Horizons: Summer, 2014

The Magazine of Convent of the Sacred Heart Spring/Summer 2014

a place where

Girls Framing Our Future Salisbury Tribute Teaching Creativity

“We bring up the children for the future, not for the present, not that we may enjoy the fruit of our work, but for others...�

Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ

welcome from Sacred Heart

D

ear Sacred Heart Family: As we meet with members of the Convent of the Sacred Heart community regarding our current Capital Campaign, we are continually reminded on a very personal level of the power of a Sacred Heart education. It is clear that St. Madeleine Sophie Barat’s educational and spiritual vision continues to profoundly shape the lives of young women.

The articles in this edition of Horizons showcase many of the ways our School’s educators, students and alumnae are living, nurturing and benefitting from that mission.

In this issue, you will learn more about the new Sacred Heart Center for Research, Teaching and Learning and how its programs and experiences will create exciting teaching opportunities for our faculty and inspire our students. I am sure you will be interested, as well, in the update on the new campus facilities under construction now, thanks to the enthusiastic support we are receiving for our Capital Campaign.

Whenever we undertake renovations and changes to our School, our goal is to create or improve upon meaningful educational resources that will be used by our students to the fullest with joy and enthusiasm. We have seen the difference that state-of-the-art facilities can make. For example, with the addition of the Eileen Dealy Gillespie ’49 Science Center, our students began to excel at new levels in science and research. Our students now regularly win awards in such areas as DNA research.

And understanding the need to match the excellence of our faculty with the best possible facilities, the renovations we continue to make to our teaching space have allowed us to bring the most current technology into the classroom. We are confident that the campus project we are undertaking now will bring the same enthusiasm and success to our students, who tell us how much they appreciate what the new facilities will do for them both academically and athletically.

As trustees, parents and alumnae it is with such joy that we hear about the success and accomplishments of our graduates. We know that when we send our young women

out from CSH they are prepared with both outstanding academic ability and a solid moral grounding rooted in the Goals and Criteria. History shows that they take full advantage of life’s opportunities, and in these pages you will meet some of our alumnae who are living fulfilling lives and making a positive difference in the lives of others.

Of course, it is appropriate that as we prepare for the future, with all the exciting projects on campus, we also honor and celebrate our past. Nancy Salisbury, RSCJ was a gifted Sacred Heart educator who touched many lives at our Sacred Heart schools. Sr. Salisbury was headmistress here at CSH for 10 years from 1970–1980. She also served as a member of our Board of Trustees from 1989–1995 and from 2000–2003. Sr. Salisbury was, and is, beloved by generations of Sacred Heart students, and it was with great pride and affection that the Board of Trustees voted at the March 2, 2014 meeting to rename and dedicate our main building on campus (formerly referred to as the Mansion) Salisbury Hall. Welcome home, Sr. Salisbury.

In closing, I would like to share some wonderful thoughts from Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ, whose centennial we celebrate this year: “We bring up the children for the future, not for the present, not that we may enjoy the fruit of our work, but for others…Therefore, we must have to do with things raw and unfinished and unpolished…We must remember it is better to begin a great work than to finish a small one. A piece of unfinished insignificance is no success at all. Our education is not meant to turn the children out small and finished, but seriously begun on a wide basis.

Therefore they must leave us with some self-knowledge, some energy, some purpose. If they leave us without these three things, they drift with the stream of life.”

Thank you, as always, for your continuing support, and please enjoy this very special issue of Horizons.

Warmest Regards,

Paula Tennyson, Chair, Board of Trustees

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

1

Board of Trustees 2013–2014: Paula Tennyson, Chair Imma De Stefanis, RSCJ, Vice Chair William D. Hirshorn, Treasurer Joseph N. Walsh, III, Secretary Neil A. Augustine James T. Bretzke, S.J. Dreux Dubin Claiden ’77 Lisa Burke Fallon ’89 Lorena Ferrara Charles A. Fishkin Donald E. Foley Pamela Juan Hayes ’64, Head of School Kimberly J. Huchro Frances de La Chapelle, RSCJ Janine Larkin, Parents’ Association President Douglas M. Mellert Mandy Dawson Murphy ’85 Bernadette Prato Shannon O’Leary Pujadas ’87, Alumnae President Barbara Quinn, RSCJ Christopher R. Ryan Joseph A. Tranfo Patreece Williams Creegan ’84 Mission Statement: Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, founded in 1848, is an independent Catholic college preparatory school for young women, from preschool through grade 12. In September 2013, the newly established Barat Center for Early Childhood Education accepted boys in preschool, and will accept boys in prekindergarten in 2014. Convent of the Sacred Heart will remain single-gender female from kindergarten through grade 12; only The Barat Center is coed.

True to its international heritage, the School provides students with experiences of diversity and welcomes students of all races, socio-economic backgrounds, and religious beliefs.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, steeped in a solid academic tradition, educates women to have independence of judgment, personal freedom, and strength of character so that they can become leaders with broad intellectual and spiritual horizons.

Service to others is a compelling commitment of our education, and the entire school community, as a member of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools, is dedicated to the Goals and Criteria: › A personal and active faith in God; › A deep respect for intellectual values; › A social awareness which impels to action; › The building of community as a Christian value; › Personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom

2

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

ver 214 years ago, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat registered a prophetic voice when she said that “times change and we must change with them.” She knew with certainty that one of the things in life that never changes is change itself and that in order for students to thrive, schools must respond to challenges with innovation.

Our School lives in this tradition of “a call to action,” as we imagine the future for our community. Within that call remains our sense of creating a faith-filled moral imperative that never diminishes in importance.

The quality of our life together relies on the transformational leadership of the administration and faculty to inspire with vision and instill trust. Our way of educating is premised on the building of personal relationships between constituencies. Great schools require great commitment, and the belief that their mission has a lasting impact on the course of social history.

Our students are eager learners fortified by the faculty’s belief in their potential. They know that developing courage and confidence to face challenges head on is needed to make breakthroughs and discoveries. They have the resilience to persist in finding what they seek and to not be afraid of risking failure in their capacity to persevere and prevail. The skills and attitudes they learn here will prepare them to manage their lives beyond our campus and instill in themselves the courage to do so.

Enjoy the results of this year’s “Inspirational” approach to learning. Our faculty has taken on the challenge to create authentic, innovative ways of looking at what and how we teach to serve the needs of our students today.

I know St. Madeleine Sophie would be pleased by our attempts to embrace the future and prepare our students for the challenges that await them.

Our students will create a better world for themselves and others because they believe that a life well lived is a life of meaning. They look outward with empathy to repair unjust equilibrium in this world, and fill it with solutions and passion. The central question in front of them is: “If you want to be a change maker, who are you?” Our students know who they are and know that they possess the power to be a force for good in this world.

O

With love and gratitude,

Pamela Juan Hayes ’64, Head of School

Horizons Offers you great digital experiences using the layar app.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE APP, FIND THIS SYMBOL within this issue, AND SCAN THE PAGE FOR VIDEOS, SLIDESHOWS and MORE!

in this issue

22

The Magazine of Convent of the Sacred Heart HORIZONS SPRING/SUMMER 2014

features 22

30

32

Campaign and construction

Educating strong and capable young women through example

The tinkering mindset at Sacred Heart

Framing Our Future

06

by Kathleen S. Failla

Nancy Salisbury, RSCJ

Creativity and Innovation

by Linda vasu

by Victoria Taylor Allen

remark•able 08 15 20 40 46 59

The Alumnae Media Network: Ellyn Stewart Challenge Yourself!: Jennifer Raymond Dresden ’02 Making It to the Big Show: Megan Grehan ’07 Beating Breast Cancer: Nicole Seagriff ’03 01 Welcome from the Board Chair A Voice Against Violence: Oanh-Nhi Nguyen ’09 02 Welcome from the Head of School A Passion to Make a Difference: Tory Bensen ’10 04 Inside Our Classrooms 16 Sacred Heart Scoreboard 36 Giving Matters 42 Alumnae News 47 Class Notes 60 In View

departments

40

Convent of the Sacred Heart 1177 King Street Greenwich, CT 06831 203-531-6500 www.cshgreenwich.org Head of School: Pamela Juan Hayes ’64 Assistant Head of School & Director of Advancement: Michael F. Baber

Director of Public Relations & Communications: Kathleen S. Failla faillak@cshct.org Class Notes Editor: Meghan Mara Ryan ’01 Director of Alumnae Relations Contributing Writers: Victoria Taylor Allen, Michael F. Baber, Kerry Bader, Cilla Bercovici, Kathleen S. Failla, Gabrielle Giacomo ’15, Pamela Juan Hayes ’64,

Ann Marr, Marc Maier, William Mottolese, Mary Musolino, Shannon O’Leary Pujadas ’87, Nicole Seagriff ’03, Ellyn Stewart, Paula Tennyson, Linda Vasu, Don Wade Contributing Photographers: Kathleen S. Failla, Derek Jackson, Kelsey Joyce, Jeffry Konczal, Meghan Mara Ryan ’01 Design: Good Design LLC Printing: Service Press

18

Send address changes to: Irene Colford colfordi@cshct.org On the Cover: STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) experiences at Sacred Heart prepare students for college and careers. These two seniors are enjoying their lab experiment, an analysis of a popular sports drink. Bringing the world into classrooms ignites the interest of students.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

3

o u r c l a ss r oo m s Middle School Musical Shoots for the Stars

It was great to see kids from different grades and groups come together as a team with such dedication and enthusiasm —Marc Maier

The Middle School musical has become an annual arts extravaganza, offering many roles for all who want to participate as cast and crew. A cast of 45 talented actors, singers and dancers from the fifth through eighth grades performed “Annie, Jr.,” a take-off on the Broadway hit, in the John and Lennie de Csepel Theater.

“The show is a truncated version of the full Broadway show “Annie,” with music transposed specifically for middle school voices,” said Marc Maier, a member of the English faculty who directed the show.

The musical begins with Annie languishing in Miss Hannigan’s orphanage where she is found by Oliver Warbucks, who eventually adopts her after a failed search for Annie’s birth parents. It is a heartwarming tale of love and pluck overcoming the obstacles represented by the Depression-era setting.

The faculty production team consisted of Mr. Maier, Assistant Director Michaela Gorman ’05, Musical Director Annette Etheridge, and Costume/Prop Coordinator Michelle Smith.

The show was open to all students in the Middle School, and all who wanted to participate were automatically cast, with principal roles chosen from a competitive audition process. Rehearsals began in late November 2013, and despite several snow days, the cast, including many first-time performers, turned in two excellent performances to great acclaim from two full houses in late January and early February. Students also helped behind the scenes, working on stage crew and helping to make and assemble costumes, props and sets. from the performance on our website, www.cshgreenwich.org.

VIEW MORE images

Madison Miraglia ’18 as “Annie” and Molly Cadman ’19 as “Sandy the Dog”

4

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

st u d e nt

exchange flag © Daboost/shutterstock.com

The time has gone by so fast and I am not ready to say goodbye quite yet...

—Emma Flynn ’16

The Flynn family participated in Sacred Heart’s exchange program. Bottom row, from left: Eileen Flynn, Calvin, Caoimhe Williams. Top row: Emma Flynn ’16, Maryellen Flynn, William Flynn, and Molly Flynn ’13.

No Place Like Home

By Kathleen S. Failla, director of public relations and communications

At their send-off in May, seniors were told they will always “have a home at the Sacred Heart.” Those who participated in the exchange program as sophomores already knew this to be true.

Our exchange program enables students to expand their educational experience at other Sacred Heart schools—and to appreciate “home” from a new perspective.

In this photo, the Flynn family poses with their Irish exchange student, Caoimhe Williams (first row at right), who they hosted last fall. Then, in March, sophomore Emma Flynn ’16 (top row at left) was hosted by the Williams family while attending Mount Anville, a Sacred Heart secondary girls’ school in Dublin.

It was the first exchange between Greenwich and Mount Anville.

That “first” also included five other Greenwich students: Kelly Heinzerling, Alexis Karas, Lauren Monahan, Caroline Roche and Grace Smith. “The Mount Anville exchanges were all fantastic,” said

Upper School Dean Jennifer Bensen, who coordinates the program.

“Both Aedin O’Leary at Mount Anville and I were thrilled and plan to continue this next year.”

Ireland joins the list of other countries where our students are traveling—Australia, Austria, Canada, England, France, Mexico, Scotland, Spain, and Taiwan.

The Flynns are just one of many Sacred Heart families who have opened their home and their hearts to an international Sacred Heart school student. For Emma Flynn, the entire exchange—hosting a student at her home in New Canaan, and then traveling to Dublin where she stayed with Caoimhe’s family—was a life enhancing experience. Blogging on her last week at Mount Anville, Emma wrote: “The time has gone by so fast and I am not ready to say goodbye quite yet… I am very lucky that I got both a rural and city experience in Ireland. They were both equally amazing and incredible experiences I will never forget.”

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

5

Creative Technology Takes Sacred Heart by Storm

The projects were designed to raise interest and curiosity, and inspire students to look at science as something very creative. The enthusiasm of the class is remarkable toward coding.

—karl Haeseler

Students who have gotten to know “Storm” have discovered that computer science is fun and creative.

Our NAO robot, nicknamed “Storm,” is a fascinating, interactive teaching tool that is assisting teachers in all divisions.

Students in the Upper School robotics and computer classes developed a variety of projects this year with their teachers, Gail Casey and Karl Haeseler. Topics focused not only on math and science, but world languages, English and the arts. The Upper School enjoyed presenting their projects to the younger students, who were enchanted by Storm’s interface and interactive applications.

In response to demand for more computer classes that encourage creativity, the Upper School will expand its curriculum offerings.

Emphasizing creativity at Sacred Heart includes the holistic view of what role technology plays in the world and how our students can become leaders in that transformational movement.

Other recent additions to our creative use of technology are the creation of a “Maker Space” in the library, Middle School robotics and computer arts, new labs from the Cold Spring Harbor DNA Learning Center, and educational tools, such as the 3-D printer and Backbone Table. “It is all about creativity,” said Mr. Haeseler.

TO SEE THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY NEWS

www.cshgreenwich.org.

6

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

visit our website,

Inside our classrooms

Made for Creativity Middle School students use the 3-D printer for cross-curriculum projects.

For example, while studying Greek history the girls learned to write code in computer lab to produce 3-D ancient Greek temples. In robotics, they used the Maker Bot to design and print lunar module pieces. Art classes created and programmed lamps to light up.

A Backbone of Creativity Our library/media center embraces the digital age. These Upper School Chinese language students are using one of the library’s newest additions, the Backbone Table. Thanks to a gift from the Parents’ Association, students are enjoying a new level of learning that transports them beyond the classroom. Our School is the only pre-collegiate school in New England with a Backbone Table to view a class in China.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

7

remark•able The Alumnae Media Network

Zoe Zellers ’06, Sydney DeVoe ’14, Studio Director Ellyn Stewart

strategic sabbatical

By Ellyn Stewart, director of the broadcast journalism studio

B

arbara Walters steps onto the set of ABC’s “The View,” while 17 Sacred Heart students in broadcast journalism look on with awe. The magic of this moment is not lost on me.

As one of the most iconic female journalists, Barbara Walters is approaching the end of her last season as host, while our students are beginning their media careers.

Last fall, ABC Executive Assistant and Internship Coordinator Sadé Clacken Joseph ’07 invited an entire class of broadcast students to visit the set of “The View” to watch the daytime talk show, meet the producers, and discuss career options. Sadé credited her broadcast journalism class at Sacred Heart for being the place that first “put a camera in my hand” and jump-started her career.

Over the past 10 years, our broadcast classes have gone on field trips to studios at NBC “Nightly News,” ABC, CNN and Fox News. At each location, media professionals encouraged our students to intern as much as possible.

While on sabbatical last fall, I began to brainstorm ways that our students could be exposed to real-world experiences and have vital networking experiences.

I envision a Sacred Heart alumnae media-networking group, where members of all ages in video, television, Web and social media can support one another.

My hope is that these authentic collaborations will allow our students and alumnae to connect and develop opportunities. Who knows? Maybe the next “Barbara Walters” is sitting in our School’s broadcast studio right now just Jordan Cohen ’15 with news anchor Kate Rayner ’05 waiting to meet her mentor.

8

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

My Goals for the Alumnae Media Network: 1. Provide real-world experiences and mentors for broadcast journalism students by matching them with alumnae in the media field. Mentoring, shadowing or internships will provide students with hands-on experience.

2. Connect alumnae in the industry to provide networking opportunities.

3. Create a task force of media professionals who can advise our program on how best to stay current in the ever-changing world of film and television.

I started the search for mentors by reaching out to alumnae who graduated in the past 10 years. I was thrilled by their supportive and helpful responses. Here is a list of some who expressed an interest in participating in the Alumnae Media Network: • Jessica Rubin ’04, digital producer of “Katie” • Molly Breene ’04, works at VaynerMedia, a social media consulting company • Kerry Cassidy ’04, digital marketing director at Anderson Publishing • Kate Rayner ’05, news anchor at WFSB, Hartford, CT (CBS affiliate) • Lizzy Connor ’06, sales team member at NBC • Lindsey Festa ’09, production assistant for CNN “Heroes” If you are interested in joining the Alumnae Media Network, please contact me at stewarte@cshct.org.

