The Academy’s environmental group, Stewards of the Earth Club, is working to keep junk out of landfills! SOTEC partnered with Spectrum Ecycle to host an electronics recycling event at the Academy on Saturday, January 24, and collected nearly 14,000 pounds of old electronics! Thanks to all who helped with this Goal III initiative.
“The school teaches respect for creation and prepares students to be stewards of the earth’s resources.” (Criteria 5 of Goal 3, Schools of the Sacred Heart commit themselves to educate to a social awareness which impels to action.)
Save the date of Grandparents Day—Sunday, March 8. The day will begin with 10 a.m. liturgy in Rauch Memorial, and feature tours of classrooms and historic areas of campus, displays of student work, and refreshments in the White Center. Grandparents, watch for your invitation in the mail! (If grandparents are unable to attend, students are invited to bring another VSP (“Very Special Person”).)
For the second straight year, ASH dad Richard Saville’s team lay claim to the title of Trivia Night champions. This year, they battled 52 opponent teams and chalked up 95 correct answers (of a possible 100). Congratulations! Accolades are also due to the Chairs and Co-Chairs of this fun event, Jason and April Jensen and Shawn and Jenny Briner, along with the volunteers who worked behind the scenes. Great job, great night!
As we celebrate Catholic education around the country this week, we at this Academy certainly have a great deal to celebrate relative to this year’s theme: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service!
As a community of FAITH – we strive to invite each child, in the depths of each of their hearts, through prayer, the sacraments and interior quiet, to come to experience, know and enter into a personally loving relationship with the God who is Love.
As a community of KNOWLEDGE – we strive to engage each child’s intellect with joy, energy, enthusiasm at a level of depth and substance. We try to engage in thinking that is analytical, synthetic, creative and reflective.
As a community of SERVICE – we strive to provide our students with a critical awareness for the need to be of service, we hope to engender the theological imperative that to live a life of faith requires us to be of service, and we desire to offer real opportunities, thus allowing our students to experience the joy and gift one receives which comes from having experienced being of service.
Let’s pause and reflect on the gift of a Sacred Heart Catholic education! It is a gift that students might want to thank their parents for this week.
Seventh Class retreat ended with Benediction in the Shrine.
With Catholic Schools Week approaching next week, let us all remind ourselves of the deepest reason for our Academy’s existence— to root each person in a deep knowing of God’s GREAT LOVE, a love so profoundly personal that it is the source of inner strength and deep joy.
To come to know and then educate others to God’s Love is the particular gift of the Society of the Sacred Heart to the Church. We call this our charism: to discover and reveal the Love of the Heart of Jesus. We come to know God’s Love, revealed to us through the Heart of Christ, and manifest that Love through life’s loves and choices.
How do we educate to God’s Love?
1. RELIGION CLASS provides an intellectual foundation to learning about God. It supports an understanding of faith and provides an opportunity to discuss the experience of God.
2. PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES provide ways to personally experience and come to know the God who is Love. Among them are:
Eighth Class students at the Archdiocesan Regional Mass for eighth graders held at Assumption Parish in O’Fallon, Archbishop Carlson presiding
Prayer at the beginning of each day in homerooms and/or assemblies
Prayer to open class
The celebration of the Eucharist
First Friday Eucharistic Adoration in the Shrine
Daily quiet time (Espacio)
Retreat experiences for Seventh and Eighth Class students
3. BEHAVIORAL EXPECTATIONS at the Academy are predicated on the assumption that each person is created in the image and likeness of God, and thus each person deserves the same reverence that we would give the person of Jesus if He were in front of us. This is what our faith teaches and this is what we aspire to do!
This is how we, the Academy of the Sacred Heart,
hope / want / desire to be ALIVE IN CHRIST!
Our work here, and your support of our work here, helps us to BUILD God’s Kingdom (which is comprised of goodness, kindness and love). We try to do so one heart at a time, one child at a time, one person at a time, and one day at a time!
Q: What’s your best chance to enjoy a night of tropical fun on Saturday, January 24? A: TRIVIA NIGHT at ASH! Plan now to attend our 13th annual Trivia Night in Rauch Memorial. Gather your family and friends and put together a team of eight. Click here to reserve a table, volunteer to help, or learn about sponsorship opportunities.
Our Eighth Class students attended the Archdiocesan regional mass for 8th graders held at Assumption Catholic Church in O’Fallon today. Archbishop Carlson presided.
Do you have a friend, co-worker, family member or neighbor who’s interested in learning more about the Academy? We’d love to meet them! Be sure to let them know about the second of our Admissions Open Houses on January 22. A 9 a.m. presentation by Sister Glavin and Mrs. Renken will be followed by student-led tours. For further information or to reserve a spot, please contact Admissions Director Lisa Tebbe, 636-946-6127, ext. 1620.
