Convent of the Sacred Heart
News from the Admission Office--November 2014
The Goals & Criteria for Sacred Heart Schools
Welcome to the Convent of the Sacred Heart Admission e-Newsletter! Thank you so much for considering CSH as an option for your daughter. We enjoyed meeting many of you earlier this month at our Tour Day, Kindergarten-Grade 12 Open House and the Barat Center Open House.
The Goals & Criteria define the mission of our school and every day each student, teacher and member of our community strives to live out this mission. This newsletter will give you a glimpse of what’s happening on our campus and we hope that it will give you a better understanding of how the Goals & Criteria play an integral role in life at Convent of the Sacred Heart.
We’ve also included an Admission Update which highlights important information about the application process and dates to remember. Please do not hesitate to contact us at admission@cshct.org or 203-532-3534 should you have any questions.
Goal 1 : A Personal and Active Faith in God
During the month of November, Sacred Heart students commemorate the lives of the saints as an inspiration in our daily lives. Each year the third grade theology class focuses a unit on saints, yet this year they did something a little different.
Calling upon the all-school theme of "Imagination," the third grade searched their own imaginations in studying these holy men and women. They prepared thoughtful reflections on saints of their choice, which they shared at the Lower School "Saints Chapel."
At the chapel, each girl was dressed to look like the saint she had studied. During oral presentations, the girls focused on what had inspired the saints to dedicate their lives to God. They highlighted how the saints had used their imaginations to change the world. As we at Sacred Heart schools honor Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat and Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, who defied convention to build the foundation for our school, we know that our girls will continue to "imagine the possibilities" and strive to one day change the world themselves.
Goal 2 : A Deep Respect for Intellectual Values
Earlier this fall the girls in the second grade learned all about the monarch butterfly including the stages of its development, food sources, effects of climate and migratory patterns. With the help of their science teacher, the class raised butterflies from the egg, to caterpillar, pupa to butterfly. The butterflies were then tagged and, with the help of the Upper School AP Environmental Science students, were released.
In the MakerSpace the second grade worked with the Lower School Educational Technology Director and discussed how the airflow helps butterflies fly. The girls then used their engineering and design skills to build butterflies from card stock, wire, straws and rubber bands to experiment with air movement and flight. Innovation and imagination at work!
Goal 3 : A Social Awareness which Impels to Action
On Monday, November 10 the Middle School community gathered to learn more about our sister schools in Uganda and the two students whose tuition we sponsor. Mrs. Lori Wilson and Mr. Karl Haeseler, who visited Uganda last summer, shared photos from their trip and moving examples of how much the young women at our sister school value the gift of education. All Middle School students wrote a letter of encouragement to our Ugandan sisters who are currently preparing for their National Exams. As part of their retreat the following Friday, the theme of which was "Serving God in our School, Neighborhood and World", the fifth grade girls sold jewelry made by students in Uganda to help raise money for their school's Emergency Fund.
In addition to helping our Ugandan sisters, the fifth grade also visited the residents at Fairview Rehabilitation Center in Greenwich and made scarves in the MakerSpace which will be given to the Fairview residents at Christmas. We have been so proud of the many positive contributions the fifth grade has made to our middle school community in just a few months and salute their continued commitment to our mission!
Goal 4 : The Building of Community as a Christian Value
Not wanting to leave Dads out of the fun the Middle and Upper School both hosted their annual Father-Daughter Dinner Dances this fall as well. This year's theme was Under the Big Top! The circus-themed evening began with a reception and Father-Daughter photos, followed by a delicious dinner. Then it was finally time for Dads and daughters to dance the night away!
Halloween is always a favorite day on campus as all of our students (and many of our faculty and staff) show their spooky spirit! Dressed in their Halloween best, the Barat Center boys and girls went trick-or-treating in the Bloom Courtyard while the older Lower School students enjoyed a costume parade set to ghoulishly perfect music in the theater. Led by the student council, the Middle School girls built community with a 270 student "group costume" based on the Disney hit Teen Beach Movie. Bikers and surfers ruled the middle school hallways!
Upper School students had twice as much to celebrate as they learned during their morning costume parade that it was not only Halloween, but Congé, every Sacred Heart student's favorite day of the year! At Sacred Heart schools around the world, Congé is a surprise day free from classes with special games and activities planned instead. The entire Upper School boarded a bus to go apple and pumpkin picking at a local orchard and ended the day with a rousing game of Cache Cache (Sacred Heart's version of hide and seek), searching for the seniors who had found terrific hiding places in nooks and crannies all over the school!
Finally, our Lower School students can't wait to show off their classrooms and introduce their friends and teachers to some very special people in their lives during Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day the morning before Thanksgiving break.
We are delighted to have been able to welcome so many loving family members and friends to Sacred Heart this fall!
Goal 5 : Personal Growth in an Atmosphere of Wise Freedom
Mary Grace Henry, a senior at Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich and founder of Reverse The Course, was honored with the World of Children Award November 6 in New York City for her life-changing gifts of education to impoverished girls in sub-Saharan Africa, Haiti and Latin America.
Inspired as a Lower School student by Sacred Heart's commitment to our sister schools in Africa, Mary Grace has far surpassed her initial goal to help one girl get an education. She founded Reverse The Course in middle school when she began sewing and selling reversible headbands and other hair accessories in the CSH bookstore. Even as she goes off to college in September, she will continue to provide education and life-changing opportunities for girls, empowering them to dream and create a better future for themselves.
“Mary Grace epitomizes what we educate our girls to do,” said Pamela Juan Hayes, Sacred Heart’s head of school. “That is to find solutions to real-world problems and to be a force for good in society. Mary Grace knows what the power of knowledge can do to effect change.”
A two-year $35,000 grant from World of Children Award will support Reverse The Course’s mission to provide education and life-changing opportunities for disenfranchised girls, as well as implement important student workshops and programs, that include social service, apprenticeship and mentoring, to further aid the young women she supports, as well as women around the region who are desperately in need of her help -- empowering them to become agents of change in their societies.
World of Children Award co-founders Harry Leibowitz and Kay Isaacson-Leibowitz, said, “Mary Grace is an amazing young woman who has been motivated to help vulnerable children around the globe since a very young age. Through Reverse The Course, she emulates the values of World of Children Award and is an inspiration to young women showing them that creativity and determination can go a long way.”
Watch Mary Grace's interview about Reverse the Course and her efforts to support women's education around the world on The Queen Latifah Show!
Breaking News from the Sacred Heart Athletic Department
GO HEART GO!
Convent of the Sacred Heart Greenwich
Email: admission@cshct.org
Website: www.cshgreenwich.org
Location: 1177 King Street, Greenwich, CT
Phone: 203-532-3534
Facebook: facebook.com/cshgreenwich
Twitter: @cshgreenwich
Visit us at Sacred Heart : Upcoming Admission Events
There are many opportunities throughout the admission season to visit Convent of the Sacred Heart and learn about our school. Prospective families are encouraged to join us at our Tour Days and other Admission events.
Tour Days (See CSH during a typical school day!)
Wednesday, December 10, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday, January 14, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Kindergarten Sneak Peek
Thursday, January 15 at 9:00 a.m.
Barat Center Open House (Co-ed Preschool and Prekindergarten program)
Friday, January 23 at 1:30 p.m.
Apply online at: www.cshgreenwich.org