Dear Parents,

Our next Sacred Heart Goal Day on Wednesday, January 15 will focus on Goal II. Throughout the week in the morning,  the Middle School will be working on completing ERB testing. This testing mainly occurs during first period classes. Our Goal Day on Wednesday affords us the opportunity to make sure all first-period classes meet. Wednesday after completing ERB testing students will have first period classes from Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. This provides us the opportunity to continue instruction for all sections across the curriculum. 

Grades 6-8 will have athletics in the afternoon, and Grade 5 will have a study hall. Both of these will meet at their normal time. 

Sincerely,
T.J. Tondorf

We are preparing for an enriching Sacred Heart Goal Day next Wednesday, December 11, which will focus on Goal I, a personal and active faith in God, and Goal II, a deep respect for intellectual values.

Grades 5 and 6 will start the day participating in a Rube Goldberg challenge. This engineering challenge is an engaging way to bring science concepts to life while helping students learn how to think creatively and critically as well as problem-solve. Students work on building one of the most popular engineering STEAM projects—a Rube Goldberg machine––with the goal of creating a machine that can pop a balloon! They will be working in their advisory groups to design and build their machines out of recycled and repurposed materials.  

Grades 7 and 8 will begin the morning with an assembly followed by their Quarter 2 exams. Their morning will focus on Goal II as they will have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of the content on the exams. Grade 8 will also have the opportunity to visit the younger Gators in Kindergarten-Grade 2 with peer reading, math games, and recess play.

The entire Middle School will participate in an Advent prayer service and have the opportunity to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Later in the day, the Middle School will also dig into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities and discussions in grade-level teams. This DEI work will help students work on their listening, empathy, and care for their peers’ opinions and perspectives. These activities will build the students’ experience in the classroom and together as a collective body. In a Goal IV year, we are focusing as a school community to come together through shared experiences and celebrations.

It is my sincere hope that through these experiences and the preparation during Advent at Stone Ridge, the girls will reflect and feel the love of Christ in our community.

 

On our first Goal Day:

Grade 5 will focus on Goal II. In order to assist with the transition to Middle School, the teachers of core content classes will have extra time to meet with the students and continue to orient them. Students will also have an orientation meeting in order to meet as a grade to discuss the start of the year and revisit rules and expectations. This will also be an opportunity for them to bring forward questions they might have from the start of the year.

Grade 6 will focus on Goal I and IV. They will start their day with the Mother-Daughter Liturgy. The students must arrive in dress uniform. The Liturgy will be followed by a breakfast. At the conclusion of the breakfast at 10:00 am, Grade 6 will participate in an on-campus retreat. The theme of the retreat is "Courage and Confidence: In Me and in Others." The students will have the option to change into comfortable retreat clothing or to remain in their uniforms.

Grade 7 will focus on Goal IV. The students will participate in a rotation of sessions on campus to build community within their grade and as members of the Sacred Heart community. These sessions will also aim to improve their skills as leaders of the Middle School. These sessions will be on campus.

Grade 8 will be off-campus for an all-day program at Calleva. This program will focus on Goals IV and V. The students will participate in team-building activities and deepen their connections. The challenge course will also be an opportunity for each individual student to participate in “challenge by choice” throughout the Calleva high and low challenge course. Calleva encourages individuals to push themselves through a series of balance activities, ropes course segments, and group problem-solving. Enjoy photos from the trip.

More photos on Vidigami.