Calendar

A highlight for Chelsea Academy this year has been the opening of the Thomas More Chapel, which lives tucked in on the second floor of the lower school Chelsea campus. Named after our patron saint, the St. Thomas More Chapel not only gives Chelsea students the opportunity to attend school-wide Masses, confession, and adoration but also gives the community a place to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.

The week of January 9th - 13th was Spirit Week at Chelsea Academy! The uniform-free week was an opportunity for students and faculty to show their creativity and enthusiasm in what would otherwise be a bland return to school after Christmas break. Each day, students dressed according to a different theme, with attire varying from Civil War uniforms to 80’s fashion. 

      With the first semester of Chelsea Academy well under way, we had an opportunity to witness an exciting new feature to Chelsea: the addition of grades K-3. They, along with the fourth and fifth graders, make up Chelsea's Lower School. The Lower School has taken up residence in the new building on Progress Drive, formerly Virginia International Academy.

Chelsea Academy’s coaches, parents, and players gathered on Tuesday, November 15, for the annual Fall Sports Award ceremony. The progress made by the teams during the season and the accomplishments of outstanding players were highlighted. Congratulations to all of our student-athletes this fall for a successful and incredible season across the board!

This year Chelsea families hosted four exchange students, two hailing from France and two from China. The exchange program at Chelsea is not new; many students native to France, China, Germany, Spain, Mexico, and Brazil have traveled to study at Chelsea over the past decade. To highlight the benefits of this special Chelsea program, members of the journalism club interviewed Benoit, Jean, Dave, and Ryan to shed light on their respective experiences of the exchange program, and explain how

We are delighted to highlight Mr. Wingate, Chelsea Academy's renowned upper school art teacher. Mr. Wingate has been teaching at Chelsea since its foundation in 2008. His class is beloved by all, and he is known for the time he spends working individually with his students. He encourages them to try new styles and find the beauty in expressing their nature through time, patience, and a little art supplies.

Congratulations to Chelsea’s new Chancellor and Secretary, Jude Lagarde and Bea Stanford! 

Our current leaders, Brigid McCarthy and James Schwartz, will pass the torch to Jude and Bea for the 2022-2023 school year!

Though previously these roles were chosen at the discretion of the teachers, this year the student council coordinated an election by the students themselves. Thus implemented, Upper School students were given a formal opportunity to express their choice of the new Chancellor and Secretary. It was up to the candidates to convince the voters of their capability to become the best leaders on the path of success.

Right before Campaign Week began, all of the candidates gave a speech and answered an open Q&A from their peers. The following week, campaigning commenced with posters covering the hallways and mini spiels and skits at morning convocation, not to mention many little treats and party hosting. Last Thursday, 8th-12th grade students enthusiastically lined up and down the hallway to cast their ballots. Shortly after the votes were collected and counted, the tension was broken by Chancellor McCarthy announcing the winners.

Jude Lagarde, a current Fisher House Representative, ran an impressive and successful campaign and has high hopes for next year, with many new ideas to improve and old traditions to bring back to life. To help along the way, Bea Stanford will move on from being a Roper House Representative to becoming the new secretary.

We are all confident in both Jude’s leadership expertise and Bea’s knack for organization, so rest assured we will have a promising Student Government in the coming academic year!

Introducing Genevieve! Her wonderful sense of humor is inclined to make you crack a smile at any time, which only adds to her relaxed and carefree personality. As a Pole House Representative, Genevieve devotes much of her time to organizing fundraisers and house activities, yet she still finds time to enjoy challenging classes like Precalculus and Physics. She enjoys watching football games and is obsessed with country music. Of all her fun stories, she’ll never remember last year’s canoe trip without laughing, since her canoe tipped over, throwing her and a couple exchange students into the river. She likes to keep healthy by lifting weights, and also teaches swim lessons in the summertime, so she is never bored. She plans on attending Christendom College, and will likely enroll in some extra courses so that she can someday become a nurse!

Meet Norah! Upon her arrival in 9th grade, her friendly face often stands out amongst the class of 2022. She loves running and hiking, and her taste in music is so versatile that she wholeheartedly enjoys listening to almost every genre. An avid reader, Norah delves into books by authors Tolkien, JK Rowling, and Rick Riordan. Although she breezes through her tedious physics assignments with ease, her favorite class is English with Mrs. Zepeda. Before senior year, Norah ran on Chelsea’s cross country team and dabbled in basketball and soccer. One of her favorite memories is when she blindly hiked Old Rag in the rain with Mrs. O’Keefe as her guide. Each year she has worked behind the scenes preparing students to take the stage in the Annual Chelsea Play. Norah made sure to bring the fun to tech week, ending last year’s show prep for Twelfth Night with a spontaneous dance in the rain with her friends. After graduating, Norah hopes to attend Virginia Western Community College and pursue a career in physical therapy.

