The end is near for 2016. From a countless number of snapchat and Instagram updates to the grueling presidential election, this year has been quite eventful. But along with all the excitement in our world right now, there is also a lot going on at Saint Ursula Academy. With both environments in mind, America as a whole and our Ursula bubble, here is a Year in Review: 2016!

Book Goodreads ranks Harry Potter and the Cursed Child the most popular book of 2016. As the 8th book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, this is the first one that was presented on stage.

It made its world premiere in West End, London on July 20th, 2016. Need more HP in your life? Make sure to pick up a copy of this book over Christmas Break and join our new Harry Potter club at SUA (mentioned later)!

Movie Captain America: Civil War came out on May 6th and reached over $1 billion just 2 weeks later on May 20th. Following yet another mission of the Avengers, fans are wondering, has Marvel peaked with this sequel?

Song “One Dance” by Drake ft. Kyla and Wizkid reached #1 on Billboard’s “Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2016 so far” chart (updated in early October) and “The Top 10 Most Streamed Songs of 2016” chart. The song also finished 2nd on “The Top Biggest Selling Songs of 2016,” right before Lukas Graham’s “7 Years” (based on sales only). This has been an especially exciting year for Drake, as he released “Views” in late April, and won four American Music Awards while being involved in eighteen nominations. He is also the 2nd most streamed artist on Spotify (dropped to 2nd after the Weeknd’s November 25th release of “Starboy” on iTunes).

Instagram Picture It’s no surprise that the queen of Instagram, Selena Gomez has the most liked picture, not only in 2016, but for all of Instagram's six years on the web! The picture reached almost 6 million likes, and has over 230,000 comments.

SUA's 2016 Achievements!

• Aqua Dawgs got second place in the State swim meet!

• SUAVE merited the prestigious Esprit de Corps Award at the "Music in the Parks" Louisville Competition.

• At the Cappie awards, SUA’s production of Decision Height earned 2 Cappie Awards for Best Ensemble in a Play and Best Comic Actress in a Play. The show also earned 12 Cappie nominations including Best Marketing and Publicity, Best Sound, Best Costumes, Best Stage Management and Stage Crew, Best featured Actress in a Play, Best Supporting Actress in a Play, Best Female Critic, and nominee for Best Critic and Best Play.

• The JV Lacrosse team won GGCL’s.

• Emilie Kilfoil ’17 and Kate Bachman '17 promote ethically sourced clothing by designing new uniforms (soon to come in 2017)!

• SUA Varsity Soccer won the District Championship.

• 8 National Merit Students from SUA announced for the 2016-2017 school year.

• Participants in the Nicaragua Mission Trip designed a mural in the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte (Managua, Nicaragua).

• SUA launched its Open Doors Campaign.

• Georgia Fuller ’18 was named the National YoungArts Winner.

• Hannah Foster ’18 swam live in the Olympic Trials.

• Seniors Brynna Walchle, Kendyl Ferrara, Lauren Schuermann, Josie Grote, and Izzy York signed to colleges after the 2016 fall season.

• Megan Bair ‘17 and Abby Connaughton ‘17 created an energy drink for women at the Weekly Juicery in Hyde Park! Pick it up starting January 6, 2017!