God bless,

Dan Quesnell

Principal

Parent-Teacher Conferences | All parent-teacher conferences will be held via Zoom. Individual teacher conferences will be held at the following times and are five minutes each:  

• Tuesday, October 13th (5:15 - 8:15 pm) 
• Wednesday, October 14th (4:15 - 6:45 pm) 

To sign up for a conference, log in to myDSHA, click the Resources tab, then select Parent-Teacher Conference.

• Conferences are five minutes each and serve as an opportunity for DSHA faculty to share specifics about your daughter and answer any questions you may have. If you need more than five minutes, please email your daughter’s teachers to set up additional time to talk.    
• You can attend the Zoom conference wherever it best meets your needs: home, work, or your phone – anywhere you are able to get an internet connection. We do ask that you turn on your camera so DSHA faculty can see you, put a face to a name, and connect with you more effectively.  
• You may also schedule a virtual appointment with a member of our Student Services team, including counselors, our Applied Wellness Program Director, or Academic Interventionist. This link is also under the Resources tab.

Freshman and Transfer Parents Enjoy a Meet and Greet with Our Principal and President | You will receive additional information about small group meetings with President Katie Konieczny '92, and Principal Dan Quesnell. These meetings are to help you meet other new parents, share impressions, and ask questions about your daughter’s early experiences at DSHA. For your planning, the dates are listed below:

• Thursday, October 15 | 8 – 9 am 
• Thursday, October 15 | 5 - 6 pm
• Wednesday, October 21 | 2 - 3 pm

NEW! From Academic Dean Erin Housiaux | As we prepare for parent-teacher conferences and our first-quarter grades, we have collectively been exploring a reframe surrounding performance. We know that as women, we often feel the larger pressures of perfection, and sometimes it can prevent growth. Instead, we want to challenge ourselves and you as parents to address the idea of intellectual courage.

At DSHA, we want our students to become confident, curious, and courageous learners. This means developing not only knowledge and skills, but also the willingness to ask questions, take intellectual risks, make mistakes, revise thinking, and persevere when something is difficult. Parents play an important role in creating conditions for this kind of growth at home. 

Intellectual courage: The willingness to enter the unknown; asking questions, taking risks, making mistakes, asking for help, revising thinking, persevering.

• Ask about learning, not just grades
• Instead of What did you get on the test?, try What did you learn that was challenging?
• Also try: What are you proud of? What are you working on?
• Let your daughter experience productive struggle
• Instead of Let me help you, try What have you tried so far?
• Also ask: What's your next step? What kind of help would be useful?
• Encourage independence
• Before immediately solving the problem, ask Have you talked to your teacher? What would you like to ask? How can you advocate for yourself?
• Praise the process
• Instead of You're so smart, try I noticed how much persistence you showed.
• Instead of You'll get it, try You don't have it yet. What might you try?

Questions that build growth at home:

• What do you know so far?
• What have you tried?
• What could you try next?
• What would you like to understand better?
• What did the mistake teach you?
• Whom could you ask for help?
• What would advocating for yourself look like here?

Our goal is not to remove every obstacle from our daughters’ paths. It is to help them develop the confidence, skills, resilience, and courage to navigate those obstacles themselves. “I don’t know” is not a failure. “I don’t know yet” is the beginning of learning. 

Contact Academic Dean Erin Housiaux with any questions.

NEW! SHOUT Robotics Tournament at DSHA | The DSHA-MUHS Robotics Team is sponsoring and hosting a female-focused tournament on Saturday, October 17. DSHA will host 30+ high schools from across three states.

In addition to spotlighting women in STEM, the event will feature FLL anf FTC scrimmages and a college row for students to speak with prospective colleges, including Iowa State, Marquette University, MSOE, and Ripon College.

NEW! Senior Photos | Senior yearbook photos are due February 1, 2027. You may choose any photographer you'd like for these photos; however, the one submitted to the yearbook must follow these guidelines:

• Photos must be headshots or top half of the body only
• Images must be high resolution (300 dpi)
• Images should be saved as a JPG and titled with your daughter's first and last name
• Photos must be submitted to DSHA via Jostens Yearbook Avenue

Contact Dean of Students Rachel Fredricks with any questions.

Coming Up in Campus Ministry

Thursday, October 8: Thankful Thursday Mass at 9:56 a.m. in the chapel 

Friday, October 9: Morning Mass at 7:15 a.m. in the chapel 

Tuesday, October 13: Freshman Dasher Time in Campus Ministry

Thursday, October 15: Sono Feast Day of St. Teresa of Avila 

Thursday, October 15: Freshman Retreat Preview during Dasher Time

NEW! Sophomore Retreat: October 11-12 and October 12-13 | Sophomores will be on retreat Oct. 11-13 with over 20 upperclassmen for 2 days of peaceful and prayerful time together. The focus of this retreat is turbulence and where God is when things are not as they are supposed to be. Parents should check their email the week before for final information and reach out to Director of Campus Ministry Stephanie Monson if they have questions.  

