HeartbeatThe

Canadian schools join SHS Network

Schools celebrate Mother Stuart in all-Network live telecast

More than 350 comfort-clad guests enjoyed the Sacred Heart Fall Gathering on November 22 in the gym. This casual evening of community building for parents, fac-ulty, staff, alumni and friends marked the official kick-off of L’Esprit de Sacré Coeur, coming March 1 to the Chicago Hilton. The gourmet food trucks parked on the playground – Big Star, Saucy Porka and Wagyu Wagon – stole the show while providing tasty culinary treats. Craft beer, de-

licious wines and decadent desserts complimented cool tunes from the Spin Doctor, Sacred Heart’s own DJ Dad, David Scheffler. Winners were drawn for the $1,000 early bird draw-ing for the Tuition/Cash Raffle, Story Time with Mr. Wilburn, and a “L’Esprit-cation” (a stay at the Hilton the night of L’Esprit), among others. The fabulous, festive evening was orchestrated by Chairs Mary Beth Hopp, Sandra Hamacher and Jona Penner.

Academy of the Sacred Heart | Hardey Preparatory Volume 31 No. 1WINTER 2013

The power of the moment was palpable. Nearly 10,000 s t u d e n t s , gathered be-fore giant screens, were singing a song

penned by Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ, more than 100 years ago. Spirit Seeking Light and Beauty speaks to today’s Sacred Heart community as effectively as that of the last century. Its lyrics “Loving wisdom, guiding spirit” could very well refer to Mother Stuart herself. In the Sheridan Road gym on

October 21, all 700 SHS students plus faculty and staff gathered to participate in this live North American Network of Sacred Heart Schools telecast to cel-ebrate the centenary year of the death of Mother Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ. Hosted by the San Francisco schools (two of their boys’ schools are named for Stuart), students learned the history of Mother Stuart from Sr. Jan Dunn, Executive Director of the Net-work. Each school was pictured and called out by name during the telecast. Sr. Barbara Dawson, the current U.S. Provincial, also spoke from St. Louis, and local San Francisco interfaith lead-ers took part in a blessing of flags.

All is a testament to the power of a modest British nun, a writer and a poet, who led the RSCJ during the pre-WWI years, and authored two books that remain classic educational guides today - The Education of Catholic Girls and Highways and By-ways in the Spiritual Life. The year-long celebration of the Centennial of Janet Erskine Stuart (1857-1914), honors the consummate RSCJ teacher. Born into wealth, highly educated despite being a woman, she is recognized today as a leading thinker in education for girls. She is being hon-ored in Sacred Heart schools around the world. Her philosophy of education can

be gleaned from her many quotes, used throughout the world-wide Network to exemplify the mission of Sacred Heart education. A sampling of her words:

So we must remember that it is better to be-gin a great work than to finish a small one.

It is not so much what we say or do that ed-ucates; what really educates is who we are.

We must bring up children for the future, not for the present, not that we may enjoy the fruit of our work, but for others.

Each one of our children is destined for a mission in life...which will remain undone unless she does it, some place in life which no one else can fill.

Nat Wilburn, Head of Schools, visited the Sacred Heart school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Nov. 1-3. The Sacred Heart school in Halifax, along with the Sacred Heart school in Montreal (see profile pg. 3), is in the process of joining the 22 schools of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools. “I had a wonderful opportunity to work with their Board of Governors. We spent a day in retreat discussing our shared mission in Sacred Heart educa-tion,” said Mr. Wilburn, pictured at right with their Head of Schools, Sr. Anne

Wachter, RSCJ. Sacred Heart School, Halifax, was founded in 1849 and is the only Catholic school in Nova Scotia. It has a co-ed pro-gram from age four through 6th grade. There is both a single gender all-boys program and an all-girls program in grades 7-12. It is the only single gender school east of Montreal. “In joining the Network, they be-gin formally sharing with us our life in the Goals and Criteria,” noted Wilburn. He toured the school, met with its Board,

and shared a weekend with the Religious of the Sacred Heart in Halifax. “This was another reminder to me of the nourishment we receive in our global network of living the mis-sion of Sacred Heart. I look forward to continuing to build stronger bonds among the schools in the future.” While joining in discussions about the schools shared mission, Wilburn noted how Sacred Heart schools live out the mission of St. Madeleine Sophie dif-

ferently. “At the same time,” he added, “we deepen our understanding of what we share in common.”

Food trucks line up on the Sheridan Road playground.

Fall Gathering trucks in the fun

iPads creating a stir in Middle SchoolThe iPads at SHS are multiplying! Not only are there traveling carts that can be checked out for each grade, the new One:One iPad initiative for Grade 8 rolled out in October. This program gives each 8th grade student an iPad through-out the day, which is then checked in at the end of the day. Work students may need at home is either stored in the cloud or is emailed home. “Our plan in sub-

sequent years is to extend the program to the entire Middle School,” said Chris-tina de la Peña, Technology Director. iPads are enriching the classroom in many ways. “My 8th graders are cre-ating iMovies to demonstrate a particu-lar set of action verbs they are learning in the past tense,” said French teacher Elyse Hoffman. They are also creating videos in PE to teach a skill or engage

an audience of Kindergartners thru 7th graders in activity, according to teacher Kristin Lagerquist. In Humanities, the iPads are used often. In the Shakespeare In Bits unit, for instance, they re-inforce Macbeth by presenting a quick graphic cartoon summary that is projected for the class. The students use the app Notability to

take notes, the app Keynote to display projects and the app Vocab Build for test prep. “The iPads also help save notes for absent students, in addition to being a great source of history videos,” ex-plains Katie Lowry, Humanities teacher. “They even help the students with U.S. Constitution practice.” She adds that this month they are doing an entire unit on the novel Ashes of Roses using the iPads for all assignments and assessments. The tablets are also a conduit for creativity, as witnessed by the Spanish menus and advertisements created in Cristina Filicky’s Spanish language class. The Schools now have 291 iPads for student use. A new after school team of volunteer, teacher-recom-mended student helpers – iHelp – was formed to assist with logistics such as

packing and storage of the iPads and with technical support. “We look to this group for the ‘student perspective’ when it comes to investigating new apps we are considering for the classroom,” said Nancy Jones, MS Tech Specialist. “They try them out and then recommend those they feel will help their studies.” Christina de la Peña values their assistance. “The iHelp group continues to be a big help not only with MS iPads but with all equipment in the school.”

snippetsSHS

n Alka

School News

2 shschicago.org

How far will it fly?Using the Scientific Method, Brian East’s H4 class determined how far an Alka Seltzer mixture would propel a film can-ister lid. The boys came up with a hy-pothesis, experimented, measured the distance the caps flew, then drew con-clusions based on their results.