Here’s to your next adventure!

One of the geniuses of her class, Ava is a stellar student who tries to find a balance between her social and academic life. When she isn’t spending time with friends, she is probably playing the piano or reading some good L.M. Montgomery or C.S. Lewis books

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, & see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” - Goethe
 

Michael Echaniz was a faithful Catholic, a dedicated teacher, and a wonderful friend to many. To those that were close to him throughout his days at Chelsea Academy, he was always a truly selfless friend and brought a bright spark of humor to many of his classmates. As the community mourns the tragic passing of Michael, we would like to remember the best qualities of our dear friend.

Sebastian  joined us at Chelsea his junior year and quickly made his mark as a representative for Fisher House. As he is scientifically inclined, his favorite class is physics with his favorite teacher, Mr. Selner. He showcased his musical side at his performance on our previous St. Cecilia’s Day event, playing guitar and singing Let it Be. Sebastian loves playing baseball and has also been on the basketball team for the past two seasons. He was very proud to be a part of last year's inaugural rugby team. His favorite Chelsea memory is his junior year Fall Hike. Sebastian will attend Benedictine College in the fall to direct his studies towards biology! 

We wish you the best of luck!

Described as a hidden gem by her classmates, you can count on Victoria to brighten your day with her crazy jokes. She is always either listening to her favorite music or reading for hours on end. She loves Jane Austen, who wrote Pride and Prejudice, and her favorite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Her favorite Chelsea memory is of her 7th grade canoe trip (coincides with that of our previous Senior Of The Week, Betsy!), because there was a huge class battle on the rapids. She is very proud of herself for living her senior year to the fullest, and even decided to participate in this year’s play. Victoria is hoping to go to Ave Maria University in the fall, and will gear her interests towards psychology.

You will be dearly missed!

Mr. Kelly, our current Middle School Basketball coach, has been a coach at Chelsea for 4+ years and has been involved with basketball in one way or another for his whole life. Ever since he was a child, basketball and tennis have been his favorite sports. He played basketball throughout high school and, after graduating from Villanova University with a major in Political science, played guard at Christendom for one year. Soon after leaving Christendom, he was recruited by Frank O'Reilly to coach in the CYO. For him, it was an easy decision to coach. Mr. Kelly loves basketball, enjoys working with kids, and has a coaching style

You can always find Betsy with a contagious smile on her face; her optimism and kindness make students feel welcome. That and her trunk full of candy.  She’s insanely talented at piano; students will remember her performances in multiple St. Cecelia’s Days. She enjoys baking and art, especially painting, and will do anything outdoors (just laying down in the grass will do). She will be dearly missed within the athletics department, as she has been on the volleyball team for 6 years. Her fondest memory is hands down the 7th grade canoe trip. Over the past year, she’s enjoyed becoming closer to the younger grads. She also entertains her class with tales of her job. After graduating, Betsy plans on attending Lord Fairfax Community College to get her CNA and eventually her RN, specializing in labor and delivery. 

Good luck on your next adventure Betsy!!

Welcome to a day in the life of a 4th & 5th-grade student at Chelsea Academy. They may be the youngest among our students, but they can be just as busy as some of the older kids! Having schedules jammed packed with learning, adventure, and fun, there is never a dull moment in their day. The following is a first-hand account of what it’s like to be a lower school student here at Chelsea. 

The Chelsea basketball teams compiled a 3-3 record last week, featuring the middle school boys' third straight VMSC Championship and a thirty-point varsity girls victory. 

Here is the rundown:

Middle School Girls: The middle school girls had a hard-fought loss against Fresta Valley in the first round of the VMSC tournament.   

Middle School Boys: The middle school boys continued their undefeated season this week, beating Mountain View on Thursday and becoming VMSC champions with a  40-32 Friday night thriller over Sacred Heart in front of a large, raucous crowd.

High School Girls: The Varsity girls won their only game this week with a dominating 30 point victory over Eukarya Christian School on Thursday.

High School Boys: Suffered two hard-fought losses with multiple injuries against Loudoun County and Eukarya Christian school. They are looking forward to those rematches coming in the near future.  

We are proud of our Knights!

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Pray for us!

The Chelsea basketball teams compiled an 8-2 record last week, featuring a varsity girls’ rally, a 32-point middle school girls’ win, and the unbeaten middle school boys’ ninth straight victory. The varsity boys won two out of three games.

On Wednesday, February 2nd, Chelsea hosted its annual Science Fair, welcoming twenty-six accomplished judges based locally and fifty-one creative student project presentations.

