Headmistress' Letter: April 19, 2013
Dear Colleagues and Families,
Greetings from Omaha!
Here, the grass is green and buds are ready to burst; April is usually a mild and very colourful month - HOWEVER, we had rain mixed with snow as I prepared a talk for the high school girls. The folks here are not impressed with my souvenir (weather) from Halifax!
Over the past six days I have been fortunate to attend a couple of back-to-back conferences. The AASH (Associated Alumnae/i of the Sacred Heart) included 250 participants, 11 of us from Canada. We were inspired by presentations and connections with new friends and those from years past. I had the privilege of facilitating a panel of young alumnae who are doing wonderful humanitarian work with World Vision, national agencies, and for people in Africa.
On Sunday, Jon Bekkers flew into town to join me for the Network membership meeting of the Heads of School and Board Chairpersons for the 22 Sacred Heart Schools in the United States. (We affectionately call this the 'Heads and Chairs' meeting.) During her final year as Headmistress of SHSH, Patricia Donnelly pursued the possibility of our School joining the Network of Schools in the US. Subsequently (and unrelated), the Religious of the Sacred Heart in Canada decided to formally request to join with the RSCJ in the United States; the transition in governance will happen in July. When this occurs, SHSH (and our sister school in Montreal) will be in unique positions to formally join the Network - giving us the opportunity for mutual support in advancing our unique mission as articulated in the Goals and Criteria.
The Duchesne students in Omaha are much like our Halifax students - kind, keen, and friendly, attentive, focused and fun-loving. Duchese, my alma mater, is comprised of a coed preschool of 65 students, and a high school (Gr. 9-12) with 300 girls. For the past six years, I have been a member of the Board of Trustees, and today I will attend the final meeting of my tenure. It has been wonderful to be here, but I miss you and look forward to returning to Halifax tomorrow.
This brings love and prayers from the Heartland,
Sr. Wachter
Prayer Corner
(Requests may be sent to Patricia Nichols or Sr. Wachter)
Our sympathies for the Ryan family on the death of Frances Ryan, paternal grandmother of Olivia, Lauren, Jack and Rachel. Our prayers are also with the McCrea family on the passing of Ben McCrea, parent of alumna and Board member Alison McCrea, paternal grandfather of Grace (Grade 9), and husband of Joanne, our beloved library volunteer.
Ravindran Pulyassary uncle of Aparna Gopakumar in Primary is ill.
Congratulations to Ben Carver, Julia Ballesteros and Teagan Kinghorne who will make their First Communion on May 5th at St. Theresa's Parish. The Grade 12 girls are on retreat today, Friday, April 19. We pray for this important time for them. Our Grade 12 boys will have their retreat in late May.
All three divisions of the school have celebrated Easter Liturgies - may the promise of new life be realized through experiences of God's unconditional love. Our hearts are united with the people of the Boston Area, and all who are recovering and those grieving the loss of loved ones after the tragedy at the Marathon on Monday.
The Headmistress of Sacred Heart in the suburb of Newton returned to Boston from Omaha, hopeful that the members of the school community were alright, and today she canceled school as authorities search for the remaining person(s) suspected of doing this heinous act. Several RSCJ live in the Newton/Watertown Area. Your prayers are appreciated.
Three Cheers For...
(Future Submissions to Patricia Nichols)
Coach Casey and Donahoe Cup participants: Teams from SH placed 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 8th out of 62 teams and individually our debaters held spots in the top 15 out of over 100 debaters from across Canada. Three cheers to families who housed debaters from away, those who judged the tournament, and to Ms. Scott, Mr. Marchand, Ms. Donnelly, and a host of volunteers who organized everything from space needs and food to prizes and clean-up.
Our Sr. High debate team of Jake Marchand, Alexander Sapp and Sebastian Young recently placed 5th in the Province at the Sr. High Provincial Debate Tourney.
Three cheers to Monica Rodriguez and her team for the Woozles Book Fair that was held on campus this week.
Our Elementary Choir competed at the Kiwanis Music Festival and won a silver medal!
This week, at the Elementary Liturgy prepared by the Senior Primary students, Mr. Tugwell and Fr. Earl called forth and blessed a number of Sacred Heart babies. It was a special moment of pride for those with infant or toddler siblings, and it was special to welcome children of alumnae and others.
Last week the Elementary School participated in the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Jump Rope for Heart. The skippers worked hard and raised over $4,000 in an eight day period of time - incredible!
The 'Sound of Plaid' continues to ring in my ears - three cheers for all who were in the cast and crew, or had a leadership role in directing the production. And, Sabrina Secord's review in the Chronicle Hearld was especially well done.
Our High School girls were very impressive in delivering their writings for the Barat Literary Awards. We are grateful to and applaude all who presented their work.