Inside our classrooms

Celebrating Festival 2014

Film Festival Rolls Out the Red Carpet

By Gabrielle Giacomo ’15

Not even persistent rain clouds could block out the shining stars of the fifth annual Sacred Heart Film Festival.

With 29 films divided amongst the social justice, creative and documentary categories, student filmmakers and guests were able to find something memorable.

“I am proud of the diversity of work the students created for the festival,” said Broadcast Journalism director Ellyn Stewart.

“From animation to public service announcements to documentaries to creative short films, students found their voice and expressed their unique vision through their videos.”

After opening remarks by the co-hosts, seniors Margot McCloskey and Jane Mikus, the festival kicked off with the social justice category, judged by alumna Sadé Clacken Joseph ’07, who is an assistant to the producers of ABC’s “The View.” These 30-second pieces ranged in topics from the preservation of electricity to women’s rights.

The night continued with the documentary category, judged by Todd Leatherman, an independent filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. Nine pieces were screened, featuring student creators from both the broadcast journalism and creative filmmaking branches of the program.

Finally, the creative pieces were shown. This category was judged by award-winning filmmaker Lauren Banta Naylor and her husband,

Rob Naylor, who is an Emmy-nominated producer and editor of ABC’s “The View.”

The festival again featured a “text-to-vote” system to allow audience members to choose their favorite piece from each category.

“I definitely think that the film festival is getting better each year,” said junior Mary Grace Henry, a film festival coordinator.

“Not only are we learning how to better

organize and plan the event itself, but in addition, I think that things such as new cameras and an increased focus on screenplay writing have made our movies more professional as a whole.”

Scan this page to View all the Students’ films

film festival winners Judges’ Awards Social Justice: • First place: “Drowning in Plastic”

by Riley Doyle ’16 • Second place: “It Starts with a Girl”

by Gabrielle Giacomo ’15 & Mary Grace Henry ’15 Documentary: • First place: “Empire State of Mind”

by Maddie Church ’15, Jordan Cohen ’15 & Claren Hesburgh ’15

• Second place: “Suzuki: The International Language of Music” by Fiona Cahill ’17 Creative Category: • First place: “In Time” by Gabrielle Giacomo ’15 & Mary Grace Henry ’15 • Second place: “Karmaeleon” by Georgina Cahill ’16

Audience Choice Awards Social Justice: “I am a Girl” by Maddie Church ’15 & Katie Hill ’15 Documentary: “Empire State of Mind”

by Maddie Church ’15, Jordan Cohen ’15 & Claren Hesburgh ’15 Creative: “Keeping Up with the Konvent”

by Ana Schonander ’16 & Brooke Wilkens ’16

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

9

Math is so much about thinking, and the Singapore Math program places a strong emphasis on this, which is why it is such a

strong curriculum. —Charles Petersen Math Department Chair

10

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Inside our classrooms

Singapore Math in the Lower School

By Ann Marr, Lower School head, and Cilla Bercovici, Lower School math specialist

Lower School classrooms and hallways are showcasing some new and interesting experiences in mathematics learning.

Bulletin boards highlight practices like “bar modeling” and “number bonds,” aspects of math work which may at first glance seem unfamiliar. This is Singapore Math, as we complete our second year with the program.

In the fall of 2012, classes in kindergarten through grade four transitioned to Singapore Math, a highly focused, concise and mastery-based mathematics curriculum that is helping to build in our students a deeper, more foundational mathematical understanding along with 21st-century skills. Singapore Math is a renowned and highly respected program, thoughtful and rigorous, and is gaining in popularity worldwide.

In preparation for introducing this new math program, Sacred Heart conducted a study comparing Singapore Math with its then current curriculum, Everyday Math. The process involved visits to other schools, discussions with colleagues at area schools, a wide variety of conferences and workshops, and on-campus consultations.

We came away comfortable and confident about adopting Singapore Math, which focuses on teaching to mastery using a specific and deliberate three-step process in keeping with what we know about how children learn best: from concrete to pictorial to abstract.

Classroom teachers appreciate Singapore Math because they recognize their students’ growing confidence and number sense, along with an ability to apply learned skills and concepts to new challenges.

The nature of the program offers teachers ways to individualize for their learners.

Teachers Comment First grade teacher Shelia McCorry commented, saying, “The progression from concrete to pictorial and ultimately abstract allows for greater differentiation and addresses numerous learning styles much more easily than traditional math programs.”

Third grade teacher Beth Carlucci added, “The Singapore Math program emphasizes consistent practice to mastery, helping to enable students to build their own understanding in a logical sequence.

In addition, bar modeling allows students to visualize what might otherwise be a more complex word problem.”

An online component, called Math Buddies, establishes a homeschool link for students and parents in grades 1–4. Online, the students can revisit and review, even access additional practice. As a supplemental resource, it enables easier student assessment and

differentiation—and can generate both homework and worksheets.

It becomes an online (Smart Board) option in class, as well.

Lynn Maldonado, third grade teacher, is grateful for the new Singapore approach. “I especially enjoy teaching our students math using the Singapore Math curriculum. The expectations are very high, yet the program is well scaffolded, presenting complex concepts to children in small, attainable steps. I also appreciate the availability of Math Buddies—short, engaging online tutorials to introduce new concepts or review concepts previously taught.”

Lower School teachers acknowledged after just one year of Singapore Math that students showed stronger skills and comprehension. Several teachers have remarked that students are showing an even greater understanding of place value and numeracy—ordinality, positionality, number bonds and combinations, and number fact fluency.

And as members of the mathematics department recognize the advantages to Singapore Math and note the increases in our students’ numeracy concepts and number sense, Singapore Math will “trickle up”—moving with our fourth graders into fifth and then sixth grades during the next few years.

Old vs. New Charles Petersen, math department chair, compared the new program’s focus on comprehension with the more traditional memorization. “Singapore Math talks about relational understanding, as opposed to instrumental understanding,” said Mr. Petersen.

“It is the difference between producing versus reproducing.

Students who have a relational understanding of the subject matter can apply their knowledge and do something different with it.

“Math is so much about thinking, and the Singapore Math program places a strong emphasis on this, which is why it is such a strong curriculum.”

Girls Rise to the Challenge What a pleasure to observe our girls’ confidence, familiarity, and agility with numbers. They can manipulate numbers mentally and apply learned strategies to new challenges—and they have fun doing so!

“I see my students collaborating, taking risks, and using mathematical concepts across the curriculum,” said Ashling Besgen, fourth grade teacher. “The program is challenging, and it has been a rewarding experience to see the girls rise to meet those challenges with confidence.”

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

11

The Whiz Kids at Sacred Heart

By Mary Musolino, director of the Upper School science research program

© studioVin/shutterstock.com

It has been a busy and interesting year in the science research program, where today’s students train to become tomorrow’s scientists!

The program is a three-year elective that allows students to participate in original and authentic scientific research as part of their high school experience.

Students begin in their sophomore year, and have the opportunity to conduct independent research on any topic. After three years of research, a final paper is entered into the Intel Science Talent Search and other competitions.

Fifty-seven students were in the program this year. Sophomores prepared research proposals in their chosen area of study. Their projects were varied and topics included autism spectrum disorder, diabetes, bluebird nesting, and the use of the NAO robot to enhance early education. Sophomore research teacher Dr. Kristina Gremski was impressed with the interest and motivation of the youngest students in the program.

The juniors either conducted research or planned summer research. As the junior research teacher, I can say first-hand that their projects represent some of the best I have encountered!

Many of the junior internships are set for the summer. For example, Mary O’Sullivan will be working in an immunology lab at Yale University, Cetta Brusco will be studying kidney disease at Montefiore Medical Center, Vanessa Raskin will be exploring ALS at Columbia University Medical Center, Jordan Cohen will be looking for cancer susceptibility genes at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Sheila Moran will perform breast cancer research at Weill Cornell Medical College.

12

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Several juniors did not wait for the summer to collect data. They were involved in research during the school year. For example, Abbi Wilson and Alexandra Bolanos worked on epilepsy and genetics research study at Beth Israel Medical Center, and Sarah Banker studied the environmental benefits of low impact drainage systems installed by civil engineering firm Redniss & Mead.

Seven juniors were actively involved in DNA barcoding projects in the research lab at Sacred Heart in conjunction with the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s DNA Learning Center, of which our school is a charter member.

These DNA barcoding projects were designed to detect food product mislabeling, and the students involved are Kylinn Askew, Sabrina Carrozzi, Alexa Granser, Claren Hesburgh, Grace McKenney, Emma Novick, and Emily Sabia. These students also participated in the Urban Barcoding Project, and presented their results at a Symposium at the Museum of Natural History in May. Finally, the seniors were busy entering competitions with their finished research projects. The senior projects included:

> Christina Paolicelli’s development of code for verbal communication with Sacred Heart’s NAO humanoid robot > Abby Smith’s sleep and academic success study > Shannon Longworth’s research about nutrient availability and locomotion in C. elegans > Angela Jaramillo’s work in analyzing the results of a survey-based study of risk-taking behavior in adolescents > Katie Martinez’s study of the impact of carbon dioxide emissions on phytoplankton Senior research teacher Dr. Victoria Landry said the seniors enjoyed the process of preparing their studies for entry into various competitions, including Intel.

Thirty-five students in the program at all grade levels participated in the Southern Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair.

Twelve were recognized in their categories at the awards ceremony.

Stay tuned for new discoveries in science.

They will be found by our students who are turning their sights to science as a career.

Inside our classrooms

national finalists in Siemens “Challenge” For several weeks this past winter, students in my chemistry classes rushed into class to work on their original experiments for the Siemens “We Can Change the World Challenge,” a national competition that encourages student teams to research and provide solutions for global environmental issues.

Ten teams worked on a variety of projects from the design and of testing water purification materials to solar-powered energy for hand-held electronics.

To enter the Challenge, students had to identify an environmental problem, conduct an extensive review of literature, develop a hypothesis to try to solve the problem, design and perform experiments to test the hypothesis, analyze and draw conclusions from the data obtained, and design a plan for local and global implementation. We were thrilled to learn that two teams, a total of seven students, were named national finalists.

Congratulations to all the chemistry students who entered the Challenge! Working with them has been a highlight of my career.

The National Finalist Teams: > Alison Danahy ’16, Catherine Keating ’16, Lilly Morriss ’16 and Isabella Parker ’16 (The Oil Avengers) studied and experimented with oil spill remediation, including the use of oil-absorbing polymers, bioremediation and natural substances. > Victoria Becker ’16, Riley Doyle ’16 and Sydney Goldman ’16 (Soil Soldiers) worked on soil remediation and explored ways to clean up soil contaminated by inorganic and organic substances.

To view the winning teams visit www.wecanchange.com/high-school/ about-challenge/2014-challenge-winners/ 2014-high-school-state-finalists

Celebrating Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ During 2013–2014, the Religious of the Sacred Heart around the world, together with the international schools of the Sacred Heart, are celebrating the centenary of Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ (1857–1914), a great leader and educator.

The Network of U.S. Sacred Heart Schools invited each school to select a student work to send to the Stuart Center in Washington, DC, in honor of the centenary.

Pippa Leigh, a junior at Sacred Heart, Greenwich, designed this mixed media piece, which can be viewed in an online gallery at www.stuartcenter.org.

“The higher we want to fly the greater the risk, but that is the glorious part of it. The great uncertainties in which we trust God, the breathless risks we run, with no assurances but our great trust in Him, that seems to me to be of the essence of our life and our beauty.”

—Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ (1857–1914)

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

13

Writing is a Portal to Sacred Heart Student Creativity and Success

By Dr. William Mottolese, Chair, Department of English

Writing is hard work. A writing task can make one feel vulnerable and brittle at one moment, and elated and confident the next.

In a language-saturated world, clear writing is a crucial 21st-century skill.

Writing is also a portal to creativity.

Language is vast, varied, malleable and musical; it fills our head and occupies our thoughts. When we learn to tap into that language and to control its power, it becomes a very valuable tool.

At Sacred Heart, we approach writing in a holistic and inspired way. Writing is a part of most disciplines, expressly taught within several, and central to English/Language Arts classes.

Our students learn how to master their writing skills in our English classes through a wide range of deliberate writing tasks: essays of narrative, persuasion, analysis, explanation and description. They learn how to write “on demand”: timed essays, in-class journaling, responses to prompts, free-writing, blogging, and discussion forum chats fill our class time. They learn good compositional habits, rhetorical strategies and conventional grammatical usages. They come to understand

For the last several years, a junior has written a feature column for the Greenwich Post. An article on the college process by junior Grace Isford was published in The Washington Post, and sophomore Alana Galloway’s piece about a teenage boy who took his life received national attention. King Street Chronicle Moderator Matilde Larson and Technology Director Karl Haeseler have transformed the King Street Chronicle into a dazzling digital newspaper. They have led the way in their field, presenting at conferences and setting up a consortium of newspapers.

In its first year, The King Street Chronicle earned a national Gold Medal in the digital category from the Columbia Press Scholastic Association (CPSA).

Sacred Heart students hone their creative writing in the classroom, on their own, and through workshops in our Summer Enrichment program.

In the last two years, Sacred Heart Middle and Upper School students have garnered 25 Scholastic Writing Awards, including national silver and gold medals. Voices and Perspectives, the School’s two arts and writing magazines, have both garnered national recognition.

In the last two years, Sacred Heart Middle and Upper School students have garnered 25 Scholastic Writing Awards. writing as a process—as a craft that requires engagement, practice and hard work—and as an expression of their critical thinking.

All of this work has prepared our students to thrive as public writers. They curate wikis and blogs; they write screenplays that turn into films; they learn the art of journalistic prose; they write fiction, plays and poetry.

Many of these written products have earned Sacred Heart students public recognition.

14

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Voices, a multilingual student magazine focusing on translation, has consistently earned gold and silver medals from CPSA over the last half decade. Perspectives, the school’s arts and literature magazine, has captured similar honors. Not only has Perspectives, like its sister publication Voices, won gold and silver medals, it has received a prestigious Crown Award from CPSA for the last two years. Last year, Perspectives won a Silver

The King Street Chronicle received a national Gold Medal in the digital category from Columbia Press Scholastic Association

Crown. This year it is the only high-school magazine in New England to win a Crown Award. In 2010, Perspectives won the Highest Award in the state of Connecticut from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and this year was designated Superior/ Nominated for Highest Award by the NCTE. Sacred Heart students have also been honored with awards in contests as varied as the Greenwich Diversity Writing Contest and the Associated Alumnae and Alumni of the Sacred Heart (AASH) national essay competition.

Every February, Convent of the Sacred Heart co-sponsors a Writing Festival with Greenwich Academy and Brunswick. The schools invite published writers to hold workshops with the students. Recent writers have included teen author Sarah Mlynowski, New York poet Scott Hightower and singersongwriter Reid Genauer.

Our Upper School students have organized a Writing Club, and every April, students and faculty hold a school-wide poetry reading.

Sacred Heart students enter college very well prepared as writers. For many, writing helps them find their voice; for others, writing is a vehicle for deeper critical thinking and more lucid articulation.

From coaching first graders in the craft of short personal narratives to guiding twelfth graders through difficult papers on existentialism, Sacred Heart teachers inspire their students to be dynamic and confident writers and to be proud of a skill that will serve them well their whole lives.

remark•able

Challenge Yourself!

Jennifer Raymond Dresden ’02 speaks to Cum Laude assembly

T

welve seniors were inducted into the national Cum Laude Honor Society this spring at a ceremony that featured Jennifer Raymond Dresden ’02 as the guest speaker.

Seniors inducted included Bianca Chiappelloni, Amanda Crowell, Margaret Ellison, Jane Gerstner, Tara Hammonds, Christina Huchro, Marissa Licursi, Sarah McDonald, Stephanie Mellert, Jane Mikus, Audrey Moukattaf and Colleen O’Neill.

Jennifer inspired the Upper School assembly with her story of confronting personal challenges. She urged students to seize the challenges they will be presented with in life, knowing their grounding in the Goals and Criteria will see them through.

At Sacred Heart, Jennifer was a student-athlete and was recognized as a Presidential Scholar in her senior year.

Community service at Sacred Heart grew into an interest in peace and conflict studies, which she focused on for her master’s degree at St. Andrews University in Scotland, after graduation from Harvard University. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in government at Georgetown University.

At the cum laude ceremony, she spoke about where her research has led her—not so much in global destination, but to the source of her inner strength, which she found in the Goals and Criteria. Here is an excerpt: “My first night in Sierra Leone was, hands down, the most frightening night of my life. I was by myself in a country that I had never been to before. All I could think about that night was what an idiot I was for thinking that I could manage living in such a difficult place.

“That was a Monday.

“Over the course of the week, I started to figure out how to manage—where to find a taxi, where to find groceries, how to

contact the people I needed to speak with for my research.

“When Sunday came around, I went to Mass in one of the neighborhood churches which, coincidentally, was named Sacred Heart.

