Children Are Special Gifts

The school is filled with children again. Parents are falling into a routine. Father Todd has blessed the classrooms, playground, gym and offices. The students are smiling and the teachers are in control of the learning and classroom management is working. We are off to a very good year. But let’s face it…children are noisy, energetic and dirty. They have trouble keeping their hands to themselves, interrupt, get distracted, whine and want to be the boss. At the same time, they are also observant, extremely loving, complementary, interested in everything and easy to teach.  They’re kids. They are not adults. They do not think like adults and they most definitely do not act like adults. That is why they are so special and they need to be treated that way. When we talk to kids, it is better if we remember to put ourselves in their shoes first. Children are so fresh from God and they have a lifetime ahead of them. They are learning and growing every day.

The world is a mysterious place and even I have trouble making sense of it all. Imagine if you have only been here for 5 or 10 years. They truly have just so much to learn and they will experience many, many things for the very first time. Let’s do our best to set them up for success. Expect them to be frustrated and to struggle. Prepare the day with structure but learn the words that get them on the path to Christ’s love. Learn the language of virtue when they misbehave. Remind them, that they are God’s special gift to the world and they are made to shine in His light. Remember that obedience, meekness, self-control, respect and courage are the Steps to Sainthood. We can build our children up and raise them to the next level by giving a positive message and by being their mentors. Children are God’s gift to us. Let’s see the world from their vantage point as we guide them. Let’s humble ourselves and let God in to the way we discipline.

 God Bless,

Anne Atkin, Principal

Let’s Begin the Year with Confidence

It is a new school year! Time to get back in the groove. It is so fun to see all of the excited kids jump into a new school year and bring their A game. With a little help from Moms and Dads, who buy everything we need, get us on a routine and pack our healthy lunch, the students are ready to roll. School is their job and they are good at it. I challenge you to stop by Sacred Heart School any time and see if the kids are on top of their game. You will find them engaged in class discussion, working hard on assignments and proudly explaining the finished product. I know, this may sound a bit exaggerated but Sacred Heart School is special. The students from preschool to 6th grade are amazing kids and they are working every day to be the light of Christ. Challenges are met with enthusiasm. Struggles and failures are explained as growth in virtue. School makes sense. A little prayer, a little fun, a little more work and a lot of joy. That is God’s formula and we are blessed to be the people who can share it. The goal is confidence. The mission at Sacred Heart School is to be structure and diligent so we can graduate students who are confident: balanced of mind, academics and faith. How do we make students confident? First, we have to gain your confidence and theirs. We do that by being purposeful in our planning all year long.

Confidence is having faith in someone. Self-confidence is trusting that you have what it takes to handle whatever happens. You feel sure of yourself and enjoy trying new things, without letting doubts or fears hold you back. When you have confidence in others, you rely on them. When you have confidence in yourself, others can rely on you. Our confidence comes from God. We look to God for all things and we trust that his love for us will bring us all closer to Him. So everyday the teachers and everyone involved at Sacred Heart set out, with purpose, to reach our mission. It is simple and God has given us the map to success. So let’s work together this year to always be the light of Christ. To trust and love each other as we strive for confident and balanced students.

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, Principal

Why Do I Forget to Pray?

Prayer is huge. It is the most important thing you can do every day. I pray a lot! Life has humbled me to my knees and I have been lost and scared. Really scared. So scared that I cannot sleep, cannot eat (who am I kidding, I overeat), cannot find happiness and I am panicking. Life is that scary for all of us at some point. That is when we take a huge breath and ask for help. I have prayed so hard that I promised God I would say yes to whatever He asked of me. He asked some very uncomfortable things, but He and I were having so much conversation that I had a calm, confident, blind faith. Prayer is what guides every part of my life now. There is still an infinite amount of studying and life’s journey is sure to continue to be challenging but, prayer will get us through everything that frightens us.

And yet, two weeks before the school year begins, a chaotic season; the time when prayer is needed the most for guidance and I forgot to pray. I have been going to bed and realizing that I have not even said “Thank you Lord” today. Why? It is not some philosophical answer about the human spirit or negative behavior. I just didn’t make it a priority when I was looking at the to do list. I simply forgot to put it on the list. Maybe this happens to you too. So here are some great reminders for all of us.

