Sacred Heart Schools

INSIDE:

On Board!A Newsletter for Trustees, Leaders, & Lifelong Friends of SHS

April 2011

Congratulations to the Josephi-num Academy community on full membership in the

Network of Sacred Heart Schools! “I was privileged to be able to cast our vote from Sacred Heart on Sheridan Road, and look forward to cel-ebrating our deepen-ing relationship with the Jo in the future,” said Nat Wilburn, Head of Schools. On April 11, 2011, the schools of the Sacred Heart Network voted unanimously to welcome Josephi-num Academy into full membership. Over the past three years, the Josephi-num community has engaged in a rigorous process of prepa-ration and reflection, culminating in a five-day visit from the Sacred Heart Commission on Goals last November. Josephinum President Michael Dougherty said, “We are thrilled by Josephinum’s recognition as a full member of the Sacred Heart Network

of Schools. We are proud to join a community that is respected for its academic excellence and shared com-mitment to the mission of Sacred Heart education.” In 1990, the Religious of the Sa-

cred Heart an-swered the call of the Sisters of Christian Charity (SCC) to assume the educational direction for Josephinum Academy, a struggling in-ner city school with a rich his-tory of serving young women in Chicago. Since then, the school has been

revitalized under the leadership of three RSCJ principals and the strong support of the Sacred Heart commu-nity in Chicago. The results of Sacred Heart education at Josephinum are inspir-ing. Since 2007, 100% of Josephinum graduates have been accepted into

college, most of them being the first generation in their families to attend. This year’s senior class of 30 stu-dents has already been awarded more than $1.4 million dollars in college scholarships. More inspiring, the values of Sacred Heart education are finding a home in the hearts of the students. When asked what Sacred Heart education means to her, senior Corina Perez answered with a word, “Every-thing,” then explained, “It has meant my life, my friends, my teachers, my values, who I am as a woman and who I am called to be.”

SHS welcomes new sister school

Trips to conferences bolster Network ties Dreihaus Center party fetes 12 Network schools

Annual Fund on record pace

Students trade places with Sacred Heart in CA

A newsletter published for Trustees, Leaders & Lifelong Friends of SHS

Editor Diane Fallon

6250 N. Sheridan RdChicago, IL 60660

773-262-4446 www.shschicago.org

On Board!

Trading Places

While Middle School Head Chris-tine Elliott had been contem-plating last spring how to imple-

ment a“mini-exchange,” she was contacted by Bill Jennings from Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, who was hoping to do the same thing. They devised a two-week exchange in which 8th graders from the two schools would trade places. Interested students filled out an application answering questions about why they wanted the opportunity and how they could represent their schools. “I was thrilled that our students would get to experience a week in the life of another student from within our Network,” Elliott said. “They will really see what other Sacred Heart schools are like, similarities and differ-ences and how we are all connected.” The first exchange saw Madison Behm A8 go to San Francisco and Maddy Mur-name come to Chicago in March. Maddy stayed with the Favia family during the two weeks she was here. Madison’s host family in California, the Murnames, made sure she was able to visit Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Japantown and Chinatown. She attended

a school dance and did all the homework required of her counterpart. Madison said that the Convent of the Sacred Heart had similar values to Sacred Heart Schools. “They follow the same five goals, honor Mater Admirabilis, St. Philippine Duchesne and St. Madeleine Sophie Barat and are involved in a lot of community ser-vice,” Madison said. “The Convent also fol-lows many of the same traditions as we do in

Chicago, like Congé.” The Schools of the Sacred Heart are divided

into four schools that separate the boys and girls – Stuart Hall, Stuart Hall High School, Convent of the Sacred Heart Elementary School and the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School. Even though the boys and girls schools are located near each other, they follow completely separate curriculums and have different teachers. Madison said one difference between Chicago and San Francisco is that the weath-er is much warmer there. “The city is beautiful and of course, a lot smaller than Chicago,” Madison said. “It definitely had a different vibe, but in a posi-

tive way. I highly recommend traveling there at one point or another.” Madison said her favorite memory from the trip was watching the 8th grade girls practice for Congé. Unlike Sacred Heart Schools, the Convent allows the 8th grade students to organize the special day. “Every year, the 8th graders perform a variety show for the rest of the school, full of funny skits, silly songs, delightful dances and much more!” Madison said there is a possibility of traveling back to San Francisco this May or next year. “The best part of the experience was becoming friends with Maddy and now we talk all the time!” Working with former SHS Campus Minister Dennis Phillips, now at Stuart Hall, San Francisco’s boy’s school, Elliott sent Robert Bettuzzi to Stuart Hall April 2-16, while his counterpart, Benzi, will at-tend Sheridan Road April 25 to May 6.

