Dear Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Victory Families,

I love Aesop’s Fables, and I have since I was a kid. The Fables are simple stories that teach profound moral lessons, but they often do so with more depth than appears at first glance.

One of my favorites is “The Ant and the Cricket” (sometimes called “The Ant and the Grasshopper”). In it, the ant spends the summer working diligently to store food for winter, while the cricket spends his time singing and enjoying himself. When winter arrives, the ant is prepared, but the cricket has nothing to eat. The traditional moral is clear: diligence and preparation are necessary, while idleness has consequences.

What is sometimes lost, however, is that the ant has something to learn from the cricket, just as the cricket has something to learn from the ant. There is a time to labor and a time to sing. The student who has never learned to put aside his immediate desires and work diligently at something difficult is not free. Similarly unfree is the student who has become incapable of putting his work aside, picking up a football, reading a book for pleasure, listening to a symphony, talking with a friend, or simply sitting quietly before God.

We have become a society divided into Ants and Crickets. What we really need is a society full of Ants with a Cricket’s appreciation for beauty and leisure, and Crickets with an Ant’s habit of diligence and hard work.

That is part of what we are trying to cultivate at Our Lady of Victory. We want our students to work hard. We want them to develop the virtue of studiositas: a properly ordered desire for knowledge, accompanied by the discipline and perseverance that serious study requires. But we also want them to understand what all that work is ultimately for. We want them to know how to pray, play, sing, read, converse, celebrate, contemplate, and delight in the good things God has given us. The challenge for all of us is learning to put these things in their proper order.

Some parents will always think our students should have less homework, and others will always think they should have more. Both concerns are worth taking seriously; however, the measure of a good education cannot simply be how many hours our students work each night. Our task is much harder: to give them enough work to cultivate diligence without letting it crowd out the leisure also necessary for a fully human life.

Do we want Crickets or Ants? Neither. We want men.

Our Lady of Victory, pray for us!

Peace in Christ,
Randy

Congratulations to this week’s virtue award winners!

Charity: Isaac Urban
Prudence: Vanina Orellana
Fortitude: Isaac Welp
Justice: Evie Murphy

Our Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, October 8th and Friday, October 9th. Conferences are an opportunity for parents to meet individually with their students' teachers to discuss their academic progress and growth.

Freshman families are required to attend Parent-Teacher Conferences. Families of students in grades 10–12 are strongly encouraged to attend but are not required to do so.

This year, conferences will be scheduled in five-minute time slots to ensure that all families have an opportunity to meet with teachers. If you anticipate needing a longer conversation with a particular teacher, please contact that teacher directly to arrange a phone call or meeting at another time.

Please use the link below to reserve your conference times:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0548ADA729A0F4C52-66053542-fall#/

Please note that students will be dismissed at 11:35 AM on Thursday, October 8th in order to facilitate the preparation for Parent-Teacher Conferences later that evening.

Each year, Classic Learning Test recognizes top performers on the CLT10, the college preparatory exam and alternative to the PSAT. Regional Scholars are the freshmen or sophomores who scored in the top 5% of their respective U.S. region.

Congratulations to three of our students for receiving this recognition from their test scores last school year!

• Michael Crane

• James Holman

• Jacob Huggins

Very well done!!

Since school began last month, many of our students have made changes to their schedule. As a reminder to all parents and students, this academic year, Our Lady of Victory instituted an add/drop deadline. The last day to add or drop any Fall semester courses is Wednesday, September 30.‍ ‍

We are happy to make changes before then, but please keep this in mind as we approach the deadline. Thank you!

The OLV Pro-Life Club invites all students every Thursday (Including today!) from 8:00-9:00 p.m. for a Holy Hour in St. Mary’s Adoration Chapel. After the hour of prayer, students gather for social time at a location to be announced (Andy’s in warm weather). The Pro-Life Club offers opportunities for prayer, education, service and respectful action throughout the school year.

Join us each Thursday to pray for unborn children, mothers, families, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those who are suffering!

The 2026 Lepanto Festival is just over a week away on Friday, October 2nd! Festivities begin at 6pm and families are encouraged to bring their dinners & eat on our beautiful new campus (tables will be provided!). If you'd prefer to purchase your dinner, we will have the following options available:

• Mike's Coneys Food Truck: Owned by our very own OLV family, the Chilellis, Mike's Coneys will serve burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, coney dogs with chili and coney fries - each for $9 or a combo meal for $15. Because the Chilellis are amazing, they are donating all proceeds from food sales back to OLV for Giving Day. So come support this family business & OLV at the same time!

• Costco Cheese Pizza: For families that want an easy option, we will be selling Costco cheese pizzas for $2/slice or $20 for a whole pizza. First come, first serve while supplies last. Cash & Venmo.