Dr. Heitner on smartphonesDevorah Heitner spoke to parents Oct. 8 on ‘Smart Phones/Smart Choices,’ offering suggestions for taming this technology.

Volume 31, No. 1; Winter 2013

The Heartbeat is published three times a year. Sacred Heart Schools 6250 N. Sheridan Rd. Chicago, IL 60660-1730 773-262-4446

Head of Schools: Nat Wilburn

Editor: Diane Fallon

Editorial Board: Jennifer Bozyk Meghan Donahue Kathleen Edwards Judy Corrin Lindsey Lopez Blaise Malisch Carolyn Napelton Sally Sharp Sophie Streeter Debbie Wells ©2013 SHS

HeartbeatThe

2

Noted children’s author spends day at SHS

Rosemary Wells draws her famous rabbit Ruby for the first grade.

Student Councils are inductedBoth the Academy and Hardey Student Councils were inducted on Sept. 6 by Mr. Nat Wilburn, Head of Schools.

CLASS CAPERS1

A Halloween treat for KDG through 4th graders was a day-long visit by nationally renowned children’s author and illustrator Rosemary Wells. Most notably the creator of the Max and Ruby series, Wells joined the students and teachers for a day of writer’s workshops, illustration tuto-rials and many eager questions. She met with more than 300 students, leading draw-ing lessons with the 1st and 2nd graders, presentations on story structure and an early writer’s workshop with the 3rd and 4th graders, a parent lunch, and ended with a warm reading of Max and Ruby to the delighted Kinder-

gartners.With more than 60 books to her credit, Wells has given readers unforgettable characters such as Max,

Ruby, Noisy Nora, and Yoko. She has won numerous awards including the Children’s Book Council Award, the Edgar Allan Poe award for two young adult books, Through the Look-ing Glass and When

No One Was Looking, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Shy Charles. Wells is the mother of two graduates of the Sacred Heart school in Greenwich, CT. Her daughters, Victoria and Beezoo, were the inspiration for much of her writing, most notably for the now-famous Max and Ruby series. “The children and our home life have inspired, in part, many of my books. The dynamics between older and younger siblings are common to all families.” Wells says “Simple incidents from childhood are universal.”

Everyday Mathematics, a Pre-K through 6th grade mathematics curriculum developed by the University of Chicago, is being expanded this year at SHS, and is proving quite a hit with both students and teachers. As part of the new online aspect of Everyday Math, the schools have access to the EM eSuite software. It is a full online curriculum that provides teachers a variety of resources. For instance, it offers a set of lessons for the interactive whiteboards. Another new offering is ePresentations. Julie Taylor, Academy 4 teacher is using this software during her daily math lessons. “I taught my students how to login with their ‘top secret’ passwords and logins, which they enjoy.” But what Mrs. Taylor appreciates the most is the cooperative classroom environment that allows teachers to meet the needs of each individual student. “I can differentiate daily assignments so that all my students are challenged. I like that Everyday Math gives them the opportunity to struggle and make sense by learning from their mistakes.” Hardey 4 teacher Chelsea Elward (above right) finds that it is a natural fit for boys. “They really enjoy the activi-ties and games, such as multiplication baseball, fact dash, EM facts workshop and factor bingo!” But, essentially, the strength of the program is in the way it tailors lessons to each student’s unique skills. “This helps students of diverse math ability get the same quality education,” asserts Ms. Elward. Everything is online for the extra support needed. If, for example, a student needs a refresher on how to do long division, there is a soothing voice on eSuite (Algorithm Animations) that will go over it step by step. The new online software is proving a wonderful tool, but as Mrs. Ligon points out, “It is the energy and excite-ment of the teachers in using these new tools that has had such a positive effect on the students’ learning.”

Math series is an onlne hit

Parachutes Nothing like a handmade parachute to teach gravity. A1 dropped theirs from the rooftop, timing their fall as they added more weight (paper clips). Voila, gravity pulls them down faster. Lesson learned.

3

1 Afghanistan demystified Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of 13 novels, and Hardey alum Class of 1983, spoke to the 5th Grade on Afghanistan. He spent several weeks there with an undercover US government group and shared insights on the life and customs of the people to a fascinated audience.

2 Space walk ready! The annual 7th grade trip to Space Academy in Hunts-vil le, AL featured an Ex-travehicular Activity (EVA). Simran Katyal, Malia Kinder a n d G e o r g e Andrews don A s t r o n a u t s u i t s a n d p r e p a r e t o step out into space.

3 Toxic mystery.. .Addyson Taylor, Kate Beck and Emma Beier are solving the mys-tery of which company is polluting the stream in a fictitious town in Mrs. Lam-pic ’s 6th grade sc ience stream contamination lab.

4 Learning about leaves... J.D. Giannis and Matthew Denny, K indergarten E l-ephants, went across the st reet on a “ leaf walk” through Berger Park. Stu-dents collected leaves and discussed their similarities and differences.

4

Christina de la PeñaYears at Sacred Heart– 1st year

Area of responsibility – Direc-tor of Technology

What is the biggest challenge in holding the new Director of Technology position? It is a brand new position, so there are no steps to follow in. Also, with the ever changing world of technology, at times it can be chal-lenging to keep up.

What areas of technology do you hope to grow this year? The Middle School iPad program and provid-ing more classroom support for teachers to implement technology in their curriculum.I grew up in – My family moved to Chicago from Southern California when I was seven. I grew up on the south side in the Marquette Park area.

Personal hero or heroine – my son who has experienced more in his life than most. I look at him and think that had life been any different I would not have had him and that would be a great tragedy. He is the reason I am in education today.

Currently I’m – so happy to meet all the great people at Sacred Heart Schools!

If I could do it all over – I’d have attended college in California! After all these years I still can’t get used to the Chicago winters. My family says I – am a great cook, I never cook the same meal twice in a month.Now I’m reading – I’m finishing up school. After Dec 9th I will be catching up on my reading!I’d like to have dinner with – my son’s birth mother. I would like to say thank you for giving up your son, who is our pride and joy.Schooling – M.A. School of Technology, Loyola Uni-versity Chicago; B.S. in Finance, DePaul University In school I was known – the most friendly person and always smiling. .Favorite “junk” food is – Hamburger and fries! They say a favorite food can relate back to a childhood memory. In California, I always remember stopping by Jack-in-the-Box with my Grandpa, who made sure they gave me a balloon in my favorite color.

I spend my “free” time – catching up with my Califor-nia family on Facebook, or, if it’s Friday night, it’s De La Peña family movie night.