Here again, I learned two things. First, I learned that Mass in West Africa takes at least two hours.

Second, and more importantly, I learned what it is like to worship in a church of 200 people who know, with absolute certainty, that their lives are completely dependent on God’s grace. The faith in that church was so powerful and so open that you could almost touch it.

All I could do was marvel at it.

“That first week in Sierra Leone, I was just trying to figure out how to do my research, and I did. God used that space to show me an entirely different kind of faith. I could never have experienced that if I had not taken on the challenge of going there in the first place.

“These are the gifts that living your life as a ‘child of the Sacred Heart’ offer you.

“These are the challenges that being a ‘child of the Sacred Heart’ present to you.

“This is a gift given to you, but it also calls you to take up the challenge of living out the Goals and Criteria. I hope you do so, both while you are here, and wherever life takes you in the future.”

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

15

Sacred heart

16

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

fall Season 2013 Western New England Preparatory School Athletic Association All-Stars

Field Hockey: Kate Burkett ’15 and Alice Millerchip ’15 Soccer: Kaitlyn Adamini ’16 and Tracey Hagan ’16 New England Preparatory School Athletic Council All-Stars

Cross Country: Emma Church ’15 and Mackenzie Jordan ’17 Volleyball: Margaret Ellison ’14 and Grace McKenney ’15

winter season 2013/14 Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) ALL-LEAGUE

Basketball: Colleen O’Neill ’14 and Emily O’Sullivan ’15 Squash: Mary Grace Henry ’15 FAA HONORABLE MENTION

Basketball: Claire O’Neill ’15 Squash: Catherine Keating ’16 New England Preparatory School Athletic Council All-Stars

Basketball: Colleen O’Neill ’14 and Emily O’Sullivan ’15 2013 Kingswood Oxford Basketball All-Tournament Team

Colleen O’Neill ’14

27 Championships won since winter 2008 National Tournaments Champions

United States Squash Middle School Team Champions (2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11) New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Tournament Appearances

7 School appearances in New England Tournaments (requiring bids) Class A: Basketball (Quarterfinals 2013–14) Class B: Squash (Champions 2007–08), Tennis (Champions 2012–13), Volleyball (Champions 2009–10, Finalists 2010–11, Semifinalists 2011–12, Finalists 2012–13) Western New England Preparatory School Athletic Association Champions

Class B: Field Hockey (2000, 2001) FAA REGULAR SEASON League Champions

Basketball (2011–12), Field Hockey (Co-Champions 2008–09), Lacrosse (2010–11), Tennis (Tri-Champions 2012–13), Volleyball (Co-Champions 2009–10, Co-Champions 2010-11) FAA TOURNAMENT Champions

Basketball (2011–12), Lacrosse (2010–11), Tennis (Doubles 2008–09, Singles 2010–11, Singles 2012-13), Volleyball (2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14) Catholic Challenge Swim Invitational Champions

2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14 Get the latest scores and stats for all our teams at cshgreenwich.org Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

17

hy W Sports Matter Kelly Stone, Convent of the Sacred Heart’s director of athletics, brought a wealth of experience when she came to the School in 2006. After graduating from the Taft School,

help prepare us for what lies ahead.

Plus, it’s AWESOME to play with your classmates for your school.

she attended the Division I University of New Hampshire on an athletic scholarship and played field hockey, ice hockey

Athletes were once considered to be

and lacrosse. She coached and taught at Hotchkiss for 17

great role models for kids. That’s

years and earned a master’s degree in sports management

not necessarily the case now. Does

from the University of Massachusetts. After working at

that worry you?

Disney’s Wide World of Sports, she moved to Kansas to

There’s so much coverage of negative stories like the Penn State scandal, drug abuse and steroid use, but the truth is there are so many great stories that don’t get much attention. There are scores of great role models playing in scholastic, collegiate and Olympic venues that deserve our attention and admiration. The good in sports vastly outweighs the bad.

work in sports marketing, then worked for the Eastern College Athletic Conference for six years.

Veteran journalist Don Wade visited with her to talk about the importance of sports for young women and the state of the athletic program at Convent of the Sacred Heart.

Why do sports matter for young women in a school setting?

Sports empower women.

18

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

It gives us the confidence that we can conquer the world!

Sports empower women. It gives us the confidence that we can conquer the world! There are also significant health benefits related to sports, both physical and mental. Studies have shown that athletes as a group have better cognitive scores than nonathletes. It’s fascinating that so many women who are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies have athletic backgrounds.

Sports helped them develop the leadership skills that carry over to professional success. Additionally, there are tremendous socialization benefits connected with being part of a team, particularly for kids entering a new school. Striving together for a common goal transforms a group into a team; a powerful journey that teaches each teammate that it isn’t about me, but “we.” These lessons

How important are athletics in the CSH culture?

First, unlike most independent schools, athletics at Convent of the Sacred Heart are not required. Still, we had 170 out of 300 Upper School girls sign up for spring sports, which tells us how important the kids think sports are. It turns out that by not making sports mandatory, we attract the kids who really want to play and commit to a team.

Participation is at a record high for the Upper and Middle School interscholastic programs this spring. Secondly, the CSH community values the importance of being physical, playing for “Team CSH” and takes pride in our many accomplishments. Witnessing the maturation process our athletes and

teams experience throughout the course of a season or career is pretty special.

Their growth inspires us and gives us so much to cheer about.

There is so much pressure on kids to excel in every facet of their lives and that includes athletics. Does that concern you?

Absolutely, I feel it is too much too soon. We want our students to play because they are passionate about sports and love being on a team, not because it is a means to an end. Our Middle School ethos is participation.

It is not about winning and losing, but rather equal playing time for all regardless of ability and/or experience.

The Upper School program is driven by competitiveness. Sub-varsity teams serve as a feeder system and provide an opportunity for those who may not be varsity-caliber. Playing, competing and being a part of a team should be fun, not about building a college resume. Unfortunately, what we want is not always reality.

Do you think sports help kids cope with the challenges life throws at them?

Without a doubt. Athletics is a vehicle for developing mental toughness.

Experiencing how to challenge oneself, to be disciplined, to overcome hardships, to be resilient, to bounce back as an adolescent in a crew boat, on a court or field with teammates develops the inner strength and resources to handle life. It’s experiential learning that reminds us, “yes, we can.”

What are some other life lessons kids can take from sports?

There are two I believe are the most important. The first: “on any given day it is the team that comes to play.” You could be totally prepared, more skilled, more physically fit, better coached, you’ve done all the right things to get there, but for

whatever reason you fall short. It is heartbreaking, but authentic and true to life. There are no guarantees on “Game Day.” The same holds true in our personal lives and in the workplace. It is a valuable lesson to experience first-hand on a playing field. Secondly, “it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.” You never know what’s going to happen. Play hard to the final whistle, to the finish line; never give up; don’t assume if you are down in the final seconds, there’s no way; stay focused and on task. Teams that have experienced comeback victories in the final seconds are impacted for a lifetime. Those athletes always see the glass as half full. There is always hope.

How important was Title IX, which provided equally opportunities for girls and women in sports?

It was huge. It opened the door of opportunity for female athletes at all levels. We are grateful to Billie Jean King and other pioneers who recognized the inequities and with the support of Title IX helped pave the way for an equal playing field with our male counterparts. As a single-sex school, we at Sacred Heart can focus completely on providing the best opportunities

for our girls. The capital campaign is critical to that mission and the resources generated will support our current need for more athletic “classrooms” for our girls to flourish in.

And increasing the opportunities for the students is central to Sacred Heart’s mission, true?

Sacred Heart is all about providing the best education and experience for its students. There are so many outstanding and award-winning programs available; athletics is just one piece of the puzzle. Sports are important, but they don’t overshadow any other aspect of the School. Sacred Heart values the girls being involved in sports, as it helps build spirit and pride in the School. Our new facilities will only add to that because they reflect the commitment that the School, the parents and the alumnae have to Sacred Heart and the students.

You never know what’s going to happen.

Play hard to the final whistle, to the finish line;

never give up.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

19

remark•able Making It to the Big Show Megan Grehan ’07 Rises in the LPGA Ranks

By Don Wade, journalist and former senior editor for Golf Digest

et’s hear it for Megan Grehan ’07, who is teeing up for the next stage of what has been a remarkable career— golfing and otherwise.

Megan is living out a dream by playing in her rookie season on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.

Megan, who graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart in 2007 and then went on to Vanderbilt University, enjoyed an admirable amateur and academic career. At Vanderbilt, she pulled down an impressive 3.65/4.0 grade point average while qualifying for every tournament and improving her stroke average each year. Her performance was so impressive that the school instituted the Megan Grehan Academic Award. She was the first recipient and gave credit to her parents and the lessons she learned at Convent of the Sacred Heart.

“Convent of the Sacred Heart is a great school,” she said.

“It prepared me for college and I made lots of life-long friends there. The school was very supportive of my golf and I learned a lot about discipline and time management there. It was also very challenging. My parents have been great. They taught me to have high expectations and have always been supportive.”

Golf has also played a big role in her success. “Golf taught me to have patience,” she said. “It’s a great analogy for life. Just when you think you’ve got it in golf, it disappears the next day.

You always have to keep working and learning.”

Megan grew up in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and developed her game at Westchester Country Club in Rye, the long-time site of the PGA Tour’s Westchester Classic. Her parents played and they got her started in the game. She just liked tagging along with them and eventually became one of the best amateurs around. She won two New York State Women’s Amateurs, and became the youngest winner in the history of the event when she won in 2002 at age 13. A wealth of other successes followed.

But after graduating from Vanderbilt, she walked away from the game—but only briefly. “I needed some perspective

20

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

“Golf taught me to have patience.

It’s a great analogy for life.

Just when you think you’ve got it in golf, it disappears the next day.

You always have to keep working and learning.”

and a little bit of gratitude of how awesome it is to play golf for a living,” she said. “You kind of lose that in the shuffle of everything sometimes.”

She turned professional in 2012 and played in Europe, playing in seven events and making three cuts.

“I learned a lot about golf and traveling and professional golf while I was there,” she said.

Average Driving Distance: 248.455 yards Driving Accuracy: 73% Greens in Regulation: 65%

credit: Vanderbilt University

Rolex Rookie of the Year Ranking: 5th (Year-to-date from LPGA website)

At the 2013 LPGA Qualifying School, she put together an admirable final round, finishing up with an eagle to finish at 10-under par and tie for seventh place, which earned her an exemption for qualifying for the 2014 season.

“There’s so much talent out there and you don’t realize that until you turn pro,” she said. “It’s important to surround yourself with good people and I’ve been able to do that.”

And while she’s going onto the tour with her eyes wide open, she hasn’t lost the enthusiasm she’s had for the game since she was a kid.

“Two of my two favorite players are (two-time U.S. Women’s Open champion) Meg Mallon because she’s just the nicest person and (2013 Masters champion) Adam Scott because he’s so nice to people and he has a phenomenal golf swing. Plus he’s easy on the eyes.”

So play away, Megan…

and good luck!

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

21

courage come from the vision of how beloved we are and the mission to share that love and all God’s good gifts—sharing it through the school’s long tradition of educating young women to learn and to lead.”

“Generosity and

--- Rev. Paul Holland, S.J., in his homily at the liturgy celebrating the launch of “A Gift for Every Girl,” the alumnae capital campaign effort

framing our

22

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

one of the highlights of the campaign is a new two-story athletic center filled with state-of-the-art squash and basketball courts, an expanded dance studio, a fitness room and more.

By Kathleen S. Failla, director of public relations and communications

Building on the legacy of a Sacred Heart education, our goal is to physically transform our campus by creating spaces that encourage values such as faith, character, community, courage, sportsmanship, teamwork, leadership, critical thinking and reflection.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

23

FramingourFuture TODAY

TOMORROW AND FOREVER

Construction gets underway for New Facilities When students returned from spring break, they got an exciting

Current students are excited about the creation of an

united school for generations of our girls to come.

Scan this page to watch a video about the impact of these changes from the point of view of our Sacred Heart Students.

24

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

first look at the construction underway to transform our campus with a new athletic complex, dining room and outdoor commons area.

To prepare the ground for construction, some of the existing structures—the garage and west cottage—were demolished during spring break. The area behind the School will be transformed into an attractive space that will fully engage students in the life of the School. All this takes planning, hard work and the support of the entire School community.

Groundbreaking took place on Thursday, May 15, with the entire School community gathering to celebrate. Students are looking forward to the results this new construction will bring—a 35,600-square foot athletic complex with all-purpose space for liturgies and assemblies, a fitness center and dance studio; the new, expanded dining facilities including a fireplace, indoor student lounge and connection to an outdoor terrace; and the exciting outdoor commons, which will feature new playgrounds; a large amphitheater for outdoor study, classes and performances; and the alumnae brick walk with benches for study, quiet reflection and gathering.

These new facilities will transform the physical appearance of our beautiful 118-acre campus and enhance the educational experiences of all students.

“When I first heard the news that Mrs. Hayes gave, I felt extremely excited,” said sophomore Brooke Wilkens. “I play two of my sports each year in the gym—volleyball and basketball, and having only one court has been very difficult with the amount of student athletes that we have at Sacred Heart. Now that we are getting more courts built, our athletic program is going to be so much stronger. It is going to be very exciting to be able to have more flexibility with practice and game times.”

Eighth grader Laura Holland is eagerly looking forward to the additional courts for basketball, squash and volleyball. She echoed a common complaint from students about overcrowding in the gym on game days with only one court, little room for spectators and no locker space for visiting teams.

Sixth-grade student Kathryn (Katie) Keller looks forward to playing squash on campus, rather than taking the bus to play offcampus on rented courts. “The new courts (for squash) will help improve our skills because we’ll be able to practice more and prepare to play,” Katie said.

impressed with the plans.

There is going to be more space and big glass that will carry in more light.”

“I’m actually very

—second grader Catherine (Catie) Ruf

Sophia Curto, a sixth grader who has played basketball since she was four years old, is thrilled about the additional court time that will provide her with opportunities for practice. “I’m really excited about much more space for basketball in the gym,” she said.

In the Lower School, where dance and physical education classes are more the focus, students are excited, too. “I’m actually very impressed with the plans,” said second grader Catherine (Catie) Ruf. “There is going to be more space and big glass that will carry in more light,” she said, speaking about the new athletic facility. Catie is looking forward to using a larger, light-filled dance studio where she will have room “to practice my turns.”

The new outdoor commons area will be closed to traffic due to the rerouting of the current road at the back of campus. In its place there will be a large green space for the amphitheater, playgrounds and an alumnae brick walk. “I’m happy because we won’t have to look over our shoulders when we go to the gym,” said Robin Murphy, a third grader. Robin said the elimination of the road will also provide additional space for students to enjoy themselves outdoors during the school day.

With the road gone, the new student dining room will be extended to include an outdoor dining terrace, featuring a courtyard design with a fireplace and water feature.

—continued on p. 28

The Outdoor Dining Terrace will be used by our students primarily for social activity with open skies and an attractive outdoor fireplace as the focal point.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

25

FramingourFuture TODAY

TOMORROW AND FOREVER

Sacred Heart enabled me to develop the character, motivation and focus that allowed me to pursue my goals during my college years and beyond. The environment is unique, and provides the ideal setting for young girls and women to learn the skills, confidence and compassion that they’ll need to compete in an increasingly competitive world.”

“My years at

26

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

NEW outdoor classroom Amphitheater

Athletic Complex

The new 35,000 sq. ft. complex will incorporate a variety of needs for our high-performing athletic program. It will also serve as the School’s central indoor gathering space and be large enough for all-school student liturgies and assemblies, and special events such as the Mother-Daughter Liturgy and Father-Daughter Dinner Dance. Features Include: • Large new gymnasium for basketball and volleyball • Multi-purpose space for all-school liturgies • 6 squash courts • Dance studio • Fitness center • Individual rooms and class space for gym, physical education, trainer • Administrative offices

Dining Room

This will be a major gathering space for students and it will feature an attractively furnished new dining space, student lounge, indoor/outdoor fireplaces, and an outdoor dining terrace.

Outdoor Commons Area

Students will enjoy outdoor activities and learning opportunities on this new, centralized green space. Located between the main building —Cathleen Mendelson Daly ’85, CSH’s first All-American lacrosse player and Denison University Hall of Famer for lacrosse and field hockey

and the new Athletic Complex, it will feature a large outdoor amphitheater, playgrounds and the Alumnae Brick Walk.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

27

—continued from p. 25

important that we all use them wisely, constructively and as much as we possibly can since they are going to be so much fun to have!”

“It is really

—Brooke Wilkens ’16

From the terrace, students will enjoy a view of the nearby athletic complex and the beautiful landscape with its amphitheater, alumnae walk with benches, and the playgrounds. It will be a delightful area in which to gather in nice weather.

When the facilities open at the start of the 2015–16 school year, Madison Sieg says she will be in sixth grade, just the right age to enjoy some of the new freedoms that come with being in Middle School—sports teams and forming new friendships. “I’m really so excited to see all the changes. I can’t wait,” she said.

