10 minute read
A Conversation With Chelsea Wallace
A Conversation With
Chelsea Wallace
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During her sixth year at Holy Child School at Rosemont, Chelsea Wallace is wellknown for her roles as an educator, teaching religion to Grades 5, 7, and 8, and as our School Liturgist. This year also marks the beginning of a new role for Chelsea: She is now a Holy Child parent, as her son Daniel ’34 is enrolled in Young Falcons. With a background in teaching, college campus ministry, and clinical social work, Chelsea brought a wealth of experience, as well as her Catholic faith, to the Holy Child community, both of which guide her approach to teaching and sharing the faith with our community.
What brings you joy about teaching Middle School students?
The students in Grade 5 are so curious and open to the story of the faith. At the same time, they are mature enough to not accept things at face value; they ask intelligent questions and are open to hearing what others and I have to say in response. Teaching Grades 7 and 8 is interesting because they think so much more deeply and critically about the faith. They see how their spirituality connects them to the world and to others. Through class discussion, we tap into deeper questions about faith and life, which I enjoy facilitating because I previously taught theology to high school students.
What do you enjoy most about your role as our School Liturgist?
Serving as our School Liturgist is a privilege and a blessing. Through our school masses and prayer services, I try to create a setting where people can experience God’s love and grace. I hope that our community is able to take away the feeling that God is here among us, and we can encounter God in all things if we know where and how to look. I also love that I can talk about my faith so openly here at Holy Child and that I can be myself.
How does the mission of Holy Child influence your role as an educator?
When I originally applied to work at Holy Child, I was weighing two professional opportunities, yet I felt like Holy Child was where I needed to be. I am so happy working here, since I always wanted to feel this sense of community, a family, and home in my everyday job. Being able to live out and talk about my faith through my roles here feels so right and fits so beautifully with my life. Cornelia Connelly approached education with a focus on inclusivity, compassion, and love for the uniqueness and dignity of each child. I feel that Cornelia understood Jesus’s message about loving one another and about breaking down barriers between people, resulting in the Holy Child mission that supports children and guides them to experience God’s love. Being Jesuit-educated myself, I like how Cornelia embraced the Ignatian idea of finding God in all things. The Holy Child mission reflects this idea that God is all around us, and we can see him at work in our friendships and our community.
In my classroom, I strive to take the approach that Jesus took: He invited people to come and see, because God’s love is a free invitation. Faith has brought so much meaning to my life and into the lives of others, so I invite my students, “Come and see if it connects with you.” Teaching religion and the subject of faith is different in its intention and purpose, as compared to other subjects that we teach. Helping my students discover and build a relationship with God is my main goal, and I strive to do that by providing them with tools and creating spaces where they can encounter God — through Scripture, through each other, and within themselves. In my classroom, students have the opportunity to learn about the Christian faith, reflect in both writing and discussion on how that faith applies to their lives, and grow in their ability to live it and share it with others.
A Little About Chelsea Wallace
Favorite Food: Dark chocolate
Hobbies: Singing in choirs and a cappella, salsa dancing, exercising, and reading fiction and sci-fi novels.
Fun Fact: She is great at beatboxing—a talent she discovered during her college a cappella days! Bucket List: She would love to travel with her family and explore the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Colombia.
A Beloved Tradition
— Carol Haldy GP’29’32
On Friday, May 6, 2022, we opened our classroom doors and hosted a beloved Holy Child tradition in person for the first time since the pandemic: Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day. This annual event provides students in PreKindergarten through Grade 8 with the opportunity to invite their grandparents and special friends to our school for an exciting day filled with in-the-classroom experiences.
With record-breaking attendance, the magnitude of our Holy Child community was felt, as students, faculty, staff, and guests gathered together in the Fitzgerald Performing Arts and Athletic Center on the morning of May 6. The morning began with a welcome from Head of School Tom Lengel P’12, followed by a prayer service that offered moments of reflection on the crowning of the Blessed Mother. Keeping with tradition, the opening session concluded with an outstanding musical performance by the cast of “Beauty & the Beast, Jr.,” our 2022 Spring Play.
For the rest of the day, grandparents and special friends joined their students in the classroom for hands-on experiences spanning all subjects, such as mindfulness and storytime in PreKindergarten, science and math in Grade 2, and religion and music in Grade 6. Parent volunteers were essential to the event, guiding guests to different parts of the school to ensure that they could spend meaningful time with all of the children and grandchildren who had invited them. The strength of our greater Holy Child community was evident in the packed hallways and classrooms, and the students beamed with pride as they showcased their school, teachers, and academic accomplishments to people whom they care for greatly.
