December 5, 2025

"Spread Peace"

Click here to read past issues of The Ursuline Update!

UA families, please note that we have updated the 2025-2026 Parent-Student K-12 Handbook to include information about our new over-the-counter delivery process (see pages 59-60) and about Artificial Intelligence (AI) misuse for 5th-12th-grade students (see pages 41 and 45). You can always access the handbook on our website or on Blackbaud.

• High School students will take their semester exams December 15-18. Conflicts/Makeups that could not be scheduled earlier will take place on Friday, December 19. High School students do not need to come to school on days or times when they do not have an exam. Students must leave school following their last exam each day unless they have arranged to stay to meet with a teacher.

• K-7th-grade student dismissal will be from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday, December 19. Students must be checked out directly with their homeroom teacher in the auditorium or from the carport if you are not attending the K-7th-grade Christmas Program.

• There is no aftercare for T2-7th grades on Friday, December 19, and the front office will close at Noon.

• ECLC's last day of school before the holidays is Friday, December 19, with dismissal at 11 a.m. The carpool line will begin at 10:45 a.m. No aftercare is provided on this day. Classes resume on Tuesday, January 6.

• Lily House's last day of school before the holidays is Tuesday, December 23. Classes resume on Monday, January 5.

High School students will take their semester exams December 15-18. Please find the schedule here. Semester exams count as 20% of students' semester grades, so they are encouraged to begin studying early and are expected to be on campus each day they have an exam.

We enjoyed celebrating the volleyball, swimming, and cross country teams at the Fall Athletics Awards earlier this week. Congratulations to all of the athletes recognized!

November’s St. Angela’s Awesome Angels

Kindergarten - Indigo Morrow

1st - Simone Jones

2nd - Phoebe Peskin

3rd - Hayden Bourg

4th - Rose Scott 

5th - Samantha Hernandez

6th - Pearce Canon

7th - Reese Hall

Teacher - Marion Newsom

K-7th Grade Counseling

In November, Life Skills lessons for 1st through 6th grades focused on key areas of personal development. First graders learned about gratitude and kindness, while 2nd graders explored building empathy, and 3rd graders worked on self-control and patience. Older students learned about managing study habits in 4th grade, explored personal safety in 5th grade, and learned about self-advocacy in 6th grade.

The Work Study Job sign-up is now open for the period from November 24-February 28. To sign up for a job, please visit the link here. Please contact the Business Office at business@uanola.org if you have additional questions about work study. Non-work study families can volunteer via this form as well. Many hands make light work!

Experience the ultimate comfort with our uniform sweatpants. Made from a premium blend of cotton, these sweatpants provide a soft, cozy feel that's perfect for all-day wear. As the weather changes, remember that UA sweatpants can be worn with the school uniform beginning December 1, 2025. Pre-orders will close on December 19 at Noon.

Parents Club Presents: High School Exam Snack Day

Tuesday, December 16 

All High School parents, please be on the lookout for a Room Parent email about exam snacks. There will be a signup for snack contributions for grades 8-12. Senior parents will decorate and “host” our girls on the day of.

Elementary and Middle School piano students will be performing at 5:30 p.m., with doors opening at 5 p.m. High School piano students will be performing at 6:30 p.m. Parking will be available in the State Street Lot, as well as on-street parking in the surrounding neighborhood.

Please save the date for our annual Christmas Program on Friday, December 19, at 9:30 a.m. in Ursuline Academy's Auditorium. Doors open at 9 a.m.

Visitor sign-in is not necessary on this day. You may park in the State Street Lot and enter through the front of the Auditorium on State and Willow. The program will last about one hour and 15 minutes. Dismissal will be from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. Students must be checked out directly with their homeroom teacher in the auditorium or from the carport if you are not attending the program.

Ursuline Academy is proud and excited to once again host our annual Bach Contest on Saturday, March 21, 2026. The Ursuline Academy Bach Contest, founded in 1960 by Sr. Elizabeth Marie Landry, OSU, began with piano and now includes a strings division, and is open to all students in the greater New Orleans area.

Registration for the 2026 Bach Contest is now open and due by Saturday, February 28, 2026.

If you have any questions, please email bach@uanola.org.

Ursuline Academy is excited to host its first Ultimate Author Day on Wednesday, April 1, 2026! Ultimate Author Day is an event dedicated to celebrating our students' accomplishments in writing, while giving them an opportunity to learn why the written word is so important and how it is used in many different careers. 

We are looking for anyone who uses their own words or someone else's to do their job to join us as a volunteer presenter on Ultimate Author Day! So if you are a children's book author, illustrator, judge, singer/songwriter, puppeteer, published physician, choreographer, film producer, comedian, technical writer, calligrapher, chef, magazine editor, news reporter/anchor, social media influencer, or anyone in between, we thank you very much for considering spending your morning with us on State Street! Please complete the linked form to indicate your interest, and we will be in touch with you soon.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road to our Spring Musical! We're thrilled to announce that the 2026 production of The Wizard of Oz will hit the Auditorium stage this Spring.

🦁 Audition Sign Up: https://bit.ly/440Yh4s

👠Audition Dates & Casting Info: https://bit.ly/4rAQcxE

🫧Rehearsal Schedule: https://bit.ly/4am3sQb

There's no place like Ursuline Academy!

Each week, a designated student will take home an 11" resin statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor along with an intention card. Each intention card will be collected and remembered in prayer by our community. Students will be able to keep Our Lady in their home from Friday through Tuesday, returning her to school on Wednesday. 

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, patroness of our city and state, hasten to help us!

In the spirit of community, we would love to pray for the special intentions of our Ursuline family. Prayer intentions can be submitted through this form. Please note that during our Academy Masses, we mention the names of families who have lost loved ones.

If you have recently lost a loved one and would like your family name to be mentioned during Mass, please complete this form.