Grace Hasselbeck, now in third grade, is already planning to go out for sports in Middle School. “I’m excited for the dance studio and athletic facility, but also the dining room,” she said. “The whole new facility because I like sports and stuff.”

One of the hallmarks of a Sacred Heart education is the lasting friendships our students form. Building relationships and collaborating with others is taught in the classroom, encouraged by our Goals and Criteria. With the new dining space, which

includes an indoor student lounge around a fireplace, and more room to gather outdoors in large and small groups, students will be inspired to put into practice what they are learning in the classroom.

Our goal with the new facilities is to invest in our students and enhance an already vibrant program by providing new opportunities for personal and spiritual growth, an athletic discipline that maximizes individual and team performance, and new creative endeavors.

“In meeting this goal, we will build on the legacy of a Sacred Heart education, said Head of School Pamela Juan Hayes ’64. “Our goal is to transform our campus by creating spaces that encourage the values of faith, character, community, courage, sportsmanship, teamwork and leadership.”

Students are excited about reaching these goals. “It is going to be such a privilege for all the students to use these facilities,” said sophomore Brooke Wilkens. “It is really important that we all use them wisely, constructively and as much as we possibly can since they are going to be so much fun to have!”

The Indoor Student lounge will be located in a section of the new dining room. This area will be a comfortable area open to students for gathering, studying and relaxing between classes.

To stay up-to-date with the latest campaign information, visit www.cshgreenwich.org/ FramingOurFuture

28

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

“Greening” the

A Q&A with Head of School Pamela Juan Hayes ’64

Sacred Heart has always prided itself in its mission of teaching on environmental issues. How will the new building project affect the environment?

We continually consider how to deliver the very best education to our students based on the Goals and Criteria of a Sacred Heart education. The same high standards we uphold in education translate to the School’s thinking with regard to the design and construction of a healthy, high performance school. This thinking includes a focus on environmental areas in air quality, ambient lighting, architecture, energy, efficiency, maintenance, outdoor space planning and site engineering.

Sacred Heart will work to protect the environment during construction. Elaborate underground storm water storage systems are being provided to handle and treat runoff so as not to pollute the natural areas of the site and neighboring properties. The local chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council considers this measure a top regional priority, especially in light of recent storm events. Natural environments on the site will be protected from erosion and sedimentation impacts from construction activities.

Can you tell us some of the “green” highlights of the new facilities?

First, we know through studies that “green” schools are healthy for students, teachers/staff and the environment. Our new facilities will be productive learning environments with ample natural light, high-quality acoustics and good air quality. Natural light will spread throughout the

of sacred heart

new Athletic Complex and Dining Room with maximization of natural light without compromising environmental efficiency and the views connecting indoor spaces to the outdoors.

Existing well water will provide a non-potable water source for the irrigation of plantings.

Other green highlights: • From an energy perspective, the buildings have been designed to exceed the State of Connecticut’s energy code requirements by roughly 20%. A commissioning agent has been retained to make sure all systems are performing at an optimal level before the buildings will be occupied.

• The mechanical systems were selected to provide maximum fresh air levels that do not trap water or pollutants. Systems will be protected during construction to avoid contamination and filters will be replaced prior to occupancy.

• Roofing materials will meet Energy Star standards for “Cool Roofing,” thus reducing air-conditioning loads and the heat-island effect of the site.

• Water will be used efficiently with lowflow fixtures. Appliances for such uses as laundry and food service were selected to meet Energy Star requirements.

• A plan for construction waste management is in place. Construction waste will be recycled to the maximum extent possible with a goal of 85% waste recycled.

• Paints, sealants, adhesives, shade fabrics, carpets, furniture, ceilings and wood products meet the requirements of the Collaborative for High Performing Schools program.

• Products were selected with a preference for local manufacturing, durability, low maintenance, recycled material content, and wood products grown with sustainable forestry practices.

Does the School have a plan for air quality and dust?

Sacred Heart has adopted a plan to minimize dust and air contaminants during construction. This includes testing by a qualified licensed professional scheduled on a regular basis to ensure that we are meeting our goals for providing a healthy environment for our school community. The contractor is required to post and enforce an air-quality management plan that meets the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council LEED program. This applies to outdoor dust control, as well as indoor air quality in spaces occupied during construction, such as the dining room and existing gym.

What are the major environmental lessons Sacred Heart is learning from this process?

There are many environmental lessons we are learning from designing and constructing our new facilities. “Going green” is about making choices that benefit our environment.

We have realized throughout the planning process that being environmentally conscious is not just a one-time decision, but a continual process. Through our Goals and Criteria, we are fully committed for the long term to finding ways to do our part to live in balance with the natural world that sustains us.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

29

Nancy Salisbu

ry, RSCJ

Educating Strong and Capable Young Women Through Example

By Victoria Taylo

School Archivist

30

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

r Allen

and Historian

S

Sr. Nancy Salisbury’s journey through life, and the talents and strength she would develop along the way, came from a deep faith that allowed her to be both a leader and an inspiration to those whose lives she touched. This year we honored her example by renaming the first building on our Greenwich campus, the former Block mansion, Salisbury Hall in honor of Sr. Salisbury’s legacy. Founded in 1848 in Manhattan, our School moved several times in New York City before the land for our current campus was purchased. When we opened on King Street in 1945, the mansion, now Salisbury Hall, was the center of student life.

When Sr. Nancy Salisbury graduated from Manhattanville College, she knew that she had deep faith in God and a vocation to religious life. What she never imagined was that in spite of her timid and solitary nature, she would develop the strength to draw from within the power to change her own life, as well as the lives of many, for she would become a woman capable of making lasting changes in the schools and people whose lives she had touched.

In the 52 years between her graduation in 1952 to her death in 2004, she did indeed make a difference as an educator and as a mentor, as chair of several boards, trustee of various schools and as head of school at both Greenwich and 91st Street for a combined total of 30 years.

By 2004, the shy and withdrawn young girl had become an educational visionary, a strategist who directed two strong and effective schools. Her legacy to us today is that the life sustained by faith can allow us to draw upon inner strength that helps us to be open in acknowledging ambition and relishing leadership, while remaining both wise and compassionate.

Sr. Salisbury’s life demonstrates to women that although there is no doubt that they can be forceful leaders, they must ascribe their success not to luck, but to themselves and to the hard work and inner strength that success entails.

Her early life was a lonely one as the only child of older parents who moved so often that their daughter was unable to make friends. She spent solitary hours reading and eventually gave up even trying to make friends. By the time she had reached high school age, an aunt offered to pay her tuition at Convent of the Sacred Heart, Overbrook, just outside Philadelphia.

Manhattanville College, to which she won a scholarship, brought her academic success and broadened her horizons. She joined several campus organizations and served on student government. During her senior year,

she made the momentous decision to enter the Society of the Sacred Heart. After three difficult years as a novice, working with a woman whom she did not find supportive, she began her career in education.

The years that followed were a period of serious growth, both personal and professional. She began to apply herself to her teaching specialty, mathematics, earning a master’s degree from the University of Detroit. In 1968, she came to Greenwich as head of the Middle School, and during those years, through great personal effort, she began to develop, not only as an educator and leader, but as a woman who believed in herself. In 1970, just two years later, she became head of school, a role she fulfilled with energy and determination until her appointment as head at 91st, where she was to serve until her retirement in 2000.

The combination of her faith in God and her hard work allowed her to become the warm and loving person she would remain for the rest of her life.

Sr. Salisbury was gifted with a clear view of the balance between the spiritual, personal and professional sides of life. Because she had deep faith, as well as experience in the changes that life brings, she was able to maintain a firm, basic commitment to the quality of education and life direction of each person she served. Each person became that “one child” touched by a Sacred Heart education.

At the time of her retirement from school life in 2000, her colleagues in the world of independent schools stated, “The spiritual framework of her personal and professional life have inspired all of us. She is one of those people who, when the going gets tough, brings us back to our fundamental commitments.”

Her ministry to the teachers and students she served, her capacity for leadership, courage and love remain her legacy to us, as does her deep commitment to educating strong, capable women of faith, not only in God, but in themselves as well.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

31

Play is inspired by curiosity and wonder

32

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Creativity and

Innovation: The Tinkering Mindset

By Linda Vasu, Upper School English & World Literature Faculty; Founding Director, Center for Research, Teaching & Learning at Sacred Heart

I

n a recent New York Times piece “Learning to Think Outside the Box: Creativity Becomes an Academic Discipline,” Laura Papano reports that, “Once considered the product of genius or divine inspiration, creativity—the ability to spot problems and devise smart solutions— is being recast as a prized and teachable skill.”

Teaching creativity? Of course we are! One look at children playing anywhere on the Sacred Heart campus, and we discover that everyone is creative. Maria Montessori echoed Jean Piaget when she asserted, “Play is the work of the child.” She observed that play is inspired by curiosity and wonder, and involves making imagination real through learning about how things work. This is the essence of tinkering, a process of discovery characterized by exploration, a sense of timelessness and flow. The tinkering mindset approaches problem solving through unstructured experimentation that is insightful, dynamic, messy and innovative.

Innovation is the taproot of the Sacred Heart educational mission.

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat’s forward-thinking vision embraces education for competence, courage, confidence and community.

Here on our hilltop, an engaged and purposeful student body views the world through a 360-degree lens grounded in the five Goals and

Criteria, one of which is “a social awareness which impels to action.”

A year ago, building upon the values of St. Madeleine Sophie, Head of School Pamela Juan Hayes ’64 launched The Sacred Heart Center for Research, Teaching & Learning.

St. Madeleine Sophie’s enduring legacy of agency and entrepreneurship for women perhaps began with these two words: “What if.”

• What if we imagined the future?

• What if we adopted a tinkering mindset and played with existing ways of sharing ideas, practices, methods and technology resources?

• What if we dedicated time to thinking about innovative ways of serving our local and global community?

• What if we crafted a new model of distributed leadership, learning and collaboration?

• What if we established a Center that models creativity, connection, communication, excellence and joyful rigor beyond traditional divisions of classroom, grade level and division?

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

33

Learning is all about stretching minds towards that abstract horizon.

Seventy Sacred Heart innovators responded to the call to action, motivated by the challenge to frame our future. One of the priorities of the Center for Research, Teaching & Learning is teaching students adaptive academic mindsets and methods for solving complex, systemic, global problems.

Innovation as a high-order thinking skill begins with erasing boundaries, generating ideas, receiving critical feedback, and then refining, prototyping and implementing these ideas. In his book Drive, Daniel Pink uses the metaphor of the “asymptote” to describe learning as an ongoing process of creative reaching or tinkering, like the straight line that a curve on a graph comes near, but never meets, as it heads toward infinity. Learning is all about stretching minds towards that abstract horizon.

The Sacred Heart Center for Research, Teaching & Learning fosters the design, development and integration of inspired practices for preschool to twelfth grade learner-centered instruction. The overarching goal is to imagine our future—by curating resources, finding innovative ways to build capacity and efficiency, and preparing the Sacred Heart community to meet the demands and challenges of a global society. Members meet monthly for peer-to-peer collaborative work in one or more strands.

• The Preschool–12 Curriculum Strand aims for ambitious, rigorous pedagogy and varied methods for engaging students’ passions in an intentional curriculum spiral. This group works on integrating content and skills across disciplines, divisions and grade levels.

New and refined courses of study purposefully build on students’ prior learning and cultivate opportunities for deep and significant learning, rooted in the Goals and Criteria and the National Association of Independent Schools’ “Six Cs,” which are critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, character, and cultural competency.

The Five Strands:

• The Partnerships Strand explores and develops innovative opportunities for establishing collaborative alliances with local and global teacher-training colleges, universities, and community organizations to enhance the Center’s mission, and with professionals participating in our Shadow Program, which provides our students a workplace experience in a field of interest.

• The Early Childhood Strand explores best practices for creating a dynamic, coeducational learning environment in The Barat Center for Early Childhood Education. Guiding our youngest students in the appropriate use of technology and the development of skills for their future is critical for this next generation of innovators.

• The Research & Documentation Strand focuses on relevant, robust research skills for life by teaching ways to locate, manage, curate, organize, visualize and present information. This group has created a repository that aggregates, publishes and distributes pedagogical resources for the entire community.

34

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

• The Education for Girls Strand focuses on strategies, initiatives, programs and opportunities to develop and position our girls for courageous, compassionate leadership. Through initiatives in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) leadership, the group explores ways to leverage our girls’ engagement, expertise and experience. Sacred Heart’s membership in the Network of Sacred Heart Schools, the Online School for Girls, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s DNA Learning Center and the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools leverages our commitment to the transformative power of all girls’ schooling.

Outside of meetings, the Center functions in a virtual space on Google Drive, accessible to all members of the school community. The group of innovators is self-motivated and action-oriented; they monitor and archive their own progress in the development and implementation of projects. And together the group manifests St. Madeleine Sophie’s vision of harnessing their time and talent for transforming the world.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

35

Giving Matters

“To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have ´succeeded'.”

[Success by Ralph Waldo Emerson] 36

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

grateful hearts give generously Philanthropy at Sacred Heart

By Michael F. Baber, Assistant Head of School and Advancement Director

From the Rockefellers to the poor box in church, generosity is not only measured by the amount, but by the spirit in which a gift is given.

This maxim is true as we launch our capital campaign, “Framing Our Future,” and as we continue with the Annual Fund, the Senior Class Gift to Endowment and other philanthropic initiatives in this year of “Inspirational Giving.”

Why exactly is Sacred Heart at the top of so many people’s lists for philanthropic giving?

In the complex world of charitable giving, donor-advised funds, gifting-appreciated stocks and planned giving, the answer is quite simple. Parents are grateful for their daughters excelling at Sacred Heart. It is because of our proven track record of making a lasting and positive impact in the lives of girls and in the women they become.

As one donor summed it up, “Giving to Sacred Heart feels good, it feels right.” Part of our cachet is the simplicity of our aim: We aim to make fit citizens of the world. Not only women of God, but of finance, diplomacy and executive efficiency, too.

We successfully provide our students with the best experiences and opportunities available to learn leadership skills, and to apply these skills in the midst of a group. As our students graduate, they take not only their diplomas with them into the world, but also skills for a lifetime. This ideal of education is zealously pursued at Sacred Heart, Greenwich, and at all Sacred Heart schools across the world.

Unequivocally, life at Sacred Heart changes lives. Your giving makes a real difference in the lives of these girls. This is true for all our students. Because of these “outcomes,” that is, changed lives, grateful families take care of Sacred Heart. Because we take such good care of their children we become family.

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat herself spoke about giving: “Pray.

Grow holy. Collect funds, alas! Why must one always, when planning the works of God, put this vile question of money on par with spiritual means? It is because, in truth, without it, one can do nothing.” Other maxims capture motivations to give. “The gift you receive, give as a gift;” “Love the giver;” “Those to whom much is given, much is required.”

While some people might argue that they prefer to give directly to those in dire need (see Kerry Bader’s article on pages 38–39), many see the long-term and lasting return on their investment by giving to Sacred Heart. For this we are very grateful. Just as families today directly benefit from the generous giving of previous families, our current, as well as future families, will continue to make a Sacred Heart education possible for succeeding generations.

We are confident that your generosity will sustain the ideal of a Sacred Heart education which is serious in its principles, strong in its studies, rich in a spirit of love and of life. In this spirit of gratitude, we are thankful to you for keeping Sacred Heart at the top of your list!

Sacred Heart, Greenwich for years to come.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

37

Leading on a Global Scale Lauren Manning & Joan DeGennaro

By Kerry Bader, Upper School theology teacher

“A social awareness that impels to action,” is one of the five Goals and Criteria of a Sacred Heart education. Scores of alumnae dedicate themselves to making the world a better place. Here is one example.

Lauren Manning and Joan DeGennaro, friends from the Class of 2009, both graduated in 2013 from Northwestern University, and work in the fields of social justice and development. They credit Sacred Heart for inspiring faith in action and providing opportunities to develop organizational skills.

In Gulu, Uganda, Lauren Manning ’09 works to protect children who fall prey to exploitation and abuse. A fellow in the Princeton in Africa program, Lauren is currently the communication officer for Invisible Children.

Although more than 4,000 miles from her home in Connecticut, Uganda does not seem like a strange land to Lauren because during her five years at Sacred Heart, she saw the School address the needs of Ugandans, in particular the children attending our sister school.

Her friend and classmate, Joan DeGennaro ’09, also finds herself immersed in using her organizational skills to help those in need.

As a development associate at Catholic Charities in New York City,

Joan uses the skills she first honed at Sacred Heart to help Catholic Charities fund services that alleviate the pain, suffering and alienation felt by the poor and vulnerable in New York and its suburbs.

Both women participated in community service while students at Sacred Heart. Lauren traveled on a Lourdes pilgrimage to help the sick and to New Orleans to build homes. “Although the immediate community at CSH is small, one of the most important things I found is that Sacred Heart recognizes the power of our wider community, both locally and globally,” said Lauren.