Fatima Sultan & Reese Robinson:
Why We Are a Holy Child Family
Parents Fatima Sultan and Reese Robinson, and their son Maddox ’32, joined the Holy Child School at Rosemont community during the fall 2020 term, enrolling Maddox in the Young Falcons class in the midst of a global pandemic. Despite joining the school at a time when traditions and gatherings were reimagined, both Fatima and Reese deeply value our school’s community, reflecting on what it has meant to them. “What is unique to Holy Child is that the people within this school place family and community above themselves,” shares Fatima. “I find consistently that we have a shared value and commitment toward our community, and that’s how many families view Holy Child. It’s not only a school…it is seen as an extension of one’s own family.” Reese adds, “We are all individual families, but when we come together on campus for events, everyone there acts as a family. Parents are willing to help each other out and check in on one another…it’s one of the biggest blessings we have received since enrolling in this school.”
The concept of family can be defined in many ways, as evidenced by Fatima Sultan and Reese Robinson, who co-parent their son Maddox ’32. They are one of several Holy Child School at Rosemont families who coparent and, in further recognition of this fact, a self-organizing group for single mothers at Holy Child formed in June 2021 with the support of the school and its administration. Fatima cites this group as another example of our community’s strength, saying, “This group has been so supportive. It allows many mothers and our children to acknowledge our family situations openly and honestly. We tell the children, ‘It’s exciting that you now have a community of people who have a similar life experience to you,’ and for many, it’s the first time they have heard it presented this way. It brings them comfort and relief.”
In addition, Fatima shares that the single mothers affinity group is one of many examples of “how Holy Child makes the implicit, explicit.” She also sees this concept evidenced in how our teachers usher in examples of diversity from around the world, focusing lessons and activities on different cultures and customs that exist beyond the halls of our school. “Our teachers are preparing our children well because future leaders need to be able to lead across differences and see difference in a way that respects it.” For Fatima, “making the implicit, explicit” is important for a young person’s educational experience, especially when done in a caring and inclusive environment, and she values that about Holy Child.
Expanding on what they value about Holy Child, “our teachers” was a common answer between Reese and Fatima. Reese shares, “The care that the teachers give to each child is very comforting and reassuring to me as a parent. The teachers at Holy Child enjoy enriching these children’s lives and are so positive and welcoming with the children and parents.” Fatima adds, “The teachers are prime examples of teaching excellence: They are intentional, dedicated, and focused on nurturing values that go above and beyond a traditional academic experience.”
As parents who heavily researched educational options around the Main Line, Fatima and Reese share that what stands out to them as a primary differentiator of Holy Child is the intentional character- and leadership-building experiences woven into the curriculum. Based on her own experience as a leader in the professional world, Fatima notes, “I understand the importance of leadership principles, and I love that Maddox is being taught about leadership so early in life. This community places an emphasis on values and character, which I feel are real contributors to a child’s success.” Looking ahead to Maddox’s future at Holy Child, Reese shares his hopes for his son, saying, “Maddox is strong-minded and independent, and it’s exciting for me as a parent to see him grow. In a few years, he will have the chance to engage in the Buddy Program as a form of mentorship. I look forward to the time when he will become a mentor and a leader for the younger children at school.”
Fatima Sultan and Reese Robinson with their son Maddox ’32.
Welcoming
Judi Taylor P’14’16 as Board Chair
Left to right: Anne Schoemaker Vazquez ‘95 P’25’27’30, Judi Taylor P’14’16, and Steve Schreder P’13’15’18’23
This year, Holy Child School at Rosemont was pleased to welcome Judi Taylor P’14’16, a past parent and longtime trustee, as chair of the Board of Trustees. Judi and her husband Matt ’78 have been involved in the Holy Child community in many ways over the years, especially as active volunteers. In addition to six years as a board member, Judi has served as a homeroom parent, an auction chair, and a member of the 2011 Strategic Plan Committee. Most recently, Judi was a co-chair for the Campaign for Holy Child. Beyond the halls of Holy Child, Judi is a mother to Ross, Jenna, Daniel ’14, and Brendan ’16, she is a certified public accountant, and she has served on the Board of Trustees for the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur. During her first year as board chair, Judi is also engaged in the head of school selection and transition processes, as Holy Child will soon welcome a new head who embraces our mission and community. Judi has worked in collaboration with the Head of School Search Committee, co-chaired by Steve Schreder P’13’15’18’23 and Anne Schoemaker Vazquez ‘95 P’25’27’30, to ensure a fair and intentional process.
We are grateful to Judi Taylor for her dedication to Holy Child, both past and current, and the way in which she leads with grace and thoughtfulness.