Your proudest moment – Adopting my son Jonathan 11 years ago from Mexico. We had to live there for eight weeks while the adoption was finalized.

Favorite school memory – At DePaul I met the greatest group of people that remain my closest friends. We all belonged to the Latin Student Organization whose primary function was to raise scholarship funds for Latino students attending DePaul.

David Gusaas Years at Sacred Heart – 1st yearArea of responsibility – 7th & 8th grade MathWhat differences do you find in teaching math in single sex classrooms? I like the fact that the students don’t have to worry about the reactions they get from students of the opposite gender. I miss sometimes, however, the mitigating influence of the girls’ behavior on the boys and vice versa. What do you enjoy most about Sacred Heart in these first few months here? The cooperation between faculty/staff and administration at Sacred Heart is apparent. At my previous school this was not the case, and that was detrimental to the student body.Any previous Sacred Heart connection? None, but when I asked my friend Andrea if she knew anything about the school she said the girls she had met from SHS were “just the nicest girls.”I grew up in – Valley City, North Dakota, a town of around 8,000 people, 60 miles west of Fargo on I-94.Personal hero or heroine – I don’t really do “heroes.” It’s too disappointing when they turn out to be merely human.Currently I’m – watching my 8th grade boys take an Algebra test. It’s pretty exciting stuff.If I could do it all over – I’d probably get that Masters degree in Computer Science I had a shot at in 1980. Do you think these computer things will ever catch on? My family says I – I should call my mom more often; I’m really bad at that. Now I’m reading – A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.I’d like to have dinner with – my friend Andrea, Bob Dylan and Jack White of the White Stripes. (Doesn’t that sound like a great party?)Schooling – M.A. in Teaching, Tufts University; B.S. in Math, Valley City State University In school I was known – as a decent tennis player.Favorite “junk” food is – any form of dark chocolate (especially when accompanied by a glass of red wine).

I spend my “free” time – playing guitar with my bassist girlfriend.

Your proudest moment – I have two wonderful children.

Favorite school memory – Hanging around with the guys on the tennis team, one of whom I still pal around with as often as possible.

FACULTY PROFILES

During my eighth grade year, my grade was given the opportunity to go to Camp Rosenthal and help out the community. Camp Rosenthal is a small camp for un-derprivileged children from the South side of Chicago. It gives these children an escape from all the violence and bad events that are occurring in their neighborhoods. It gives them a chance to become more independent, meet new friends, and participate in new activities. Camp Rosenthal is in Dowagiac Michigan. It has a lot of open space and a wide variety of activities such as swimming, biking and canoeing. Some of the things we did to help out were clean up trash, chop down vines or dead branches from the playing areas, repaint cab-ins and organize some of the items so they were ready for the next camp season. We weren’t only working though; we had free time where we could partake in football, soccer or simply just talk and be with friends. We were also served food by the one and only, Mr. Puricelli: pasta, hamburgers and pancakes, all of which were delicious. My favorite thing about Camp was meeting and becoming friends with some new people in my grade. It is a great place for not only campers to go and make friends but also for us. We had time to spend connecting with a new group of kids, which is really fun. Personally, I felt great helping out children who are not as fortunate as me. I know that I attend a very prestigious school and I have op-portunities that they don’t have. While at Camp Rosenthal, I started to appreciate all of the commodities that I have and they don’t. Lastly, I hope to go back and help out some more.

KIDS’ CORNER

shschicago.org 3

by Blaise Malisch H8

In this issue we profile two of our talented newcomers.

Camp Rosenthal more than a retreat

‘While at Camp Rosenthal, I started to

appreciate all of the com-

modities that I have.’

Montreal is home to one of two Canadian Sacred Heart schoolsThe Sacred Heart School of Montreal, one of Can-ada’s oldest independent Catholic schools for girls, is a secondary girls’ school beginning in 7th grade, with an enrollment of 200 students. The school is located on the slope of Mount Royal, adjacent to Mount Royal Park and just south of McGill University. Montreal, in the French prov-ince of Quebec, is a bilingual city, and the school offers several languages, including French mother tongue, French second language, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. An International Exchange program gives students the opportunity to interact with young people from different linguistic and cultural origins Sacred Heart educators have been serving families in the Montreal area since the arrival of the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1842 at St-Jacques-de- l’Achigan, Quebec. From its first temporary house

on St-Hubert Street which housed the school at its opening in 1861, to today’s City House on At-water Avenue (left), it remains one of two Sacred Heart schools in Canada. Saint Madeleine

Sophie’s legacy thrives at the Sacred Heart School of Montreal. Since 1861, Sacred Heart educators have worked to provide a school where academic excellence coincides with faith and compassion for others. Educating in the Catholic tradition, the school encourages its students to welcome the diversity of the contemporary world. Head of Schools Shawn O’Donnell says, “Our aim is to encourage each student to be a self-confident, inquiring, open-minded, positive, well-rounded, inde-pendent girl who respects and appreciates the value of growing up in a culturally diverse world.”

Network Profile

8th Grade Retreats to Camp RosenthalFor the 10th year, SHS 8th graders attended a retreat at Camp Rosenthal in Dowagiac, MI., which serves youth from the Chicago Youth Centers.

Do it the hard way!Malia Kinder, Ellie Wharton, Bella Nebolsky de Ochoa finish step 6 of their Rube Goldberg machine.

In Mrs. Pond’s 7th grade science class, students are constructing Rube Goldberg machines. These are devices that are deliberately over-engineered to perform a very simple task in a very complex way, usually including a chain reaction. The Rube Goldberg that the seventh graders are building must include at least six simple machines and the end task must raise a flag for at least 4 seconds. “Focus, patience, teamwork and creative think-ing are just some of the traits needed to successfully complete this project,” said Bella Cerda A7.

Hardey Buttterfly releaseThe magic of metamor-phosis was revealed to the 2nd grade as their butterflies were released in Berger Park.

