Visit
Sacred Hearts School on the Web!http://www.sacredhearts.k12.wi.us
Visit
Sacred Hearts School on the Web!
http://www.sacredhearts.k12.wi.us
Mission Statement
Founded in 1892, and staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Sacred Hearts School has a rich educational heritage. More than 3,000 students have graduated from Sacred Hearts School during the past 107 years of its existence as a parochial school.
Although the majority of students are from Sacred Hearts and the surrounding Catholic parishes, Sacred Hearts school does accept non-Catholic children. There is no discrimination regarding race, color or sex.
Catholic Education in the 21st Century
Prayer and worship are an integral part of a student’s day at Sacred Hearts School. The day begins with school prayer over the PA or classroom prayer. The focus of the prayer is a reflection on the saint whose feast is celebrated in the church calendar or the liturgical season of the church year. The lives of the saints are rich with examples of how students can live their love for God. Today is the feast of the conversion of St. Paul. The scripture reading told of how Saul was struck by a bolt of light, fell off his horse and came to realize how cruel he was treating Christians. The reflection helps us to think how our unity with Christ and his followers helps us to treat people with kindness.
Weekly, the students attend liturgy. The focus for this morning’s liturgy was the call of the disciples. Three students proclaimed the scripture message for the day through a three part dialog. Students shared their ideas of how to be disciples through participation in the homily. Through prayers of petition, which they had prepared beforehand, students prayed for sick or deceased members of their families as well as for increased love and goodness for the entire school community. Three students served as cantors, leading the congregation in singing and a group of students praised God through liturgical dance during the offertory song. Students received the Eucharist, the sacrament of the body of Jesus, another opportunity to grow in love and goodness.
Jesus is our model and example of behavior. When resolving conflicts, I often pray with the students for the guidance of the Holy Spirit that they will be able to tell the truth, accept responsibility for their behavior and come up with ways to resolve the conflict and get along peacefully.
Students have daily religion instruction, taught by their classroom teachers, who in addition to having a state teacher’s license, are certified as teachers of the Catholic faith. Msgr. Duane and Father Michael visit and teach in the classrooms as well. They also distribute report cards to students each quarter, join the students for special activities as well as provide guidance and counsel as needed.
Building and living in community are prime goals of Catholic schools. Students are taught to get along with one another in a spirit of mutual cooperation, with Jesus as their model. "Prayer Partners", where students in grades 5-8 are paired with students in grades 1-4, provide an opportunity for students to do activities where they can get to know their school mates. Prayer Partners read together, write messages to one another and play together at Field Day.
Community means learning to care for one another. Students and teachers work together to create an atmosphere and attitude of caring and respect for one another. Students share their ideas and feelings in community circle. They learn and practice community agreements, which help to create a safe environment where differences are celebrated and appreciated and learn to express affirmations for classmates and teachers.
The community extends beyond the school doors to the family. Parents are respected in their role as the primary educators of their children. Parents volunteer hours of time to organize fundraisers, assemble weekly mailings, serve as classroom aides, playground and lunchroom supervisors and serve on boards and commissions responsible for the development and promotion of the school.
Sharing our gifts and talents with others by reaching out in service. The fifth grade students have organized food drives year round. Each month students in different grades donate food items for the Sun Prairie Food Pantry. The students arrange for the collected items to be delivered and then give their time to help stock the shelves. The Student Council sponsored the "Warm Hands, Warm Hearts" drive where each student was encouraged to donate hats, mittens, scarves or socks to be distributed as Christmas gifts. The students exceeded their goal of one donation from each student.
Sixth grade students: "Adopt a Grandparent". Activities include baking cookies, listening to stories or playing games. First, second and third grade students go to the Colonial Club at Halloween to share their costumes and treats with the elderly residents there.
Students learn about the needs of children in Third World Countries. During the season of Lent, they will find ways to earn money to send to the children in the specific country their grade learned about.
Service to Sacred Hearts School. Students serve the school as cadets, door monitors, sound and light crew, setting up chairs and tables, cleaning up litter and volunteering to help as they are asked.
And of course learning to read and spell, to compute and reason, to learn about one’s community and the world as well as learning to access information through technology, are important components of Catholic education. Students learn to care for their bodies and develop physically, listen to and sing many kinds of music and develop their creative and artistic talents — all taught and learned in the light of the Gospel values of Jesus Christ.
Traditionally, Catholic Schools were characterized by priests and sisters teaching in classrooms, large classes and daily mass. Today, students at Sacred Hearts School are taught by lay teachers, learn in classrooms with 22-25 students, pray daily and attend liturgy weekly. While some of the external signs may have changed, the mission of Catholic education, to build community, nurture the student’s faith development and prayer life and reach out in service to others remains the same.
Sacred Hearts School is dedicated to educating the whole child, nurturing the academic and faith development of young people today and for future generations of Catholics.
For more information on our school, or to enroll, please contact Mrs. Kim Frederick ,
608-837-8508 or kfredrick@straphael.org.
04/11/2006 23:35
