Ways To Participate
Parents’ Association
Through activities and events scheduled during the year, the Parents’ Association (PA) works to encourage community building and school unity. All Duchesne parents are automatically members of the Parents’ Association. The PA President for 2019-2020 is Jackie Powell. She can be reached at jackieweber@msn.com.
2019-2020 Parents’ Association Events and Activities
Welcome Coffees
Fathers’ Welcome Coffee | Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Mothers’ Welcome Coffee | Thursday, September 5, 2019
Both events are held from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the Schumacher Godfrey Dining Hall. Feel free to drop by to network and build community with your fellow dads and moms at the first event for the Parents’ Association. This is a great time to sign up to volunteer for other PA activities!
Chairs: Lee and Tricia Zieben
Fall Fest
Friday, September 20, 2019 | 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Fall Fest is a free carnival for the entire Duchesne community! Girls and their siblings are welcome to enjoy bouncy houses, a world-renowned cake walk, fun games, snacks, face painting, and more!
Chair: Lawton Driscoll
Neon Night - Shine Bright
Friday, October 25 | 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The entry fee is a gift card to be donated to the Spring Shining Star Extravaganza fundraiser.
Chair: Catherine Nwodo
Sporting Clays Tournament
Thursday, November 7, 2019 | Noon to 6 p.m. at the Greater Houston Sports Club
Grab your friends, your customers, your best clients, or your spouse and enjoy a fabulous afternoon of skeet, camaraderie, and delicious food and beverages! No shooting experience is necessary. And, moms, don’t be afraid to play. Each year, we have more and more women-only teams! The Sporting Clay Tournament is an underwriting event for the Spring Shining Star Extravaganza.
Chair: James Chenoweth
Mother-Daughter Style Show and Luncheon
Sunday, November 17 | 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Royal Sonesta Hotel
This year’s theme, “She Leaves a Little Sparkle Wherever She Goes,” celebrates the Duchesne spirit in all our girls. Enjoy a holiday-themed fashion show featuring Tootsies and our own Duchesne students, capped off with touching tributes from the senior girls to their mothers. Yes, fathers are invited! Come out and support our non-senior models too! Put a grade-level table together and enjoy a wonderful Sunday afternoon together.
Chair: Ginger Montalbano
Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day
Friday, November 22, 2019 | 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Make cherished memories at Duchesne’s Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day! Lower School girls and their grandparents begin in the Gymnasium at 8 a.m. with a beautiful choral presentation followed by classroom visits, goûter, photos on the White House Lawn, and early dismissal at 10:30a.m. Middle and Upper School grandparents and special friends will have lunch in the Schuhmacher Godfrey Dining Hall with their granddaughters followed by classroom visits, school tours, and photos on the White House Lawn.
Chairs: Brina D’Amico and Cherie Schoppa
Community Masses
Advent Mass
Saturday, December 14, 2019
5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Catholic Schools Week Mass
Sunday, January 26, 2020
10 a.m. to Noon
Celebrate the Season of Advent with the Duchesne community at the Advent Mass in December. In January, we join together with Regis to honor the kick off of Catholic Schools Week! Both Masses are held in the Burguières Family Chapel of the Sacred Heart.
Chair: Diana Kayser
Middle School Mania
Friday, January 10 | 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. | Regis School of the Sacred Heart
Duchesne Middle School students are invited to socialize with the boys at Regis for an evening of fun and games at the Regis campus! Girls can be signed in and dropped off or parents are also welcome to join. The entry fee is a gift card to be donated to the Spring Shining Star Extravaganza fundraiser.
Chair: Susan Dickson
Family Fun Bingo Night
Friday, January 24, 2020 | 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Join the Duchesne Lower and Middle School community for a Chinese New Year - themed Family Fun Bingo Night in the Schuhmacher Godfrey Dining Hall! Bingo packages for adults and children include a delicious meal, bingo cards, and door prize tickets. Cash prizes awarded to lucky winners!
Chair: Ericka Pertierra
Faculty/Staff Appreciation Luncheon
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 | 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Honor the commitment and dedication of Duchesne’s faculty and staff community by providing each of them a beautiful luncheon experience!
Chair: Paula Toussaint
Extravaganza
Friday, March 6 | 6:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. at The Post Oak Hotel
Extravaganza is Duchesne’s annual fundraising dinner and auction. This year’s theme, “Shining Star,” offers you the chance to dress as your favorite star all while raising important funds to support your daughter’s growth as a Duchesne Shining Star! This Friday night event will be filled with Duchesne inspired dining, dancing, bidding and FUN and a healthy dose of Shining Star flair mixed in!