4GOAL

The Howard Area Community Center (HACC), a social service agency in Rog-ers Park, has been chosen the 11th an-nual Sacred Heart Schools Goal Award recipient. The Goal Award was born 10 years ago, when the Schools began celebrating the Goals by recognizing in the larger Chicagoland community a person or organization whose life and work exemplifies them. This year, the award focuses on Goal 4: the building of community as a Christian value. The Howard Area Center builds community in many ways: a client-se-lected food pantry, a jobs program, den-tal and health services, early childhood and adult education opportunities, lit-eracy classes and even an urban garden, As its nomination states, “Howard Area Community Center welcomes each child, woman and man with dignity and respect and as a valued member of the community.” Bruce Rasey, Executive Director of the Howard Center, is thrilled with the award. “We are both honored and hum-bled to be chosen to receive the Goal

Award this year.” He notes that being recognized by Sacred Heart is both rewarding and a challenge. “Rewarding – due to the public recognition of our continued efforts to make life a little bet-ter for people in need. Challenging – to ensure that we continue to uphold and never forget the criteria set forth in the

award as it so closely mirrors our organiza-tion’s values.” The Howard Area Center, not only helps people of all ages marginal-ized by society, it also builds community among its many

volunteers. Sacred Heart Schools values the partnership it has enjoyed with the organization since the RSCJ at Sacred Heart began volunteering there more than 30 years ago. “We have seen first hand the good

The Day of the Dead ‘El Dĺa de los Muertos’

StoryCorps evokes awareness

Howard Area Community Center honored with 11th annual SHS Goal Award

4 shschicago.org

Each year, the Schools focus on one of the five Goals of Sacred Heart education. This year, the focus is Goal 4, “The building of community as a Christian value.” Numerous activities occu r on and off campus to that end. Here are a few.

Building Community4

POTPOURRI

Building community came early on a Saturday morning in October, when 11 intrepid bikers met at the Chicago branch of the forest preserve bike trail and pedaled all the way to the Botanic Gardens in Glencoe. In all, they did about 32 miles and saw half a dozen deer and the changing fall colors. The

crew was composed of 10 faculty/staff and Hardey 7th grader Patrick Beale-Delvecchio, who was reportedly elected the new bike club CEO. “All field trips should have a 10-1 adult to child ratio,” said Matt Manley, Athletics Coordinator, who organized the outing.

Testing water in the Gulf of Mexico, working a sugarcane plantation, sleep-ing on the floor of the school—it was a full week for Mia Rugai A7. She spent a week of learning, service and reflection at the Academy of the Sacred Heart New Orleans this past summer Beginning at AHS New Orleans, highlights of the trip include a visit to LUMCON (Louisiana University Marine Consortium) in Cocodrie, LA, where students traveled into the Gulf of Mexico with a young scientist to help collect samples and other information to support plant and animal life. Mia also brought up the gifts in the Father’s Day Mass at St. Louis Cathe-dral with the Cardinal and participated in a private tour of the Tabasco factory and Jungle Gardens on Avery Island. She visited St. John Sugarcane Planta-tion and ended the trip at Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau (dating back to 1821). “I truly enjoyed the entire week in New Orleans, but what I really found interesting was the difference between ASH New Orleans and Grand Coteau [which is 2 hours north]. While both

schools h a v e been a part of the Net-w o r k since the 1800 ’s , I found G r a n d Coteau to have a special place in our Sacred Heart history.” Mia explained. Concluding the week-long trip, the girls volunteered at Hollygrove Sus-tainable Edible Gardens in the fringes of uptown, New Orleans. They spent the morning working in the gardens and toured the city to see the effects of Hurricane Katrina on both the city and the school. “I spent a week with such wonder-ful people from the SHS community that will always be my friends. I am so happy and grateful that I was able to be part of this service project.” said Mia of her experience in New Orleans.

Sacred Heart celebrated the Day of the Dead, in Span-ish, El Día de los Muertos, on October 28. During this Mexican holiday, communities gather together to pray for and remember those who have died. The 3-day celebration is connected with the Christian memorials of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day. At the ceremony, Primary School students pre-sented objects they had created in their religion and Spanish classes: marigolds made by the Kindergarten, papel picado (paper cut-outs) made by the Hardey second grade, and sugar skulls decorated by first grade and second grade girls who put together a small ofrenda

(altar). Finally, they con-tributed photographs of deceased loved ones. Middle School Span-ish classes created a very large ofrenda with mini-altars to deceased loved ones. In the Middle School celebration, the 6th grade girls performed a dance to traditional Latin American folk songs and the 6th grade boys performed La danza de los viejitos with masks, costumes and canes. In addition, students spoke of their recent experience visiting the

Chapel altars and ceremonies honor those who have gone before us

Faculty/staff bikers pause for a breather on their 32-mile trek.

GOAL7th grader volunteers at Sacred Heart in New Orleans

“The students and chaperones who

participate at our Child Development Center brighten the day not only for our

children but the staff.”

Bruce Rasey, HACC

Tour de France, take note!

With coffee and conversation, Story-Corps provides Sacred Heart families of all backgrounds and beliefs the opportunity to share their stories with the community. In November, they heard from Hardey alumni Joey Yao H’86* and Alex Richard H’98 (at right), who shared reflections of their tenure at Sheridan Road with a large group of early-morning attendees. They talked about what went well, what was a struggle, and how they view their elementary experience now. “Ethnic Alumni, A Reflection” resonated with many in the audience.

* Joey Yao is serving his first term as Sheridan Road Alumni Association President and as the National Associated Alumnae and Alumni of the Sacred Heart Corresponding Secretary.

Coat Drive a heart-warmerAmal Meghani A1 donates a coat during morning drop off. Student volunteers manned the drop off line during the early morning hours, collecting more than 300 coats for Care for Real, a neigh-borhood social service agency.

Food Drive fills lardersThe November Food Drive col-lected 2,700 pounds of food for Ignatian Services, a local food pantry!

Mia Rugai at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans

work they do for their cli-ents,” said Maria Paz Sa-las, Community Service Coordinator. Our stu-dents have benefited from their volunteer experi-ences in their Head Start program, their Family Center, and through their annual Christmas Drive, to name just a few. Rasey calls the long term relationship between Howard Area and SHS as “nothing short of delightful.” He explains, “The students and chaperones who participate at our Child Development Center are so help-ful and brighten the day not only for our children but also the staff.” He especially remarks on the an-nual “Howard Area gift baskets” collect-ed by each classroom before Christmas. “The generosity shown by so many during the holiday times as well as other times of the year has touched the lives of families in countless ways. We could not function as we do without dedicated

and compassionate volunteers like those from Sacred Heart. You continue to make a difference!” The nomination form agreed, “The Howard Area Community staff and clients have taught the Sacred Heart community the realities of hun-ger, homelessness and poverty in urban life, as well as the joy of receiving the simplest of gifts at Christmas time.” We salute the Howard Area’s 45 years of creating a brighter future for the Rogers Park community! The Goal Award will be presented at the all-community gala, L’Esprit de Sacré Coeur, on March 1 at the Chicago Hilton.

International Night embraces SHS diversityHoward Area Community Center honored with 11th annual SHS Goal Award

shschicago.org 5

GOAL 4 CRITERIA

(From the revised Goals and Criteria, 2005)

The school implements an ongoing plan for educating both adults and students in the heritage and mission of Sacred Heart education.

