What a marvelous celebration of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat we have had this week!
 
On Tuesday and Wednesday, her story was theatrically retold by our Sixth Class students to our Third through Eighth Class students. This morning we continued to celebrate our dear St. Madeleine Sophie in Eucharist, prayer and song.
 
In the Sixth Class’ touching and endearing dramatic presentation, we were reminded that Sophie:
 
·         was born and brought up in a rural wine-growing area of France during the time of the French Revolution

·         was a loving and intelligent little girl

·         was given the gift of an extraordinary education because of her older brother Louis

·         had a deep attraction to God

·         moved to Paris to continue to grow in her life of study and prayer

·         eventually used her education, her intellect and her deep inner life with God to form and shape, as foundation stone and First Superior General, the Society of the Sacred Heart     

After 65 years of stewarding the growth of the Society of the Sacred Heart (which during her life grew to 3,539 religious in 99 communities in Europe, the Americas and Africa), she passed from life into Eternal Life, fully embraced by Love’s Very Self in 1865. Her holy life was recognized by the Church to be so exemplary that she was canonized as an official Saint in 1925.
 
We honor her today in our all-school liturgy, but we also honor her in our Mission Day efforts. As the children raise money for those in need, this holy woman, who spent her life trying to address the needs of her day, is being remembered by example.
 
Saint Madeleine Sophie, we hope and pray that through our lives, through our attention to our study, through our attention to our inner lives and through our courageous act of goodness and kindness in our relationships, may we always try to be like you who always tried to reflect the Mind and Heart of Christ. Amen!
 
In union in our collective efforts to raise the hearts and minds of our children to God,

—Maureen Glavin, rscj

In this week of both great sorrow, as we saw in our national news, and great joy, as we shared the excitement of our children’s Congé, I am reminded, yet again, of the hope that is the essence of our faith. The following is an excerpt from an article written by the Rev. James Martin, S.J., a Jesuit priest, author and contributing editor at America, the national Catholic magazine.

. . . . We do not have a God who does not understand suffering. Everyone on that first Good Friday in Jerusalem knew suffering: Jesus’ disciples, who had expected a joyful victory but received a miserable failure; and his family and friends who had followed him to the great city in happiness, but were met with sadness. Like the people in Boston, who had prepared for joy, they must have been at a loss to take in all the misery. Here was the person we loved, the one we knew well, for whom we had such hopes, cut down. In this familiar setting that is such a part of our lives—Jerusalem, Boston—violence, maiming and death. It doesn’t make sense. Finally, Jesus himself—God on the Cross—was miserably treated. A victim of senseless violence as sure as those on Boylston Street were.

Why bring this up? Because Jesus is not someone who does not understand pain! Jesus is with us in our suffering, not only because he loves us but because he suffered. 

But suffering is never the last word. There is always the possibility of new life. How will this happen? It may be difficult to see now, as it was impossible for the disciples on Good Friday to see, but the God who has suffered is ready to help us, and always holding out the promise of something new, something that will help us move beyond the blood and tears.  

That was true in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago and it is true in Boston today.  

I would add, it is true in West, Texas, it is true in Sandy Hook, Conn., and, it is true in sorrows and struggles of each of our own lives.

May hope be the lens through which we interpret all our joys and our sorrows,

Maureen Glavin, rscj

Last night’s parent presentation by Tina Meier of the Megan Meier Foundation was absolutely spectacular! I think you know her story. The Meiers were flung into the national spotlight when their daughter Megan, after having endured both bullying and cyber-bullying, took her life at the age of 13.

Mrs. Meier was an amazing, energetic presenter with a full spectrum of information, not just about her own experience as a mom, but about bullying and cyber-bullying in general in our world.

Today, during the school day, she spoke with our oldest students. I am sure that you will hear more about that in the future, especially given her focus on helping students problem-solve and make changes in their environment.

As I reflect on this challenging and heart-wrenching topic, I keep coming back to my desire and hope that we at this Academy are COUNTER-cultural in how we relate to ourselves and others.

1.      We want to be so counter-cultural in this regard that every child who walks into the Academy experiences and knows themselves as cared about by their teachers―which does not mean that we don’t redirect and engage and challenge intellectually. It means that we communicate in every way that each child is valuable, precious and loved.

2.      We want to be so counter-cultural in this regard that every child (though they are still figuring out how to be in healthy relationships) GETS that every other child in this school DESERVES to be treated reverently, and ACTS accordingly.

