Villa Augustina

May 27, 2008

Dear Villa community,

      We are thrilled to announce that Mr. Charles Lawrence has accepted the position of principal of the Villa to begin in July 2008.  After interviewing several well-qualified and experienced candidates, the search committee has selected Mr. Lawrence of Hamilton, New York, to fulfill this most important leadership position left open by the retirement of Mr. Jack Daniels, Villa principal since 2004.  A practicing Catholic, an experienced teacher, and a visionary leader, Mr. Lawrence is as excited to begin his work at the Villa as we are to welcome him.
      Mr. Lawrence brings with him 17 years experience teaching math and science in New York and Massachusetts at both large and very small schools. He holds a Masters of Education and a B. A. in Mathematics from Colgate University and has taken graduate courses at the Un iversity of Rochester and Boston University.  As a teacher, Mr. Lawrence filled several leadership roles with great success. He helped create a comprehensive plan for the school restructuring mandated by New York State, and he successfully worked to raise standardized test scores in math at each of the schools he has worked.  He has been instrumental in revising curriculum and in implementing technology in the classroom.
      In addition to his teaching experience, Mr. Lawrence has two decades of business experience working for tech companies (Digital, Compaq, and Hewlett Packard) in the United States and Europe, for whom he held various managerial and marketing roles.  As an involved, active member of the Catholic Church, Mr. Lawrence has also taught several classes in religious education and fundamentals of Catholicism.
      Administrators and colleagues who have written in his support call Charles Lawrence a "powerful leader," respected for his "voice of reason" and also for his creative, "out-of-the-box" thinking.  Most of all, they speak of his selfless sharing of ideas and help and for his concern for the greater good of students and teachers at his schools.
      In Mr. Charles Lawrence, the search committee believes we have hired a principal who will serve the minds and the spirits of our students and staff.  His faith dedicates him to Catholic education and the values of our Villa family; his experience and leadership provide him with the skills, strengths and commitment to lead us into our future as an educational institution.  Mr. Lawrence's current pastor writes that he "will approach his work as his ministry."  We all look forward to the beginning of that ministry and to working hard with Mr. Lawrence this summer and in the years ahead. 
      Mr. Lawrence will be visiting the Villa on Monday, June 2, meeting with teachers in small groups throughout the day.  He will be available in Rosary Hall from 2:30-5:15 to meet with parents. Refreshments will be served during this "meet and greet" time. Please come meet our new principal. Afterward, Mr. Lawrence will attend the 5:15 VALTT meeting, which is also open to anyone who wishes to come.   

Believe!
Mark Cronin
for the Villa Principal Search Committee

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As leaders of the ownership transition efforts at Villa Augustina continue to meet milestones for a June handoff, school officials have scheduled an Open House on Thursday, May 15 at 6:00 PM to enroll new students for fall. 

The school, founded in 1918 by the Religious of Jesus and Mary (RJM), currently has more than 250 students enrolled in full day pre-Kindergarten through 8th grades.   

Within four months, parents raised $500,000 to complete the initial stage of a capital campaign for future building improvements that will increase classroom space.  The building has passed several inspections and architectural reviews during the last month. 

Earlier, the school won the backing of the monks at St. Anselm College, who contributed $100,000 to help parents buy the property from the RJM.  St. Anselm President Fr. Jonathan DeFelice O.S.B., continues to work closely in the areas of fundraising and student recruitment with members of the transition team, who pledge to maintain the school’s Catholic identity in the spirit of RJM founder St. Claudine Thevenet.

The Villa is widely recognized for its technology education curriculum.  Each junior high student is assigned an Apple notebook computer for use in all subjects.  “In addition to the traditional emphasis on faith, character and critical thinking skills, the introduction of 1:1 computing in the last several years has created a genuine excitement for learning among the students,” observed Principal Jack Daniels.  “The result is that they receive both timeless values and 21st century skills in a safe, caring atmosphere.”

For more information about the Open House, call 497-2361 or visit  Villa Future

The Villa Augustina is an independent Catholic school founded in 1918.  It currently serves 250 students in pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8 from 15 communities in southern New Hampshire.

Villa Augustina Students Honor Religious on 50th Anniversary

Two members of the Religious of Jesus and Mary (RJM), the order that founded Villa Augustina School in 1918, celebrated the 50th anniversary of their religious vows during a mass held at the school on March 3.

Sr. Jeannine Cote and Sr. Pauline Ayotte humbly renewed their vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity before 270 students, teachers and guests who stood in applause.  The two took their first vows together in 1958.

Both Sisters attended Religious of Jesus and Mary schools during their youth. Sr. Jeannine grew up in Manchester and graduated from Villa Augustina's high school.  She joined the RJMs a year later, studying for three years in the novitiate.

She has spent the last 50 years teaching high school business administration in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maryland, and serving in school administration in California and Notre Dame College in Manchester. She received a Masters degree in business education from Catholic University of America.

While in Maryland in the 1970s, she also served the poor, prisoners, and Vietnamese refugees in the inner city of Washington, D.C. She returned to the Villa in 2002 as an administrative assistant.

After taker her first vows, Sr. Pauline, a native of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, taught elementary school for 12 years in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, earning a Masters degree in elementary education counseling from Rhode Island College. She was transfered to New York City where she spent 20 years counseling students and parents. She moved to New Hampshire in 1992 to counsel in the Peterborough public schools before joining Villa Augustina in 2003 as facilities manager.

The Very Rev. Peter Guerin, O.S.B., from the Abbey at St. Anselm College presided over the Mass and explained to students how religious belief can change lives. He retold the Bible story of a royal official who requested that Jesus come to his home to heal his dying son. Jesus simply told the man to go, that his son was cured.

The man trusted Jesus. When he reached home the next day, he discovered that his son had been healed at the very hour Jesus had spoken. When the father told his family what had happened, they also came to believe.

"Something similar happened fifty years ago with Sister Jeannine and Sister Pauline," Father Guerin said. "They heard the word of Jesus speaking to them: "Come, follow Me." Jesus spoke to their hearts. He loved them and chose them to enter into a special relationship with Him as Religious of Jesus and Mary.

"They believed the word of the Lord and changes took place. They left their families and embraced a life of chastity, poverty and obedience. Since then, other changes have taken place over the past 50 years because of these two Sisters- changes for the better in the lives of so many people."

In a moving scene at the conclusion of the ceremony, two students from each class approached the Sisters and offered flowers to show their appreciation.

Principal Jack Daniels expressed his gratitude to the Sisters, "We thank God for the blessing they are to the Church, the community, and especially the Villa Augustina.  It is the presence of these Sisters that allows all of us here to experience the RJM message of love, peace, forgiveness and understanding."

Villa Augustina School is an independent Catholic school serving 248 students from 13 communities in pre-K to 8th grades.