The school promotes a safe and welcoming environment in which each person is valued, cared for and respected.

Adult members of the school model and teach skills needed to build community and practice clear, direct and open communication.

The school has programs that teach the principles of nonviolence, conflict resolution and peacemaking.

The school makes a deliberate effort to recruit students and employ faculty and staff of diverse races, ethnicities and backgrounds.

The financial aid program effectively supports socioeconomic diversity.

The school participates actively in the national and international networks of Sacred Heart schools.

Under the Pear Tree, as read by...A Hardey 3rd grade class listens as Stephen Puricelli, MS Head, and Betsy Fallon, H1 teacher, read Under the Pear Tree, the story of St. Philippine Duchesne, on Nov. 11. The book, written by Sr. Jan Dunn, RSCJ, Execu-tive Director of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools, is read yearly by faculty/staff volunteers to the 3rd grade on St. Philippine’s feast day.

Whew! Carrying for a causeFor more than 20 years, the 8th grad-ers have helped clean the grounds after the Misericordia Heart of Mercy Family Fest. The students also tour the facilities and learn more about this neighboring home for disabled children and adults.

A visit to the JoGoa l 4 commun i t y -building was in full force when seven SHS faculty/staff visited Josephinum Academy on Sept. 11 to hear Sr. Kathleen Hughes, RSCJ, speak on Janet Erskine Stuart. The trip to our sister school in Wicker Park included a tour by Michael Dougherty, Head of Schools, and a multi-media presentation on the life of Mother Stuart, whose Centennial is being celebrated by the Network of Sacred Heart schools this year. (see page 1)

POTPOURRI

(altar). Finally, they con-tributed photographs of deceased loved ones. Middle School Span-ish classes created a very large ofrenda with mini-altars to deceased loved ones. In the Middle School celebration, the 6th grade girls performed a dance to traditional Latin American folk songs and the 6th grade boys performed La danza de los viejitos with masks, costumes and canes. In addition, students spoke of their recent experience visiting the

Mexican Fine Arts Museum, described the elements of the altar and shared an Aztec poem, The Day of the Dead. Cristina Filicky (MS Spanish), Clarisa Vela (PS Spanish), Meghan Donahue (PS Religion) and Jane Steinfels, Campus Minister, organized the day.

Clarisa Vela, Spanish teacher, helps the Primary School students arrange their altar during the Day of the Dead ceremony.

With more than 350 Sacred Heart community members attending, Inter-national Night on Oct. 18, was an evening to remember! Each year, SHS celebrates its rich cultural heritage with a festive evening featuring color-ful costumes, ethnic foods, games, activities and the ever-favorite Parade of Nations. This year marked a new International Night tradition – highlight-ing a region of the world in both the entertainment and activities. Latin America was feted this year. Guests were greeted at the door by Mariachi Monumental De Mexico and later entertained by dancers from Instituto Cervantes. Students participated in various activities, including creating Ojo de Dios, or “God’s Eyes,” an ancient symbol of protection. Voting was taken on a choice for next year’s featured region. The winner is AFRICA!

Poetry Pals is back!Poetry Pals is back! For the third year, the students from SHS, the Muslim Com-munity Center (MCC) in Morton Grove and Solomon Schechter Day School in Northbrook, are working together to pro-mote diversity while expressing themselves through writing poetry, dialogue, rhythm and song. On November 13, the program kicked off at Sacred Heart, with the 4th grades engaging in lively activities led by the Poetry Pals staff. The mission of Poetry Pals is “to build bridges among young people and their communities in order to foster understanding and peace in a multicultural, multi-faith society.” Mary Ann Ligon, Lower School Head, is thrilled to welcome the Poetry Pals back this year. “I am very grateful to the parents and faculty for their overwhelming support of this wonderful program.”

Hardey 8th graders serve at the Howard Area Family Center, an arm of the Howard Area Community Center that oversees the Head Start programs. Both 7th and 8th grade students serve there on Tuesdays.

Students proudly display their native flag during the Parade of Nations.

Vishal Ghimire and Andrew Salbego get ready to perform “La danza de los viejito” (The Dance of the Old Men) in masks, costumes and canes.

6 shschicago.org

Condolences

Alumni News

=Rosemary (Ronnie) Dewey, RSCJ, former fac-ulty, volunteer and recipient of 2005 Catherine I. Seiker Award=Paul Adams, grandfather of McKenna Adams A2=John Ahearne, father of Marion A’09 and Caroline Ahearne A’12, past trustee=Joan Baber, grandmother of Grace A’10 and Constance Parker H6=Diana Biesterfeldt ASH’59=Richard Dwayne Borg, father of Bridget Leffingwell, SHS faculty =Barbara Van Der Bosch ASH’50=Nancy Hough Brennan A’39=Ruth Lamy Brons ASH’55=Bill Campbell H’62, former trustee, SHS Board Chair, and recipient of 2004 Cath-erine I. Seiker Award=Liz Cobb, aunt of Meg Steele, SHS ad-ministrator=Arely Bejarno Conley, sister-in-law of Sue Heybach, SHS faculty=Frank Frodyma, uncle of Ashley Zawod-niak, SHS faculty=Peter Hammond H’64, brother of Sheila Hammond, RSCJ, cousin of Michael Dougherty=Marjorie Ligon, mother-in-law of Mary Ann Ligon, SHS administrator=Colleen Lisuzzo ASH’67=Luigi Lollino, father-in-law of Stephanie Lollino ASH’89=Frank Marotta, father of Catherine Ferruzzi ASH’72, Margaret Newell ASH’73, Eliza-beth Gerberi ASH’74, and Mary Frances Caselli ASH’79=Lourdes Marquez, grandmother of Marla A’05 and Elisa Gutierrez-Patterson A’08, mother-in-law of Lynn Patterson, SHS faculty=Alma Mocas, grandmother of Nicholas H’89 and Ian O’Connell H’93 (=)=Norman Paul, father-in-law of James Mc-Clain, SHS staff=Tim Philipp, father of Elizabeth Philipp A’05=Josephine Przybylo, grandmother of Stephen Kubiatowski H’80, Lucia Glunz A’83, and Jennifer Przybylo A’99, great-grandmother of Margaret Glunz K=Francis H. Kimball Regan ASH’36 =Ellen Busse Riddle ASH’39=Rosemary Risk, grandmother of Breanna A’08, Abigail A’10 and Jonathen H’13 Kendall=Paul Rosenthal, father of Gianna Rosen-thal A’85=Madeline Silva, mother of Bianca A’04 and Alex Silva A’02=Mary Ellen Stanton, grandmother of Katie Lowry, SHS faculty and great-grandmother of Jack Lowry H1