3.      We want to be so counter-cultural in this regard that every child believes that they are INHERENTLY loved and lovable because they were created by LOVE’S VERY SELF. I want them to believe this because in my mind it really is the foundation for NOT using an exterior locus for affirmation (whether that exterior locus is what one has, who one hangs with, what one wears or what one achieves).

4.      We want to be so counter-cultural that the ADULT community models that counter-cultural belief of self-worth, self-reverence and reverence of the other.

5.      We want to be so counter-cultural that we are KNOWN in the St. Louis community as THE SCHOOL which lives its name: A SCHOOL WHICH ACTS as if it is God’s Heart!

To make this wish come true, we all must work together, grow together and BE TOGETHER what we want to create in our children.

Let’s do it.

United in that Heart of our God who calls us all to reflect that Heart in all that we do and say,

 —Maureen Glavin, rscj

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

When anyone tries to narrowly define something which encompasses a broad perspective, it is always dangerous. Yet, I think it is periodically worth our time to TRY to capture what I would call our essence. It helps us all understand what this unique Academy is really meant to be about. A prominent Sacred Heart educator, Sister Kay Baxter, once summed it up in three words. Sacred Heart education, she said, is:

• Relational
• Incarnational
• Transformational

Whole papers could be written to flesh out the depths of how these three principles relate to what, how and why we do what we do on a daily basis. Here, in a few sentences, is what I can say about each:
 
Relational – To be known, to know one is known, to experience oneself as cared about (cared about to the point of being invited to growth with reverently given honest feedback), to learn to love oneself and to learn how to be in healthy, authentic and respectful relationships with others is the CORE of our educational process and is one of our major educational goals. Relationship is also the very core of how we understand God. God is a BEING IN RELATIONSHIP.  This facet of God’s Very Being is captured in the theological doctrine of the Trinity.
 
Incarnational – To understand the Incarnation is to understand that the Divine not only transcends us but vivifies us! It is to understand that this Mystery we call God is at the very core of who we are. As Catholics we capture this by talking about the Christ-within-Creation.  God’s Very Self not only transcends creation but shines through creation. Human beings are certainly a part of the created world, so, of course, God shines in and through us as well. In fact, we have a unique role in this incarnational revelation of the divine. Some of the greatest saints in our history implore us to not only worship Christ, but to BE Christ in all our thoughts, words and actions. The Church supports our participation in this process in many ways. For example, eucharistically we are invited to become what we receive.
 
Transformational – Having awakened to / discovered / come to know the God-Within who loves and is desirous of being in a loving relationship with us, we are changed. With hearts that are open, we do indeed BECOME what we have come to experience within us. Having met Christ, we become Christ. We reveal Christ in our very loves and in every part of our lives. And, by allowing ourselves to be transformed into the face and hands and heart of Christ, we help to transform those we encounter on the journey of life. Love changes all. Our education is meant to be transformational because it is an education based on love. Our hope is that the students we send out into the world, by leading lives of love, in turn, help in transforming the world into a better place.  
 
I pray to be united with each of you through the Sacred Heart, a Heart which is God’s Heart in human form, a Heart which calls us to be in relationship, a Heart which, when known, transforms us so we can participate in the transformation of the world, thus contributing to creating homes, communities, nations and a planet filled with God’s Goodness, Grace and Wisdom.

Maureen Glavin, rscj
Head of School

Every once in a while it comes to my attention that I need to let folks know the process by which we make decisions at the Academy. This is one of those moments.
 
The answer is simple: 
We make decisions using the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart Education as our lens, our north star and our compass.
 
Let me provide some examples.
 
The Principals, Directors of Student Life and faculty are often asked to assign “special roles” to various children. Guided by the Goals and Criteria, our desire is to give as many children as possible the opportunities to participate in special leadership or highly visible honors (reading at a prayer service or mass, being in the honor guard or the lily procession, offering special words of gratitude at Closing Day Ceremonies or Prize Day Ceremonies, just to name a few). So, to this end, we keep a multi-year list of who has been asked already so that we do not inadvertently ask the same children.
 
Another example along this line has to do with how we invite children to grow. Again, guided by the Goals and Criteria, our sincere desire, hope and wish is that every single child at this school grows in ALL areas and in ALL ways. Of course, for this to happen we need, want, hope and expect our parents to partner with us. The vehicle of our partnership is communication, so we earnestly invite parents to e-mail or call us when there is a perspective or perception you think we need to hear. We are helped by all conversations as we attempt to guide and invite every child in their journey of growth. Not to do so would be a disservice to our integrity, those children, and their parents.
 
