Capping a week in which we celebrated St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Mission Day was a happy occasion for students to support Goal III projects—and have lots of fun in the process!

View MISSION DAY PHOTOS.

We look forward to celebrating the Feast of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat and Mission Day on Thursday, April 25. Mass at 10 a.m. in Rauch Memorial will be followed by Mission Day games, booths and fun.

Mission Day is a long-standing tradition in Sacred Heart schools across the Network. In early years the monies supported missions of the world; now the funds are distributed to many agencies locally, nationally and internationally. Children are encouraged to bring approximately $10 for the day’s activities.

Thanks to our Eighth Class students for organizing an exciting Congé yesterday! An unexpected play day is a long-time tradition in Sacred Heart schools the world over. Ours kicked off mid-morning with an all-school conga line in Rauch Memorial, with fun and games continuing for the remainder of day.

Conge 2013 – Academy of the Sacred Heart from Academy of the Sacred Heart on Vimeo.

Congratulations to our 49 Fifth Class students who graduated on Thursday from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program under the auspices of the St. Charles City Police Department. Officer Hayes has met weekly for ten weeks with the class to discuss how to act in their own best interests and how to resist peer pressure when facing high-risk, low-gain choices such as the use of alcohol, drugs or tobacco. Fifth Class parents were on hand to see their children graduate from the program.

Angelina H., Bridget H. and Grace H. won the D.A.R.E. Essay Awards (one per homeroom), and Richie S. was awarded the D.A.R.E. Citizenship Award.

Well done, Fifth Class students and teachers! Special thanks to Officer Hayes, Mrs. Ahlheim, Mrs. Horner and Mrs. Strother.

Congratulations to our Eighth Class students for winning second place in the 2013 Excellence in Mathematics Contest. More than two dozen schools from the St. Louis area took part in the March 16 contest at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. This was the first time that the Academy competed in this 35-year-old math contest, in which students in grades 6–8 compete in grade-level teams. The combined total of our top four finishers’ scores determined the Academy’s second place win in Division 1.

Math teacher and coach Mrs. Lisa Delicath said, “I was particularly proud of our kids because they did most of the practice on their own.”

Accolades to Niles B., Morgan B., Mariana G., Kerrie K., Danny M., Quinn S., Veronica S., Ethan W., Adam W. and Clara W. for a job well done!

Congratulations to our Eighth Class students, all of whom were accepted recently by their first-choice high schools. In the fall, the 67 members of the Academy Class of 2013 will be attending 15 area high schools. We are very proud of each and every one of them!

Students and staff alike will join forces to support Project Peanut Butter on Friday, March 22—the last day of school before Spring Break. Project Peanut Butter aims to prevent malnutrition all around the world with a revolutionary therapeutic program founded by Dr. Mark Manary, who developed a special peanut butter food for severely malnourished children.

To raise funds for the Project Peanut Butter initiative, Academy students will be able to wear pajama pants and T-shirts on Friday for a donation of $2. In addition, a Bake Sale of peanut butter goodies will be held during all lunch periods that day; each item will cost 50¢. (There will be non-peanut butter items for children with allergies.)

• Learn more about Project Peanut Butter on the Project Peanut Butter website.
• Read more about what the Academy will do to support Project Peanut Butter on Friday, March 22.

The Shrine of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, located on the Academy campus, has a new website: www.duchesneshrine.org.

The Shrine is a lasting tribute to the Academy’s foundress, the French missionary Religious of the Sacred Heart who brought formalized education and a zeal for sharing the love of God to the Missouri frontier in 1818. Previously, information about the Shrine could be found on a page of the Academy’s website. Now, the new Shrine website is host to more easily navigable information about Philippine, the richness of her life, a history and description of the Shrine, and how one can plan a visit, support the Shrine through donations and purchase items from the gift shop.

Please visit and take a “stroll” through the virtual Shrine of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne at duchesneshrine.org.

Happy faces young and old filled the hallways and classrooms of ASH on Grandparents Day, Sunday, March 10. After a 10 a.m. liturgy in Rauch Memorial, these special members of the ASH family were treated to refreshments and personal tours of the school given by their grandchildren. The students described how they spend their days here, and learned what school was like for their grandma, papa, nana or pop. What a fun day! We were delighted to welcome grandparents, and love sharing ASH with them.

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Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be poor? Our Sixth Class students got an eye-opening dose of reality one recent morning during a poverty simulation exercise in the White Center dining hall. The Community Action Agency of St. Louis set up and manned tables representing various social services and governmental agencies, as well as a bank, grocery store, child care center, pawn shop and jail. The Sixth Class students and some of their parents were clustered in small groups as families and assigned roles such as single mother, youngest child, etc. They then traveled the circuit of agencies, waiting in line, explaining their situation, answering questions, etc. Sometimes their appeal would be denied, and they’d be left to try another avenue of help.

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Mrs. Hitt’s Fourth Class students helped Mrs. Kaemmerlen’s Primary students paint a picture of sunflowers with watercolor paints. Surely, spring can’t be far behind.