• HipPOP Dessert Truck: Back by popular demand, the HipPOP truck will be serving its handcrafted gelato bars for dessert! Each customizable gelato bar - dipped in chocolate & toppings - is $8. 

These food trucks have given us great deals for the evening, so please support them if you can. We are looking forward to celebrating the end of Giving Day and the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary with your families next Friday!

Mark your calendars!! Tryouts for boys’ and girls’ basketball are on Nov. 16! Please sign your student-athletes up ASAP so we know who to expect. Deadline to sign up is Oct 15. https://form.typeform.com/to/ackVLOSh‍ ‍

As always, your child needs to complete with CHSAA medical form (on the athletics page on website) in order to compete. Please make sure that is turned into Ms. Nalen.

The following priests will be celebrating Mass at Our Lady of Victory the upcoming week, September 25 - October 2. Please pray for our priests!

Fri, Sept 25: Fr. Daniel Ciucci
Mon, Sept 28: St. Mary’s Priests
Tues, Sept 29: St. Mark’s Priests
Wed, Sept 30: Fr. Anthony Ariniello
Thurs, Oct 1: Fr. Adam Bradshaw
Fri, Oct 2: Fr. Joshua Nayoni

Cross Country

Friday, September 25 Dave Sander’s Invitational 📍 Clement Park XC Course | Littleton, CO ⏰ 3:00 p.m. start

Volleyball

** The game originally scheduled for Monday, September 28 vs. MHA has been rescheduled for October 15 **

Thursday, October 1 vs. Denver Jewish 📍 Lone Tree Recreation Center (Home Game)

• JV warm-up: 4:00 p.m.

• JV match: 4:30 p.m.

• Varsity: Rolling start around 5:30–6:00 p.m.

Please be advised that we will have an early dismissal tomorrow, September 25th. Students will be dismissed immediately following the conclusion of Mass between 12:30 and 12:40 PM.

The next OLV STEM Club meeting will be Friday, September 25th from 1:00–3:00 p.m. All interested students are invited to join, with OLV parents, Mr. Harden, Mr. Caulfield, and Mr. Kolden leading the sessions.

Students will explore hands-on projects throughout the year involving astronomy, engineering, chemistry, electronics, programming, and more. The club will also field a team for the Lockheed Martin CyberQuest cybersecurity competition in the spring of 2027.

We are excited for our first round of house dinners tomorrow, September 25th! Beginning at 5:30, House Athanasius and House Chrysostom will be gathering at Stern Park, and House Ambrose and House Augustine will be gathering at Arapaho Park. Please check your emails for evites and signupgenius. We hope to see you there!

Mark your calendar for the 2026 Lepanto Festival, an evening of celebration in honor of our patron feast and to close out Giving Day! This year, we will be celebrating on our beautiful new campus. Families are encouraged to bring their own dinners (or eat beforehand). If you prefer, food trucks and Costco cheese pizza will be available for purchase. The evening will begin at 6pm with dinner, socializing and the ever-popular dunk tank. The dance floor (DJ'ed by our very own Matt Miller) will open at 7:30pm and the night will end with a rosary at 8:45pm. Bring your dinner, your families, your dancing shoes and come prepared for a lovely celebration under the stars!

To help our juniors kick off the college preparation process, we are blessed to be visited by a handful of college admissions counselor who are eager to share information about their schools. These presentations will take place during lunch in Ave Maria 102 and they are required for all juniors. Parents are welcome to attend!

Tuesday, October 6th: Benedictine College
Thursday, October 29th: Ave Maria University

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita...
("Midway upon the journey of our life...")

The opening lines of perhaps the most beautiful and awe-inspiring piece of poetry ever created. Dante was not an inspired author, but the Divine Comedy is, perhaps, as close as mere mortals get to touching the Divine. When I was teaching, it was definitely one of my favorite books to teach to high school students.

I hope that you'll join us on October 14th while I share a few thoughts about what makes this poem so special, why we teach it at OLV, and why I think you should read it before you die. Oh, and there will be bourbon and snacks. Costumes not necessary, but encouraged.

Please RSVP here: https://form.jotform.com/261233475610148

Peace in Christ,
Randy

Everyone belongs at the table! This fall, support the FIRE Foundation Denver and its mission to help students with disabilities thrive in Catholic schools while enjoying a delicious homemade pie.

Choose from Pumpkin, Cherry, Pecan, or Apple pies for just $25 each. Pies are generously donated by Bluepoint Bakery.

📅 Order by November 15
🥧 $25 per pie
❤️ 100% of proceeds support the FIRE Foundation

Scan the QR code on the flyer to place your order and help make sure every student has a place at the table!