Sacred Heart provided a catalyst to ignite her desire to work in global relief. The real-life experience Lauren received as a member of CSH’s student-run philanthropy, the Barat Foundation, not only helped her gain a broader understanding of the needs of the domestic and international community, but it also provided an opportunity to learn how non-profits are funded and prioritize projects.

“During my four years on the board, I learned a lot about measuring impact and how funding influences program structure,” she said. Now, when she sits in grant meetings, she recalls Barat board discussions. “It makes me consider what a committee might look for when deciding who to award funding to,” Lauren said.

(top of page) Lauren Manning ’09, third from left, with Invisible Children staff Lauren Manning ’09, left, and Joan DeGennaro ’09

38

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Lauren Manning ’09 in Uganda

“Achieving equality and empowering women is a goal in itself, it is also a condition for building healthier, better educated, more peaceful and more prosperous societies.

When women are fully engaged, all of society benefits. Only in this way can we successfully take on the enormous challenges confronting our world.”

[United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon]

Similarly, Joan credits her education at Sacred Heart for enabling her to grow the skills necessary to be successful in the non-profit field. As a student at Sacred Heart, she had opportunities to develop organizational and inter-personal skills, which continue to serve her well today. Joan was particularly drawn to the Angel Board, an Upper School club partnering with the parochial schools in Bridgeport, Conn. As a founding member, Joan was able to direct Angel Board’s mission.

As co-head of Model United Nations when Sacred Heart hosted its first conference, Joan picked up some new skills. “I spent hours coordinating schedules and working collaboratively with other schools and CSH faculty to make sure the event was a success,” she said. After graduating, she attended Northwestern University, where she ran the Global Engagement Summit, a week-long series where delegates interested in affecting change in the world come together to discuss best practices. “I managed a budget of $80,000 and coordinated a staff of almost 100 students,” said Joan. “Looking back, I realize that my experience running the Model UN conference, although on a smaller scale, primed me for success on this larger stage.”

Joan speaks fondly of the commitment to faith fostered at Sacred Heart, where she became familiar with the principles of Catholic social teaching. At Northwestern the language of service was more secular, but the ideals and principles were similar.

The concept of a just world and the

mechanisms needed to achieve this are the foundation of Catholic social teaching, and these goals continue to inform Joan’s decisions and passions today.

Lauren and Joan credit Sacred Heart for instilling in them a desire to help others and to live a life of social justice. Coincidentally, both women graduated from CSH in 2009 and Northwestern University in 2013—Lauren with a degree in journalism and Joan in social policy.

Both say the seeds of compassion, understanding and confidence were planted and nourished on the Greenwich campus. Their work is but one example of CSH graduates continuing the mission of Sacred Heart education to become globally aware and to act. In so doing, they are alleviating the suffering of the vulnerable on a macro level. As Lauren stated, “I credit Sacred Heart with teaching me how to learn, how to manage time effectively, digest and process information, to ask critical questions, and participate in stimulating discussions.” These are the ingredients for their success today.

SHARE YOUR STORY about giving back, email faillak@cshct.org

Using Crew to Propel Others

Learn to Lead

The complete education of women has been the aim of Sacred Heart from the very beginning, with the goal that they exercise a profound influence no matter what their role in life may be. Succinctly put, Sacred Heart women are meant to learn and lead.

Sarah Hirshorn ’13, Class of 2013 salutatorian and four-year varsity crew member, took lessons learned on giving back to Stanford University, where as a member of the crew team, she launched a project to help disadvantaged youth attain success.

Scan this page to view the video that Bridget Scaturro ’14 produced about Sarah for “Today from the Heart.”

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

39

remark•able Beating Breast Cancer through Early Detection

By Nicole Seagriff ’03

I

t feels like yesterday that I was sitting in a medical office with my mother waiting to be called for my first MRI to monitor me for possible breast cancer.

Even though I am a nurse practitioner and know that MRIs are painless, I was nervous.

As I looked around the crowded suite in the breast cancer center, I saw women significantly older than me, some with scarves on their heads, one who was even on supplemental oxygen, and I thought, “I am too young to be here.”

I had already gone for genetic testing about six months earlier, which is why the doctors ordered the MRI. Also, when I found out that my mother was BRCA 2 positive I realized that I had a 50 percent chance of inheriting the BRCA 2 mutation. Based on my mom’s mutation alone, I still wasn’t able to know my cancer risk for sure. Once I found out I had the BRCA 2 gene it meant that I had a 50–80 percent chance of developing breast cancer.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that MRI would change my life and that I would be diagnosed with breast cancer—just two weeks after my 27th birthday. My chances of being diagnosed at that age, even with the BRCA gene, were 1 out of 20,000.

How did I get through it?

Looking back I realized my actions were very similar to something we at Sacred Heart know very well. Without recognizing it as such, I—along with my family, who was with me every step of the way—followed the five Goals and Criteria.

Step One (Goal 1): I turned it over to God. I believed fully in my heart that He would never give me a cross too big to bear, and I never doubted that He needed me to go through this experience. I know He

40

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

was with me when the doctors said I would probably need chemotherapy. I also know it was by His unbelievable mercy that I ended up not needing chemo after my final pathology returned weeks later with much better than expected results.

My mom told me that she faithfully prayed every day that God would keep me safe from cancer and what my family and I have come to realize is that He did.

The cancer was there whether we knew it or not. Waiting a few years to begin screening, as many healthcare professionals had advised me, would have allowed the cancer to advance to a point of life-altering repercussions.

Step Two (Goal 2): While keeping my faith in God, I moved to step two (Goal 2).

Valuing intellect, I learned everything I could about the disease, my prognosis and the best course of treatment. For me, it was a bilateral mastectomy. After recognizing my risk of reoccurrence given the BRCA mutation, I knew this was the treatment option I had to take, even though it meant not being able to breastfeed any children I might bear. As a primary care provider, that is still hard for me. But I don’t regret my decision because it was the most effective way for me to beat this disease.

Step Three (Goal 3): I took action to raise social awareness and joined the executive board of a group called The Pink Agenda, which focuses on raising awareness in young professionals about breast cancer while fundraising for research through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I also signed up for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer with my mother, who is also a breast cancer survivor.

Subsequently, Avon asked me to give the keynote address for the New York City walk. In addition to walking and speaking, I

“My mom and I did the Avon walk, three months into my diagnosis. It was two days: 26.2 miles the first day and 13.1 miles the next day. My mom is also a breast cancer survivor (our surgeries were 10 years and 5 days apart by the same surgeon at Sloan Kettering).”

Nicole with Jennifer Einersen ’03, Joanna Eisman ’03 and Jennifer Pitman ’03 at the NYC American Cancer Society walk in 2014

have shared my experience to help others with articles for CNN.com, iReport and the Huffington Post.

Step Four (Goal 4): I have built a community of young survivors through attending conferences, speaking and connecting with others. I have reached out to others with mentoring, and continue to check in with them by email.

Step Five (Goal 5): The process of personal growth is still ongoing for me with regard to this experience. It has allowed time for reflection.

What I have realized is that breast cancer has not taken anything from me that has not been replaced by something beautiful.

Each step of the way had its moments of kindness and love, in addition to the ability to see my own emotional strength. These gifts were truly a part of God’s grace and answers to my prayers.

My chances may have been 1 out of 20,000 for something devastating to occur, but I consider myself an extremely lucky and blessed for the supportive people in my life, the gift of a full recovery, the ability to continue my life knowing I beat cancer, and, as I have always known, the privilege of being a “child of Sacred Heart.”

Posing at the podium during a visit to the Vice President's house for a breast cancer event

“What I have realized is that

breast cancer has not taken anything from me that has not been replaced by something beautiful.”

Giving the keynote speech at the NYC Avon Walk for Breast Cancer October 2012, three months after her diagnosis

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

41

alumnae

news

W

hat an exciting year we are having at Sacred Heart! We had our first alumnae event at the very start of the year when Mrs. Wellington T. Mara, mother and grandmother of many Sacred Heart alums, became an honorary alumna at the Mass of the Holy Spirit in September. It was a great honor to have Bishop Frank J. Caggiano as our celebrant on that special day.

Our year continued with Reunion 2013, when we welcomed more than 150 alumnae, friends and family back home to Sacred Heart. We were proud to honor Kaye Cherry ’53, RSCJ, and Bonnie Joyce Grace ’63 as our Outstanding Alumnae this year. Sr. Cherry has been an inspiration to her former students, and Bonnie has modeled a Sacred Heart education in her life of faith and service to others. We also welcomed as honorary alumnae/i two staff members, Walter Bendik and Vicky Allen, who have each given more than 20 years of distinguished service to Sacred Heart.

New for this year was our inaugural “Come Home for Christmas” event in December. The alumnae board partnered with both the Parents’ Association and the Board of Trustees to initiate this signature event. It was so beautiful to see so many families come home to Sacred Heart over the course of that weekend. This event is sure to become a beloved tradition for

Greenwich-Maplehurst Alumnae Association Board 2013–2014 President: Shannon O’Leary Pujadas ’87 Vice President: Susie Callagy McCloskey ’84

42

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Treasurer: Sarah Jorquera ’79 Secretary: Katie Phelan Contino ’95 Board Members: Alyssa Keleshian Bonomo ’86 Dreux Dubin Claiden ’77 Lucy Coudert Conrod ’89 Erinn Laragh Denson ’85

many years to come. Looking forward, we are now poised at a significant moment in our history. In January, the “Framing Our Future” capital campaign was announced and in February the alumnae held a special liturgy and reception to celebrate and commit to the campaign. This is a major construction and campus renovation project that will enhance the functionality and beauty of our School. The alumnae have adopted the theme of “A Gift for Every Girl” for its role in the campaign. The theme is emblematic of who we are as Sacred Heart alumnae.

Our Generations Tea was a wonderful event for students and the alumnae in their family. We hosted our popular New York City Gathering at 91st Street once again. It is always so fascinating to visit another Sacred Heart school! And finally we closed out the year with the alumnae lacrosse game on May 31 at the annual Katie Cassidy Higgins ’96 Memorial Lacrosse Tournament.

It is indeed a very exciting and eventful time at Sacred Heart.

We hope that you can join us at future events.

Best Regards,

Shannon O’Leary Pujadas ’87, Alumnae Association President

Sarah Grogan ’97 Hope Houston Hirshorn ’82 Rita Houlihan ’66 Kristen Joyce Kevorkian ’97 Magee Finn King ’93 Barbara Linsenmeyer Malone ’85 Colleen Mara McLane ’91 Clare Heffernan Mulcahy ’97 Ondrea Levitt Schiciano ’86 Nicole Seagriff ’03 Sarah Quick Stuebe ’04

Ex Officio Members: Pamela Juan Hayes ’64, Head of School Michael F. Baber, Assistant Head and Director of Advancement Meghan Mara Ryan ’01, Director of Alumnae Relations, maram@cshct.org, 203-532-3545

ALUMNAE GATHERINGS Boston: Nicole Palmer '98, Liz MacKinnon Haak '98, Kate Heffernan '99, Caitlin Fay Fink '98, Colleen Consodine '08 and Michael Baber

Boston: Thomas Burke, Markey Pullen Burke '56, Meg Dealy Ackerman '55 and Bob Ackerman Boston: Courtney Schmidt '10, Maria Brusco '10, Kristin Uhmeyer '05, Sarah Aspinwall '06 and Erika Gorman '04

NYC Reception, May 6: Cristina Dolan ’79, Susan Burke-O’Neal, 91st Street Class of 1987, Cricket Telesco Burns ’82.

Boston: Patty Powers Woodlock '65 and Douglas Woodlock Young Alumnae Congé: Sarah Quick Stuebe ’04, Jamie Straub Steers ’04, Magee Quick

DC: The hosts were past parents and former trustees Ellen and Robert Shafer, at right, with Michael Baber and Pam Juan Hayes ’64.

Florida: Bill Finneran, second from left, hosted a Florida gathering in March. With Bill, left to right, are Joani Egan Mendelson ’59, Beth Coakley Dolce ’62 and June Dolce Heffernan ’59.

Class of 1989, from left to right, Dolores Delgado, Angela Dinger, Marisa May, Deana McCabe, Kristie Poluhoff.

Classes from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s gathered on April 29 at the home of Honorary Alumna Ann Mara.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

43

REUNION 2013

50th reunion class of 1963

Honorary Alumnae/i Victoria Taylor Allen and Walter Bendik

Mary Kate Rosato Galt '98, Kate Lavin Phillips '98 and Jennifer McGurty Perry '98

44

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Scan this page to view a slideshow of reunion class group shots from this year's event.

Bonnie Joyce Grace '63 and Pam Juan Hayes '64

Loren Bakshi '08, Alaina Betancourt '08, Liana Khandji '08 and Libby Henry '08

ALUMNAE

news

Patty Joyce Figge '58, Ann Mara, Susan Mara McDonnell '73 and Meggin Ziminsky Cooke '73

Genevieve Irwin '08, Susannah Lawrence '09, Brianna Aoyama '08 and Olivia Grubert '09 The Grace Family

Lizzy Rosato '08, Nancy Joyce '08, Julie Wilfert '08 and Keller Wilson '08

Jaimee Versace ’03, Jennifer Einersen ’03, Nicole Seagriff ’03, Joanna Eisman ’03, Kate Antonacci ’03

Mary Catherine Joyce McCooey '60, Patty Joyce Figge '58, Bonnie Joyce Grace '63 and Cashie Joyce Egan '68

Meg Larson '08, Amy Traver '08, Sarah Julian '08, Bill Mottolese, Tina Wiltsie '08, Megan Lacerenza '08 and Phyllis Pregiato Caroline Riley '73 and Jane Riley '83

Rosemary Sheehan, RSCJ, Ann Mara, Mary Catherine McCooey Dodman '88 and Susan Mara McDonnell '73

Victoria Taylor Allen and Kaye Cherry ’53, RSCJ

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

45

remark•able A Voice Against Violence Oanh-Nhi Nguyen ’09 Leads the Way

A

s an international studies and policy management double major at Dickinson College, Oanh-Nhi Nguyen dedicated herself to addressing the needs of others—victims of sexual violence, abused children and sexually exploited women. Her interest in serving others began with the influences of her parents and as a student at Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich.

These interests have taken her from the United Nations to the U.S. Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) to a Native American reservation in Arizona, where she volunteered as a college student. Her efforts earned Ms. Nguyen a spot as a semifinalist for the Peace First Prize, an honor bestowed on young people who’ve shown leadership in making positive, lasting change.

After graduating from Dickinson in 2013, Ms. Nguyen returned to CSH as interim director of the broadcast journalism program while its director, Ellyn Stewart, was on sabbatical.

What did you get from your Sacred Heart experience that you don’t think you could have gotten anywhere else?

Sacred Heart gave me the tools to become a passionate young woman. The environment at CSH allowed me to foster a love for learning, and the ability to think critically and creatively. The teachers care deeply about their students’ development, and I can see that very clearly from the “other” side now as a teacher.

What did you enjoy most about returning to CSH as a teacher?

I was lucky to have an easy transition from being a student to a teacher in just four to five years from graduating CSH. I have had the privilege of working with

46

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Oanh-Nhi Nguyen ’09 at the United Nations

supportive colleagues and enthusiastic and energetic students.

What’s next?

I hope to travel and work abroad on human rights issues, such as gender violence and women’s rights. I also aspire to work with an international development firm in Washington, D.C. For more on Oanh-Nhi: Read her June 2013 blog post on L.E.A.D., the youth violence prevention program she initiated (www.youthforlead.org/1/ post/2013/06/ripples-of-hope-why-i-started-lead.html) Read her October 2012 article in Peace and Stability Operations Journal, “Sexual Violence in Armed Conflicts: A Conspiracy of Silence” (pksoi.army.mil/PKM/publications/ pubs/documents/Vol3_Issue1.html)

class notes

To submit information, please contact your class agent or meghan mara ryan ’01 at maram@cshct.org.

1936

1944

1948

1951

Ann Fullan Gilkes

Kathleen Casey McGrath

1937

Patsy Lamborn Kolbe celebrated her 86th birthday. She is living in a beautiful retirement home in New Jersey.

Virginia Beach Coudert, vcoudert@optonline.net

Sally Richie Scotton, srscotton@aol.com

Louise Meiere Dunn spent much of the past year traveling. In April, she presented at the Associated Alumnae and Alumni of the Sacred Heart conference in Nebraska about the mosaics that her mother designed for Senate Chamber in the capitol.

Louise’s book, The Art Deco Murals of Hildreth Meiere, will be released in May 2014.

1952

Alice Doclot Burns

1939 Ann Jacobsen Brickfield

1940 Alice Jane Golden Maloy, ajwmaloy@aol.com

1942 Eileen Fitzgerald Brennan

1945 Florence Lamborn Peters

1947 Mary Jani Englert, maryhenglert@gmail.com

1950 Madeleine Price Naylor

Irene Lamm Haskell, sissyhaskell@aol.com Jeanne McNamara Eckrich was able to join her classmates at their 60th reunion last fall. She and her husband have six children and eleven grandchildren. Jeanne is a social worker in private practice as a marriage and family therapist.

Macy Finn is living in Manchester, New Hampshire and spends time with some of her nine children.

