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Dear Academy families and friends,

The countdown has begun to the official start of the XXIV Winter Olympic Games which presents a great opportunity for students to learn, explore, grow in empathy and nurture their own dreams for their future.

Held on this occasion in Beijing, China and the surrounding areas of Yanquig and Zhangjiakou, it is reasonable to expect that the television coverage will provide students with information about Chinese culture, languages as well as the topography of China. The sports themselves will offer the chance to learn about the engineering science of bobsleds, the chemistry of ski wax, the physics of figure skating (including the center of mass and projectile motion — vertical and horizontal velocity) and how aerodynamic principles are applied to enhance the flight of ski jumpers.

Beyond science, there will be features on athletes from around the globe which will give insight into where and how others live. There will be stories that inspire and stories that will have us cheering on athletes such as Erin Jackson, Nathan Chen, Chloe Kim and Shaun White (making his fifth Olympic appearance). We may even learn about curling stones made from granite taken from the remote Scottish island of Alisa Craig that once served as a refuge for Catholics fleeing religious persecution in the 16th Century.

While the ‘heart piece’ cannot be predicted specifically, if I have learned anything across my years of Winter Olympic interest and study, I can guarantee there will be moments that inspire, a few that prove heartbreaking and countless that reflect the athletes’ (and their families’) commitment and sacrifice. Lessons in struggle and perseverance along with those of grace and gratitude will have the capacity to inspire us all.

I do not wear ‘rose colored glasses’ when it comes to my interest in the Olympic Games. The Olympics, like most organizations and systems, are not perfect. We have seen the ills of society reflected in them across the years, including the historic exclusion of female athletes from competition, the shunning of gold medalist Jesse Owens in 1936 and the deadly assault on the Israeli team in 1972. The latter example serves as my own first true awareness of a global situation and opened my young eyes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well to the existence of terrorism. I pray that these Games will be peaceful, that their focus will be on the glory of human accomplishment and the possibilities presented by our shared relationships.

I hope that awareness will be raised regarding the value of all humans as each is made in the image and likeness of God. As adults, we also need to be prepared for the children’s questions prompted by media coverage surrounding topics such as human rights issues, gender identity, human-caused climate change and the United States diplomatic boycott. How we handle these questions will shape the thoughts and future actions of these youngsters and may ultimately be the prize ‘won’ by us all as they seek to bring about good in our global world.

Stay safe in snowy conditions,
Dr. Susan Dempf

Greetings Academy families and friends,

Last week I had the opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone — big time! When the need arose to provide substitute teacher coverage, I stepped in . . . to the Art Room and entered a different world. It was a great experience, firstly because I had the chance to spend time with my Fifth Class friends with whom I had periodic lunch duty last year when we were eating in the classrooms, and secondly because it reminded me that each day we ask our students to try new things, to stretch and grow in unfamiliar areas of experience and intellect. This certainly was what I experienced.

Admittedly I am not very artistic. I survived the high school art requirements at my own Sacred Heart school through my skills not in drawing, but rather photography.  Actually, I can draw — four things: mountains, pine trees, sailboats and houses. If you consider these you will realize, each is constructed by a series of straight lines . . . the closest I come to something curvilinear is a pretty good depiction of the normal curve as applied in statistics. (Please feel free to laugh!)

So, fueled by the internet and Pinterest (I am so grateful to their contributors), I came up with a few ideas. The Fifth Class boys likely noted that this was the first art class they ever had where “steps” were literally provided on the whiteboard, most likely in sharp contrast to best practices supporting individuality and creativity!  Nonetheless, there they were. Step 1: Use your blue painters tape to create an equilateral triangle. Step 2: Draw your mountain tops approximately ¼ to ⅓ of the way down your triangle and across from one side of the blue tape to the other . . . and so the steps continued. And the students followed along. By the end of the class they had produced beautiful images of mountains, with colorful skies created by their use of watercolors. They did a great job and should be proud of their work which is hanging in the Mater corridor. In the days that followed both the Fifth Class girls and boys ventured to create lanterns, which will be hung in the ‘upper deck’ of the White Center where they enjoy their lunch. While First Class students created colorful Chihuly-inspired ‘stained glass.’ 

It is good to be placed in new learning situations, to be called upon to step out of your normal routine and to have that ‘stretch’ experience. We all should try it once in a while. Doing so would help us each to recall and better understand that which Academy students know — learning is fun, it is interesting to see what happens when you add a new element to your regular way of doing things (like adding salt to a watercolor painting before it dries) and that sometimes it really is okay if you color outside the lines.