Another round of Duke of Edinburgh awards were earned; congratulations to Ruis MacDonald on achieving Gold and Anya Friesen for the Bronze.
We are proud of our high school athletes on the badminton courts recently as there were many gold, silver and bronze wins for our boys and girls. We are especially proud of Jacob Nobbe (grade 8) for his triumph as the top badminton player in his category in Halifax - taking gold at the Regionals. And, on Wednesday our elementary students showed off their badminton skills in the ACIS tournament.
Our high school 'mathaletes' made us proud in earning Certificates of Distinction and being named to the Nova Scotia Honour Roll in the Universtity of Waterloo math contests.
Ten of our boys went to the Regional Science Fair and Grade 9 student, Andy Samman received an award of excellence.
We are proud of Will Smith (Grade 10) for making it to the World's Swimming competitions a couple of weeks ago.
Building Community
Grandparents' Day - Friday, April 26
Upon Arrival, Grandparents of ...
Boys Gr. 7-12 enter Fountain beginning at 9:30
Girls Gr. 7-12 enter main door beginning at 9:30
Pri. - Gr. 6: enter main door beginning at 1:00
Jr. Primary: enter main door beginning at 1:30
The Programme for Grandparents of ...
Grades 7-12 Boys: 10 a.m. programme in Little Theatre followed by classroom activities
Girls 7-12 Girls: 10 a.m. classroom activities followed by 11 a.m. programme in Little Theatre
Primary-Gr.3: 1:30 programme in Little Theatre followed by class activities
Grades 4-6: 1:30 class activities, 2:15 programme in Little Theatre
Jr. Primary: 2-3 p.m. classroom visits and a Tea Party.
Ultimate Pick-Up Basketball Game
For 10 & 11 year-old boys!
Saturday April 20, 9:30am-Noon @ SHSH.
Format: 3-on-3 with a 5-on-5 Finale.
The morning will include a full, professional warm-up; shoot-around and short skills session; team selections; 1st games (no refs); break & talk (speaker from the Rainmen organization); 2nd games and a finale. For information, contact Robyn Erickson.
Admissions Notes
Contact: Robyn Erickson
Homestay Families Needed
There are many outstanding opportunities for those who provide homestay for an International Student; you are invited to contact Alison Boyer for more information (aboyer@shsh.ca, 422-4459).
Bring a Friend
Our third Bring a Friend Day will coincide with the May 17 HRSB professional development day for P-12. Please submit this form in advance.
Preschool Children
We are seeking Preschool children (age 4 by the end of 2013); if you know prospective families, please encourage them to tour Sacred Heart (PreSchool tuition is eligible for a tax receipt).
Preschool Orientation
Friday, May 3rd from 9:00am - 11:30am is the orientation morning for all incoming students to our Preschool and Primary programs. We are inviting any families who are interested in learning more about our exceptional programs for young learners to register their children for the May 3rd morning. While the children engage with our teachers, parents may stay for coffee and tours of the elementary school and the Girls' and Boys' High School divisions. RSVP with Robyn Erickson, Admissions Director, by May 1st: rerickson@shsh.ca or by calling 422-4459.
May 11, Volunteers Needed
On May 11th we will be greeting patrons of the Halifax Shopping Centre at our Sacred Heart booth. Support is needed, so please talk to Robyn Erickson or Barb Martell if you are able to be an ambassador for an hour or two (students and parents are needed and welcome).
Advancement Activity
Bursary Dinner - April 27
The Bursary Dinner Committee is tending to final details in preparation for Soiree Sacre Coeur to be held at the Lord Nelson Hotel. Please join us ... Harvey Millar's band will play during the cocktail hour, silent and live auctions offer something for everyone, French cuisine will nourish us, and we'll top it off by dancing into the wee hours ... a joyful way to support the tuition needs of students. Tickets are available online (click here) or at our reception desk.
Annual Giving Fund
In November, we sent each family an Annual Giving Fund letter to request your participation. This spring, we are following-up our quest to have all of our parents onboard. You may recall that 100% of our faculty, staff, administrators and Board members have already participated!
If you have misplaced your giving envelope, you can simply send a check payable to Sacred Heart School to Sr. Wachter with a note indicating that it is for the Annual Giving Fund. Alterntaively, our website has an Annual Giving button. If you wish to give in more creative ways, you can discuss this with Sr. Wachter or Barb Martell.
Thank you for joining our efforts to close the 10% gap between tuition income and operating expenses!
Parents' Guild
We are looking forward to the Parents' Guild Staff Appreciation Luncheon on Monday, our PD day. Many thanks to Mark James and his team for organizing this special opportunity.
The next Parents' Guild meeting is Tuesday, April 30 at 7pm; all are welcome.