Rachel Vuono Jensen is a very busy mother and grandmother following her grandchildren’s progress at college. Sissy Lamm Haskell is enjoying life on Hilton Head Island, traveling, playing golf, gardening,

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

47

and spending lots of time with her five children, fifteen grandchildren and new life partner, Allen High.

Barbara Hunter Latu was back at Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich (CSH) for her 60th reunion last fall and is busy with her three grandchildren. Donna Heineman Little lives in Toronto and is working as a trainer in psychodrama, where she received a life-time achievement award for her work in this field. She is very active with the Toronto Film Festival and spends time with her eight grandchildren. Aileen Mannix Schaefer was also at reunion last fall. She and Dick had a reasonable amount of damage from Storm Sandy to their home in Long Island. Fortunately Dick is a builder.

1953 Henriette della Chiesa de Bellegarde, HenriF96@aol.com

1954 Susan Herold

1955 Margaret Dealy Ackerman, mtda@aol.com In November, Meg Dealy Ackerman, and her husband, Bob, were so kind to host an alumnae gathering at their home in Boston. In September they went on a pilgrimage to Israel. Meg reports that one of the highlights was a predawn visit to the Judean desert for prayer and reflection. Beth McAnaney Barth and Dick spend most of the winter in Austin, TX, where one of their daughters lives.

They have vacationed for the last few summers in Jamestown, RI, which has permitted them to get together for a day each summer with Bob and Meg Ackerman at their house in Marion, MA. This summer they

48

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

are planning to go to Lake Placid, NY, instead of Rhode Island, but the Ackermans hope it will be possible for them to make at least short visit to Massachusetts and they invite anyone else who might be in the area this summer. Penny Fishel Carr and her husband, Mike, spend more than half the year at their home in Florida, but Penny is still able to maintain her real estate practice in Rye, NY. In Florida they live in the same town as Jane and Jack Steinthal. Between Penny’s ten and Mike’s eight grandchildren, they are frequent hosts to the grandchildren and their parents. Sue Sughrue Carrington and her husband, Bill, are continuing as enthusiastic students of the Bible and have provided excellent information on resource study materials for Bob and Meg Ackerman, who have also developed an interest following a September pilgrimage to Israel.

Cynthia Crump Crimmins and her husband, Arvid, traveled to France last October where they visited Paris, took a barge trip on the Canal du Midi and spent a few days in a medieval city in the Dordogne region.

Judith Ollinger Despontes has been an active grandmother since her retirement. She sings in her church choir and says she feels very lucky that three of her five boys and her grandchildren live near her in the Jacksonville area. Aggie Schmidt Dowd and her husband, John, are both involved in coordinating the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for their church and leading Bible study classes. Aggie is the owner and founder of ExceptionalEdit.com and has more than 40 years of experience as a reporter, feature writer, research writer, editor and columnist, including almost 15 years as a research writer and editor for William. F. Buckley Jr. Aggie

recently became a grandmother.

Deirdre Cassedy Hitch and Spence, who live in Sarasota, FL, spent time in Ceret in the French Pyrenees and in January 2013 returned to Oaxaca, Mexico, where they have spent numerous vacations and have many friends. In May 2014 they are scheduled to go on an Alaskan cruise, and in July on a river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam.

Their children live in Wellesley, MA, Dallas, TX and La Jolla, CA, so in between international jaunts they have excellent U.S. destinations for family visits. Joanne O’Connor Hynek and Dan had an extraordinarily wonderful trip to Poland in 2013 celebrating Dan’s 80th birthday. His family is from Poland, and they had a chance to visit for the first time with extended family members. They live in Cambridge, MA, and in Falmouth on Cape Cod. One of their granddaughters from Texas is a freshman at MIT, Dan’s alma mater, and as a member of the MIT crew was cheered by her parents and Dan and Joanne as she rowed in the Head of the Charles Regatta in October. Since retirement, Sheilah Lane Malafronte and her husband, John, have lived in East Hampton, NY, where John is active in fundraising and where he helps run a not-for-profit farm that donates food to local food pantries.

Congratulations to Sheilah, who became a grandmother for the first time in the fall of 2013. Ann Dinger McKenna and her husband, Bill, celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2013 at a family dinner party at The Hound’s Tooth, one of four New York City restaurants owned by their son, Kevin. KC Conway Morrish and her husband, David, traveled to Ireland in September 2013 to attend the wedding of a cousin’s child. Back in Florida, KC

ALUMNae REUNION sept. 27

continues her active volunteer work as a “guardian ad litem,” board member of Opportunity for Children Day Care Center and as chair of the local library. Daughters Carey and Conway and their families, who live in CT and NY visited at Christmas, which made for a lively holiday.

Jane Gillespie Steinthal and her husband, Jack, had a long visit with their daughter in Texas last fall. The Steinthals have 16 grandchildren, including a granddaughter who is now enrolled at CSH, Greenwich.

Jane and her daughter-in-law, Nicole ’88, enjoyed Sacred Heart’s Generations Tea last spring. Kim Smith Wayne celebrated her 75th birthday with 16 family members, including 11 grandchildren, by walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. Kim recently rented a Segway and wheeled around the streets and parks of Oakland, CA. She is active in politics, including Common Cause.

1956 Markey Pullen Burke, markey.burke@comcast.net Markey Pullen Burke has eight grandchildren. Her husband, Tom, is still working and they vacationed on a cruise down the Danube and Rhine and then on to visit relatives in Ireland. Muffie McKeon Cosnard is living in France with her children and eight grandchildren nearby. Kathy Dolan, RSCJ returned to California from CSH, Greenwich. She enjoyed her time on the East Coast working at our alma mater where she said she was able “to be involved in the life of the School and celebrated all the exciting educational experiences that are available for the students on all levels.” Margi Brown Gregory’s husband, Jim, sold his business in November 2012. They went on a cruise on the Danube, with three days in Prague. And they went to

class notes

Tuscany with a group of friends in October 2013. Margi’s children are within driving distance and they have 14 grandchildren. Margi and Jim are writing a book on the family’s history for their children and grandchildren. Mary Grady Keith and her husband, Fred, went on a cruise to Bermuda with their family. They visited their son in Texas and then on to Florida to visit Fred’s family. They celebrated Fred’s 55th reunion in Annapolis and enjoy regular trips to their place in New Hampshire. Carol McQuade is busy working for the Missoula Public School System, training dogs in agility and tracking, and entering her dogs in performance sports (one of her dogs has 30 championships in tracking and agility). She has a backyard farm with chickens and is an active volunteer for local nonprofits. Carol’s granddaughter recently graduated cum laude from the University of Washington, in Seattle, WA. and attends graduate school near Carol. Mary Ann Skelly Tragesser lives in Lancaster, PA and works part-time for a funeral home. Last fall, she enjoyed a trip to Scotland. As a loving grandmother, she is proud of her grandchildren’s educational pursuits.

1958 Carole Antolini Scherer, casstretch@optonline.net Elena Garces Eder has four sons and three grandchildren: Elena, and infant twins Francisco and Antonia.

1959 Dolores Cox Agnew, doloresagnew@hotmail.com Dolores Cox Agnew and her husband, Rick, spend their time in Florida and Stratton, VT. Daughter Kate lives in Darien with her family

and Beth and Mike are in Hoboken, NJ with their two daughters.

Cynthia Krug Cazel has been happily married for the past three years to Jack Cazel. Cynthia paints and shows her work in Naples and Estero, FL. Her son, Jon Renner, is with an ad agency in New Jersey, where he lives with his wife and son. Cynthia’s daughter, Alicia, is a professional photographer and has a gallery in Key West. 1 Anne Kinney Duffy spent some time with Karen Morley Brennan ’59 in Tucson, Arizona, where Anne lives. Karen’s sister lives nearby and hosted Anne at a cocktail party.

Kathie Wall Healy and her husband, Tom, recently celebrated 45 years of marriage. They have three children and seven grandchildren. She is happy to have her three children nearby in Fairfield, Darien and Stamford. Joan Murphy Kelly and her husband, Jim, live in Massachusetts. They celebrated the wedding of their son, Patrick, and the birth of Patrick’s daughter, Clara Rose. Joan’s daughter, Moira, lives nearby in Sudbury with her twins, and her other daughter, Chrissy, just completed 20 years teaching at Greenwich Country Day School.

Patti McCarthy is campus ministry coordinator at a high school in Georgia. In 2013, she traveled to Nicaragua with 21 students to help build a water system and septic tanks. Maureen Kelly Winter enjoyed the Generations Tea in 2013 with her three granddaughters who attend Sacred Heart, Greenwich: Katie, Megan and Mary Grace Farrell. 2 June Dolce Heffernan, Mary Thompson, Dolores Cox Agnew, and Joan Egan Mendelson enjoyed lunch together at a gathering in March 2013.

1960 Katharine Donahue Whamond, bamakaran@aol.com

1 Anne Kinney Duffy ’59 and Karen Morley Brennan ’59

1961 Pamela Raymond, RSKEYWEST@yahoo.com

1962 Pamela Wall Madden, topamad2@yahoo.com Sandra Steinthal Powell is happy to have her granddaughter, Charlotte Fitzpatrick Fisher, attending 91st St in NYC. She is the third generation in the family to attend a Sacred Heart school.

1963 Martha McQueeny Hosp, hospmartha@yahoo.com Queenie Valdes Adsuar is living in Puerto Rico and is the owner of three stores specializing in school uniforms. She and her husband travel often to New York and Chicago to visit their two children and three grandchildren. Virginia Cooke Arvay lives in St. Augustine, Florida. She has two daughters and two grandchildren that she loves spending time with. Pat Ryan

2 June Dolce Heffernan ’59, Mary Thompson ’59, Dolores Cox Agnew ’59, and Joan Egan Mendelson ’59

Barry has been living in NYC for the past 30 years. Her son Oliver married in 2011 and lives in NYC, he started a foundation to enable Zambian children to go to secondary schools in Lusaka. Daughter Lillian was married in 2013 and lives in NYC and works for a fashion website and son Michael lives in Los Angeles, working in film animation.

Kathie Ferguson Bushey has been living in Pennsylvania for the past 40 years where Kathie has been a realtor for the past 26 years. She has two children, her son Dan is a chef in Washington, DC, and daughter Mary Sue has three children with her husband, Mark. Christine Cating lives In Virginia and has been working for the Air Line Pilots Association since 1998. She has three sons. Christopher Corkery rowed the Head of the Charles in a single boat this fall. Her daughter Becky works for the Center for Economic Opportunity in the office of the Mayor of NYC and son Eamonn is at the University of Chicago Law School. Megan Harris Davis has been living in Vero Beach, FL since 2004. Her son Chris has a daughter, Lucy, and son Ian has two children, Paige and Samuel Sean. Kathie Kayser Dixon lives in Bedford, NY where she has been for many years.

Kathie has three children: two girls who live close by and a son who lives in Minneapolis. Kathie also has 2 grandchildren. Kate Kerrigan Gildersleeve has been married to her husband Richard for 46 years.

She has four children and four grandchildren and is very happy that all of them live nearby. Kate lives in Stamford and sails at Riverside Yacht Club. Martha McQueeny Hosp is living in Rhode Island, where she is a trustee of the local hospital. Both of her sons are now partners at Law Firms, Ted in Birmingham, AL and Dave in Boston, MA. She is also the proud grandparent to five grandchildren: three boys and two girls.

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

49

Jeanne de La Chapelle Howley lives in Ft. Lauderdale, FL where she recently retired from teaching pre-school. She is enjoying her four children and nine grandchildren.

Betsy Power Maloney lives in West Palm Beach, FL. She has three daughters and ten grandchildren.

Trish Meistrell Monk is living in Topeka, KS. She has two sons and has traveled to all 50 States and has taken many trips to Europe over the years. Trish taught for 26 years, every grade from K–5 and was a reading specialist. Sr. Mary Nika Schaumber, RSM, lives in Alma, Michigan, with the Religious Sisters of Mercy. She is a novice mistress, guiding seven canonical novices.

Charlotte Zelenkov Storti lives in rural Maryland with her husband Craig after living in many countries in the time of their marriage—Nepal, England, Morocco, Tunisia, Sri Lanka—as well as Washington, DC. Mary Wallace has been working at the Legal Aid Society of Rockland County since 1986 and was recently inducted into the Greenwich Aquatics Hall of Fame. Her son Danny is 26 years old and a nationally ranked runner. Ellen O’Neal Walsh recently celebrated her 40th wedding anniversary. She and husband Bob have three children and recently became grandparents for the first time last November.

Her children are living in Chicago, California and Amsterdam. Ellen lives in Wellesley, MA, where she has been selling residential real estate for 27 years. Liz Bryner Webb lives in St. Augustine, FL. She has a daughter and two grandchildren and is a recently retired Realtor.

1964 Ursula Moore Smith, ursie@comcast.net

50

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

1965 Stephanie Beaudouin Piper, spiper@utk.edu

1966 Elspeth Tweddle de Barros, vickytweddledebarros@gmail.com

1967 Mary Francina Golden, maryfgolden@aol.com Celeste Pinto McLain is an active board member of the Upward Bound House in Santa Monica, CA, which provides support for homeless children and their parents.

1968 Cathleen Joyce Egan, cashie@optonline.net

1969 Marion O’Grady, ogrady.marion@gmail.com Georgina Aballi de Alba and her husband, Eduardo, welcomed their second granddaughter on January 17, 2013. Joanne Stevens Carter is a partner in Education Solutions. She and her husband, Bill, enjoy their four grandchildren,

Classmates in the Class of 1969 welcomed in 2013: top row, left to right Joan Wooters-Reisen, Barbara Banks and Dee O’Grady; front, Ingrid Cronin and Anne Correa

3 The grandchildren of Liz Guarini Herguth ’69

Garret, Ella, Caitlin, and Mia. They visited Scotland and hiked the moors. Cathy Maloney Claflin enjoys fly-fishing. With her niece, she attended the 2013 Boston Marathon and both were safe.

Joan McAnaney Fay celebrated the birth of her first two grandchildren.

Daughters Katie Fay Long and Molly Fay Urquhart welcomed new babies. 3 Liz Guarini Herguth retired from Hitachi America in Tarrytown, NY after 25 years. She is enjoying time with her husband, Bill, and their three grandchildren in Sudbury, MA, and Brooklyn, NY. 4 Marion (Dee) O’Grady retired from The New York Times after 25 years. At the annual American Daffodil Society Show in Nantucket in 2013 Daffodil Weekend, she took many awards, including four for first place. Lee Rodriquez Schneider and her husband, Bill, are relocating to Denver in 2014 where their daughter, Tracy, is finishing her studies this year at the University of Denver. They have two other daughters: Echa, who works at the public library in Oakland, CA, and Ashley, who is getting her CPA. Barbara Banks Schwam spends time between New York City and Westchester for both job and family, including visits to her grandson. Joannie WootersReisin sold her successful video production and post-production business and returned to school to get a master’s in education at Bank Street. She loves being a student

4 The first-place photograph of Marion (Dee) O’Grady ’69 from the annual American Daffodil Society Show in Nantucket

again and is looking forward to wonderful new experiences.

1970 Joyce Gorman, jgormanesq@gmail.com; Lisa Gowdey Dotson, lisadotson@live.com 5 Lisa Gowdey Dotson’s granddaughter is attending the University of Tennessee and majoring in wildlife biology. Her son and his wife gave her a new grandson on October 14, 2013, James Benjamin Joyiens, born after his big sister went off to

5 Granddaughter of Lisa Gowdey Dotson ’70

class notes

A GLIMPSE IN TIME

1972 Patricia Steller Grace, PStellerGrace@msn.com

1948

1974

Barbara Barsa Jamison has been a painter for six years, and combines her business experience with the arts, running group art shows and advising emerging artists on their work.

This is a scene from our original multi-purpose center, the Quonset hut (St. Michael’s) that served as both gymnasium and theater until 1960, when an auditorium was built. The Quonset hut was replaced in 1990 by the current gym. Students posed for this photo after a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “H.M.S. Pinafore.”

Sacred Heart acquired its Quonset hut from the U.S. government, which after World War II sold them to hospitals and other institutions. For the names, contact School Historian Victoria Taylor Allen at allenv@cshct.org.

college! Joyce Gorman Fanone has returned to Ballard Spahr where husband, Joe, is managing partner at the Washington, DC office. Their son, Peter, attends Georgetown University. Stepdaughter Kathleen was married in Baltimore in October, and stepson Michael and his wife have a new baby daughter.

Heather Hirson Long and her husband, Mike, have lived in Charlotte, NC for 24 years and got to catch up with Meg Sheridan who was visiting her son, Patrick, at Davidson College. Priscilla Campo Press and both of her children, Michael and Dodie, work in finance in New York. Her children are married and live in NYC and Priscilla commutes from Oyster Bay, Long Island. Meg Corroon Sheridan is a fundraising consultant for nonprofits. Her twin sons recently graduated from Davidson College and Colgate College.

