Signature Experiences Welcome Prospective

Families to DVM Open Houses

St. Mary’s Dominican High School eighth-grade students lead the way in Open House activities.

A Day of Service Across DVM Schools

Bethlehem Academy Remembers the 25th Anniversary of September 11 with a Full Day of Service

For a few years, Bethlehem Academy (Faribault, Minn.) has marked September 11 with a schoolwide day of service. This year, to commemorate the 25th anniversary, Bethlehem Academy honored the lives lost and the heroes who responded with a sun-up-to-sun-down day of service.

The day began at the Faribault Fire Department's 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony that included the Bethlehem Academy Band’s performance of the National Anthem. Then, the entire school community gathered for Mass, taking time to remember those whose lives were lost and forever changed by the events of September 11, 2001.

Following Mass, over 250 students and staff put their faith into action, spreading across the community to volunteer at 11 service sites. They tended graves at St. Lawrence Cemetery in Faribault, cleared weeds and invasive species at River Bend Nature Center, cleared local bike paths, visited area nursing homes, helped out at the American Legion, and at local food pantries and women's shelters. The day concluded under the Friday night lights at the Cardinals’ Tackle Cancer football game. Throughout the evening, the Bethlehem Academy community continued to give back through games, cookie sales, and a special halftime Pass the Bucket Challenge, raising funds in support of those facing cancer.

It was a memorable and meaningful day as Bethlehem Academy lived out its mission. 

Bethlehem Academy sophomore students care for gravesites  at St. Lawrence Cemetery during the September 11th schoolwide day of service.

Bethlehem Academy seniors give the Mother Samuel Building a fresh look.

^{Rosarian Academy’s National Junior Honor Society students gathered for a beach cleanup.}

St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School

Honors Local First Responders

St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School (Memphis, Tenn.) expressed its appreciation for local first responders through a longstanding outreach program that helps students build meaningful relationships with the men and women who protect and serve their community.

The first initiative, established in 2002, is an annual tradition of collecting snack foods and delivering baskets to local police and fire stations in honor of the September 11 anniversary and to recognize the bravery and sacrifices of first responders. This year, members of the Junior High Beta Club led the collection, which yielded 26 baskets for first responders. The baskets were blessed by school chaplain, Fr. Nicholas Reynolds, OP, and then delivered by  Beta Club officers who prayed with the first responder recipients, including the schools’ security officers . 

The school's second outreach initiative, Community of Protectors (COP), began in 2016 to foster relationships with local emergency medical services personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officials. Each month, SAA-SDS welcomes police officers from neighborhood precincts and firefighters from the local fire station to campus for lunch. These visits allow students to meet the women and men who serve their community and build lasting connections with them.

Katie Perkins, School Safety and Security Coordinator, also offers campus tours to first responders who visit for lunch, helping them become familiar with the school and its facilities. She emphasized the importance of these regular interactions, explaining, “We do not want the first time they are on our campus to be in an emergency situation.

^{Third-grade St Agnes Academy students enjoyed lunch with Memphis Police Officer Bayley as part of SAA-SDS’s Community of Protectors (COP) initiative.}

St. Dominic School first-grade students with Officer J. Frazer.

We want them to know our campus, to know us, and we want our students to know them. We have a shared commitment to maintain the safety of our community. We want to be a support system for them and vice versa.”

“These initiatives are a meaningful way to show our deep appreciation for everything these first responders do, not only for our school but also for the broader community,” said Beth Odom, Director of Dominican Catholic Identity. “These efforts also help our students understand how fortunate we are to have such a dedicated community protecting us.”

Through these ongoing efforts, the school community continues to foster a spirit of gratitude, service, and partnership, strengthening the bonds between students and the first responders who help keep their community safe.

