A Message from Middle School Director, Ilse Norris:

Dear Visitation Middle School families,

On May 12, the Middle School religion classes facilitated the May Crowning of Mother Mary in the Visitation courtyard for our Lower School students. May Crowning is a traditional Catholic ritual held during the month of May. It is a joyful celebration with songs and readings. At the end of the celebration, a statue of Mary is crowned with a crown of flowers, honoring Mary as the “Queen of Mary." There is a special honor attached to being chosen to crown the statue. The Queen symbol is attributed to Mary because she is the perfect follower of Christ, who is the absolute “crown” of creation. Our Middle School students did a beautiful job facilitating this special celebration. 

On Friday, during B-Block, I had the good fortune to accompany the 8th graders over to Saint Thomas Academy to visit the Innovation Center. The students had been working on designing a model car in Ms. Little’s engineering class using a computer program called Autocad and were putting the finishing touches on their design. They then sent the design over to the fabrication center where a laser cutter flawlessly executed their design and cut the parts of their model car out of birchwood. The students then put the pieces together and tested their model cars for speed and accuracy. Some students even let their creative juices flow and embellished their cars with color and style. Special thanks to Mr. Westlake for his expertise and generosity in sharing the Innovation Center. What an incredible opportunity for our students! 

Next Monday, the Middle School students will have the opportunity to enjoy an all-middle school barbecue/picnic. Yearbooks will be handed out at the event and students will have a chance to sign each other’s yearbooks. I am hoping for great weather and a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the end of a great school year as a community!

As always, it is my privilege to partner with you and to work with your daughter in this excellent school. 

Ilse Norris
Director of Middle School