Chelsea News

The Chelsea Academy Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Dr. Diarmuid Wheeler will serve as the next Headmaster of Chelsea Academy. 

Dr. Wheeler is no stranger to Chelsea Academy, having served as a faculty member here not so long ago. During his tenure at Chelsea, Dr. Wheeler was the first instructor to be chosen by his peers to be honored with the Michael Echaniz Teacher of the Year Award. More recently, Dr. Wheeler has headed the History and Humanities departments at The Mount Academy in Esopus, NY, where he was instrumental in redeveloping the school's curriculum and teacher professional development programs.

A native of Ireland, Dr. Wheeler attained a Double Honors Bachelor of Arts Degree as well as a Masters in Military History & Strategic Studies from Maynooth University before completing a doctorate in History at the University of Galway.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Wheeler and his family back to the Chelsea community," Chairman of the Board Doug McCarthy remarked, "He has a deep understanding of the Chelsea mission through our foundational pillars of Faith, Family, Academics, and Adventure. We are confident that he will embody the virtues of our patron, St. Thomas More, as a faithful, humble, and patient servant leader for our community, and take our special school to even greater heights." 

Upon his appointment, Dr. Wheeler remarked, “The Easter season is a time of joy, hope, and life renewed. It is only appropriate then that I share how absolutely thrilled and blessed my wife Chelsie and I feel to be called back to Front Royal once again. Chelsea Academy is a place that has always felt like home, and I consider it an immense privilege to be given the opportunity to lead the Academy into the future. Our school is a gem, one that so many people are actively searching for, but rarely find. Chelsea Academy holds the promise of a better future.”

Dr. Wheeler and his wife Chelsie are the proud parents of three children, the oldest of whom will be starting at Chelsea in the fall. He will begin his appointment on June 15. 

Please join us in praying for the Wheeler family during this transition, and for the continued success of Chelsea Academy!

The evidence is in: Smartphones, social media, and other technological devices are addictive and corrosive to adolescent development. In addition, these technologies are deleterious to learning, retention, and prolonged serious study. The presence of smartphones and social media has caused a fundamental rewiring of childhood, bringing with it immense challenges for families to navigate.

At the same time, artificial intelligence and automation are bringing transformative change to both the classroom and the modern economy. Young people will graduate into a world where modern technology is not only ubiquitous, but also increasingly necessary for professional success. Given the rate and nature of modern technological progress, classical schools are faced with the challenge of crafting an approach to technology that is appropriately proactive and protective—one that recognizes the contributions of new technologies, but also maintains that they must serve human life and the human family, not the other way around.

So how should Catholic schools balance their response to our technological moment? How can classical schools partner with families to protect childhood from the dangers of smartphones and social media? How should schools approach the tech issue to ensure students are prepared for both this life and the next?

This summer, Chelsea Academy is proud to explore these pressing questions and more at our second annual conference, "Screen-Free Childhood: Cultivating Virtue in the Internet Age". We’ll convene leading voices at the intersection of technology and family issues on the campus of Chelsea Academy in beautiful Front Royal, Virginia, to discuss how schools should navigate the challenges and opportunities of modern technology.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Clare Morrell is director of EPPC’s Technology and Human Flourishing Project and the author of the forthcoming book, The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones.
• Brad Littlejohn is the Director of Programs and Education at American Compass. He previously served as the president of Davenant Institute and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is the author of Called to Freedom: Retrieving Christian Liberty in an Age of License.
• Emma Waters is a Policy Analyst in the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation. Her work focuses on family, biotechnology, and reproductive medicine. Mrs. Waters is a former Visiting Fellow with Independent Women’s Forum and a monthly contributor with World magazine.
• Emile Doak is Executive Director of the Chelsea Academy Foundation. Mr. Doak came to Chelsea from The American Conservative magazine, where he led the organization as Executive Director. He has written widely on issues of faith, culture, and technology

...with more to be announced!

Full details and registration here. 

The senior thesis is to be the crowning achievement of the Chelsea Academy education. Each year, Chelsea seniors embark on a year-long major research paper that explores a question built upon the close reading of a Great Book. The thesis should engage some aspect of the Great Conversation as it develops a question in history, literature, theology, philosophy, science, mathematics, or another approved subject area. 