4

Jennifer Garrett

‘I saw too many of my intelligent, accomplished girlfriends making ele-

mentary money mistakes’

T a b o o ? M o n e y ? A l u m n a A m a n d a S t a n h a u s A’05 doesn’t think so. But she does find that, while e v e r y o n e

has thoughts about and problems with money, nobody likes to talk about it. Stanhaus starts the money conversa-tion and tackles the questions of how to spend, save and grow hard-earned money for her audience of modern, independent women with her blog, XO, Bettie. “I saw too many of my intelli-gent, accomplished girlfriends making elementary money mis takes. They didn’t know bet-ter, because no one talks about money, It’s taboo!” asserts Amanda. “In my blog, Bettie explains personal finance by engaging and encouraging her reader, the successful millennial woman,” Amanda explains about the blog’s inspiration and intent. Through Bettie, Amanda answers her readers’ financial questions and outlines the possible options to help them make informed decisions when it comes to the question of their money. “Other than financially literate

parents, I have found there are few resources to provide the ins and outs, without requiring one’s money upfront first.” XO, Bettie looks at money in relatable, understandable ways for women. Scattered with anecdotes and pop culture references, XO Bettie cre-ates the allure of a go-to girlfriend for free, reliable money advice. “The constructive freedom I expe-rienced at SHS gave me the confidence to dream up ideas and the ability to implement them.” Amanda says about the conception and execution of the blog. Her time at SHS helped her fos-ter her moral compass, and she credits Wenche Haverkamp for “honing my writing skills – and more importantly

editing skills – in the sixth grade. Clearly, I still use what I learned everyday.” With tabs like “Vocab” and “Oops” XO, Bettie aims to not only help her readers with their financial endeavors, but to teach them skills for future

planning and advancement. Credit, Insurance, Interest, the Dow –these are all topics Bettie highlights and teaches basic lingo and rules of thumb. “Through XO, Bettie, I hope to continue to lead, create and help others. I was given tremendous opportunities to do all three during my time at SHS, and have subsequently looked for further opportunities.” Amanda attended the Academy from Kindergarten to 8th grade and attended The Latin School of Chi-

cago for high school. This D e c e m b e r, she will have c o m p l e t e d her Econom-ics and North A m e r i c a n Studies de-grees at McGill University in Canada. To current students, Amanda gives these words of wisdom: “Everyone is always looking for a new friend, so say hello. Fearlessly grab opportunities, large or small. Never feel stuck, it’s al-ways possible to create a new situation.” See more of Amanda’s (and Bet-tie’s) advice, conversations, and the accompanying cartoons, created by Amanda herself, at www.xobettie.com.

GIVING UPDATES Alumni Spotlight: Amanda Stanhaus A’05

Cor Unum party thanks donors

Michelle Santos volunteers in NicaraguaMichelle Santos A’11, a junior at the Latin School, spent several weeks in volunteer work and service abroad in Latin America. Through a program called Amigos de Las Americas, an organization that allows students from all across the nation to spend 6-8 weeks in a Latin American country, Michelle traveled to Matagalpa, Nicaragua for 6 weeks. She and her two partners stayed with a host family there, while leading service activities. “This was a really big trip for me,” said Michelle. “My favorite part was working with the local school five days a week and doing activities with the kids around public sanitation and human rights. We also worked with the community to build a fence around the school.” Michelle always loved service and

volunteer work, and she thanks SHS for that. “If I hadn’t gone to Sacred Heart, I don’t think I would have been able to do Amigos de Las Americas. Sacred Heart taught me to explore new places and compelled me to find different ways of doing com-munity service that I love.” Michelle was undaunted by the financial requirements of this service opportunity, and coordinated with the Junior Peace Corps program to raise funds for her prolonged stay. “Building relationships and being a leader was something I learned to do at Sacred Heart and I’m forever grateful for my old school because of that,” she concluded.

Eric Mansell (from l), Christine and Michael Corwin, David Helms and Colleen Mansell enjoy connecting at the Cor Unum gathering.

High School Profile

Please pray for:

Young alumni gathered in the Driehaus Center in August for a fun night of cocktails and conversation.

One Heart! The festive atmosphere at the Cor Unum – One Heart – reception held in September in the Driehaus Center, was an appropri-ate beginning for the year of Goal 4 - the building of community. The guests enjoyed the catered party recogniz-ing those who made a Leadership contribution to the 2012-13 Annual Fund. This included current families with Annual Fund commitments beginning at $3,000 and alumni, parents of alumni and friends who made gifts of $1,000 or more. Ap-proximately 22 percent of last year’s donors made a gift at the Leader-ship level. Nat Wilburn used the occa-sion to release the 2012-13 Annual Report, featuring members of the Sacred Heart community who per-sonified last year’s Goal focus, Goal 3, A social awareness which impels to ac-tion. It is posted online at shschicago.org/annual report. The event also kicked off the 2013-14 Annual Fund campaign. “The campaign, after two phona-thons, is off to a great start, having raised approximately $650,000 in gifts and pledges as of early Decem-ber,” said Lindsey Lopez, Develop-ment Director. “We ask everyone to be a ‘Part of the Heart!’” Annual Fund support is essen-tial, as funds are allocated imme-diately to current programs, cur-riculum enhancements, scholarships and preserving the Schools’ historic properties.

In the spirit of Cor Unum, the Sacred Heart community comes together to support the Schools’

mission. Contact Lindsey Lopez, Develop-

ment Director, at 773-681-8410 or at lindsey.lopez@shschicago.org to be a “Part of the Heart” and make

your gift or pledge today.

Gilda Amini ASH’84 (from l), Sara Sullivan A’83, Monica Vick ASH’84 and their 8th grade daughters (Ariana Amini, Aisling Sullivan, Audrey Vick) celebrate the Mater Tea together.

Mater Tea Young Alum Party

1950sHelen Kuhn Brennan ASH’50 is still liv-ing the quiet life in her 1896 Victorian Queen Anne house. In September, she celebrated her 58th wedding anniver-sary. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are living all over the States. She sends her best regards to all her former classmates-- CTO Heart!Rosemary Dowd, RSCJ ASH’51 is still assisting in Cook County Jail. Her im-paired vision necessitated retirement from social work. She is a volunteer staff chaplain in the jail, and continues to love working with the men in Div. 10 (medical and psych division). “It is a real privilege to continue that ministry.”Dr. Nancy Kehoe RSCJ ASH‘55 was recently promoted to Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She is the first nun at Harvard to hold this position.

