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.

Maureen Glavin, rscj
Head of School

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.

At the conclusion of the Christmas Basket Mass, Mothers’ Club officers (from left) Megan Lee (vice president), Aimee Centorbi (secretary), Erin Grieshaber (treasurer) and Melanie McClure (president) presented Sister Glavin with a check to the school for $15,000. This remarkable contribution represents their indefatigable efforts over the past few months, in large part organizing and overseeing two Gently Used Uniform Sales and the Taste of Christmas Boutique event. The Mothers’ Club donation has been earmarked for The Sister Anna Mae Marheineke Student Enrichment Fund, which helps families who find themselves in need of assistance during the course of the school year. Thanks, Mothers’ Club officers and volunteers, for this amazing contribution!

Our thanks to Pundmann Ford for their very generous gift to the Academy of the Sacred Heart. We partnered with them in a marketing initiative at Country Fair that netted $6,000 for our school. Support for the Academy from the corporate and business community is an integral part of our operating budget, and very much appreciated!

Scenes around school on Christmas Basket Mass day. Here’s wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas break! Classes resume on Monday, January 5, 2015.

Join the Academy community in celebrating the birth of the Christ Child!  All are invited to attend our Christmas Eve Liturgy in the Shrine, beginning at 10 p.m.

Hundreds of food baskets await delivery to charitable agencies after this  morning’s Christmas Basket Mass. We’re grateful to the many Academy families, as well as alumni, who donated baskets of food that will provide a holiday meal for area families in need. Merry Christmas!

Academy students gave a beautiful gift to their parents and grandparents with their Silver Tea performances last weekend and Monday.  We’re left with heartwarming memories, and gratitude to all of the adults who helped the children prepare and present. Merry Christmas!

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Advent poems written by Sister Kimberly King—former Fifth Class teacher, librarian and resident poet at ASH—invite reflection as we prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth.

Sister King now resides in a Sacred Heart community in Nova Scotia. We’re grateful for the sharing of her singular voice on Consider the Lilies.