A Feast for the Mind, Soul, and Heart - August 31, 2021
Dear Friends,
I wish you could have been there: At faculty-formation meetings the week before the school year began on Monday, August 30, we gathered early for Mass and late for prayer. A few parents joined us for lively discussion about how we--the faculty--can better serve families in their vocation of raising their children in the love and life of God. Our conversations spilled beyond the schedule, sharpening the mind and refreshing the heart.
One common theme emerged from both parents and faculty: Growth in goodness--mastery, integration, excellence, holiness--is possible. Growth is a generous, joyful gift. Our Lady of Victory (OLV)--a Chesterton Academy--offers a feast for the mind, soul, and heart. Our Lady of Victory offers fellowship and friendship for young men and women and their families.
For those who love G. K. Chesterton, two cherished quotations emerged from our faculty: (1) "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered"; and (2) "Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed." We are reminded of our Lord’s story with the adventures (rightly considered) that He has for us, dragons and all.
In the intrepidly joyful spirit of Chesterton, we are grateful to invite you, friends, to join us--the families and faculty--for another year of saint growing at Our Lady of Victory.
In the Cordiality of Christ,
Jeremie Solak, Headmaster, Our Lady of Victory
New Faculty at OLV
We are pleased to introduce four of our new OLV faculty for the 2021-2022 Academic Year. Join us in welcoming these outstanding teachers to the OLV community!
Jordan Grant (History)
Jordan Grant was born and raised in Colorado Springs. After high school she joined the military, and spent several years in college in San Diego, where she competed nationally and internationally in speech and debate and spent one year competing in sand volleyball. She and her husband Devon have been married for nine years. After they both got out of the military, they went to the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota to complete their degrees. Through the grace of God and the faithfulness of His people, Jordan converted to Catholicism there. While in Bismarck, she worked as a tutor, club volleyball coach, and an administrative assistant to the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Jordan knows that her vocation is to teach, and she looks forward to growing deeper in her new faith as a baby Catholic while serving the students, parents, and community at the Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Victory.
Tina Dam (Art)
Hello patrons and friends of OLV,
My name is Tina Dam and I am honored to be a part of Our Lady of Victory this year as the Art teacher. A little about myself:, I grew up here in Colorado and graduated in 2011 from the University of Denver in the Dual Degree Program, with my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, licensure in Elementary Education, and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. During my time at DU, I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Florence, Italy where I took classes for my studio art minor at Studio Art Centers International. It was not until teaching at Our Lady of Lourdes that my love and understanding of classical education took place. Alongside teaching, I also wanted to deepen my knowledge and practice of faith, which led to my studies and eventually graduating with my Master’s Degree in Theology at the Augustine Institute. It is my privilege to pursue truth, beauty, and goodness uniquely through art and beauty within a strong Catholic community. I hope to inspire students in the appreciation of God’s beauty through His incarnation and creation, by developing technical and artistic skills and understanding the richness of the human expression through the ages of art history in its cultural and historical influences, while exploring the understanding craftsmanship of arts as an expression of innate gifts and talents engaging their minds and spirits. I look forward to meeting and learning more about each student as we embark on this journey together!
Kolbe Peloquin (9th Grade Philosophy)
Dear Friends of Our Lady of Victory,
It is my honor and privilege to introduce myself as the new ninth grade philosophy instructor. In my recent past, I served as a seminarian of the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas for three years where I received the majority of my philosophical training. After I left seminary, I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy at Wichita State University, and I have spent the past two years ministering to college students through a missionary organization called The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). Currently, I will teach at Our Lady of Victory part-time while I pursue a Master’s Degree in Leadership for the New Evangelization at the Augustine Institute. I find great joy in helping form the minds of young people, and I consider it a serious duty to form students alongside parents so that they can take on the covert intellectual battle that claims the souls and minds of so many of our peers today. When I am not teaching or studying I enjoy playing guitar, reading fantasy and psychology, and hiking in the mountains. God Bless, and know of my prayers for the students as we begin the new school year!
Jason Link (Math and Science)
My name is Jason Link, and I am happy to introduce myself as a Math and Science teacher for the 2021-2022 school year at Our Lady of Victory. After growing up in central Texas, I moved to Colorado in 2016 to attend the Colorado School of Mines, where I graduated with a degree in Economics and a minor in Mechanical Engineering. After college, I lived a year of formation with the Catholic Community of the Beatitudes in Denver, culminating in a mission trip to Lebanon this summer. With experience in both the technical world of STEM education and in living a radically Catholic lifestyle, I hope to introduce my students to the beauty of the created world through the application of our human reason. Outside of school, I enjoy playing the French Horn, reading, and writing. I look forward to meeting and getting to know all of you!