1971 Robin Clark, robincrjc@hotmail.com; Catherine Finnegan Nix, Cathynix30@gmail.com Robin Clark had a wonderful trip and reunion with a friend in Dubois, WY. They fished and hiked and enjoyed the beautiful scenery near the Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. Anne McCormick Hubbard has created a line of greeting cards from her fine art paintings. She says her inspiration 6

6

Robin Clark ’71 in WY

comes from taking college art classes.

Maryanne Bardwil Lynch is a client executive at Gartner, Inc., a technology research company. She is a championship golfer and made her first hole-in-one last summer. She two grandsons, CJ and Luke. Cathy Finnegan Nix has been logging miles between New York and Houston, TX, visiting her three grandchildren: Finn, Lilly and Archie. Last year, her daughter, Catherine ’06, joined her to help Molly ’97 with the children.

Catherine visited from Jackson, WY, where she leads expeditions up Grand Teton. 7 Kathy Carey Strom keeps busy with her granddaughters, Cora and Grace, when she is not traveling or selling real estate in West Hampton, NY. Jeannette Srubar Wallace and her husband, Bennie, a professional saxophonist, founded Back Country Jazz in Greenwich in 2007 to increase support for music and the arts.

7 Granddaughters of Kathy Carey Strom ’71

8 Joan O’Grady-Barada ’75 with her family at Sacred Heart for the graduation of her second daughter, Caroline ’12.

1975 Joanne Kaufmann, josie.kaufmann@yahoo.com; Kerry Murphy Maloney, kmm2@optonline.net 8 Joan O’Grady-Barada’s second daughter, Caroline, graduated in May 2012 from Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton, CA. Joan’s third daughter, Grace, is in the Class of 2015 at Atherton. They are among a long line of O’Gradys to attend Sacred Heart schools. Joan’s daughter, Sydney, traveled to Rome with the Boston College

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

51

chorale to sing to the cardinals at the conclave that elected Pope Francis.

Holly Harmuth Clement received a Solicitor’s Excellence Award in 2012 as an attorney with the Indian Trust Litigation Office of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, in Washington, DC, for her defense work on tribal trust cases before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and U.S. district courts. Holly is married to Stephen, an endocrinologist and regional director at Merck Corp. Their daughter is a medical student at the University of Virginia.

Their son is a polling analyst for The Washington Post. Madalyn Barbero Jordan was recently certified to teach “Shake Your Soul Yoga Dance,” which she teaches in Westchester County.

She also started a new band called “MadJams.” Josie Kaufmann lives on Cape Cod and works for an Austin, TX, high-tech company in business development. She enjoys Zumba and spinning. In 2012, she traveled to Alaska. Ellen Heck Keogh hosted a get-together in April 2013 attended by Mary Anne Leverty Heine, Rosie Barry, Mike Morgan Clark, Meg O’Toole Gruppo, Diane diScipio Driscoll, and Priscilla Jennings Pultz. Ellen’s granddaughter, Theodora Anne, was born in November and joins older brother, Spencer. Libby McGarry retired in December 2012 after practicing law for 30 years. Last summer, she studied in Florence. Her two children are in college: a son at Carnegie Mellon University and a daughter at New York University. Priscilla Jennings Pultz is living in Madison, CT, with her husband, Neil. Her two girls are attending the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Priscilla works at Acer Nursery in Deep River, CT. 9 Michelle Dubuque Vallely is living in New Canaan with her husband, Scott, who has started a micro-brewery in Connecticut. Their daughter, Kristen, was married in September and their

52

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

oldest son, Peter, and his wife made them grandparents. The youngest, Katie, will graduate from Syracuse University. Candy Miele Verrilli lives in Virginia, where she sells real estate and has opened a catering business. She and her husband, Mark, will celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary in June. All three of their sons—Derek, Nick and Ryan—are doing well.

1976 Kathryn Grainger Hobbins, kghobbins@verizon.net; Lisa Roman Johnston, LisaMRoman@aol.com

1977 Toni Palazzo Maloney, palazzosister@aol.com Muffin Ziminsky Dowdle is selling real estate in Bedford, NY and riding, along with her husband, Jimmy.

Their son, George, is in commercial real estate in New York City.

1978 Mary Raho Julian, julianstm@aol.com

1979

Kumi Akizawa Ikeba is living in Yokohama, Japan. She and her husband, Masato, recently visited old friends in Morocco.

1980

1985

Brenda Alison Shelly, bashelly1@gmail.com

Megan Cassidy Foley, meganf920@gmail.com

Brenda Alison Shelly recently moved back to New York City with her husband after both of their jobs brought them home from San Francisco after almost 21 years.

Brenda is a managing director with Marsh, a global insurance services and risk management firm, and her husband, John, is in management with IBM Global Services. Their daughter, Allison, is a junior at Montana State University studying graphic design.

1986

1981 Teresa Pica LeRuo, picaleruo@yahoo.com; Meghan Williams Hess, dmhsehess@aol.com; Sharon Heller, sheller@panynj.gov Frances Crisafi-Kerr is living in Saratoga County, NY. She and her husband, Scott, own a screen printing and embroidery business, Print Says, and are raising their four-year-old-granddaughter.

1982 Lauren Clark Kenny, lckenny4@aol.com

1983 Margaret Heffernan Trimble, magtrimble776@hotmail.com; Jane Riley, jwriley@optonline.net

1984 Michelle Dubuque Vallely ’75 with her husband, Scott, at the wedding of their daughter, Kristen 9

Jillian Payne, JILLIANPAYNE@yahoo.com

Alyssa Keleshian Bonomo, alyssa@kinvestmentsinc.com; Nicole Peluso, nicolepeluso@gmail.com

1987 Elizabeth Hawthorn, lizzylizzyny123@yahoo.com

1988 Kristina Sekor Hooper, kristina.hooper@gmail.com Nathalie Julien-Ishizuka has been living in Tokyo for the past four years. She has two children, Dimitri and Leiko-Marie, who attend the British school near their house.

Nathalie is in touch with Sacre Coeur in Tokyo where she spent a year while in Greenwich.

1989 Lucy Coudert Conrod, lconrod@verizon.net; Angela Dinger, angela_dinger@yahoo.com Kat Meskill Blomquist lives in Darien and works for Diageo at its North American headquarters, in Norwalk, CT. She and her husband, BQ, were very excited and felt very blessed to adopt their second child last year. Their son, Brendan, is three and his new sister, Brigid, celebrated her first birthday in 2014. Meghan Mara Brennan has been living in Chagrin Falls, OH for the last 13 years with her husband, Charlie, and their four boys, Charlie, JP, Duke and Griffin. Meghan coaches lacrosse at Hathaway Brown School in Shaker

class notes

10

Son of Missy Egbert Sheehan ’93

1990

1995

Megan Lahey Sibley, megsibley@yahoo.com

Dina Cortese Urso, dinaurso327@gmail.com

1991

Ashling Ahern Besgen is an assistant third-grade teacher at Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich. Her daughters, Annabelle and Madeline, attend the Lower School at CSH. Katie Phelan Contino had a third child, Elizabeth, in August 2012, who joined big brother and sister, Michael and Caroline. Kelly Fitzpatrick Dattulo is married and working in Chicago as a senior marketing communications consultant at TransUnion. Her daughter, Madeline Grace, is three and she welcomed a son, William Mark, in October 2012. Martha Harper Fitzgibbons is living in Brooklyn with her husband, Kevin and their daughter, Mae. She is working at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. 12 Katy Grogan Garry and her husband, Christian, announce the birth of their second child Edward “Teddie” O’Connell Garry born on October 11, 2012.

He joins big sister Nina. Kathleen Willcox Repsher and her husband, Stephen, announce the birth of their twins, Emily Grey and Miles Wilcox, born November 9, 2012, weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces, and 6 pounds, 9 ounces, respectively. Mom, dad and babies are all healthy and happy!

Julie Speeckaert Swenson is living in Bamberg, Germany, where her husband is stationed with the U.S. Army. They have three daughters, Caroline, Claire and Emma. Julie is homeschooling her two oldest daughters, while the youngest attends kindergarten. The family travels extensively. Julie is doing some work as a photographer, and she and the girls also stay involved in the local community theater. The Swensons will be moving in 2014, but are unsure where they will be stationed next. Dina Cortese Urso is currently spending most of her

Margaret Donius Boscarino, mollyboscarino@yahoo.com

1992 Christine Murtha Coogan, Christine.Coogan@morganstanley.com; Katherine Shafer Coleman, katherine.s.coleman@gmail.com 11 Daughters of Michele Torlen Epperson ’94

Heights, OH, where her team won the 2012 state championship. Dolores Delgado moved back from London where she lived for seven years. She had been teaching since college and was ready for a career change. She got her real estate license and is with Douglas Elliman in the New York City. Meg Lynch Doyle and her family live in The Woodlands, TX, where Meg is CEO and CFO of Meg Doyle Photography, as well as mother to three children. Ashley Stanley and husband, Martin, live in Melbourne, FL and she enjoy traveling, studying languages, writing, cooking and “anything outdoors.”

Ashley was a partner in a law firm in Atlanta for many years.

1993 Margaret Finn King, magee.king@gmail.com 10 Missy Egbert Sheehan and her husband, William, welcomed William Spencer Aldrich Sheehan on July 9, 2012.

1994 Mirsada Pasalic Hoffmann, mapasalic@gmail.com 11 Michele Torlen Epperson, husband Lanny, and big sister Jocelyn are happy to announce the arrival of Savannah Grace Epperson on February 18, 2013.

STAY COnnected with sacred Heart Join us at one of these social media outlets to find out what is new and forge friendships with your classmates.

CSH Greenwich

@cshgreenwich

@CSHGREENWICH

Sacred Heart, Greenwich

12

Son of Katy Grogan Garry ’95

13 Suzanne Dunleavy McDonough ’96 and family

time as a stay-at-home mom to Luke and Jonathan. She is doing some part-time legal work for her family company, after resigning as a prosecutor for the State of Connecticut at the end of 2012.

1996 Rebekah Goodhue, rcgoodhue@gmail.com; Erin Tiernan Patts, tiernanerin@hotmail.com 13 Suzanne Dunleavy McDonough and her husband, Matthew, welcomed their third baby, Caitlin Kelly McDonough, on September 13, 2013. They live in Marshfield, MA. Suzanne is an assistant district attorney for Plymouth County, where she works in the Family Protection and Appeals units. Her husband, Matt, is an attorney in

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

53

Nantucket, MA. 18 Molly Nix Scioli welcomed her third child, Archer Carr Scioli, on April 4, 2013.

1998 Elizabeth MacKinnon Haak, emackhaak@gmail.com; Katherine Lavin Phillips, Kate.lavin.phillips@gmail.com 14

15

Sons of Alexis Maffei Montemaggiore ’96

Son of Elizabeth Sweeny Block ’97

private practice. Suzanne directs the Dunleavy Shaffer School of Irish Dance, in Norwell, where she has coached two dancers to world medals. 14 Alexis Maffei Montemaggiore, her husband, Vincent, and son, Brice, moved to London last year. In January 2013, they welcomed twins Alexander Eaton and Graham Oakley. They reside in Chelsea and are taking advantage of all that the UK and Europe have to offer by traveling and getting involved in various activities through the American Women’s Club of London.

1997 Kristen Joyce Kevorkian ’97 and children 16

17 Hilary MacDonald ’97 and husband, Drew Lipner

54

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Samantha Geary, samantha.geary@baml.com; Clare Heffernan Mulcahy, claremulcahy@gmail.com Elizabeth Sweeny Block and her husband, Jeff, welcomed their first child, Christopher Stephen, on July 21, 2012. Elizabeth continues to teach theology at Dominican University in River Forest, IL. Kristina Pashenko Fulco and her husband welcomed their son, Luca John Fulco, on February 5, 2013, at 2:04 p.m. weighing 8 lbs., 6 oz.

16 Kristen Joyce Kevorkian and her husband, Haik, welcomed their fourth child, Leona Hope, on January 3, 2014, weighing in at 6 lbs., 8 oz.

17 Hilary MacDonald married Drew Lipner on June 16, 2012, in

19 Caitlin Fay Fink welcomed her second child, Eliza Williams Fink, on August 4, 2012.

1999

19

Children of Caitlin Fay Fink ’98

20

Twins of Ariana Albert Richards ’99

Kathleen Heffernan, HeffKate@gmail.com; Kathleen Molloy, molloy.katie@gmail.com; Margot Dolce Sturz, margotsturz@gmail.com Sara Bayer recently became a licensed architect in the state of New York and is living and working in Brooklyn. Jess McGurty Nye welcomed her fourth child, Liam Thomas, to her family on April 20, 2012. 20 Ariana Albert Richards and her husband, Rory, are the proud parents of twins, Sarai Elizabeth and Ian Blake, born October 21, 2012. Fleur Nystrom is the godmother of the two.

2000 Margaret Feeney, margaret.m.feeney@gmail.com; Lindsay Smith, lsmith1211@hotmail.com

15

18

Children of Molly Nix Scioli ’97

Margaret Feeney is currently a vice president at Stride Capital in Stamford, CT, and recently enjoyed coaching her fourth season of lacrosse at CSH. Noël Ausserlechner Gilbert and her husband, Scott moved from Manhattan to New Canaan. They welcomed a daughter, Madeleine Gray, on January 19, 2013. Noël, Scott, Maddie and their pug, Chowder, are all doing great and

class notes

25

21

22

Son of Mary Einersen Luft ’00

23 Son of Kathy Sebasky-Seven Destremps ’01

Son of Aditi Ashra Bhatt ’01

loving life in the burbs. 21 Mary Einersen Luft and her husband, Eric, welcomed their first child, Liam, on October 31, 2012. The Luft family resides in Pittsburgh, PA. Elspeth Roake has been riding and competing horses since graduating from Vassar College, and has won numerous national awards. She also participated in her first triathlon. Elspeth has remained active in the community by volunteering as an advocate against child abuse. Lindsay Smith is enjoying working in the Fairfield Public Schools and enjoyed her summer tutoring and traveling.

24

Vance Hynes ’01 at her wedding at Sacred Heart in June

January 19, 2013, at 3:52 p.m. The Bhatts live in Ohio. 23 Kathy Sebasky-Seven Destremps and her husband, Russell, welcomed Russell James “RJ” on April 15, 2013, in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. 24 Cynthia Bouvet Heraty and husband, Ryan, welcomed their daughter Margot Tilly on November 7, 2012. Big brother Paddy couldn’t be more thrilled. 25 Vance Hynes was married to Thomas Everett Scott in the chapel at Convent of the Sacred Heart on June 2, 2012. Vance is an assistant district attorney in the Bronx. She graduated Fordham University School of Law. 26 Elizabeth Moore Russell and her husband, Rob, welcomed Claire Ansley Russell on March 9, 2013.

Claire has already met the children of fellow classmates, Meghan Mara Ryan, Colby Gargano Summers, and Aditi Ashra Bhatt. The Russells live in Rowayton, CT. 27 Colby Gargano Summers and her husband, Chris, welcomed daughters Seton Elizabeth Summers on August 30, 2012, and Ellen Telfair “Ellie” on July 23, 2013. The Summers live in Old Greenwich, CT.

2002 Annie Mara Whitman, Annie.mara@gmail.com; Jennifer Raymond, jennifer.g.raymond@gmail.com

Children of Cynthia Bouvet Heraty ’01

2001 Kate Kretschmann Lederer, Kate.Lederer@gmail.com; Cynthia Bouvet Heraty, cbouvet@gmail.com; Cristin McGuinn, cristin.mcguinn@gmail.com; Margaret Shafer, margaret.shafer@gmail.com 22 Aditi Ashra Bhatt and her husband, Saurin, welcomed their son, Krish Saurin Bhatt, on

26

Son of Elizabeth Moore Russell ’01

27 Colby Gargano Summers ’01 with husband and daughters

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

55

Shannon Fallon Doherty married Luke Doherty on June 1, 2013. The ceremony took place at St. Augustine Church, Larchmont, N.Y., followed by a reception at the Larchmont Yacht Club. Casey Mahoney Parrish, Annie Mara Whitman, Meghan Mara Ryan ’01, Kerry Mahoney ’04, Ali Mutone, and Catie Harrington Bertoncin ’03 attended.

Abby MacKinnon McCorry welcomed a son, Brian William McCorry, Jr. “Will” on September 12, 2013. Setta Elizabeth Mushegian graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work in 2010 with her master’s degree in social work, and works as senior crisis counselor at The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education in Stamford, CT. She is a board member of the Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services and serves on the Governor’s Task Force on Justice for Abused Children, Multidisciplinary Team Evaluation Committee. 28 Margot Kearney Navins was married in the chapel at Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich to Lee Navins on May 4, 2013, and the reception was at The Apawamis Club, in Rye. Margot and Lee recently moved to New York from Boston. Lee is a consultant with KPMG and Margot is in sales at Fidelity. Sacred Heart alumnae Ali

28 Margot Kearney Navins ’02 and husband, Lee

56

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Hines Watters ’04, Ellen Feeney, Brennan Joyce Parry ’03, Caroline Hines, Courtney Quick Burdette, and Christina Heanue Pecora were all in attendance. Cat Sica Pero was married to Shawn Edward Pero on November 10, 2012. They have been collaborating on a company that Shawn started, Double Dog Dare Media, an educational line of iOS applications for both children and adults. 29 Jennifer Grace Raymond married John Joseph Dresden on October 6, 2012, in Dahlgren Chapel at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Kate Jewell was the maid of honor.