The Class of 2025 has been hard at work with their respective thesis advisors all year, and are ready to present their theses to the community! Support our seniors as they publicly present the capstone academic exercise of their Chelsea careers. Seniors will be delivering their thesis presentations from Tuesday, May 6 to Thursday, May 8, 2025 from 6:30-8:00pm at Chelsea Academy.  We encourage all who can make it to attend.  

The presenters and topics are listed below:

Tuesday, May 6
 

Edmund Brugger, “A Vindication of Aquinas’s Arguments for the Existence of God Against the New Atheists”

Belle Schuttloffel, “'I can't get over my disappointment in not being a boy!' Embracing Authentic Femininity in Little Women”

Noah Van Schaick, “The Reality of the Sin of Pride and the Violent Revelation Needed to Cause a Change”

Keira Thomas, “'The Nobler the Woman, the Nobler the Love': A Discussion Lady Macbeth and the Role of Femininity Plays in the Culture”

Wednesday, May 7
 

Jimmy Stanford, “'O Highest Peak of Virtue': Virgil and the Cardinal Virtues in Dante's Inferno”

Patrick Anderson, “Bound in Darkness: The Greed, Dehumanization, and Moral Corruption of Imperialism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness”

Cici Wingate, "'To love takes off the masks we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within': The Meaning and Effect of True Selfless Love as Seen in Till We Have Faces"

Ivy Akers, “'I am, but there I have another name': Seeing God through Narnia”

Therese MacDougall, “How the Sanctity of Marriage Preserves the Sanctity of Human Life: An Insight into Aldous Huxley's Brave New World to Understand the Sanctity of Human Life and How It Relates to Marriage”

Thursday, May 8

Nate Snyder, “'My Thoughts be Bloody or be Nothing Worth': A Moral Analysis of Revenge Using Shakespeare's Hamlet”

Ken Furlong, “'You Should Not Forsake the Ship in a Storm Because You Cannot Control the Winds': An Analysis of Thomas More's Utopia Concerning the Need for Reform in More's England”

Sarah Barklage, “The Role of Faith and the Virtues in Relationships in Anna Karenina”

Landon Barnett, “Liberty Through Conformity: The Totalitarian implications of Rousseau's General Will”

Calvin Rhodes, “A Despotic Precursor: How John Calvin's Theology and Consistory Inspired Totalitarianism” 

Max Egazarian, “Karl Marx: The Attack on Christianity”

Note: This is the first in a series of reflections on liberal arts education and the Catholic intellectual life from our headmaster, Mr. John M. DeJak.

In the tradition of Western Civilization there is no shortage of good writers and good books! This is something that we attempt to impress upon our students and, I'm sure, that there is no small number of parents who attempt to do the same. While in ages past (and in places other than the United States currently) there was more discipline in learning languages other than English, we can be grateful that translators have brought the great non-English works of our civilization to our table. While not the same as the original, many fine scholars have been able to bring to a wider reading public the great thoughts of those who have gone before and have blunted the old Italian aphorism: “Traduttore, traditore" ("Translator, traitor!").

Lest anyone lose this treasury of wisdom, there developed a practice—an intellectual habit—in ancient times, which has continued through the Middle Ages and into the early 20th century, of keeping a commonplace book or what medieval monks used to call a florilegium ("a gathering of flowers").  In order to aid the memory, students and scholars would keep a notebook with them as they read and would jot down sententiae ("thoughts") from the authors that they were reading in various areas.  What would they write down?  Things that moved them; thoughts that inspired them; insights that could help them. This "gathering of flowers" allowed rhetoricians to offer brilliant speeches drawn from a variety of sources; it allowed the early Fathers of the Church and medieval monks to develop reflections on the Christian Mystery in both preaching and writing; and it created a more literate, reflective, and tradition-minded public. In more recent times, Maurice Baring, an author-diplomat and a great friend of Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton, published what could be called his own commonplace book entitled Have You Anything to Declare? This book is delightful in that it contains moving passages from literature (both in the original languages and translated) and is arranged for not only the edification of the note-taker, but also the reader.  In a word, the commonplace book is a way to preserve the memory and to slow down as one develops his intellectual acuity, asks the great questions, and meditates on primary things. Seneca put it well:

We should follow…the examples of the bees, who flit about and cull the flowers that are suitable for producing honey, and then arrange and assort in their cells all that they have brought in…. We also, I say, ought to copy these bees, and sift whatever we have gathered from a varied course of reading, for such things are better preserved if they are kept separate; then…we should so blend these several flavors into one delicious compound that, even though it betrays its origins, yet it nevertheless is clearly a different thing from whence it came.  