My thanks go out to Mrs. Hagen, our wonderful art teacher, for supporting the development of creativity and imagination among our students and for sharing her students with me last week.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Dr. Susan Dempf      

Greetings Academy families and friends,

A blessed Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord to all. On this day in our faith tradition we recognize the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah, the Son of God to the gentiles . . . represented in the persons of the Magi. Not truly kings, the three visitors to follow the Star of Bethlehem at its rising include Caspar, an Ethiopian scholar, Melchior, a Persian scholar, and Balthazar, an Arabian scholar. These are the ‘wise men’ who came to pay homage to the Christ child Jesus and returned home ‘by a different way.’

In his homily today, Pope Francis called us each to consider where we are on our own personal journey of faith. The Pope cautioned that we cannot be content to live from day to day, with a slumbering spirit that fails to ask, “what God really wants from us.”  He offered: 

The Magi teach us that we need to set out anew each day, in life as in faith, for faith is not a suit of armor that encases us; instead, it is a fascinating journey, a constant and restless movement, ever in search of God, always discerning our way forward.

As we begin this new year, and we write “20 Ϯ C Ϯ M Ϯ B Ϯ22” on the lintel above our front door to commemorate this feast day, let us each commit ourselves to open the door to Christ, to His presence in our life, our relationships and the direction in which we journey in 2022.

Happy New Year,

Dr. Susan Dempf
Head of School

Dear Academy families and friends,

This has been quite a week at the Academy . . . we have celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and in doing so considered how each is given a purpose by God that is ours alone to do . . . for Mary it was to become the mother of the Christ child. What does God hold in promise for us? During this season of Advent, a season marked by waiting and hopeful anticipation, it is essential to still ourselves from the busyness of the secular season of Christmas in order to attune our hearts and minds to the coming of Jesus. This recalibration of our spiritual selves allows us to focus on that which is truly essential.

This morning our youngest learners in the Little Acorns and Pre-Primary classes offered their parents the gift of their Silver Tea performance. The story of the birth of Jesus was told by the children. There were kings and camels, shepherds and doves. Mary and Joseph and the angel Gabriel helped to remind all present of the true meaning of Christmas. It was a gift more precious than gold and frankincense!

The Academy’s Silver Tea tradition stems from the Sacred Heart practice of Feast Wishes. Historically, Feast Wishes were the presentations and special gatherings that students would provide in appreciation of the Religious of the Sacred Heart with whom they lived and studied. It is so appropriate that the Academy’s Silver Tea tradition is gifted to you the students’ parents . . . their first teachers. I hope that through each Silver Tea presentation you attend, or those that you recall from long ago, happy memories of the love and joy shared by your children are kindled.

I thank you for the many ways that your generous spirit is being made known through your attentiveness to our Adopt-A-Family project in the Middle School and the Primary and Lower Schools’ participation in the Toy Drive supporting Santa’s Helpers, Inc. And a special word of thanks to our alumni for your generous participation, along with current families, in our annual tradition of sharing Christmas Baskets with those experiencing need.

May the blessings of this season be with each of you,
Dr. Susan Dempf
Head of School

Dear Academy families and friends,

Last Sunday we entered into the liturgical season of Advent — a time when we as Christians ready ourselves to celebrate the coming of Christ into the world. It is a period of preparation and anticipation. In this first week of Advent we focus on hope — the hope for that which is yet to come, that which sits on the horizon, but is not yet within reach.

Hope supports the emotional well being of all. After a year of COVID precautions and separation, hope for a better day is essential. “Hope is seen as an active process of conscious and unconscious reasoning.” Hope is fueled by optimism and an outlook that each of us has the ability to bring about positive change for ourselves and for others. In this season of Advent, where are your hopes centered? This is a wonderful time of the year to reflect on this simple question.

One of our greatest challenges to experiencing a rich experience of hope comes from living in a world ripe with instant gratification and immediate response. One of my favorite spaces at the Academy is a small room on the second floor of the 1836 building — it once was the community room for the Religious of the Sacred Heart. In this little chamber I envision Philippine sitting by the hearth waiting for a response to one of her many letters to Madeleine Sophie. The patience and the trust she had, confident that a reply would come, is a lesson for us all.

Recently, I read a quote from Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ that connects with this season of anticipation of Christmas. Mother Stuart stated

Preparation is spoilt by impatience and want of resignation. If the vision make any delay, wait for it, for it will surely come and shall not tarry. Few things are so restless, unsatisfactory and useless as impatient waiting — especially following on hurried preparation, and one of the hardest gravest lessons is to learn to wait with patience and resignation. If Advent adds any of these qualities to our spirit of preparation, it will have been well spent.

In this season of anticipation, may you truly experience hope. May it linger in your heart and home across these weeks of Advent.

United on this journey,

Dr. Susan Dempf
Head of School