1970sDiane Skowron Evans ASH’70 was elect-ed President of the Colorado AASH in May 2013. Her family welcomed three new family members this year; a new daughter-in-law, Danielle, who married her 3rd son Daniel in Buffalo NY in December. Her oldest son Mi-chael and his wife Athena welcomed a 2nd daughter, Anastasia, and a 3rd grand-daughter Nora, who was born to her son Patrick and his wife Nicole. The youngest, Jenny, just completed her freshman year in animal science at Colorado State University. In June, Diane rendezvous’d in Jackson Hole Wyoming with Karen Baker Smith ASH ‘70, Kathy Schneider Grantham ASH’70 and Carol Purcell Gillig ASH’70 for a few days of hiking, floating on the Snake River and enjoying the beauty of the Tetons and Yellowstone NP.

1980sKwaben Komai ASH’83 welcomed twins Kojo Judge, and Kali Jeanne to the world on August 1, 2013.

1990sJen Hall DeKock A’90 and her husband

welcomed their son, Robert Rex to their family in August of 2012. Jen is a practicing Attorney in Iowa and Illinois.Jim Hall H’92 and his wife, welcomed their son, James Lawrence Hall into the world in April 2012, Jim is an Attorney and they currently reside in Houston, TX.Pamela Hall Easterday A’94 and her husband welcomed their little bundle of joy, John Fisher Easterday, into the world in March 2013. Pamela is in the Accelerated Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing Program at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (Loyola University).Julia Fry A’96 welcomed Angelina Mi-chelle Vallely in August. Little Angelina weighed 6.4lbs and measured 19 inches long. Their family lives in Houston.Christopher A. Huff H’96 received an MBA from University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business in June 2013.Alex Richard H’98 spoke at the Sacred Heart Diversity Council’s StoryCorps for a reflection on Ethnic alumni. Alex is a Graphic Designer for Prudential Rubloff with a degree from the Uni-versity of Illinois. He currently resides in Edgewater.

2000sLara Schmitz Bergerson A’00 recently moved back to Chicago from New York and married her husband, Brendan, in June of 2013. Welcome back!Andrew Brennan H’02 is currently earn-ing his Masters in Education at Uni-versity of Chicago while volunteering with SHS science teacher, Lexi Pond, two days a week.Molly Fedick A’02 is the Style Chan-nel Editor at Womens Forum Media Group, she is also a freelance journalist for a variety of publications including the RedEye. Molly is currently living in Chicago.Lauren McClusky A’04 started Nelar-usky (formerly known as McFest) in 2007 at the age of 16 with a mission to raise money and awareness for

Special Olympics, as well as showcase upcoming talent, through an annual benefit concert at Metro in Chicago. Lauren organizes this event each year and works at both Jeff McClusky & Associates and Audiotree. Lauren has been recognized as one of America’s leading young entrepreneurs by Sarah Cook, the founder of the Raising CEO Kids. She graduated from Columbia College Chicago in December 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Business Management.Melissa Jordan A’05 is participating in Teach For America over the next two years. Additionally, she was accepted to Johns Hopkins University where she will pursue a Master of Science in Education over the next two years. Liz Philipp A’05 was awarded a Ful-bright Grant with a one-year position as an English Teaching Assistant in Jeonju, South Korea. Through this position, she has great opportunities as a teacher and as a cultural ambassador of the United States. Liz is carrying on the tradition of Sacred Heart Schools!Amanda Stanhaus A’05 will graduate from McGill University in December 2013. She writes a financial literacy blog called XO, Bettie. See page 6Rella Lock A’06 was selected as a State Finalist in the Miss Illinois USA pag-eant held in November.Adam Bobbit H’07 is a junior at DePaul and is completing observation hours at Sacred Heart to help fulfill require-ments for his Education major. He lives in Chicago, in Lincoln Square.Lauren Bettuzzi A’08 is going into her sophomore year at Villanova Univer-sity where she just completed studying abroad in Singapore and interned at KPMG, Singapore.Rachele Lock A’09 is a Freshman at Denison University. She was rated an NCAC Volleyball Player of the week in October 2013. On the season, Lock leads the team in kills per set and ranks second overall.Noah Repel H’09 graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep with Full Honors as a member of the National Honors Society, and as an Illinois State Scholar receiving the AP Award with Distinc-tion and Honors. Noah is now attend-ing Northwestern University.Robert J. Bettuzzi H’11 is a junior at St. Ignatius. He has consistently been on the honor roll as well as an active mem-ber of the ICC rowing club. He spent this summer in France visiting relatives.

Michelle Santos A’11 participated in a summer program Amigos de Las Americas. She lived with a rural host family in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, and led community service activities for six weeks. See page 6Madison Weatherly A’11 is a sophomore distance runner for the Varsity cross country at Northside College Prep.Libby Jardeleza A’11 placed 2nd in 100 back, 5th in 100 fly and 4th in the medley relay at the IL High School State swim meet, for Loyola Academy which placed 4th overall.Kate Edwards A’12 is a sophomore at Woodlands Academy. Kate played on the varsity Volleyball team last year as a freshman. She was voted MVP by her teammates and was voted to all confer-ence, first team, by the ISL coaches.Ben McDonough H’12 received the rank

of Eagle Scout in November for his project to revive an ail-ing after school sports program in Pilsen. His impetus evolved from the strong character devel-

opment and a love of sports which Sacred Heart helped to foster in him. As the Eagle Scout Oath was recited, all Eagle Scouts present stood behind Ben and amongst them were Peter Beale-DelVecchio H’14 and Nico Polite H’13. Evan Radomski H’12 participated in a summer running club with his Whit-ney Young Cross Country coach, he placed 8th overall and qualified for the National Junior Olympics in the 800m and 1500m races. Liufei He A’13 is now at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart. She misses Sacred Heart Schools and all the teachers here!Jack Quinn H’13 made the Walter Pay ton - Jone s Col lege Prep combined golf team this year as the only fresh-man. He had the honor of playing in the CPS City Championship, where the team took 2nd Place. Jack is pictured with his coach.

shschicago.org 7

Alums, Grade 8 offer Mass of Remembrance

Dustan Beier is Senior Managing Director and Head of Financial Planning and Analy-sis at Guggenheim Partners. He works with resource allocation, strategic planning and financial and cash planning. He holds an MBA from University of Chicago and a BS in Accounting from Illinois State University. His daughter, Emma, is in Academy 6. His hopes for his time on the Board of Trustees: “I would like to help the school continue to build itself into the premier independent school in Chicago.”

