Convent of the Visitation School

For the school in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., see Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School. For the convent in Madrid, see Convent of the Salesas Reales.

Convent of the Visitation School
Non Scholae Sed Vitae Not for School, but for Life
Address
2455 Visitation Drive Mendota Heights, Minnesota, (Dakota County) 55120-1696 United States
Coordinates
Information
Type	Private
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic (Visitation Sisters)
Established	September 8, 1873
Head of school	Dr. Dawn Nichols
Grades	PK–12
Gender	Coeducational (PK-6) Girls (7-12)
Color(s)	Red and White
Athletics conference	Tri-Metro
Team name	Blazers
Accreditation	NCA
Director of Upper School	Rene Gavic
Director of Middle School	Dr. Benjamin Tierney
Director of Lower School	Michelle Mechtel
Admissions Director	Mary Pat Ferraro
Athletic Director	Elisa Manny
Website	visitation.net

Convent of the Visitation School, also known as Visitation, is an independent, all-girls, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory, school in Minnesota. It is located in Mendota Heights near Saint Paul. Visitation is a coeducational school for grades PreK-grade 6 and all-girls for grades 7-12. Visitation is the only all-girls secondary school in Minnesota.

A brother school, Saint Thomas Academy, is located right next door and many classes and after school activities involve both schools. Depending on the sport or activity, some of its rival schools are Cretin-Derham Hall, Breck School, St. Paul Academy and Summit School, and The Blake School.

History

Visitation was founded by Sisters of the Visitation in 1873, who traveled up the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri at the request of some prominent businessmen in St. Paul who wished for a strong, Catholic education for their daughters. The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary was founded in France in 1610. The founders of the order are St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal, from whom the order gained its Salesian spirituality. There are sister school locations in St. Louis, MO, Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn, NY, as well as monasteries in other areas throughout the U.S. The current location of the school in Mendota Heights, MN, is the school's fourth location. The school is coeducational from preschool through grade 6 but becomes single-gender in seventh grade. Visitation is the only all-girls Catholic secondary school in Minnesota.

The first graduating class at Visitation had only four members; the class of 2014 is made up of 74 young women.

Sports

Visitation offers 13 varsity sports:

• Softball
• Track & Field
• Lacrosse
• Golf
• swimming and diving
• Basketball
• Ice Hockey
• Nordic Skiing
• Alpine Skiing
• Volleyball
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Cross Country

VISTA Productions

VISTA Productions is the combined theater troupe of The Convent of the Visitation School and Saint Thomas Academy. They put on three main productions a year, including a fall drama, a winter dance piece/improv show and a spring musical. VISTA Productions also is a participant in the Spotlight Program, a High School Theater Recognition Program sponsored by the Hennepin Theater Trust. In the spring of 2014, VISTA Productions received ten awards from this program including the award for Best Overall Production of a Musical for their production of Shrek the Musical.

External links

• Visitation's Official Website
• The Robette's Official Web Page