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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

Dear Parents,
 
Yesterday afternoon we at the Academy joined the world in joy and excitement at the election of a new Pope. It was a thrilling historical event. What delighted me almost as much as the announcement itself was the fact that the students entered into the moment with great enthusiasm and interest.
 
Some grade levels had a web stream on in the background while normal class work continued, until, that is, white smoke emerged from the chimney atop the roof of the Sistine Chapel! At that time, shrills filled rooms and hallways. Relishing in the joy of the occasion, I made a general announcement on the loud speaker to inform everyone of the white smoke:  Habemus Papam!
 
For the next hour, with eager anticipation, we waited to hear which Cardinal was selected by the Holy Spirit. At the conclusion of the day, during quiet time, we prayed with gratitude for our new pontiff, Bishop of Rome, and leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Francis I.
 
Let us join the children in our prayer for Pope Francis:
 
May he continue to be filled with God’s Spirit,
May God’s Spirit flow through him into his new ministry and
May he serve the Church and world well with his leadership and inspiration!
 
United in that same Spirit,

Maureen Glavin, RSCJ