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Dear Academy families and friends,

This weekend I will have the honor of witnessing one of the most significant moments of faith formation experienced by our students, as eight members of the Class of 2028 receive Eucharist for the first time.

First Holy Communion is the moment at which members of the Catholic faith join more intimately with God. For as the body and blood of Christ is received by these children they become part of the body of Christ. They become His hands, His voice and His heart in our world. It is a beautiful and humbling experience to witness such complete openness to grace.   

My thanks go out to Miss Christina Soukenik for her exquisite preparation of these communicants. Moreover, my appreciation is fully extended to each parent, godparent and family member who has lovingly joined in partnership with the Academy to help not just the Second Class students, but all our students see through your example the Gospel lived.

In the weeks to come there will be messages about Chemin, Maypole, Prize Day, Field Day, the close of the school year and plans for the coming year . . . each of these will be exciting and hope-filled. However, let us not lose sight of that which comes first and ultimately is our greatest Goal — the deepening of our relationship with God through education to a personal and active faith. 

United in mission,

Dr. Dempf

Dear Academy families and friends,

As we enter these most holy days of the Paschal Triduum, the three days commemorating the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, let us commit ourselves anew to giving thanks for the blessing of God’s love poured out in the life of Christ. Let each of us carry forward into Easter Week, and beyond, the hope made manifest through the Risen Lord.

Wishing you and your family every blessing at Easter,

Dr. Susan Dempf
Head of School

Greetings Academy families and friends,

Across the past three days I have been representing the Academy at the Network of Sacred Heart Schools Spring Membership Meeting. In attendance at the Spring Meeting are the Heads of School and Board Chairs who comprise the ‘membership.’ If you envision the atmosphere of a lively and loving family reunion you will gain a sense of the tenor of the meeting. It is a joy to participate!

There are two annual gatherings of the Membership — the first is held annually in St. Charles and provides an opportunity for new Trustees from across the 25 schools to come to know the roots of the Sacred Heart Schools in the United States and Canada. As the first Sacred Heart school in the Americas and the home of the Shrine of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, the Academy is in some ways the ancestral home of all members of the Sacred Heart family. The second meeting, held in the spring, is hosted by the different schools across the Network. Yesterday we were invited to visit, pray and celebrate our shared mission at Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart outside of Boston (pictured below).

The Academy’s active participation in the Network yields many benefits for our school, our students, faculty, staff and Board. Students are offered opportunities for Summer Service Projects, Leadership opportunities appropriate to Middle School students, the Middle School Roots that Give Us Wings conference (returning to St. Charles, post COVID, in the fall of 2022) and exchange opportunities. Teachers and staff members attend a conference here in St. Charles offered each summer that helps new employees to grow in their understanding of and commitment to the mission of Sacred Heart education as articulated through the Goals and Criteria. If there has been any positive side effect of COVID-19, perhaps it is the use of technology and the offering of various Network affinity groups and more than 200 Zoom “meet ups” that regularly support dialogue within a larger community of educators.

The meetings held this week offered face-to-face conversations on topics including how contemporary Sacred Heart leaders are extending the mission of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat into the world, the educational mission of the Society and how that extends beyond the 25 Network schools as well as the ‘business aspect’ of the Network. The importance of the Head of School Board Chair relationship, a tuition assistance model (very similar to our own Affordable Customized Tuition program) and Catholic social teaching and the new Criteria are also topics. Lunchtime conversations were focused on enrollment, advancement and capital campaigns and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice best practices. 

The next gathering of Network constituents will be held at the Academy with the offering of Roots that Give Us Wings in mid-June. Academy faculty and staff will participate in this gathering and in doing so, will engage with educators from across our Sacred Heart family. I am so very thankful that this event will return to campus and be offered in support of our shared mission!

Grateful to join the journey,

Dr. Susan Dempf
Head of School

Greetings Academy families and friends,

In Ecclesiastes (3:7) it is stated that there is a time to be silent and a time to speak.  In this season of Lent we take the 40 days given to us to listen for God’s voice as we strive to align ourselves with Jesus. Last night at a meeting of the Sacred Heart Commission on Goals (SHCOG) Steering Committee, Janis Dougherty shared the following:

In today’s high-tech, high-speed, high-stress world, communication is more important than ever, yet we seem to devote less and less time to really listening to one another. Genuine listening has become a rare gift — the gift of time. It helps build relationships, solves problems, ensures understanding, resolves conflicts, and improves accuracy . . .At home and at school it helps develop resourceful, self-reliant children who can solve their own problems . . . 

