Academy archivist Theresa Grass and Sister Margaret Munch will present “The School on North Second Street: The Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles History” at the St. Charles County Historical Society’s quarterly luncheon meeting on Saturday, April 29, at Pio’s Restaurant, 403 First Capitol Drive. The program and lunch are open to the public; $17 if paid in advance; $20 at the door. Reservations requested by April 26. For more information or to register, click here.

Academy faculty members surrounding the life-size Flat Philippine at the Shrine booth at the NCEA 2017 convention in St. Louis on Tuesday made for an engaging photo—so engaging that it was chosen as the NCEA Photo of the Day! Happily posing with our patron saint are, clockwise from left, Mrs. Brakensiek, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Strickland, Mrs. O’Connor, Mrs. Kaemmerlen and Mrs. Robin.

Academy faculty and staff members attended the first day of the convention, participating in the opening mass with 8,000+ other Catholic educators from around the country, hearing from leaders in break-out sessions, and perusing scores of booths in the grand hall of America’s Center. NCEA 2017—providing inspiration and affirming our Catholic identity.  (Fun fact—the very first NCEA convention was held in St. Louis, in 1904.)

Sister Glavin recently received the exciting news that St. Philippine Duchesne has been elected to the St. Louis Walk of Fame! The induction event will take place on Friday, June 23, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, at 11:30 a.m. at her star and plaque, 6241 Delmar in The Loop. A ragtime band will play before and after the star and plaque are unveiled. All are welcome to attend.

What a fun and engaging event to add to the slate of bicentennial activities getting underway this summer!

Today some of our Middle School students led a traditional Holy Week devotion, the Stations of the Cross, which commemorate our Lord’s Passion and Death. Sixth Class students led the morning Stations of the Cross, and Fifth Class students the afternoon’s. Classes 1–8 were invited to attend. 

Congratulations to Rishi Tarapareddy, Fifth Class, who competed in the finals of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 18. Rishi was out in the fifth round with the word “roturier,” and the winner was declared in the seventh round. Great job, Rishi!   
[St. Louis Post-Dispatch photo]

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.

Congratulations to our Seventh Class team on their second place finish in St. Dominic High School’s Academic Bowl on March 7. They were one of 12 teams competing in the Large School category; 22 teams participated in all. Well done, Seventh Class team members Brian, Ismael, Matthew, Paul, Nathan, Charlie, Matthew and Ansel!

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.

Congratulations to Sister Maureen Glavin on recently receiving the ST. GEORGE AWARD, presented by the National Catholic Committee on Scouting acting through the Archdiocese of St. Louis, in recognition of “significant and outstanding contributions to the spiritual development of Catholic youth through scouting.” The award was presented to Sister Glavin on Sunday, Feb. 5, at St. Charles Borromeo church.