Also in line with the Goals and Criteria, tuition assistance decisions are made with specific criteria and great discretion. The Academy uses a third party organization that looks at data and compares apples to apples. Our actions in this regard are guided by principles of fairness, with yearly oversight by our auditors. Furthermore, the few people who do view tuition assistance applications are bound not to reveal them. The Admissions Director does not know. The Principals do not know. The teachers do not know. (They don’t, of course, unless a family chooses to self-disclose that information).
 
I always like to take the opportunity to let people know that tuition assistance funds come from the Endowment (based on a formula of interest earned).
 
Please be assured that our philosophical foundation is not mere rhetoric! As administrators and educators, we truly, deeply and sincerely try to LIVE the depth of our mission and breadth of our goals every day and in every decision.
 
I ask every Academy family to trust their actual experience of us rather than any presumption or assumption.
 
With heartfelt and sincere Union in His Heart,

Maureen Glavin, rscj

Yesterday we celebrated Ash Wednesday. It was a beautiful liturgy! From my perspective, the children were participating, singing and reverent. One can never know what is happening in each child’s heart, but, if the exterior milieu is conducive, there is a better chance that children will “risk” opening their hearts and actually “allowing” God to fill them. If God fills any one’s heart, if one opens oneself and is vulnerable enough to be touched by God’s Spirit of Goodness and Love, one’s life becomes a Life-filled, Love-filled, Goodness-filled life and one’s heart will be ultimately reflective of God, or as we say, transformed into the Heart of Christ!

To educate to the living of lives which are reflective of
God is certainly the overarching goal at this school!

Here is the good (and hopefully encouraging) news: progress DOES happen.

I know progress happens because I see and hear about how our students step up to the plate and ACT in God-like/Christ-like ways! Allow me name three examples from yesterday alone:

1. Some prospective parents with whom I met in the late afternoon spent a fair amount of our conversation time praising the confidence and poise of our student ambassador tour guides at our January Admissions Open House. These prospective parents were not only astonished by the tour guides’ behavior, but they were also impressed at how polite ALL our Middle School students were as they passed them in the hallways. 
2. A parent/coach shared with me how the members of his basketball team responded to an experience of unsportsmanlike actions and words from the opposing team in this past weekend’s game. To our students’ credit, they responded to bad behavior with GOOD sportsmanlike behavior. It is not easy to do in the heat of the moment! Yet, in the face of adversity, these young men did the difficult thing, managed their emotions, thus consciously choosing to display great emotional maturity.
3. I observed our Social Justice students busily collecting donated items for the Ash Wednesday collection from the various homerooms, and I observed our Fourth Class students practicing being leaders as they continued to steward the WHOLE school in learning about the needs of the people of Haiti and helping us respond to those needs with generosity (manning their Hearts for Haiti stations).

These are three very real and very positive examples of the kind of thing I hear about or observe on a daily basis.

But, this is what I really want to share with you today:
this wonderful behavior does not happen magically!

Raising children takes effort, thought and work.

I could also name three examples from yesterday of GOOD young men and women who made some poor choices. How we handle and manage the poor choices is where the rubber meets the road. It is where the education occurs. It is when the great lessons are really learned. It is when we (you at home and we at school) are provided the opportunity to really HELP our children become their best selves and become, at some point, ABLE to choose to be the face of God in the world. For this to happen, we must collectively and consistently do the following:

1. Stay connected with our children! Keep the lines of communication open. Reassure when necessary that they are inherently precious. Eventually that message will be internalized.
2. Reframe their anxieties and worries by minimizing exterior reference points. (What others “supposedly think” is NOT what we want to be the determining factor of behavior.)
3. Set high expectations of behavior. (Examples: don’t interrupt adults, say excuse me, sit at the table while we finish dinner as a family, make your bed before you leave the house, make your lunch the night before, don’t put photos on the internet, etc.) Then, whatever your expectations are, be clear about them.
4. If the expectations are not met, be clear about consequences. (Example: if you choose not to pick up your toys, as we agreed, then you will be choosing not to use them for a week.)
5. Agree on the consequences. They ought to make sense to the child.
6. Follow through with consequences in very respectful ways. (“Gee Mary, I am so sorry you chose not to pick up your toys today, as we agreed, they will now go into a box and we won’t use what was left out for a week. Sorry you made that choice, but I trust that, if you really want to use them, you will make a better choice the next time.”) Then, don’t say it again. Move on! No nagging, no repeating and no belittling.
7. And remember – it is not about us. It is not about how we look to our friends or colleagues. It is not about our ego. It is not about our pride or our disappointment. It is about our children’s growth.