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; 

and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. 

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; 

the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2 

NEW! Freshman Retreat: October 18-19 | More information has been sent to your emails, and permission forms are live on MyDSHA. Pray for us, consider attending Mass on Sunday, October 18 at 6:30 pm, and support us by sending in items from our Amazon wishlist. Please contact Associate Director of Campus Ministry Jena Thurow-Mountin with any questions or concerns. Thank you! 

Sowing the Seeds of Sisterhood | Mark 6:1-9 

NEW! Courts for Kids Service Trip to Oaxaca, Mexico | Is your daughter interested in a challenging, meaningful service experience outside the United States? DSHA and Marquette High are providing just such an opportunity this summer in Oaxaca, Mexico. The trip, which runs July 7-18, is organized through Courts for Kids, a nonprofit organization that builds multi-purpose sports courts across the developing world.

For a better sense of what a Courts for Kids experience entails, see recaps of Courts for Kids’s recent projects in Oaxaca, as well as recent DSHA/Marquette trips to Togo and Lesotho. The 2027 trip is open to current DSHA sophomores and juniors. Interested students should complete the application by Thursday, October 22.

Students who have already applied and those still considering it are welcome to attend a presentation during Dasher Time on Friday, October 16 with from Mr. Kevin Murphy, Marquette High's service immersion coordinator. That meeting will include a detailed overview of the Courts for Kids experience, reflections from Dashers who've participated on past trips, and Q&A. In the meantime, students and parents can email any questions to murphy@muhs.edu.  

Contact Director of Campus Ministry Stephanie Monson with any questions.

NEW! From Director of Student Services Melissa Santa-Cruz | As parents and educators, we share a common goal for our girls: we want to see them grow into confident, curious, resilient, and successful learners who are unafraid to tackle big challenges. Yet in a high-achieving school, when a hard assignment or tough test comes along, sometimes we watch girls freeze or retreat into perfectionism. 

Many of us are familiar with Carol Dweck's research on Growth Mindset, which teaches us that intelligence grows through effort and practice. But for a growth mindset to take root in a high-performing environment, it needs something more. At DSHA, we are seeking to more comprehensively understand the tenets of this theory and expand how we apply them to our students by digging deeper into Dweck's work through the lens of Harvard Business School's Amy Edmondson's research on Psychological Safety. 

Edmondson originally studied high-performing teams in businesses and hospitals, discovering that even the smartest professionals stay silent and avoid risks when they fear looking incompetent. Similar dynamics play out for high-achieving high school girls. When girls tie their self-worth to flawless grades, asking a question or making a mistake feels like a threat to their standing. 

We will continue to explore through the research of other experts, how psychological capital influences educational outcomes, giving our girls the foundation they need to drop the weight of perfectionism, take bold academic risks, and turn anxiety into genuine intellectual courage. For now, to partner at home, focus on asking questions that honor the learning process, such as, "What was something challenging you wrestled with today?" or "What is a question you asked in class that helped clarify things?" Thank you for partnering with us to create a community where our girls know they are genuinely supported, challenged, and inspired every single day. 

NEW! Junior PSAT Testing Wednesday, October 14, 7:50-10:45 a.m. | DSHA will administer the PSAT, a practice SAT exam, to juniors on Wednesday, October 14. The test is completely digital, and DSHA will be provide laptops for students to take the test. The test should be approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes and end at 10:45 am. It tests students’ skills in reading, writing, and math. 



A few important reminders: 

• Your daughter should plan to arrive early to check in for the test. The PSAT will start promptly at 7:50. 
• Freshman, sophomore, and senior students do NOT have classes on Wednesday, October 14. 
• The results will be used to determine students who qualify for National Merit Scholarships, a national academic recognition and scholarship program for all juniors conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The National Merit Scholarship program recognizes the top 3% of high school juniors nationally based on their PSAT scores.   
• If you would like to opt your daughter out of the PSAT or have any questions, please email or call Testing Coordinator/College Assistant Amy Lund at lunda@dsha.info or 414-721-2913. 

Junior Interview Day on Friday, November 6 | All DSHA juniors will participate in Junior Interview Day, which allows Dashers to reflect on their time at DSHA, participate in a mock professional interview, practice skills they have learned over the years, and more. Please stay tuned for additional details as the date gets closer. 

