November 2023

Chesterton 9th graders delight in Homer's epics. 

A Note from the Headmaster

Dear families and friends of Chesterton,

Classical education is different. More than 20 new Chesterton Academies are opening across the country next year. What makes classical education so special?

The mottos of some landmark classical colleges give us a clue: “Set out into the deep.” “Dare to be great.” “Virtue rejoices in the challenge.” These all communicate that Classical education is uniquely daring and adventurous. Why?

Every day at Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope, students do what they cannot do almost anywhere else. They grapple with the greatest questions about human existence, such as, “How should I live?” “What should I love?” and “Who am I, and why am I here?” Their teachers are the greatest thinkers and creators in the history of the world – people like Plato, Homer, Bach, Caravaggio, and Aquinas. These daily encounters are not tactical exercises or credentials that prepare students for the real thing later on. They are the real thing.

This is why classical education is different, and why Chesterton Academy students are different. The skills and habits learned from such an adventure prepare our students to live thoughtfully, humbly, intentionally, and bravely. Students become people who always rise to meet challenges and never settle for less than the truth. This is what it means to say that we teach our students how to think. It is why classically educated students make beautiful husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, priests, religious brothers and sisters, citizens, and friends. It is why employers love classically educated students, and why classically educated students are natural entrepreneurs. Classical education calls forth young people to take risks, engage in the adventure of life, and win themselves in the process.

Read on for more updates, and for opportunities to visit us and see the education that your prayers and support make possible! Join us for Mass daily at 11:15, hear our students sing our first annual Lessons and Carols on Dec. 20, and schedule your open house and shadow visits today.

Gratefully yours in Christ,

Robert Duffy, Ph.D.

November Updates

You are invited: Lessons and Carols, Dec. 20 @ 6:30pm

Join us in celebrating the anticipation of Our Lord’s incarnation! Hear the Chesterton student choir sing The Festival of Lessons and Carols on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 6:30pm in the St. Francis Chapel at 610 Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick RI. This beautiful and festive tradition began in the 19th century. Through scripture readings (or “lessons”), hymns, carols, and prayers, the Festival tells the story of the Fall, the Messianic promise, the Incarnation, and the Great Commission. 

Apply now!

We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 school year. Applications will be considered in the order they are received. Additional details are available on our website and we would be happy to answer any questions you have.

Open House & Volunteer Workday

Are you eager to learn more, or to volunteer your time? Join us on December 2, 2023, at 9:00 for our Open House, with prayer, a school tour, a presentation about a Chesterton education, and the chance to meet current and prospective families. Immediately following, current families and friends of Chesterton will continue to help beautify our campus with a volunteer workday. 

Winter Sports Launched

Cross country wrapped up for the fall, and the wrestling and coed indoor soccer teams began meeting on Monday, 11/13, launching our first Winter sports season.

Shadow Days

Are you seeking an in-depth look at Chesterton for your 8th grader? Call the school or go to our website to register for a shadow day, and experience a day in the life at Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope.

Awakening Wonder: Panels, Root Beer, Nutcracker, Roman Day, and Applesauce

Chesterton offers students many distinctive experiences to awaken wonder, develop new skills and tastes, and communicate the meaningfulness of reality. As a snapshot of a few such experiences, this fall students:

• Will receive a special visit from the BalletRI to learn about and dance part of the Nutcracker ballet and then attend a showing of the Nutcracker at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence

• Made applesauce from bushels of apples
• Will make and bottle their own root beer
• Experienced "Roman Day" in Latin class, dressing like Ancient Romans, eating grapes, and speaking only in Latin
• Gave a panel of papers on Homer's Iliad to their peers, marking an elevated occasion to share original work, discuss it in a Q&A, and enjoy a reception with refreshments!

Faculty Seminar

Faculty, staff, and their spouses shared a homemade meal and discussed book 2 of St. Augustine's Confessions for our third faculty seminar on Thursday, Nov. 9. In these seminars, faculty, like our students, earnestly pursue truth, goodness, and beauty in a community of friends, by receiving from a work of the great tradition.

House Standings
 
1st place: St. John Chrysostom
2nd place: St. Augustine

3rd place: St. Ambrose

4th place: St. Athanasius
 
(Previous house standings: 4th place: St. Ambrose, 3rd place: St. John Chrysostom, 2nd. place: St. Augustine, 1st place: St. Athanasius)

Wisdom from G.K. Chesterton

  “"The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see. The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land."