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Campus Ministry and Retreat Program
dividual clubs collaborate with student government and faculty to plan weekly assemblies that creatively bring their work to the larger Upper School community and provide the opportunity for school-wide reflection.
The goal of the student activities program is to provide an opportunity for students to establish relationships with peers and faculty outside the classroom, to foster awareness of the connection between learning spaces in daily life and the classroom and to introduce students to the skills and challenges extracurricular activities have to offer.
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Upper School students learn the rudiments of compelling oral presentation: concise organization of content, performance technique, and audience interaction. Because public speaking is integrated into curricula, oral assessments foster communication and technology skills, and encourage students to demonstrate a nuanced and personal mastery of academic material. Oral presentations range in length from three to forty minutes, and range in style from persuasive orations to public address.
SERVICE LEARNING
“Genuine love always takes the form of service. In a world plagued by injustice, torn by violence and fear, you must stand by the most wounded and needy. At a school of the Sacred Heart, you will learn to take little steps and big steps to set God’s Kingdom right.” —Life at the Sacred Heart, 1982
Sacred Heart is committed to be agents of constructive change.
• We are dedicated to delving deeper to understand the underlying causes of injustices and move our faith towards action.
• We strive to act for justice in the areas of: Health,
Hunger, Housing, Environment, and Education.
• We strive to develop ways to share our resources that are not readily available to many local and international organizations.
• We strive to collaborate with organizations that seek the same common purpose. Our hearts are open to these challenges and we strive to live out the mission of our school through our 3 tier servicelearning program.
In the 9th grade, students begin a unique two-year Social Justice sequence that prepares them to look within by exploring their personal values and ways to become active citizens in our local community through YPI (Youth and Philanthropy Initiative). In addition to looking inward, they look outward by exploring social issues that impact NYC. The skills learned through the YPI curriculum prepare our students to move into Sacred Heart’s 10th grade Social Action program, where they commit to volunteering at one agency through their sophomore year to address the needs of the most needy. Through personal and group reflection, students enter their final two years of high school with a firm foundation, which allows them to lead social action initiatives.
In grades 11 and 12, students participate in leading myriad service-oriented clubs and have the opportunity to participate in domestic and international service-learning immersions. We strive to build individual student character and foster interdependent student and adult relationships in and beyond the walls of our school. The service work completed by Sacred Heart students is explicitly beneficial to the participants through deep reflection on what is learned from each experience.
As students prepare to graduate from Sacred Heart they have the opportunity to intern in our school’s H.E.A.R.T. program, which addresses the needs of families living in under-resourced communities in NYC. Health Education And Responsible Tools provides children and their families with the tools to develop lifelong habits and routines to foster wellness, health, self-esteem and academic achievement. By providing fitness opportunities, access to affordable & nutritious food, and techniques for healthy food preparation, the goals of H.E.A.R.T. will be to educate, support and empower the families to extend these outcomes into their daily lives. Many of our college alumnae will then return to teach classes at H.E.A.R.T., which includes participating in a teacher training institute run by our present and retired faculty.
The service-learning program in the Uupper Sschool is organized through the office of the Director of Community Outreach in collaboration with faculty, staff, parents and administrative offices and often with other divisions.
CAMPUS MINISTRY and RETREAT PROGRAM
Campus Ministry, in conjunction with the student activities and community service programs at Sacred Heart, aims to enrich the Upper School academic program by providing students with a range of spiritual practices and experiences to enhance their Upper School years. The campus ministry team, comprised of students, theology faculty and the school priest, coordinates liturgies, sacramental opportunities, prayer services, retreats and celebrations of Sacred Heart traditions and feasts. All students and faculty, regardless of religious background, are encouraged to participate or to help with the planning of campus ministry events. They act as lectors, cantors and Eucharistic ministers and share their gifts of song and dance at Eucharistic celebrations.
The carefully planned retreat program in the Upper School complements the religion curriculum and offers an opportunity each year for students to explore their relationship with God, self, and others. Students of each grade are chosen to be retreat leaders to give the retreats structure and content. They meet with the religion faculty a few times before any given retreat. Seniors meet weekly over the course of several months to prepare the Kairos retreat for the juniors. Faculty volunteers participate in the grade level retreats and actively engage in the discussions or give witness to their faith.
The Grade 9 retreat inducts the students into the Sacred Heart family as a new and unique freshman class. They reflect on the meaning of being part of a new class community and how they can bring their individual gifts to strengthen the group. Special attention is given to team building and discovering unity within plurality. The Grade 10 retreat emphasizes student reflection on how they can be their best selves, loving God, neighbor, and self evermore fully. What are the experiences and relationships that help them thrive and allow them to share their gifts with the community and beyond through service?
Grade 11 goes on a Kairos retreat. This retreat has been designed and adapted for juniors. Students leave on a Wednesday after school and return by Friday afternoon, usually the week after Christmas vacation. It is an overnight retreat outside Manhattan. It builds from one day to the next. Six to eight student leaders (from the senior class) with two members of the religion department and different faculty who have been selected prepare this retreat over a period of several months. These leaders and faculty members then share their stories and connect Jesus to their own story of growing in faith during the actual retreat. Besides faith sharing, there are a variety of activities included and occasions of prayer and reflection provided. A few of the themes addressed are Lifeline, Knowing Yourself, God’s Friendship, Results of and Obstacles to God’s Friendship, and Love in Action.
Grade 12 is a time of transition. As a continuation of Kairos, the senior retreat’s focus is on Life Directions. Students discuss values, options and ideals. What choices are life-giving? What is the right direction? How to leave high school? How to cope with the risks of leaving family and friends? What do they regret in their past but what can they learn from it to move on? Is this the end, the beginning, or the continuation of a spiritual life after CSH? What role does God play in their choices?
It is the essence of a Sacred Heart education to cultivate the formation of the whole person to be an active, informed and responsible citizen locally, nationally and globally. Rooted in our faith, the school promotes a safe and welcoming environment in which each person is affirmed, respected and cared for both inside and outside of the classroom. We intend to empower all members of our community—students, parents, employees, trustees and alumnae—with the tools to recognize and value the distinct perspectives, experiences and skills of others.
We seek to uphold the mission of our foundress, Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, whose vision was to transform the world through the love of the Heart of Jesus, by calling our community to model inclusion, empathy and respect. We commit ourselves to fostering an awareness that impels us to act because of our belief in the dignity of each person.
We view pluralism as the woven fabric of our community, creating opportunity for dialogue, learning and activism. It is expected that all members of the Sacred Heart community value differences that include, but are not limited to, ability, age, beliefs, ethnicity, family structure, gender, learning style, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status.
The Sacred Heart community at 91st Street is committed to maintaining an ongoing and respectful dialogue in all matters of equity, justice and multicultural education, and to providing a safe and constructive forum for reflection upon our actions.
