Dear Middle School Families,

On Wednesday, March 4, the Middle School will have the opportunity to have an immersive day filled with math activities. The “Math is Fun” Goal Day will focus on Goals II and IV by bringing the students together as they journey through their math explorations. Each student will receive a passport in order to earn stamps at the various stations and work their way towards a common goal. 

I want to thank the Math Department and a special thanks to Mrs. Krystyna Sibilska, who organized these wonderful activities. I hope you will take some time on Wednesday or the evenings following to discuss the math adventures with your daughters. It is shaping up to be a wonderful day celebrating math!

Sincerely,

T.J. Tondorf
Assistant Head of Middle School

Dear Middle School Families,

February 19 is the Middle School’s next Goal Day. We are excited about the various programs that the four grades will experience. Each grade is doing something different and unique to their grade. Please read the following descriptions below for the details. 

Grade Five will start their day with their Mother-Daughter Liturgy to celebrate Goals I and IV. Students should wear dress uniform. Mothers are invited to share breakfast with their daughters and the team in the MPR after the liturgy. Grade Five will spend the remainder of the day in retreat. They are welcome and encouraged to bring a comfortable change of clothes for the retreat. The theme of the retreat is “Imago Dei: Children of God.” 

Grade Six will be on campus spending time on a variety of STEAM and coding projects (Goal II). The students will have the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of a panel of women in STEAM. The panel will include Cara Lesser, Founder and Executive Director of KID Museum; Shannon Bishop, Director of Content at PBS KIDS Digital; and Dr. Susan Persky, head of the Immersive Virtual Environment Testing Unit at NIH. We are thrilled to welcome these guests to campus, and we know the girls will learn a great deal from them.

Grade Seven will be downtown visiting the Museum of the American Indian in the morning (Goal II). They will explore the exhibits and draw comparisons to their current studies in Social Studies. After lunch, the group will travel to the Museum of Women in the Arts. They will have the opportunity to explore a variety of media in art and see examples of styles of particular women in the arts. 

Grade Eight will also travel to the National Mall. They will visit the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the American History Museum (Goal II). The grade will divide in half and split their day between the museums. Students will focus on Geology Hall in the Museum of Natural History, and they will focus on topics already covered and will preview upcoming American History topics in the American History Museum. 

Please be sure to fill out the permission forms for the Grade Seven and Eight field trips, so all students are able to travel with their grade. Both groups will be taking buses to and from the National Mall.

Sincerely,

T.J. Tondorf

See more photos.
 

Dear Middle School Families,

We are preparing for a wonderful Sacred Heart Goal Day in the midst of Catholic Schools Week. This simultaneous celebration will allow the Middle School to dive into several wonderful topics and mark many of the Goals. 

The morning will start with a panel of alumnae who have made Social Action their vocation. They have served several different organizations with the goal of bringing Christ’s heart into the world. My hope is that the girls find inspiration in their stories and journey. Students will then be given the chance to reflect on the alumnae’s experiences and how they might emulate their path. 

Students will also allow space for Goal I on Thursday by making up the period that will occur during our construction blessing and All School Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Mass. Students will receive details regarding the materials they need in the coming days. 

The Ensemble groups will also have time and space to rehearse and practice Goal IV in the afternoon. Students must bring their instruments Wednesday morning. The Ensemble groups will rotate through their rehearsals, and students will participate in grade-level activities when they are not rehearsing. 

I hope you will all join us Wednesday afternoon for the All School Strings, Band, and Chorus Concerts.

Sincerely,

Mr. T.J. Tondorf
Assistant Head of Middle School

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.