Our school Spelling Bee champion, Rishi Tarapareddy, has qualified to compete in the oral bee at McKendree University on Saturday, March 19. Congrats to Rishi, and best of luck to him in this next level of competition! Find his name in this list of finalists.
Extracting DNA from a strawberry, mixing chemicals, creating a volcanic eruption, tracking turtles in Forest Park, and learning how to evaluate and care for athletes were just a few of the topics presented by female scientists during “Expanding Your Horizons,” a STEM conference for girls held March 13 at Florissant Valley Community College. The focus of the conference was to engage young women in experiences to spark an interest in STEM activities and careers—and our Seventh and Eighth Class girls were receptive to the message!
The keynote speaker highlighted the need for women in STEM fields and encouraged young women to develop 21st century skills of collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, communication and coding. She encouraged the girls to be problem solvers, to invest in themselves, to step up and get involved, to challenge themselves and to not be afraid. Hands-on workshops conducted by St. Louis area scientists followed.
Spring is a great time to clean out your closets! If you have clothes or shoes that need new homes, consider donating them to our Clothing and Shoe Drive. Shoe donations will benefit the Shoeman Water Project to build wells in developing countries. Clothing will be donated to those in need. Bundle clothes and shoes in separate trash bags, please.
Two Academy students received a perfect score in the second of three meets in this year’s WordMasters Challenge—a national vocabulary competition involving nearly 150,000 students annually.
Competing in the Gold Division, SIxth Class students Jaye McNeil and Christine Mwangi each earned a perfect score of 20 on the challenge—an accomplishment achieved by only 18 sixth graders in the nation! Another Academy student, Marian Cooley, also achieved an outstanding result with a score of 19. Students were coached in preparation for the WordMasters Challenge by Mrs. Laura Craig.
Dear Parents,
As we each continue our Lenten journey, I thought I would take a moment to reflect on the purpose of the traditional Lenten invitations to prayer, alms and fasting. That purpose is: To carve out a space inside of ourselves for God.
To create that inner space, we are asked to let go of something:
I pray that we are allowing more spaces in our minds, in our hearts and in our wills for the God who wants and waits to fill us to overflowing.
May your Lenten Journey continue to be God-filling,
—Maureen Glavin, rscj
Heartfelt condolences to the Carroll family, whose father, Eugene, died March 4. Mr. Carroll was the father of Laura Suzanne Gallagher, Eugene Carroll, Ann Carroll-Butler, Diane Boerding, and Kathleen Parvis, and grandfather of nine. Read full obituary.
We have heard families talk about the “x” factor of a Sacred Heart education. We know it when we experience it. We can tell when we feel it. But it is challenging to describe it. What is “it”? We try to articulate the essence of a Sacred Heart education in the description of our Five Goals and all of their Criteria—but, that is a lot of words!
Jane Cannon will explore Academy history, based upon her research and subsequent book entitled Academy of the Sacred Heart – A Legacy of Love and Learning in a presentation at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School on Friday, March 3 at 9:30 a.m. In addition to the school’s history, included in the book are sketches of some of the most memorable RSCJ (beginning with Philippine Duchesne and her four traveling companions in 1818), lyrics of Sacred Heart songs, quotes from former students and from nuns who taught here, buildings, clothing, statues, traditions and more. Following the presentation, this informative and valuable history will be available for purchase and autographing by the author. (Publication date and information tba)
The Sacred Heart Spirituality Speakers Series is sponsored by the Mums of Alums at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School for the benefit of the entire Sacred Heart family. All are most welcome!
Enormous gratitude goes out from the whole school community to our Eighth Class students who planned, organized and prepared well for our traditional surprise day of fun! As is stated in Life at the Sacred Heart…
“Accept with gratitude all those in your school community. From them and with them, you can learn what love is.” (p. 3)
What a fun day! Once a year the Eighth Class surprises everyone with a play day they’ve planned for the rest of the school. Today was the day! Thanks, Class of 2017, for a fantastic Congé.
