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Last night’s parent presentation by Tina Meier of the Megan Meier Foundation was absolutely spectacular! I think you know her story. The Meiers were flung into the national spotlight when their daughter Megan, after having endured both bullying and cyber-bullying, took her life at the age of 13.

Mrs. Meier was an amazing, energetic presenter with a full spectrum of information, not just about her own experience as a mom, but about bullying and cyber-bullying in general in our world.

Today, during the school day, she spoke with our oldest students. I am sure that you will hear more about that in the future, especially given her focus on helping students problem-solve and make changes in their environment.

As I reflect on this challenging and heart-wrenching topic, I keep coming back to my desire and hope that we at this Academy are COUNTER-cultural in how we relate to ourselves and others.

1.      We want to be so counter-cultural in this regard that every child who walks into the Academy experiences and knows themselves as cared about by their teachers―which does not mean that we don’t redirect and engage and challenge intellectually. It means that we communicate in every way that each child is valuable, precious and loved.

2.      We want to be so counter-cultural in this regard that every child (though they are still figuring out how to be in healthy relationships) GETS that every other child in this school DESERVES to be treated reverently, and ACTS accordingly.

3.      We want to be so counter-cultural in this regard that every child believes that they are INHERENTLY loved and lovable because they were created by LOVE’S VERY SELF. I want them to believe this because in my mind it really is the foundation for NOT using an exterior locus for affirmation (whether that exterior locus is what one has, who one hangs with, what one wears or what one achieves).

4.      We want to be so counter-cultural that the ADULT community models that counter-cultural belief of self-worth, self-reverence and reverence of the other.

5.      We want to be so counter-cultural that we are KNOWN in the St. Louis community as THE SCHOOL which lives its name: A SCHOOL WHICH ACTS as if it is God’s Heart!

To make this wish come true, we all must work together, grow together and BE TOGETHER what we want to create in our children.

Let’s do it.

United in that Heart of our God who calls us all to reflect that Heart in all that we do and say,

 —Maureen Glavin, rscj

Dear Parents,
 
Welcome back from Spring Break and Happy Easter to one and all! We joyfully celebrate Easter and the 50 days that follow it as the center of our belief in the Good News that Christ is Risen! The implications of this bring us to know some deep truths about life and death. At its essence, we can say that we know that life, when generously given away, never runs out! That is a powerful statement which is difficult to grasp. Yet, this is what we believe. We believe this not only about the person of Jesus, who, as The Christ, is the fullness of God in a human form, but we believe this about our own lives. Therein lies our hope, our joy and our peace.  May the depth of this knowledge fill us and flow out of us as the hope, the joy and the peace which is our privilege to give the world.
 
Moving into our long and glorious Easter Season, we are also moving into our fourth and final quarter of the academic year. In this week’s Thursday Mail we conclude the third quarter with a congratulations to all who are listed on the Honor Roll below and we congratulate all who have worked hard and grown (whether they are on the Honor Roll or not). Transitioning now into our last quarter of love and learning, we also offer our congratulations to our Fifth Class D.A.R.E. graduates and we look forward to the Third through Seventh Class standardized testing which is scheduled for next week.
 
Always attentive to the social, emotional, relational and behavioral growth of our students, I encourage you to read the information below about the social media education being provided not only for you but for our oldest students as well.
 
May the learning and growth continue for all of us, on all levels of our being.
 
United in joy, hope and peace,
 
Maureen Glavin, rscj

This past week I had a few opportunities to help some of our youngest students grow in their understanding of right and wrong. Earlier in the week I watched one child pull another child down in the playground right outside my office. I went outside and chatted with this precious darling (during a brief time-out). We talked about why this was not a wise choice. Within 24 hours of that encounter, I chatted with another beautiful child in my office. This second child had been unkind to another child. Both were endearing conversations for me and hopefully enlightening conversations for the children.
 
When I inquired about why what they did was “wrong,” in each instance, the flow of the conversations went something like this:
 
It is wrong because I will get in trouble.
 
There is a bigger reason, I said.
 
It is wrong because I might have to go to Mrs. Renken’s office.
 
That is true, you might, I replied. But, there is even a bigger reason.
 
Well… we might get kicked out of school?
 
That is always a possibility, but, there is even a BIGGER reason, I continued.
 
Blank looks!
 
They were dumbfounded… what could be bigger? They had no clue. So, of course, I took the opportunity to teach them about the biggest reason we don’t want to engage in hurtful behaviors:  when we hurt another, we are hurting the God who resides in the depth of the other.

The problem (or beauty) of this line of thinking is that it would only be a compelling reason to not be hurtful to others if, in fact, we want to maintain a relationship with God.
 
Here is the good news: To help our students understand that being in a loving relationship with the Creator of the Universe is the MOST IMPORTANT thing in life, is one of the main tasks of a Sacred Heart education. Our most SACRED task and our deepest desire is to communicate and educate our children to the fact that being in relationship with God IS the joy of our life, the solace in our challenges and the essence of life’s meaning and purpose.
 
Having inspired our students to desire to be in relationship with this God of love, the logic of ‘What we do to the least of our brothers and sisters we do unto God’ actually then becomes a reason for wanting to be kind and good to others.
 
So, as we enter into Holy Week, let us not only allow ourselves to experience God’s Good and Gracious Love for us, but let us also inspire our children to want to come to know this God of Love who chose to suffer for the sake of Love and who invites us into Life and Love.
 
If we do this for our children, the choice to “do good” or “be good” will then be easy. Why? Because they will do it for the sake of the One they have come to love who resides in each person they encounter.
 
May your Holy Week, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday be a beautiful experience of Love, Life, Goodness and Growth into God!

Maureen Glavin, rscj