Chairs: Lisa and John Santasiero
Uniform Resale
Monday, August 12, 2019
7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Schuhmacher Godfrey Dining Hall
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
7:30 a.m. to Noon in Mater’s Hallway
Thursday, May 7, 2020
7:30 a.m. to Noon in Jones’ Gallery
Uniform Resale is a wonderful service to our entire community enabling members to purchase gently worn uniforms AND donate skirts, blazers, and jumpers that no longer fit. A win-win for everyone!
Chair: Renee Humphrey
The Parents’ Association also sponsors the following year-round activities:
Spirt Store
Be Duchesne proud! Show off your Duchesne Charger spirit by purchasing spirit wear, water bottles, outerwear, car stickers, and more! The store is open daily and available online as well. We encourage our Duchesne community to wear Duchesne spirit wear on free dress days and at sporting and academic events.
Chair: Stacey Zagorski
Helping Hearts
Helping Hearts is a compassion outreach for families experiencing either great joy (birth of a baby) or sorrow (illness or death). The Helping Hearts committee will work together to meet the short-term needs of families such as a meal deliveries and care calendars.
Chair: Sarah Allison
Parent Rosary Group
This ministry meets every Thursday at 8:15 a.m. in the Burguières Family Chapel of the Sacred Heart or the White House to pray the Rosary and for any special community intentions.
Chair: Carla Martinez
We look forward to your participation in the Parents’ Association this year! Feel free to reach out to any of the Event Chairs listed above OR come to the Fathers’ or Mothers’ Welcome Coffees where they will be there to answer questions and hopefully recruit you!
Support Duchesne
The Duchesne Fund
Every gift to Duchesne is a statement: “This is our school, we believe in it, and we’re all in this together.” Everyone’s participation matters.
The Duchesne Fund, the annual fund for Duchesne, is the foundation of our fundraising efforts. Duchesne asks families and friends to support excellence at Duchesne through a contribution to The Duchesne Fund each year. This year’s theme, “She’s Ready” is a reminder that the Duchesne Fund gives students the tools to be their best selves. Your voluntary contribution to The Duchesne Fund ensures that the programs we offer continue to grow and expand to meet the needs of our talented girls. Every class that reaches 100% in parent participation is treated to goûter to celebrate. The campaign kicks off on Tuesday, September 3 and closes six weeks later on Tuesday, October 8.
Chairs: Alejandra and Charles Garrido
Patrons of the Fine Arts
Support for the arts through the Patrons of Fine Arts at Duchesne provides students with the opportunity to explore their creativity, to perform within an ensemble and contribute to something larger than themselves, to exercise design skills in the service of storytelling, and to express themselves in countless ways that will enrich our community and the world.
Chairs: Katherine and Matt Strange
Booster Club
Membership in Duchesne’s Booster Club enables the school to provide student athletes with the resources necessary to develop and maintain outstanding athletic teams for each sport, and to support the development of our girls on the field and at home. Funds raised by the Booster Club support a variety of school-spirit activities such as all-school Spirit Nights, senior night recognition for each team, individual and team banners, tailgating at important football games, and the year-end Upper School Sports Banquet.
Booster Club volunteers help organize these various events, recruit additional volunteers, work concession booths, to name just a few.
Chairs: Melanie and Kyle Young
Support When You Shop
Amazon Smile
Visit smile.amazon.com and sign in using your regular Amazon login. Select “Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart” from the list of Amazon Smile charities. Be sure to select Duchesne in Houston! Duchesne will earn 0.5% of every future purchase you make originating from Amazon Smile!
Kroger Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program
Visit kroger.com/account/enrollCommunityRewardsNow/ to register your Kroger Plus Rewards Card with Duchesne Academy (Org. #NA719). The purchase total of your groceries, fuel, and other items will be recorded to the Duchesne account, generating an automatic donation of a percentage of your total purchases.
Randall’s Good Neighbor Program
At Randalls, stop by the service desk and have your Randalls’ card linked with Duchesne’s Good Neighbor #2729.
Office Depot Office Max Give Back to Schools
Simply make a purchase of qualifying school supplies, provide your Duchesne’s ID (70097845) at checkout (in store and online) and Duchesne will receive 5% back in credits for FREE supplies! It’s a small act that can make a huge difference.
Darlene Henson Head of Advancement and Community Development 713-465-9825 darlene.henson@duchesne.org
Mary Ellen Butler '90 Alumnae and Community Relations Director 713-468-8211, ext. 3134 Maryellen.butler@duchesne.org
Sr. Ann Caire
Alumnae and Advancement Assistant 713-468-8211, ext. 3168 ann.caire@duchesne.org
Sara Pybus Advancement Associate 713-468-8211, ext. 3130 sara.pybus@duchesne.org
Heather Rosado Advancement Assistant 713-468-8211, ext. 3136 heather.rosado@duchesne.org
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