One of the aims of Catholic liberal arts education is to understand the whole of reality as God has so wonderfully designed it and to see the connections between things. Keeping a commonplace book is a reflective and practical way to aid in this intellectual adventure.  The beauty of the book is that one can keep it as he wishes—it is highly personal to each person. Some can take the tack of John Locke who famously made a complex index to the different subject areas that he considered in his commonplace book; or one can be more random in simply jotting things down—passages that he has read, poems that he has encountered, philosophical arguments made—as one reads or between books. Keeping a commonplace book slows one down and allows one to engage the text in a serious way that is an antidote to the modern habit of "skimming" and superficial reading. This is why a notebook with the old-fashioned pen or pencil is the way to engage this practice.  To so engage one's reading is a revolution in the truest sense of the word: a rebellion against what technocrats and educrats say education should be, and rather a means by which to cultivate self-discipline, freedom, and depth--a way to taste the freedom of the sons of God.

Finally, the commonplace book is not meant to be put on the shelf when completed. It is something to return to again and again. To jog the memory and meet again with the great men and women who have inspired one's thought.  In this way, it is a record of not only one's intellectual journey, but also a scrapbook of one's literary friendships.

This summer, Chelsea Academy will gather leading voices at the nexus of Catholic education and statesmanship to explore how to form Catholic leaders capable of meeting the challenges of our current moment. 

For centuries, Catholic education has been part of the fabric of America. Since the founding of the parochial education system by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton—secondary patroness of the Diocese of Arlington—Catholic schools have met the challenges of the age by partnering with families to form the next generation in the faith. As a result, American Catholics have achieved prominent positions in secular society, and Catholic schools can count numerous community and national leaders among their alumni.

But now, in the third decade of the 21st century, new challenges are causing Catholics to rethink how to engage in secular society. Our culture is increasingly confused, presenting young people with visions of happiness and success that are fundamentally opposed to those of the Catholic faith. And in the public square, this hostile culture has led to a rethinking of once-settled questions around Catholic cultural and political engagement. As our country's cultural rot accelerates, parents seeking to form confident Catholic leaders are left navigating a new landscape in education and public life.

How should parents navigate this cultural moment? How should schools react to these new cultural challenges? How do we continue to educate for Catholic leaders capable of making positive contributions to their families, places of work, and communities?

As a school under the patronage of St. Thomas More—patron of statesman and of the Diocese of Arlington—Chelsea Academy is uniquely positioned to explore these questions. Join us this summer to hear from leading figures in Catholic education and statesmanship!

The day will open with Holy Mass in Chelsea's St. Thomas More Chapel, celebrated by Fr. Daniel Gee, pastor of St. John the Baptist in Front Royal. 

Then, the first plenary session will explore Catholic statesmanship in the 21st century. Discussants include:

• The Hon. Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli has served in the highest levels of U.S. and Virginia politics. Cuccinelli started his political career in the state senate of Virginia, before being elected state-wide as Attorney General in 2010. Cuccinelli's tenure as Virginia AG was informed by his strong Catholic faith, most notably on issues of life and marriage. More recently, Cuccinelli served as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) and Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under President Trump. He is currently Senior Fellow for Homeland Security and Immigration for the Center for Renewing America. 
• C.C. Pecknold. Dr. Pecknold has emerged as a leading voice in Catholic political thought. Dr. Pecknold's work centers on the thought of St. Augustine in the areas of fundamental theology, Christian anthropology, and political theology. He is a frequent contributor to debates in the public square, and is co-founder and editor of the popular Substack, The Postliberal Order. Dr. Pecknold is associate professor of systematic theology at the Catholic University of America. 
• Matthew Mehan. Dr. Mehan's work centers on the thought of St. Thomas More and the education of leading citizens. He has has consulted for national leaders and heads of state, and has written for various outlets both scholarly and popular, including Moreana and The Wall Street Journal. As Associate Dean and Assistant Professor of Government at Hillsdale College's Graduate School of Government in Washington, DC, Dr. Mehan plays a leading role in shaping the next generation of statesmen through the College's academic programs & fellowships for policy professionals exerting key influence in Washington.
• Tim Carney. Mr. Carney is a bestselling author, journalist, and speaker. His work seeks to explore and explain a broad swath of the American landscape. His 2019 bestseller, Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse, explored why so many Americans feel the American dream is dead—and the vital role churches must play in bringing it back. His latest book, Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be, takes on the record rates of anxiety, depression, medication, debts, loneliness, and comes to an old-fashioned conclusion: “Have more kids, have more fun, cancel the travel soccer games, let your kids wander off, and give them deeper sources of meaning than material success.” 