Setting high expectations, taking time to agree on consequences, and having the courage to follow through with consequences all take time, work, energy and effort. We here are committed to putting in that time, work, energy and effort with your children. You have often heard us say that this aspect of our education is HALF of what we do! But, we would be doing you and our children a disservice if we did not engage in this work. What makes it difficult is that the process, as you well know yourselves, creates some angst in our children. But, in the end, we will have achieved our goal:

To educate to the living of lives which are reflective of God!

Let us pray for each other as we continue this very important work together―for the sake of our children and for the sake of the world.

United in the Heart of Christ,

Maureen Glavin, rscj

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, which, of course, is the first day of the liturgical season of Lent, a period of 40 days set aside by the Church to provide time for engaging in activities which promote spiritual growth.

Given the approach of Lent, I would like to propose some (perhaps unique) categories to think about in our conscious choices as we begin our Lenten Journey of Growth. My suggestions all fall under the following rubric: 

Be attentive to our footprint!

 Allow me to explain.

Each of us leaves our mark wherever we go. I would like to toss out an idea which uses our physical footprint as a symbol of the effect we have in our world through our choices, our actions and our thoughts:

Leave a smaller carbon footprint.  Perhaps we could consider being attentive to the resources we use, waste and perhaps misuse. 

Leave a kinder virtual footprint.  Perhaps we could consider being attentive to the messages we send using the tool of technology. Maybe we could even consider fasting from the use of technology at certain times of day.

FAMILY TIP SHEET from Common Sense Media: Protecting and Respecting Privacy

Leave a gentler emotional footprint.  Perhaps we consider the emotional landscape of a room because of our presence. Do others feel inspired or empowered or encouraged because of our words or deeds? 

Leave a saintly spiritual footprint.  Our thoughts and prayers have an effect in the world which is more difficult to see, but just as real. I honestly believe that the peace we experience as we walk around this school is the effect of the spiritual footprint left by our dear Mother Duchesne!

Whatever mark we leave, on the physical world, the virtual world, the emotional world, or the spiritual world is there forever. What we do, the choices we make, the actions we engage in and the very thoughts we think have consequences which reverberate into the universe and have an effect (either positively or negatively) on others.

As we consider our Lenten resolutions, let us consider what might minimize the negative effects of our footprint and enhance the positive effects of our footprint. Let us choose consciously to make a good mark on the world! This Lent, perhaps we could all make the choice to…

Be attentive to our footprint!

United in the One Whose Spiritual Footprint lingers in each of our Hearts,

Maureen Glavin, rscj

This week all the Catholic schools throughout the country are celebrating Catholic Schools week. We at the Academy have some special reasons to celebrate, given our unique role in the history of Catholic education in St. Louis. I am sure most of you already know this, but, we the Academy of the Sacred Heart, St. Charles can claim to be the:
 
•    First Catholic School in what is now the Archdiocese of St. Louis
•    First free school west of the Mississippi
•    First place which provided formal education to girls in St. Louis.
•     First to bring educational opportunity to poor girls in St. Louis.
•     Oldest currently operating Catholic school in the St. Louis metropolitan area
 
As faculty and staff, we have been reflecting on the charism or gift which the Society of the Sacred Heart has brought to Catholic education. The following writings from the Society’s constitution provide a tiny window into that charism:
 
“We are sent by the Church to communicate
the love of the Heart of Jesus.”
#10, Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart, 1982
 
“Our service of education is carried out in a
genuine relationship of mutual interaction,
where each person both receives and gives
so that all may grow together.”
#14, Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart, 1982
 
“(Our service of education) asks of us generous commitment, serious ongoing
formation and a broad critical vision of the world, enlightened by faith.”
#14, Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart, 1982

As a grand way to culminate this week, I am excited to share with you that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in designating a different American Saint for each month of this Year of Faith, have proclaimed that February is the “Month of Philippine.” To contribute to the celebration, members of the Sacred Heart family from around the country are sharing reflections, homilies, poems and prayers― something different for each day of the month. I invite you to join in the fun by visiting the Society of the Sacred Heart website, www.rscj.org. Or, if you wish, you can even choose to receive an e-mail of each daily reflection. (See rscj website for details.)
 
We at this Academy are prouder than ever to be the stewards of Philippine’s first and last American school, stewards of her inspirational story, stewards of her saintly remains and stewards of her holy example through our lives and our loves. Thus faithfully living our educational mission, may we continue to serve our children, our Church and our world!
 
United in the Heart of Jesus,

Maureen Glavin, rscj