Christina Ciardullo, Erika Palo, Liz Stahl ’04, and Jayne Collins, head of the Upper School, were all in attendance.

2003 Nicole Seagriff, nicole.seagriff@gmail.com; Jennifer Einersen, jeinersen13@gmail.com

2004 Alexandra Hines Watters, alexandra.hines@gmail.com; Canielle Decina, danielle.decina@gmail.com; Jaime Straub, straubj218@gmail.com Jessica Eisenberg married Franklin Whitlatch at Walt Disney World’s Wedding Pavilion in April 2013.

Jessica’s sister, Katie Eisenberg ’08, was the maid of honor and longtime CSH friends Elizabeth Hesburgh and Christina Lebec were both in attendance. Camille Mellijor graduated from Ross University School of Medicine and has started an OB/Gyn residency at St. Luke’s in Bethlehem, PA. 30 Sarah Quick Stuebe married Riley Stuebe on December 15, 2012, at the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola

on Saturday, May 25, 2013, at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in John’s Island, South Carolina.

Sisters Kate ’01, Molly ’06 and Kyle ’08 served as bridesmaids.

Alexandra Hines Watters married Dave Watters on Saturday, December 1, 2012, at Convent of the Sacred Heart, 91st Street in New York City. Megan Hannigan and Emily van Buitenen both served as bridesmaids.

2005 29 Jennifer Grace Raymond ’02 and husband, John

in New York City. The reception was at The University Club.

Alumnae in attendance included Kate Stuebe ’01, Ellen Feeney ’02, Meg Grogan, Jaime Straub, Jane Chapman Lodge, Colleen Mara McLane ’91, Mary-Catherine McCooey Dodman ’88, Mary Joyce McCooey ’60, Cashie Joyce Egan ’68, and Morgan Barry Morton ’69.

Meg Grogan and Jaime Straub served as bridesmaids. Emily van Buitenen married Mike Anderson

30

Anne Dolce, annedolce@gmail.com; Meghan McGuinn, meghan.mcguinn@gmail.com; Katherine Gojkovich, kgojkovich@gmail.com Katie Gojkovich ran the 2013 New York City Marathon with her brother Matthew. Kate Rayner returned to CSH to speak with students in the broadcast journalism program on May 2, 2013. Kate has been back in Connecticut reporting for the CBS affiliate, Channel 3, in Hartford. She works the early morning shift (2:30 a.m.) doing live shots during the day, and then prepares “a package” for the later shows.

Sarah Quick Stuebe ’04 at her wedding

class notes

2006 Kelly Whipple, kelly.e.whipple@gmail.com; Elizabeth Purcell, epurcell2@gmail.com; Katherine Colihan, katherine.colihan@gmail.com Nicole Thomas-Allen is a registered nurse working in home care. She is attending graduate school and majoring in nursing education.

Sarah Aspinwall recently graduated from the Yale University School of Public Health and is working at Boston Children’s Hospital as a project manager/research analyst.

Courtney Burke is living in London, with plans to return to New York City and join her fellow alums soon.

Catherine Nix is living in Jackson Hole, WY, where she has been since graduating from college. Hannah Walker is working for FOCUS in Connecticut. Kelly Whipple, Katie Mullen, Maggie Malloy, Kelly Joyce, Katherine Colihan and Lizzy Connor are all living in New York City and frequently attend CSH alumnae events.

2007 Gabriella Almeida, gabriella.j.almeida@gmail.com; Kristina Benza, kbenza@gmail.com

Megan Grehan is a professional golfer and played in the U.S. Women’s Open in June 2013.

She received her LPGA tour card.

(See article on pages 20–21)

2008 Maria Zoulis, zoulism@gmail.com; Sarah Julian, sarah.j.julian@gmail.com; Margaret Larson, mryan1021@gmail.com Cristina Ceballos graduated from Yale University in the Class of 2013 as a physics and philosophy major.

She moved to San Francisco, where she is working in immigration policy at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. Last summer, she interned in the chambers of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Colleen Considine is living in Boston and working at Dana Farber Cancer Institute as a clinical research coordinator. Genevieve Irwin lives in New York City where she works for an architectural firm as a designer and artist. On the side, she is illustrating a children’s book written by her mother, Jeanet Irwin, a former member of CSH’s Board of Trustees.

Liana Khandji began Teachers College at Columbia University in the fall. She is studying elementary inclusive education. For the past year,

tell us your news To submit information, please contact your class agent or meghan mara ryan ’01 at maram@cshct.org.

Below are Some tips for sending us your digital photos so they look great in horizons: > set the photo size to 4 x 6 inches or larger, in 300 dpi > set your digital camera to the best photo setting > save files as JPG or TIF > Identify everyone left to right in the photo and provide a caption > send images as attachments. Please do not embed them into your emails

Liana was a City Year Corps member working at a school in Harlem.

Sylvia Khoury is living in New York and working on a master’s degree of fine arts in playwriting at The New School for Drama. She has deferred admission to Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Megan Lacerenza graduated from Washington University in Saint Louis, MO, and she is an intern at Telsey + Company, a casting company responsible for many successful Broadway shows, in addition to film and television. She has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway productions, including The Afflicted and Geeks the Musical. Meg Larson and Sarah Julian are working in New York City and living together on the West Side. Cassidy Mara began her studies at Fordham University Law School. 31 On May 16, 2013, Tina Wiltsie graduated cum laude from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art with a bachelor of fine arts degree. Tina completed Temple’s honors program and attended three study abroad programs—in Tokyo, the United Kingdom and Argentina.

Tina lives in the Detroit area and plans to enter an MFA program in metals and jewelry.

2009 Antonia Libassi, antonia_libassi@alumni.brown.edu; Lauren Manning, laurenmanning2013@u.northwestern.edu; Kyla Harrington, kyla_harrington@alumni.brown.edu; Alejandra Ferrara, ferrara.alejandra@gmail.com Lindsey Festa is employed by CNN as a production assistant. Kyla Harrington is working at UBS and Morgan Forester is at Citi, both in New York City. Erin O’Callaghan is working for Pandora online radio.

Alex Rizk has been working at Sprout Creek Farm, which was established by the Society of the Sacred

31 Tina Wiltsie ’08 at her graduation from Temple University

Heart. Olivia Ruggerio is working towards her master’s degree at Brown University. Olivia is an avid biologist and mathematician. Lizzy Walsh graduated from Emerson College in May 2013 and is now working at Dick Clark Productions in Los Angeles, CA.

2010 Elizabeth LaBossiere, elizabeth.labossiere@yale.edu; Jennifer Traver, jenny.traver@gmail.com Juliana Anduckia is majoring in biology with a religious studies minor. Juliana recently became an EMT and spent a semester in Nicaragua. Maria Brusco is enjoying her time at school in Boston. She was honored to win the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra’s concerto competition, and will perform a Mozart concerto with them this spring. She was elected student bursar, the college government position in charge of distributing the student activity fee. She is happily finishing up her economics and philosophy majors and looking forward to graduation in 2014. Christine Cahaney is

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

57

president of the McGill University’s student chapter of Make A Wish, which raised enough money to adopt a child’s wish last year.

Christine also took on the role of chief education officer in the Beta Psi Chapter (McGill University) of the Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity and is helping to plan and organize events for the Canadian Association for AIDS Research chapter at McGill.

Julie Ertl studied abroad during the fall of 2012 in Bath, England, where she took a variety of English courses while also interning with the Bath Film Festival, a ten-day event. Grace Hedges returned last summer to NBC Universal in New York City where she interned with their public relations team. In 2012, she was a summer intern for Dateline NBC and received credit as an assistant producer for the episode “Wild, Wild Web.” At Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Grace has declared a double major in media and society and in writing and rhetoric. She swims for the William Smith swimming and diving team, and studied abroad in Rome.

Katherine Hurewitz studied on the Gold Coast, Australia last spring and while there she went scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.

Caroline Kitchener spent the spring semester of her junior year in Shanghai, where she studied the Chinese language. Her year was inspired by a journalism class.

After graduation from Princeton University, she hopes to become a foreign correspondent. Beth LaBossiere served as co-president of Community Health Educators, which trains Yale University undergraduates to volunteer in local middle and high schools and teach health education. She also continued working for Yale sports publicity as a producer, served as alumnae liaison for her sorority, and worked for the Dean’s Office on various campus issues. In summer 2013, Beth worked

58

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

as an investment banking summer analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York City. She is looking forward to completing her economics major in 2014. Deidre Miller was named captain of Middlebury College’s field hockey team for the 2013 season. Anastasia Pierron is in her senior year at Johns Hopkins University. She is studying public health and film and media studies, with a concentration in pre-nursing.

In January 2013, she traveled to Uganda for a month to study pediatric HIV. Anastasia worked at the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research last summer. Katie Randolph spent the fall of 2012 studying at the London School of Economics as part of her government degree. She lived in Washington, D.C. for the summer and worked for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Office of International Affairs.

Tayler Sirabella studied abroad at St. Andrews in Scotland in the fall of 2012. While there, she was able to spend time with other CSH alumnae studying abroad. Tayler was an intern at JP Morgan Chase last summer. Jenny Traver spent the 2013 spring semester studying in Santiago, Chile, and exploring South America. She is in her senior year at the University of Notre Dame and is an RA for her dorm.

Jenny is continuing her research in the area of education and motivation in the classroom.

CSH, Greenwich sisters, from left to right, Erin Manning ’13, Jenna Hascher ’13 and Katie Ellison ’13 at Northwestern University’s orientation.

Caroline Kelly ’13 is also a freshman at Northwestern University.

2011 Grace McMorrow, grace.mcmorrow@gmail.com; Margaret Trimble, trimblem@bc.edu; Kathleen Spillane, kathleen.r.spillane.15@dartmouth.edu Mary Furth performed with the Colby College chorale in New York City at a celebration of Colby’s bicentennial. Bridget Mara was in Florence for the fall 2013 semester and is a junior at Villanova University. Catherine Perry and Megan Cincotta both studied in Prague for a semester. Amber Thrane and Kelsey Mara spent their fall semester in Barcelona, Spain.

Clare Finnegan and Lizzy Rooney were also abroad this fall, Clare traveling around Europe and Lizzy in London.

In Memoriam Mary Brady ’43, RSCJ Edmee Schaefer Combs ’44 Mary Huffard Creedon ’52 Mary Virginia Seitz Gallagher ’52 Susan Keane Igoe ’59 Mary Anne Eidenbach Kenny ’55 Adrienne Hessel Lissner ’49 Francoise Richard McKinny ’42 Susan Walsh Miller ’64 Patricia Maguire Murray ’56 Yvonne Pometti ’38, RSCJ Alice Hodnett Reynolds ’44 Kathleen Dowling Smith ’55 Anne Tierney ’75 Elaine Wheeler ’34, DC

2012 Jennifer Schwabe, jschwab2@villanova.edu

2013 Sarah Hirshorn, sarah.hirshorn@gmail.com; Catherine Considine, cconsidi@villanova.edu Margaret Dunne is an active rower on Georgetown University’s crew team.

At the Princeton Chase Regatta, her boat came in third out of 14, behind Princeton and University of Virginia.

At the Occoquan Regatta, her team finished second out of 24! Jenna Hascher, one of the starting soccer goalies at Northwestern University, was named “Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week” and “Co-Freshman of the Week” for women’s soccer in September 2013. Sarah Hirshorn is a member of the varsity crew team at Stanford University and loves rowing out of San Francisco Bay. In October,

32 Camilla Kummen ’13 (second from left)

Sarah was in the varsity eight boat that came in fifth out of nine boats at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA. In November, Sarah was in the varsity eight that won the Head of the Lagoon Regatta in Foster City, CA. 32 Camilla Kummen is at United World College of the Atlantic in Llantwit Major. It is an international IB Diploma Program in Wales, which follows an international curriculum and places student participation in community service at its core. Camilla got into the inshore rescue boat service, which she describes as a really exciting and fun opportunity because she gets to “be a lifeguard while driving a boat!” Whitney Rose Terry is a freshman at Smith College in Northampton, MA, where she is a member of “The Smiffenpoofs,” the oldest collegiate women’s a cappella group in the country.

remark•able A Passion to Make a Difference Tory Bensen ’10 Named All-Ivy Lacrosse

T

ory Bensen ’10 played her heart out at Sacred Heart as captain of both the varsity lacrosse and field hockey teams.

She built an outstanding high school record of academic and athletic accomplishments.

Tory went on to play Division I lacrosse at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and led her team in goals and points.

At the end of senior year, she was named the Ivy League’s Most Outstanding Player for women’s lacrosse and selected as a member of the Ivy League Tournament’s All-Tournament Team. In Penn’s final game of 2014, Tory scored three goals in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s second-round game against top-seeded University of Maryland. That gave her 43 goals for 2014, which is tied for third all-time high by a Penn player. This record was last set in 1982.

Tory was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week in April, and the Eastern College Athletic Conference also named her Offensive Player of the Week for Division I South.

On the eve of college graduation, Tory reflected on her life-changing experiences at Sacred Heart and Penn.

Her “passion for the sport” came from Sacred Heart. “Lacrosse taught me a lot about myself and what I’m capable of,” she said. Tory added that her final season ended “too quickly” and that she will miss her teammates, their spirit and the experiences they shared.

Sacred Heart prepared her well for the academic challenges she faced at Penn and opened her eyes to using her knowledge, skills and passion to changing the world.

At Sacred Heart, she was a National Merit

Commended Student and as president of the Angel Board, she learned how to manage her focus on community service.

As a communications major in Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences, Tory was not sure how her future would unfold until she took a sociology course, “The Rich and the Poor: Inequality in the U.S.” “It was so eye-opening. It totally changed my life,” she said.

Now, she is focusing on using her communications skills in the non-profit world to make a difference. After graduation, she is travelling to Amsterdam to work for Greenpeace, helping with communications. She will return to Penn in the spring of 2015 for an upper level communication program.

With the same passion she displayed on the field, Tory is actively charting her future. “I want to be in the business of helping others, if at all possible.”

Tory Bensen ’10 (left)

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

59

in view

Barat Center Goes Coed

W

ith the snip of scissors through a big, green satin ribbon, The Barat Center for Early Childhood Education officially opened on October 16, 2013.

Head of School Pamela Juan Hayes ’64 was assisted in the ribbon-cutting at the center’s entrance by a preschool boy and a prekindergarten girl. The ceremony launched a new coed program for preschool and prekindergarten.

Mrs. Hayes spoke to those gathered—parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, alumnae and trustees—about CSH’s commitment to insight and innovation in educating the youngest members of our school community.

“The Barat Center is a dynamic early childhood program that provides the perfect transition from home to school,” said Mrs. Hayes. “We teach to the whole child—socially, emotionally, academically, physically and spiritually—within an international community in which each child is valued and celebrated.”

60

HORIZONS spring/summer 2014

Your Support for the Annual Fund is Essential!

Our Students Inspire Us

Celebrating Leadership The senior class and their parents are leaders in reflecting the excellence of our program. Through their commitment to the Annual Fund in the senior year, their legacy is one of gratitude for all the school has done to prepare them for success in college and life. Two special opportunities are available for students and their parents to say “thank you”—100% participation in the Annual Fund by the seniors and the parents’ support for The Senior Class Gift to the Endowment.

The Class of 2014 achieved 100% with all 60 seniors participating in the Annual Fund. Head of School Pamela Juan Hayes ’64 thanked them with a frozen yogurt party during morning break.

Parents of the senior class were invited to participate in The Senior Class Gift to the Endowment to commemorate their daughters and all they achieved at Sacred Heart. The Senior Class Gift was presented at Upper School Prize Day to Mrs. Hayes amid the cheers of seniors, intent on leaving a legacy that pays it forward.

Please consider a gift or pledge to the 2013–2014 Annual Fund:

• Online: www.cshgreenwich.org/annualfund • Pledge: Deborah Doornick, annual fund director, at 203.532.3572 or doornickd@cshct.org • Matching Gifts: Double your gift through your company’s matching gift program.

• Mail: Use the enclosed remittance envelope.

A Year of Inspirational Giving Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org

61

nonprofit std us postage paid Stamford, CT permit # 3083

1177 King Street Greenwich, CT 06831 Address Service Requested

FramingourFuture TODAY

TOMORROW AND FOREVER

A Gift For Every Girl Alumnae Campaign Effort Our goal?

To achieve the greatest participation possible among our alumnae. Help us launch and celebrate Sacred Heart’s next great era!

We celebrate every gift because every gift matters!

For information on how you can participate, contact Michael Baber, assistant head of school and advancement director, at 203-532-3155 or baberm@cshct.org, or visit our website www.cshgreenwich.org/FramingOurFuture.

Save the Date Alumnae Capital Campaign Congé & Reunion Kick-Off Friday, September 26 • 6:30–8:30 p.m. at Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich

Fra