Contact Director of Student Services Melissa Santa-Cruz with any questions.

NEW! College Essay Writing Workshop | Seniors, join UW-Madison Admissions Representative Payton Beverly on Thursday, October 14, 8:30-10 am at DSHA to work on the general college essay and "why Madison" essay.  More information will be provided to Seniors via the College Corner.  

NEW! Creighton University Interview Day | On Wednesday, October 28, seniors are invited to meet with Creighton University Associate Director of Admissions Beth Sullivan-Piskel. Beth will meet with students in Student Services.

If your daughter would prefer Zoom or can't make it, contact Beth at piskel@creighton.edu.

Contact Director of College Counseling & School Counselor Kristin Shea with any questions.

NEW! Fall Dasher Dialogues | The first Dasher Dialogue of the year was hosted on September 25. Students did an excellent job facilitating a discussion about sisterhood and how it connects with our annual scriptural theme from Ruth.

We look forward to our next dialogue later this month!

Optional Dasher Dialogues have been part of the fabric of DSHA for 10+ years. Consistent with the DSHA mission to form young women who accept the gospel call to live lives that will make a difference, Dasher Dialogues create a loving and caring space for conversations that can be uncomfortable. These conversations focus on the dignity of every Dasher while helping students understand their responsibility to act as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Contact Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Tanya Keenan to learn more or to ask questions.

NEW! Tuition Fees | First-semester course fees have been invoiced through your Blackbaud Tuition account as part of the October billing. Payments for these courses are due Thursday, October 15.  

NEW! Fall Sports Invoicing | Fall sports have been invoiced through your Blackbaud account as part of the October billing. Payments are due by Thursday, October 15.  

NEW! Dual-Credit Class Fees| First semester dual-credit fees for Marquette University have been invoiced through your Blackbaud Tuition account as part of the October billing. Payments for these courses are due Thursday, October 15.  

Payments can be made by logging into your Blackbaud Tuition Account or by submitting your payment to our business office Monday through Friday, 8 am-4 pm.

Questions about the fees being invoiced or need additional information? Contact the Business Office by email at busoffice@dsha.info or at 414-721-2916. 

Fall Concert | All are invited to see Divine Strings and the Angelaires perform on Monday, October 5 at 7 pm in DSHA's Robert & Marie Hansen Family Fine Arts Theatre. Admission is free!

Students will earn House points for attending!

NEW! Illuminate Auction Benefit Party | Join fellow freshman Dasher parents on Thursday, November 12, 5-9 pm at O'Donoghue's in Elm Grove.

Together, we’ll enjoy an evening of fun and fellowship while supporting DSHA’s annual auction. President Katie Konieczny ’92, will share a few welcoming remarks, and guests will have the opportunity to make a contribution to this event.

Also, be sure to save the date for the auction on Saturday, March 13, 2027.

NEW! Mother-Daughter Dinner Dance | Step into the Dasher Dream House for a night made for moms and Dashers on Saturday, November 21, 6:30-11 pm at the Italian Community Center.*

Enjoy dinner, dancing, dessert, and plenty of picture-perfect moments. Guests will also have access to VIP on-site formal photography, themed photo opportunities, exciting raffles, and more special surprises throughout the evening.

Thanks to our chairs, Meagan Wigchers and Rachel Plassmeyer.

*Some students and their families qualify for a waiver of the attendance fee. An additional email will be sent with more information.

Contact Director of Volunteer Engagement & Special Events Cassandra Aranda with any questions.

NEW! Open House Volunteers Needed | DSHA's annual Open House is coming up this Sunday, October 11. We're looking for volunteers to greet and direct guests and help prospective families feel at home as they explore the DSHA campus.

NEW! Parent Class Representatives Needed | Calling sophomore, junior, and senior parents! The PA needs parents to volunteer as class reps. These reps help keep families informed about DSHA events and happenings.

Looking for Auction Volunteers | We need volunteers to make the 2027 auction a success! We're building our auction committees and need parents to help with sponsorships and acquisitions.

Contact Director of Volunteer Engagement & Special Events Cassandra Aranda with any questions.

NEW! Parent Fine Arts Association Meeting | All parents are welcome to attend the next PFAA meeting on Tuesday, November 3, 7 pm in the DSHA boardroom.

The PFAA supports the purchase of equipment to enhance art classes, orchestra, theater and show choir. PFAA also provides scholarship opportunities and hospitality at concerts. We’d love for you to get involved at any level!

NEW! Dash-a-Thon Success | Thank you to all who supported our Dashers as they raised money during Dash-a-Thon. The day was rainy, but students were so glad to be celebrating their amazing accomplishment: raising more than $115,000!