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Chelsea Academy is the Shenandoah Valley's K-12 Catholic school offering a robust program of study in the Liberal Arts tradition and founded on the 4 Pillars of Faith, Academics, Friendship, and Adventure. No cell phone policy/Low technology classrooms
Competitive Interscholastic sports teams Outdoor adventures - hike, camp, canoe On-site chapel, weekly all-school Mass
Club or Organization: Chess Club, Journalism/Yearbook Club, Service Club, Swing Dance Club
Arts and Music Programs: High School Play, Middle School Play, Schola Cantorum, Schola Club
School Notes
In 2008, the founders of Chelsea Academy came together to build
a Catholic school that would help students and families across four
key dimensions. These four pillars continue to guide a Chelsea
education today:FAITH FRIENDSHIP ACADEMICS ADVENTURE
Mission
Chelsea Academy seeks to form confident young men and women
educated in the liberal arts tradition and the Catholic faith from
Kindergarten through 12th grade. The Academy is committed to
promoting and cultivating in its students the life of the mind and
the love of truth; an appreciation for the natural world and the
heritage of human achievement; enduring friendships; a spirit of
adventure; and the virtues of honesty, diligence, courage, piety,
and personal responsibility. Through an ethos shaped by Catholic
teaching and devotions and a balanced curriculum that includes the
humanities, sciences, the arts, and athletics, Chelsea Academy
provides students with opportunities for developing themselves into
adults who are capable of making positive contributions to their
families, places of work, and communities.
Philosophy
The purpose of a true education is to develop in a person a
habit of being and a "culture of the Word." This arises both as a
natural duty of parents to educate their children and as a solemn
duty of the Church being faithful to her Lord.Such an
education demands that students be introduced to and given the
tools to apprehend all of reality-both in its natural and
supernatural aspects. The very grammar of reality arises through
the creative work of God who creates by "speaking" into existence
all things. God's self-revelation of Jesus Christ being the Word of
God adds to our understanding that "all things were made through
him" and that as the Divine Logos all truth, goodness, and beauty
finds its origin and end in him.Hence, a "culture of the
Word" is, a set of concrete conditions whereby parents, faculty,
students, and staff-together in a community of friendship-seek
God.This is accomplished, firstly, with the recognition of
God as our Father who is, therefore, due our worship and
love.Secondly, it is the training of the intellect to seek
the truth about things and to understand each of those things in
the greater context of the symphony of reality.This implies
the cultivation of awe and wonder at this symphony-its beauty,
goodness, and the inexhaustibility of its
contemplation.This understanding of things both natural
and supernatural takes into account the unique creation that is the
human person and concomitantly raises the question as to how one
should act.A training in virtue then, rooted in the natural
light of reason and given confirmation by Divine Revelation, gives
students the tools to utilize their freedom in a way that conforms
them more closely to Jesus Christ: to have the courage to overcome
their fallen natures (a lifelong project), to choose wisely and act
rightly in a variety of circumstances, to engage the wider culture
with confidence and conviction, and to love God and neighbor more
perfectly.As our patron, St. Thomas More put it:[T]o put
virtue in the first place, learning in the second; and in their
studies to esteem most whatever may teach them piety towards God,
charity to all, and Christian humility in themselves-These I
consider the real and genuine fruits of learning, and I would
maintain that those who give themselves to study with such intent
will easily attain their end and become perfect.
The Chelsea Name & St. Thomas More
Chelsea Academy takes its name from the house at Chelsea of
sixteenth-century statesman, scholar, andmartyr Thomas More.
Chelsea is located on theThames, then, just outside of
London.A man of great learning and virtue, More established
at Chelsea a home in which he sought to teach his children "piety
towards God, charity towards all, and Christian humility in
themselves." As a leading Christian humanist of his day, More
provided a classical education for all of his children and others
of his household, most notably his daughter Margaret, who excelled
at Latin. The great humanistErasmus, who often visited More
and his family at Chelsea, described his household (in the words of
a More biographer) "as Plato's Academy on Christian
footing."More was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935, four
hundred years after his execution by King Henry VIII. Chelsea
Academy offers an education that is inspired by the life and
writings of St. Thomas More.
Motto:Domine ut videam
These words from the Gospel of St. Luke Domine ut
videam(Lord, that I may see) are both a prayer and a reminder
of whatlies at the heart of education. Seeing involves
recognizing, making distinctions, and understanding reality. Young
children learn to distinguish a maple tree from an oak through
careful observation. Older students are taught to see what Homer
sees. For people of all ages, the effort made to see is the first
step toward gaining knowledge about the world. As C.S. Lewis
writes, "In coming to understand anything we are rejecting the
facts as they are for us in favor of the facts as they are." We are
learning to see. The blind man's prayer also reminds us that we
must look to God in order to see fully. Faith in the unseen leads
to the gift of sight.WithDomine ut videamas its
motto, Chelsea Academy seeks to assist its students in seeing
things both earthly and eternal.
Grades: 9-12 | 414 students184.1 miles 4552 Princess Anne Road Virginia Beach, VA 23462 (757) 467-2881
184.1
9-12
414
School Reviews
5.00 out of 5(5 reviews)
512/13/2024
As a former homeschooler, Chelsea was my first experience with school, and I can't imagine a better school to be that first experience. At Chelsea, I learned to write well and to think, and I made many friendships I still have today. The community was authentically Catholic, and the teachers were beautiful examples of the faith, whose dedication to their students was inspiring. Chelsea became my home, one which I have since returned to as a teacher. Even a decade later, Chelsea still has the same vibrant community and passionate Catholic identity that I loved as a student.
- Posted by Student/Alumni - Bernadette
512/13/2024
I attended Chelsea Academy for 9 years, graduating in 2022. Throughout my time there, I encountered passionate and inspiring teachers and a community of students unique for their ability to form enduring and irreplaceable bonds. The most important gift given to me by Chelsea was their integration of sports, arts, and academics with the truths of the Catholic Faith. The wide breadth of experiences I had at Chelsea, from the soccer team to the fall hike to drama to rigorous academics, showed how the Catholic faith can permeate and transcend all parts of life. This gift has stayed with me as I pursue a biology degree at the University of Virginia and hope to attend veterinary school. I am grateful to the community of teachers who inspired a love of truth, beauty, and goodness in all things, and the wonderful group of peers who I continue to call dear friends.
- Posted by Student/Alumni - James Schwartz
511/22/2024
Chelsea Academy has made my life easier. The academics prepared me to study accounting at George Mason University and the connections through the school landed me a job as a staff accountant in Culpeper, VA. I enjoyed playing multiple sports while there, I took advantage of the art courses taught by a professional painter, and my time singing in the choir after school set me up to sing for large events throughout Northern VA. The most important gift from this school was the formation I received allowing me to become an rational Catholic that not only could maintain a firm understanding of complex theological matters, but also write quickly and concisely as a working adult. Thank you Chelsea Academy and all who support her growth, I would not be the man I am today without your support.
- Posted by Student/Alumni - James Lee
511/22/2024
Chelsea is a rigorous liberal arts school that provides a strong Catholic education. It is very small, but the community is wonderful, and I've made many wonderful friends in my time there.
- Posted by Student/Alumni - Olivia Z
511/22/2024
I attended Chelsea Academy for nine years and graduated in 2022. During my time at Chelsea, I made friends for life and enjoyed competing in soccer, basketball, and cross country. I am currently a junior at Purdue Global University and have found that the mathematics and liberal arts programs at Chelsea have prepared me well for my current studies.
- Posted by Student/Alumni - Anna
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