Gym renovation to highlight summer constructionThe nearly-50 year old gymnasium in the Campbell Building is undergoing a major

facelift this summer. One of the most noticeable additions will be two new retract-able basketball backboards on the north and south ends of the gym, making full court play possible for the first time. These will have electrified lift controls. There will also be a new SHS medallion (left) painted at center court at

the same time the full court striping goes on the gym floor. Topping it off, the entire ceiling will have new acoustical panels installed in the existing ceiling structure.

Stage productions will benefit from the purchase of new stage lighting. The double metal doors and the single door on the east side of the gym will also be replaced. All was made possible, in part, by the $190,000 raised through “Fund-a-Need” at L’Esprit de Sacré Coeur Feb. 12. More than 180 guests pledged toward this $300,000 much-needed project.

Sa

cred Heart

Scho ols

Nat Wilburn (r) congratulates Michael Dougherty on Josephinum Academy’s full membership in the Network at a recent Josephinum luncheon at Michigan Shores Country Club.

‘They will really see what other Sacred Heart schools are like, and how we are all connected.’

SHS students exchange with West Coast cohorts

Madison Behm A8 (l) and Maddy Murname

All around the SHS Network

Faculty/staff travel to embrace Network offerings

When Lower School Religion teacherKathleen Edwards learned that two of her student’s families were going to be in Rome while she was there over Spring Break, she planned to meet them on the Spanish Steps in front of the Trinita dei Monti, home of Mater Admirablis.

Patrick and Ryan Lanser (left) and Christian and Charlotte Sparks visit the Mater fresco with Edwards on March 22.

Teacher meets two SHS families in the shadow of Spanish Steps in Rome

Reception welcomes US Network schoolsThe annual Spring Ring on April 4 added another $8,425 in gifts and pledges to the

Annual Fund totals. Eleven energetic and dedicated volunteers attempted 214 calls! Funds raised were consis-tent with Spring Rings in previous years. To date, the Annual Fund has raised $717,121 in gifts and pledges from nearly 740 donors. The Schools are on track to meet – or perhaps surpass – last year’s record of $770,000. Currently, 82% of school families, 6% of alums and 10% of past parents have participated in the campaign. “Sacred Heart is extremely grateful for your help in achieving this wonderful milestone in the cam-paign,” said Lindsey Lopez, Develop-ment Director. Steps are being taken to ensure that all pledge commitments are re-ceived in order to definitively achieve the Schools’ goal. “With approxi-mately 83% of funds in hand to date, we are confident that pledge fulfill-ment will be successful,” said Lopez. The Annual Fund is the Schools’ primary means of securing philanthropic aid to meet annual operating costs. Gifts support scholar-ship, faculty compensation and pro-fessional development, and capital improvements to the campus.

Parent, alum participationgrowing

The Network of Sacred Heart Schools celebrated its togetherness at a cocktail reception at the Driehaus Center at the R.F. Conway House on January 24, 2011. More than 70 alumni, RSCJ and staff from Network schools across the US en-

joyed an evening of sharing at the historic Conway mansion. In fact, advancement staff from nearly a dozen Network schools, many of whom were in town for the joint Council for Advancement of Education/National Association of Independent Schools conference in downtown Chicago, attended. They mingled with alums from not only Sheridan Road, but also Barat, Woodlands, Manhattanville and Maryville. Last year, when the CASE/NAIS conference was held in New York, the Net-work joined with convent of the Sacred Heart, 91st Street, to host a similar reception. “We were thrilled to connect with our colleagues from across the country and at the same time share our beautiful, newly restored facility with them,” said Nat Wilburn, Head of Schools. Network schools represented at the party included those from Greenwich, CT; San Francisco, CA; 91st Street, NY; New Orleans, LA; St. Charles, MO; Atherton, CA; Bel-levue, WA; Grosse Point, MI; and Woodlands Academy in Lake Forest, IL. “We are grateful to the Network and to the AASH for their assistance in making this gathering possible. In the midst of the Chicago winter, it was wonderful to pause for a moment and enjoy the warmth and friendship of the national Sacred Heart community,” said Judy Corrin, Institutional Advancement Director.