The keynote address will be delivered by Dr. George Harne, incoming president of Christendom College. This will mark Dr. Harne’s first public lecture as Christendom’s next president, following his official first day in office on July 1. A widely respected and accomplished scholar of music history and the liberal arts, Dr. Harne will deliver a talk titled “The Contemplative Statesman,” tying directly into the conference’s theme of educating for virtue in 21st-century America.

The second plenary session of the day will pivot towards Catholic education, and explore how to lead vibrant Catholic schools. Discussants will channel decades of experience in Catholic school administration and classical education, including:

• John M. DeJak. Mr. DeJak, headmaster of Chelsea Academy since 2021, brings over 20 years of experience leading and teaching in vibrant Catholic schools to Chelsea. Under his leadership, Chelsea has successfully expanded to a full K-12 student body, completed accreditation renewal and curriculum realignment, and purchased a campus of its own for the first time. Before Chelsea, Mr. DeJak was the founding headmaster of two private high schools in the Twin Cities area, Chesterton Academy and Holy Spirit Academy, and was most recently President of Father Gabriel Richard High School in Michigan. He is also the co-editor of With God in America: The Spiritual Legacy of an Unlikely Jesuit (Loyola Press, 2016)
• Jeremy Tate. Mr. Tate is a leading voice in the classical education movement. In 2015, he founded the Classic Learning Test (CLT) as an alternative to the SAT and ACT college admissions exams. CLT has since expanded to a suite of assessments for grades 3-12—all rooted in truth, goodness, and beauty. He is also the host of the popular “Anchored” podcast on education and culture. In additional to his work with CLT, Tate is a frequent speaker and contributor to popular publications. His writing has appeared in Fox News, First Things, the Wall Street Journal, The American Conservative, The Federalist, and elsewhere.
• Pat Miggins. Mr. Miggins' teaching career has spanned nearly 20 years. He began his career teaching at The Heights School in Potomac, Maryland, teaching 6th Grade Homeroom, 8th and 10 Grade literature, 9th Grade Core, Ethics, and Irish Literature. In 2011, Miggins moved to Houston, Texas, to help build Western Academy, where he served as Assistant Headmaster and continued to teach a variety of humanities courses. Miggins is now back at The Heights School, and also serves on Chelsea Academy's Board of Directors. 
• Jeffrey Presberg. Mr. Presberg has led a dramatic revitalization of St. John the Beloved Academy (SJBA) in McLean, Virginia since he came on as headmaster in 2018. Under his leadership, SJBA has recommitted to a liberal arts curriculum rooted in a Catholic humanist tradition, and a robust and vibrant Catholic identity. As a result, the school has attracted families from throughout the region, and enrollment has increased to capacity, with a deep waiting list. Prior to his tenure at SJBA, Mr. Presberg was the founding Headmaster at Western Academy in Houston and Lower School Head at The Heights School.  

Chelsea Academy is proud to welcome these distinguished speakers to our campus this summer. Join us in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley as we chart a path forward for Catholic education and statesmanship! 

For more information and to secure your seat, click here.

Questions about the event? Email us at events@chelseaacademy.org.

Last month, the senior class was delighted to depart on the second field trip of their high school career: a trip to Washington D.C., where they visited Capitol Hill and the Heritage Foundation. The students had the privilege of meeting Congressman Ben Cline, who was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer any and all of their questions about his job, Congress, and the U.S. Government in general. The class then went on a tour of the Capitol, guided by two of Congressman Cline’s staffers, before heading to the Heritage Foundation for lunch and a couple of presentations on originalism and the Constitution. Senior Cecilia Lyons said that a highlight of the day was meeting a woman on the tour who had been working in the Capitol building during the infamous attacks of 9/11. A huge thank you to Congressman Cline, his staffers, and the Heritage Foundation for the warm welcome they extended and to Mr. Regnery, Mr. DeJak, Mr. Doak, and Mr. Schuttloffel for accompanying the students on their adventure!