Empathy is the heart and soul of good listening. To experience empathy, you have to put yourself in the other person’s place and allow yourself to feel what it is like to be him/her at that moment. This is not an easy thing to do. It takes energy and concentration. But it is a generous and helpful thing to do, and it facilitates communication like nothing else does . . .

The entire school community has been actively engaged in the SHCOG process across this school year. It has been a privilege to listen to the ways Academy constituents have experienced and lived the Goals & Criteria of Sacred Heart Education. In mid-April there will be a wonderful opportunity for cross-constituent groups to meet and engage in both listening and sharing. I think you will find it fascinating to hear the thoughts of our young alums and teachers, as well as those of our parents, students and Board members. Each has offered their thoughts, and I hope you will join us on Wednesday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the White Center. All are welcome — please mark your calendar and participate in this conversation.

United in mission,

Dr. Susan Dempf
Head of School

Greetings Academy families and friends,

The blue hyacinths have arrived and will soon pop up and announce spring on our beautiful campus. This weekend I hope all will visit the Academy during our Be Part of the Heart Open House. The teachers have planned engaging activities for students and parents to enjoy. There will be choir and violin performances and you can even learn how to fly a drone! Each student attending will, upon arrival, be ‘issued’ an official Academy of the Sacred Heart Passport to Learning. Teachers will have fun stickers to place in the passports as students complete each of the activities. Sweet treats will be served with help from our Seventh and Eighth Class friends. Come visit and bring a friend who might be looking for a new school for their children. It will be a great way to introduce new families to our school and community!

Along with the return of the Open House, we are so happy to share that Academy students will once again have the opportunity to take learning on the road as they travel to Hannibal, Springfield and Jefferson City where they, along with their teachers, will engage in cocurricular experiences that make direct connections to their classroom learning. Going to Hannibal will be the Sixth Class as part of their study of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The Fourth Class will travel to Jefferson City in support of their study of Missouri history. Joining them will be last year’s Fourth Class who did not have that opportunity due to COVID-19 restrictions at the state capitol. Springfield, IL will be the destination for the Fifth Class students in support of their study of Abraham Lincoln’s role in the Civil War. Accompanying them will be last year’s Fifth Class who likewise missed the opportunity due to COVID-19 restrictions.   

Learning beyond the classroom will also be evidenced as students will once again participate in the Poverty Simulation and the Bed-In-A-Box experience which helps them to grow in understanding of the challenges associated with homelessness.  These Goal III related opportunities are so very important to help students understand social structures, to become engaged citizens and to develop a life-long commitment to service. One never knows when they will be placed in a position to help another. Certainly, this is the case with the Academy’s own Williams family who recently relocated to Warsaw, Poland. Below I hope you will read about how this Academy family is making a difference in the lives of those coming across the border into Poland from Ukraine.

United in mission,

Dr. Susan Dempf
Head of School

Dear Academy families and friends,

The message I planned for today’s Thursday Mail focused on the return of field trips and Goal III cocurricular activities such as the poverty simulation and the bed-in-a -box experience. That is what I planned and pledge to share in my message following Spring Break. However today, I am opting for a much different message.

Every once in a great while we come to know a person who truly makes a difference . . . so was the case in the Academy’s great friend, Jane Cannon. Below you will have the opportunity to read about Jane’s contributions to the Academy which stemmed in part from her roles across the years as Lower School Coordinator, Development Director and Alumni Director. Greater than each of these was her contribution as an Academy mother to Angie ’74, Cindy ’75, Carol ’77, Robert and Erin ’85 and a beloved advisor and friend to many alumni and staff.

Always known for her warm welcome and gracious hospitality, this past Christmas Eve the Trustees recognized Jane’s contributions through a Board resolution naming the new school entrance the Cannon Portry. The Honorary Chair of Chemin de Fer in 2018, Jane was honored for her labor of love resulting in the history of the Academy, Two Hundred Years: A Legacy of Love and Learning, published for the school’s bicentennial celebration. Her legacy at the Academy is great, clearly her heart abided here.

Just a few weeks ago Jane sent me a lovely handwritten note thanking me for “a perfect remembrance of our too short friendship.” I think it is safe to say that we all feel exactly that way, our friendships with Jane, no matter how many years they spanned, were so very precious, but far too short. In the coming days, weeks, and months, please join me in prayer for the Cannon family and for all who loved our dear friend Jane.

United in mission,

Dr. Susan Dempf
Head of School