Nat Wilburn welcomes administrators from Sacred Heart in Greenwich, CT, and 91st Street in NY to the gathering at the Driehaus Center.

Madeleine Ortman, Director of the Network of Sacred Heart, joins staff and alums of New York and San Francisco at the Driehaus Center.

Miami calls! Kathy Fivelson, Director of Parent and Alumni Relations, attended the AASH (Associated

Alumni of the Sacred Heart) National Con-ference: Living Sophie & Philippine’s Vision Into Tomorrow from April 6-10. The weekend activities included a keynote address: “Sophie 2.0 – Communicating in the Age of Technology.” The speaker, Patricia Sanchez Abril, Car-rollton ’93, compared today’s use of technology in communications and wondered “what would Madeleine Sophie do with such things?” Kathy had the opportunity to meet and mingle with representa-tives from AMASC – the international alumni network – and with colleagues from around the US. “Having alumni there from around the world brought a special global feeling to the group,” noted Kathy. The conference was hosted by Car-rollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami, Florida, educating 700 girls in Pre-K –12. Their high school is located on 10 acres fronting Biscayne Bay, while the Montessori, primary and junior high schools are on the nearby 6.25-acre Duchesne campus, formerly the Hughes Estate. “Seeing a different Network School in

action was great too,” said Kathy. “There is a little more of a relaxed feeling than at Sheri-dan Road, but that is probably due more to the climate than anything else!” The school welcomed 270 conference attendees, including 45 RSCJ. One of the highlights was seeing our own Chicago-area Barat College alum Maureen Ryan elected

President of the na-tional AASH. The theme – Cel-ebrate Cor Unum – encouraged team building among the participants. The opening address, pre-sented tag-team style by Suzanne Cooke, RSCJ and Maureen Glavin, RSCJ, was Contemplatives in Action for the 21st Century: A Dialogue

with Sophie and Philip-pine. Nat Wilburn, who was in Miami for the Head of Schools meetings April 9-12, joined the camaraderie-building at the Tropi-cal Night Under the Stars – Noche Tropical Bajo las Estrellas reception on Saturday. It featured a Latin edge, including Cuban coffee and even cigars! “I met hundreds of new people,” said Kathy, “Getting to know the Alum Direc-tors and alumni from all over the country was amazing. Also meeting the newly elected AASH Board was great.”

Tim Reed, A2 Teaching Assistant

Tim Reed visited Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bellevue, WA, in March. He spent a day at the school while on a trip to see family in Seattle. “I had the chance to tour their entire middle school and high school arts classes, eat lunch in their din-

ing hall, and spend over an hour with Kisha Palmer, the Women as Global Leaders Program Director,” he said. He, Palmer and MS teacher Palie Cantu discussed the work Forest Ridge has done to make their mission explicit with regard to diversity in admissions and hiring, global education and the role of young women as community leaders. “This conversation was of special interest to me as a member of Sheridan Road’s ISACS Committee on Equity and Justice,” he explained. “I came away from my morning at Forest Ridge challenged and encouraged.”

Kathy Fivelson, Director of Parent and Alumni Relations Stephen Puricelli, Academy 8 Humanities teacher

Stephen Puricelli attended his third Keepers of the Flame conference at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in

St. Charles, MO, last November. At the con-ference, delegates from Sacred Heart schools all around the United States converge to learn methods to understand and communi-cate the mission of Sacred Heart education, including the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart Schools and its history and legacy. Approximately 70 representatives focused on Formation to Mission and best practices for all constituencies to pass on the mission of Sacred Heart education. Special attention was paid to the role of the Head of School as the “primary mover” in Formation to Mission. The weekend included conferences, liturgies and meals together, “It was a unique opportunity to bond with colleagues from other network schools,” said Puricelli.

The name Keepers of the Flame, is the literal transla-tion of the word Potawatomi, the name of the tribe of Native Ameri-cans to whom St. Philippine Duch-esne ministered in Sugar Creek, Kansas.Academy of the Sacred

Heart in St. Charles, MO

Tim Reed and Palie Cantu look down the mountain at Seattle from a Forest Ridge deck.

Kathy Fivelson (second from r), Chip Dawson and Sr. Gail O’Donnell RSCJ, congratulate Maureen Ryan (r), new President of the AASH.