Aric Cleland is Vice President, Private Wealth Management, at Goldman Sachs & Co. He holds a BS in Business Administration from Kansas University. He is the father of Tommy, H5, and two alums, Michael H’13, Jack H’11. He is currently a Co-Chair of the Annual Fund, and has worked on the Athletic Advisory Board and the past Capital Campaign. “My wife KK and I feel blessed to be a part of the Sacred Heart community. It is an honor and privilege to be nominated to the Board of Trustees. I look forward to giving back to the school through my experience in fund raising and financial services.”

Eric Hansen is Managing Director for GE Capital, head of new business development - Chicago, Southeastern/Southwestern U.S. He works with Private Equity Firms to finance

buyouts and recapitalizations of middle market businesses. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS in Accounting from University of Illinois. His sons, Parker and Jack, are in Hardey 6. “I want to make Sacred Heart in Chicago the example to which all independent schools aspire. I would also like to find ways to continue diversifying our student body.”

Lisa Tiemann is President of the Parents of the Heart. She is a graduate of Valparaiso University, with a BS in Business Administration/Marketing. She is the mother of two current students, Max H7 and Lauren A5, and recent alum Lexi A’13. “I am looking forward to my role as President of Parents of the Heart this year and am excited to serve on the SH Board. I hope to share ideas and perspective from my experiences at SHS to help make an impact.”

Dustan Beier (from l), Lisa Tiemann, Aric Cle-land, Eric Hansen

Board of Trustees welcomes four new members

NOTE: Reunion Weekend has moved! Alumni Reunion weekend will be held in October of 2014.

Honoring classes of: 1964, 1974, 1984, 1989, 1994 and 2004. Watch for details.

The Mass of Remembrance is said yearly in memory of those in the Sacred Heart Schools’ community who have gone before us. They are listed in the Book of Remembrance and prayed for throughout the year. More than 50 alums and parents attended the mass, along with the Acad-8th Grades. After the mass, a reception was held in the Drie-haus Center for those attending.

At right: Sisters Jane O’Shaughnessy (from l), Marianne Ruggieri, and

Sally Brennan RSCJ arrive at the mass.

Reconnect with your classIf you would like to be a Class Representative,

contact Carolyn Hall Napleton A’00 at carolyn.napleton@shschicago.org

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOLS

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

Permit No. 9498Chicago, Illinois 6250 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL 60660-1730

773-262-4446

Canada joins the Network p1 Max & Ruby author visits SHS p2 Howard Area Community Center is Goal Award honoree p4-5Cor Unum party recognizes donors p6

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

For more insight visit shschicago.org

Both the Cross Country and Volleyball teams brought home trophies for Sa-cred Heart schools this fall. The boys’ and girls’ Cross Country teams made the state finals for the second year in a row, while the 7th grade Academy volleyball team won the league Cham-pionship. Cross Country carried a team of 138 students in 3rd-8th grade. At the end of their winning season, the top

seven students in grades 5-8 ran in the Illinois Elementary State Association sectional meet in Westmont. Both the Academy and Hardey Varsity teams finished 2nd out of 12 teams in their division, putting them in the state championship meet on October 19th in Bloomington, IL. There, all 14 of the participating runners posted their personal best times. “It was a great day for both the

girls and boys cross country teams,” said Athletic Director Ron Schwartz. The Academy 7 Volleyball League Championship came as part of an histor-ic day at Queen of Angels on Nov. 3. For the first time in the league tournament history, the finals featured two teams from the same school – Sacred Heart. Academy 7 Red narrowly edged Academy 7 White for the League Championship. Red was the 1st seed

and White the #3 seed. Not to be outdone, Academy 8 Red fought to the finals of the 8th grade tournament, which they lost in three close games. “It was the most exciting match of the tournament,” said Ron Schwartz. Winter basketball season is now in full swing, with a record number of 23 teams of 4th - 8th graders, encompass-ing 236 athletes.

Fall athletics program

sports winners!

‘Chats with Nat’ a two-way street

Left: Academy 7 Red, with Coaches Vicki Ginn and Andy Pronto, pose with

their championship trophies.

Right: The Hardey and Academy run-ners along with coaches, Chelli Facer and

Phil McNeal, celebrate at the State Finals.

With the roll-out of the new 5 - ye a r S t r a -tegic Plan this fa l l , many in the community looked forward to learning more about its vision for the future of SHS. I want-ed to engage members of the community in informal conver-

sations that would enlighten the Plan while taking the opportunity to enlarge upon it. Hence, “Chats with Nat” were born. Eleven Chats were held in all, one for each grade level (7-8th combined), two downtown, which attracted alumni and parents of alumni, and even one for faculty and staff. I am most grate-ful to the nearly 200 participants who

attended the Chats. I learned as much from them as I was able to impart about the Plan! I found that most attendees wanted to learn more specifics about the three pillars of the Plan: Mission, Academics, and Governance/Finance. They were happy to hear about the Plan’s support for increasing socio-economic diversity, it’s commitment to attract and reward excellent teachers, its concern with the core curriculum and ensuring that the Schools have the facilities needed for growth, among many items. It was brought home to me very clearly at the chats downtown that there is a remarkable convergence of thought among alums, parents and parents of alums. Both of those chats were hosted

by current parents, one at Madison Dearborn Partners hosted by Michael and Elizabeth Cole; and one at the Union League Club, hosted by Michael (H’89) and Eleanor Husman. All seemed to share top priorities revolving around the academic pro-gram. These priorities emerged in two ways – in the Q&A sessions at the end of each Chat and in the surveys distributed to all attendees. After each presentation on the vision and plan, Q&A sessions offered the opportunity for folks to voice thoughts on what was the most meaningful and exciting to them and to weigh in on anything that had been “left out.” All attending were also asked to rate their top priorities for action on a survey. What developed was an invaluable look at the pulse of our population. These were the top priorities as they emerged on the surveys:

• Strengthen the core curriculum –

language arts, math, social studies and science• Invest in innovative programs that further train teachers to individualize and differentiate learning in order to maximize the potential of all students• Ensure competitive faculty com-pensation in order to attract, retain and reward excellent teachers• Expand, renovate and add learn-ing spaces to meet the needs of 21st century learning

These survey results were presented to the Board of Trustees at our November retreat. Because each Chat had been attended by several Board members, we were able to undertake a meaningful evaluation of them. The Board will be finalizing an action plan based on all the feedback gleaned throughout the roll-out of the strategic plan. Thank you to all who have participated.

“Strengthen the core

curriculum – language arts, math,

social studies and

science.”

ATTENTION: Please notify the Advancement Office of address corrections or duplicates.