As always, many long hours went into not only making the event a success but also cutting and gluing construction paper on poster boards to perfection. Topics this year included, but were not limited to: gun ranges, bunnies, caffeine and pulse oxidation, implosion, micro-bacteria, fruit and its various properties, video games’ effect on memory, and many more.

Special thanks to the generosity of the judges with their time, and most of all, to our own Dr. Alka Shanahan, who planned the event for months and oversaw all of the students’ projects with patience and wisdom. Members of the senior class also assisted in directing schedules, and refreshments were served to the judges.

Parents and family members had a wonderful time looking at all of the projects the night of, and students and teachers were able to catch a glimpse during the first period on Thursday. 

The Chelsea basketball teams compiled a 4-1 record last week, featuring a comeback, a cliff-hanger, and a varsity player joyfully getting back on the court.

Here is the rundown:

Middle school girls: The Knights improved to 4-1, starting the week with an impressive victory over Sacred Heart, coming back from an early eight point deficit to win 33-18. Their second game proved to be a hard-fought loss, 12-15, against Fresta Valley.

Middle school boys: The middle school boys continued their undefeated season with two wins this week, starting with a nailbiter over Sacred Heart 40-38 on Monday. They finished off the week with a dominating 43-14 win against Fresta Valley, avenging the middle school girls' loss.

High school girls: After their scheduled games on Wednesday and Friday both got cancelled, the Varsity girls enjoyed a week of rest ahead of the grueling three-game week following.

High school boys: The varsity boys improved their season to 4-1 with their 81-34 romp over Dominion Ridge on Wednesday in which all eleven members of the team scored. Special shout out to John Bodoh, who was finally activated after undergoing surgery in December. John put up six points in his first game this season.

We are proud of our Knights!

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Pray for us!

The week of January 24th to 28th was deemed Spirit Week at Chelsea Academy, and each day a new theme was enthusiastically embraced by both students and faculty/staff! This annual uniform-free week was a creative opportunity to express school spirit and camaraderie, as well as to cheer on our basketball teams and celebrate St. Thomas Aquinas’ feast day. This year, a flurry of rival sports jerseys, hippie-attire, 80’s fashion, poodle skirts, princesses, Newsies, and a curiously large assortment of Nappy D characters led the way to a doubleheader of basketball games against Mountain View on Friday. Well, until actual flurries of snow caused the games to be canceled. But even so, this exciting week proved a huge success, ending in a high-stakes House Game of Jeopardy and a celebration of St. Thomas Aquinas’ feast day with cake. Below is a day-by-day of the spontaneity enjoyed by Chelsea Academy and pictures of the terrifically chaotic-yet-lovable memories made by all.

Monday started it all off with “Sports Day,” consisting of students wearing swag of their favorite sports teams. 

“Decades Day” had everyone thinking back to one’s fond memories of the 20’s styles all the way to the ‘90s, with the ‘80s being an obvious favorite. 

On Wednesday, everyone donned their Sunday best for “Dress-Up Day,” and the girls attended Mass graciously offered by Fr. Tom. 

Thursday’s classes were canceled, so on Friday students were allowed to choose either “Character Day” or the school-patriotic “Blue and White Day.” And so a creative collection of story-book/movie character costumes and Spirit-Wear apparel showed up at the cake-party and Jeopardy Competition. 

Thank you for a wonderful turnout all week. This is the kind of pride and spirit that keeps us winning!

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

Chelsea Academy enjoyed a dominating day and night of basketball last Friday night at the VIA gym, with an impressive four-game sweep of rival Holy Family Academy of Manassas.

   The Knights recorded lopsided victories at both the middle school and high school level, boys and girls.

   Amidst a plethora of standout performances, Henry and Cici Wingate received particular shoutouts. Henry had 17 points, and Cici had 19.

Here is a recap of the festive Friday:

   Middle school girls: The Knights improved to 3-1 with their lopsided 30-6 victory over Holy Family.

   Middle school boys: The middle school boys continued their undefeated season with their fifth straight win. 

   High school girls: After their first basket from Cici Wingate 20 seconds into the game, the varsity girls never looked back. With aggressive defense, effective offensive play from the starters, and strong performances from the bench, the Knights dominated Holy Family all game, winning 56-32. 

   High school boys: The varsity boys improved their season to 3-1 with their dominating win. Despite the absence of coach Mike Schuttloffel due to sickness, the Knights maintained their composure and pulled off a 21 point victory. Special thanks to AD Tommy Vanderwoude and Middle School Coach Jim Kelly for stepping in to take over the coaching duties.

We are so proud of our Knights!

Blessed Pier Giorgia Frassati. Pray for us!