joseph Fred Naumann Timothy M. Dolan Robert Joseph Hermann Edward M. Rice

Priests	Christopher Edward Byrne Mark Kenny Carroll Luis Morgan Casey Patrick Feehan Robert Finn Marion Francis Forst John R. Gaydos John Hennessy John Joseph Hogan John Joseph Leibrecht George Joseph Lucas Joseph Melcher Michael Portier Andrea Bernardo Schierhoff Leo John Steck Richard Stika John Henry Tihen

Catholicism Portal

Single-gender schools in Missouri

Public girls' schools

Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls (Saint Louis)

Private boys' schools

Saint Louis area	Chaminade College Preparatory School Christian Brothers College High School De Smet Jesuit High School St. John Vianney High School Saint Louis Priory School St. Louis University High School St. Mary's High School

Kansas City area	Rockhurst High School

Closed	Christian Brothers High School (St. Joseph)

Private girls' schools

Saint Louis area	Cor Jesu Academy Incarnate Word Academy Nerinx Hall High School Notre Dame High School Rosati-Kain High School St. Joseph's Academy Ursuline Academy Villa Duchesne Visitation Academy of St. Louis

Kansas City area	St. Teresa's Academy Notre Dame de Sion (Coed K-8, girls' high)

Became coed	Bishop LeBlond High School (St. Joseph)

Closed	St. Elizabeth Academy (Saint Louis)

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