Villa Victoria Academy has been operating since 1933. Some of our modern traditions date back to the early days of the Academy.
Big & Little Sisters
The Big & Little Sister program offers older girls the opportunity to mentor younger girls by offering advice, guidance, or listening. In turn, the younger sisters play a role in honoring their big sisters at special events. Some Big & Little Sister events change from year to year. In middle school, eighth graders are mentors for seventh graders. In middle school, juniors and seniors are big sisters to freshmen and sophomores, respectively.
Class Day
Each seventh grade class is assigned a month and color, which is passed on by the graduating seniors. The class keeps this month and color until they graduate and pass it on to the new seventh grade class.
High school students celebrate a “class day” during their assigned month. On this day, the class spends time together in the chapel during a prayer service they have created that emphasizes the special qualities of each class member and the class as a whole. After the prayer service, the class and their teachers enjoy a lunch prepared by the class parents. On this day, students dress in their class color and enjoy extra time together as they eat, take pictures, and appreciate each other.
Freshman induction
This ceremony is prepared by the juniors, who are the big sisters of the freshman class. At the beginning of the year, first-year students give the freshman a questionnaire. Using the answers, each junior prepares a short presentation about her little sister that “introduces” her to the school community. The ceremony includes prayers and a meaningful gift that marks the freshman as an official member of the high school. The ceremony is followed by refreshments in the cafeteria for students and parents.
Junior Ring Ceremony
This ceremony takes place during the Eucharistic Liturgy celebrated before Thanksgiving. Each member of the junior class is blessed by the presiding priest as she receives her official Villa Victoria Academy school ring. As a demonstration of the school’s heritage of sisterhood, the last girl in the senior class gives the first girl in the junior class her school ring. Each junior then passes the ring to the next junior in her class. The last junior “holds the legacy torch” until the following year’s ring ceremony. Each freshman has the honor of announcing the name of his or her big sister and then presenting her with a congratulatory gift.
Christmas party and secret Santa
The day before the Christmas break is fun and festive. We start the day with a special Advent prayer, light the Advent wreath, listen to scripture readings and sing “Come, come, Emmanuel”. Then the students have a delicious breakfast prepared by the teacher. At the beginning of Advent, each student and teacher receives the name of another student or teacher and is that person’s “secret Santa,” which involves giving that person several small gifts or notes throughout the month of December.
Spirit Days and Spirit Week
The purpose of this friendly and fun competition is to promote school and classroom spirit. The goal of each class is to gain as many spirit points as possible by working together, participating in school activities, and demonstrating an overall good attitude. The yearly spirit points culminate in spirit week, which usually takes place in the spring. Traditional spirit week events include decorating the hallway according to class color, a student vs. faculty game, a crazy class color day, and a spirit dance, etc.
Junior/Senior Prom
This gala event takes place in May at a location to be chosen by the graduation committee. One of the highlights of the evening is the pre-prom ball, which takes place in the Fisk Mansion on the grounds of the villa, which is part of the sisters’ residence. Juniors and seniors enter the mansion through the original main doors overlooking the Delaware River and present their dates to the sisters, teachers, and family members who are lined up to receive them. The juniors and seniors take a photo on the front steps before entering the mansion for prom.