St. Pius X High School Students Pack Thousands of 

Meals for Houston Food Bank

Regina Dominican High School Students Make Pilgrimage to the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse

This fall, Regina Dominican High School (Wilmette, Ill.) continued its tradition of welcoming first year students with a pilgrimage to the Motherhouse of its founding congregation in Adrian, Michigan. “Community” served as the theme for the retreat, which featured activities to introduce students to the history of their school, the legacy of the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, and their new worldwide Dominican family. 

A highlight of the retreat was the evening spent with the Adrian Sisters. Students enjoyed dinner and conversation with the Sisters, many of whom served at Regina Dominican as teachers or administrators. Regina Dominican High School Principal Dr. Kathleen Porreca summarized the impact of the experience: “The Sisters love getting to meet the newest Regina students and telling them stories about their lives and careers. The students are always fascinated and inspired by the life journeys of the Sisters.”

^{First year Regina Dominican High School students visit  with Adrian Dominican Sr. Barbara Kelley, OP.}

^{First year Regina students share a meal with Adrian Dominican Sr. JoAnn Fleischaker, OP.}

Water has always meant life. Where water is found, life gathers: communities take root, growth flourishes, and people come together. For centuries, the well has stood at the heart of a community. It is a place to draw what is necessary for life, but also a place to meet, share, and be refreshed together.

Scripture is filled with such wells. Rebekah draws water for Abraham’s servant and his camels. Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well. Reflecting on the life of Dominicans, a well marks the location of St. Dominic’s birthplace in Caleruega, Spain. Br. Donaugh O’Shea O.P. described Dominican cloisters, with its covered walk and a tree or well at the center, as “a perfect image of the inner life.”¹ Water holds a sacred place in our Catholic life: the waters of baptism, the holy water with which we mark ourselves, and the many ways water reminds us of renewal and new life. It is in this spirit that DVM News is delighted to introduce, The Wellspring–a designated space for prayer, reflection, and spiritual nourishment for everyone across the wide Dominican Catholic education community. Each issue will feature prayer materials for the liturgical season and Dominican celebrations, reflective exercises and experiences, and other invitations to pause, contemplate, and pray.

¹Willits, A., O. P. (2007). Are we coming or going?. In At Home in Wisdom’s Tent. Dominican Sisters of Adrian.

Contribute to the Wellspring

Members of the Dominican Educator Learning Community Platform are invited to contribute prayers or prayer exercises to The Wellspring. Please visit the Prayer Library on the DELC Platform, and click “New Post” on the top right corner of the page to add your contribution to The Wellspring.

The Dominican Month of Peace 

This December the Dominican Order begins its tenth year celebrating a Dominican Month of Peace. Each year, Dominicans are invited to join together in prayer for a region of the world that is affected by conflict, violence, and tragedy. This year, the Order invites prayers for the country of Mexico through the theme: A Country Thirsting for Peace. 

Please visit the landing page for The Dominican Month of Peace for resources, to read An Overview of the National Situation in Mexico, and videos about the work being done for peace in Mexico. 

The Dominican Month of Peace begins the First Sunday of Advent (November 29) and concludes Christmas Day.

Discover Something New in the Platform

Sacred Spaces in the Life of St. Dominic 

Recently added photographs and artwork of sacred spaces in the life of St. Dominic have been added to the Platform, including the Seignadou, the Convent of the Friars Preacher, and the depictions of Dominic’s Nine Ways of Prayer. 

Click below to explore these new additions

to the Image Catalog on the DELC Platform

Celebrating the Feast of St. Luis Bertrand, OP–October 9th

Have you seen the newest addition of “Resources to Celebrate Dominican Feast Days?”

Click the link below to explore ways to celebrate Dominican Saint Luis Bertrand, OP in your community, including a helpful prayer exercise for those moments when we find ourselves waiting.

Join Father Charles Luke in Dominican High School’s New Video Series

Father Charles Luke, chaplain at Dominican High School (Whitefish Bay, Wisc.), shares a brief biography of St. Luis Bertan in honor of his feast day on October 9.

DVM School Opportunities

President – Dominical High School (Whitefish Bay, Wisc.)

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