The Chelsea Science Fair, an annual event that takes place early in the third quarter, was held on January 24th this year. High school freshmen and juniors as well as sophomores in honors are required to participate, totaling up to fifty students and filling up three classrooms! Displays featuring bright colors, photos of experiments, and data tables were read by students and parents as the participants waited nervously for the judging to begin. The judges, meanwhile, checked their schedules to find out which students they were judging.

The judging began promptly at 6:30 pm, and the rooms settled down as some students explained their experiments while others, waiting for their turn, gave their boards one last check or chatted with friends. Each student explained their experiment to three judges throughout the evening, then waited while the top ten science fair contestants were chosen.

At last, the results were announced by Dr. Shanahan, who had prepared the students for the last several months for the big day. Juniors– Patrick Anderson, Isabelle Schuttloffel, Jimmy Stanford, and Keira Thomas, sophomores– Ben Tapsak, Miriam Pilon and Anna Reeves, and freshmen– Marya Klassen, Jon Mahlum, and Paul Beasley were all included in the final top ten. Their topics ranged from filtering water to lactase to defrosting chicken! All the students in top ten have the choice to continue to the Shenandoah Valley Regionals Science Fair, held at James Madison University.  After the announcement, the other forty students were free to leave. The top ten contestants were judged again; this time by a group of judges all at once, so that the top three winners could be chosen from the group.

The next morning, the results were reported to the entire school. Applause filled the gym as the ten stood in front. The top three were then announced. In third place came freshman Jon Mahlum with the experiment “Extracting Strawberry DNA”. Sophomore Anna Reeves took second, displaying a project tracking the sugar levels of pasture grass. Winning first prize, with his experiment titled “Heavy Metal” was sophomore Ben Tapsak! 
The Chelsea community congratulates the top ten, and wishes them good luck as they advance to the Regionals Science Fair to represent our school. We commend all of this year’s participants, and thank all those who organized the science fair, especially Dr. Shanahan. Chelsea’s 2024 Science Fair was a success!
 

Spirit week at Chelsea Academy took place January 8th-12th this year and was filled with fun and school spirit! Traditionally, Chelsea holds spirit week during the first week of school back from Christmas break to give students something fun to look forward to due to the sadness of break being over. This year was no exception! We started out with a combined Twin Day and Sports Team Day on Tuesday, since school was canceled on Monday due to snow. Tuesday gave students the option to display their favorite sports teams and their cool gear, or to test student’s wardrobes to see how well they could match with a friend. It was Wacky Wednesday for the second day of spirit week, and Greta Barvick pulled out her knee socks, while Peter Aronhime shaved his head to match a monk’s tonsure. Decades Day was well done on Thursday with lots of flannel shirts and jeans from the 90s, letter jackets, and side ponytails. Gretchen Klubertanz dressed up with a beautiful dress and coat with heels representing the 60s, and Christopher Foeckler came in suit pants, a collared shirt, a cap, and a vest from the mid-1900s. The final day was School Spirit Day, and the whole school was decked out in blue and white to celebrate. When questioned about spirit week, Joe Akers, whose favorite spirit day is Wacky Wednesday, said “it’s a good way to come back to school,” and Maire McCarthy, along with many other students, said it was fun.

The Lower School students seemed to enjoy it just as much as the Upper School students, especially with a Decades Dance Party on Thursday with music from all the decades, so that they may appreciate the music of the time they represented. The song “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets could be heard from the high school locker room, which made many students smile.

A few teachers joined in the fun, including Mrs. Pelczar’s fun hippie outfit on Decades Day, and even Mr. McDonald showing school spirit on Blue and White day. On Wacky Wednesday, Mr. G. showcased mismatching shoes, and Mr. VanderWoude sported his green pants. 

That same week, the French exchange students, who will be attending Chelsea for the semester, arrived and were welcomed into the Junior class. Ivy Akers expressed how she is excited that they are here, and all the students seem to enjoy Maya and Louis very much. 

Spirit week seemed to be a big success and a much needed boost for the first week back to school. Hopefully the spirit continues in this next semester! Go Knights!