Board of Trustees Updates
Our Board of Trustees has undergone some exciting membership changes over the summer. Dr. R. Jared Staudt, one of OLV's founders and its first president, resigned to focus his time and energy on his many other responsibilities, including his role as associate superintendent for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Denver, his various writing obligations, and his service on the board of Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of St. John Paul II in Windsor and the organizing committee for the new Rosedale high school. Without Dr. Staudt's initiative and early efforts, OLV may never have started. We are grateful to Dr. Staudt for his friendship and support, both past and present.
In Dr. Staudt's place, the Board has appointed Dr. Scott Hefelfinger as OLV's newest trustee. Scott serves on the faculty of the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology. A California native, Scott studied music composition at U.C. Berkeley. A powerful rediscovery of the Catholic faith led him to serve for a year as a missionary with NET Ministries; this service was followed by further studies at the International Theological Institute in Austria and the University of Notre Dame, where he completed a PhD in Moral Theology. Scott currently teaches in the areas of dogmatic and moral theology, taking inspiration from Christ’s promise of “life in abundance” (Jn 10:10). In addition to his research and teaching, he speaks regularly on morality, prayer, and family life at parishes and conferences. As a down-to-earth counterbalance, he enjoys roasting coffee at home and recently partnered with his oldest son to start a micro-coffee roasting business. Scott and his wife, Simone, live with their four children in Centennial, and are parishioners at Holy Name Catholic Church. Please welcome Scott and the Hefelfingers to the OLV family.
Partnering with OLV
By God's grace, OLV's energy is only increasing. With new momentum comes a need for greater commitment: For example, recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty, and securing a long-term physical home are critical and immediate needs for our school.
How can you partner with us? Primarily, through your prayer and your gifts, both of which are essential to executing our mission. Setting up a one-time or recurring gift is easier than ever on our website! With the convenient form on OLV’s Donate page, you can set up an automatically recurring monthly payment, and join our Lepanto Club of monthly donors.
Did you know that you can make a planned gift to OLV, including of appreciated stock? OLV works with the Catholic Foundation of Northern Colorado to facilitate planned giving.
Does your family shop for groceries? With OLV’s King Soopers and Safeway Loyalty Card program, you automatically help the school fundraise every time you use your King Soopers or Safeway card. Find instructions on the easy set-up steps here.
Finally, watch for future updates on OLV’s 2021 Giving Day, scheduled for the Feast Day of Our Lady of Victory, October 7. God blessed our 2020 Giving Day beyond expectation. We are full of hope looking toward this year’s event, leading up to which we’ll release a beautiful new video piece, produced with our friends at Lux Lab. This piece will tell OLV’s distinct story, of our joyful, family-rooted classical approach to Catholic high school -- with a Chestertonian flavor.
Your giving helps sustain OLV’s mission of engaging students with a unique approach to the formation of the whole person, through the liberal arts, spiritual formation, the fine arts, service, and the outdoors. Please partner with OLV today!
Location Updates
As Our Lady of Lourdes completes its remodeling at the St. Louis campus, OLV will begin the school year at St. Mark's Parish in Highlands Ranch (with special thanks to Father Bierbaum and his staff for generously hosting us). St. Mark's has ample space for our classrooms, as well as lots of grass for roaming, a beautiful liturgy, and a parish excited to welcome our 54 energetic high school students. This arrangement will begin August 30th and end October 1st--when we will once again meet at the St. Louis Campus on Monday, October 4th.
Since the 2021-22 school year will be our last at the St. Louis Campus, OLV is actively searching for its new home for the 2022-23 school year. This search includes Catholic parishes, Protestant churches, and commercial spaces.
We ask that you join OLV in praying the Memorare, asking for Our Lady’s intercession for the search for our next home. At each critical moment in our school’s young life, we have been blessed with providential victories. Please join us in praying for wisdom and courage as we discern our next home over the next few months.
Enrollment and Admissions
With 54 students this fall across three grades (freshman-junior), OLV continues to see strong enrollment numbers consistent with our goal of maintaining an excellent, personal, and family-focused Catholic classical high school in the Chesterton Academy model. The 2022-2023 academic year’s admissions process is coming soon! We would love to get to know your family and encourage you to apply here.