¨ “Be constant in prayer” so that spiritual grace gifts and love will abound in the church (Romans 12:6-13).

¨ “Pray at all times in the Spirit… with all perseverance” so that we will be protected from powerful satanic attack, and the gospel will be proclaimed accurately and boldly (Ephesians 6:10-20).

¨ Pray about everything in order to be relieved of troubling anxieties and allow the God’s peace to guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:6-7).

¨ “Continue steadfastly in prayer” for the sake of remaining spiritually alert and seeing the manifold grace of God that prompts thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2).

¨ “Pray without ceasing” in order that there will be unity and love and appropriate submission and patience and joy in the church (1 Thessalonians 5:12-18).

¨ “Always… pray and not lose heart” so that we receive what it is that we desperately want and need from God, whose heart is to give his elect justice (Luke 18:1-8).

Adapted from Crosswalk.com “Why do I forget to pray”

School News:

¨ The trees in the front of the school were removed this weekend. The building and grounds committee and I determined that the trees were no longer healthy and should be replaced with smaller ornamental trees. We are excited to expand the habitat in the front of the school with some new landscaping.

¨ Our Back to School Open House & BBQ will be Thursday, August 23 beginning at 5:30.  All are welcome to come see the new playground and updates to our school.

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, principal

Many wonderful people have been working to make improvements to the school. Please join us for a blessing of the playground, dinner and an open house. It is always exciting to the start a new year!

Why Is Waiting So Hard?

Patience is a virtue. Yes, and most of the time I understand that, but other times I am ready to crawl out of my skin. We often have our own agenda for the day. We have deadlines that need to be met and problems that need to be solved.

The world expects results and we are expected to achieve them. “Time is money.” The phrase was coined by Benjamin Franklin in his Advice to a Young Tradesman (1748): Remember that time is money. He that idly loses five shillings’ worth of time loses five shillings, and might as prudently throw five shillings into the sea. It is not always about money but we feel the pull. The strong pull that we should be doing something productive. Then, the dog pees on the carpet, the package you need didn’t come in time, your presentation won’t load, traffic, you’re waiting for an answer. The word “patience” is derived from the Latin word pati, which means to suffer, to endure, to bear. Understanding the depth of the word tells us much about the nature, meaning and necessity of the virtue of patience. Patience can be felt on many levels. It is true that we can use our self-control or give in to the situation and learn to laugh about it. But how do we work on truly finding a balance in our lives and not get frustrated when we can’t control the pace of the day? I struggle with this and found this passage on Father Joe’s twitter page:  “Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.” Henri Nouwen- Internationally renowned priest and author.

God help me to trust You in all parts of the day. Even the parts that drive me a little crazy.

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, principal

Why Summer Reading Pays Off Year-Round

Attention parents: even though summer is almost over, it’s not too late to help your child become a better reader before the new school year begins. Summer is an important time for students to keep reading and improve their language skills. If your child hasn’t been reading regularly this summer, they may be in danger of the “summer slide”—a decline in their reading ability.  However, this “summer slide” can be avoided by ensuring that children are as engaged as possible in whatever they choose to read—just as long as they’re reading every day.

The best ways to keep your child from becoming a “rusty reader” over the summer are:

1. Encourage your children to read books they enjoy for at least 30 minutes per day. Your child will likely be more engrossed in material they choose themselves than material that is forced on them.
2. Provide incentives for reluctant readers. For example, if your child enjoys basketball, agree to take them to the local court if they do their “daily reading.”
3. Make reading a social act. Establish a time during the day when all members of the family gather and read on their own, or take turns reading the same book aloud.
4. Connect your reading to family outings. If you take your kids to an aquarium, con sider reading a book about fish or the ocean with them later that day. The outing can help place the reading into a broader context.

There’s still time for kids to pick up a book this summer. Take your children to your local library or bookstore and let them pick out a book they’re going to love today. They will be better readers tomorrow for it. (Adapted from Ed.gov/Home Room Why summer reading pays off year round).

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, Principal

What Is My Purpose?

Let’s Face It….We all need a purpose.  My purpose is not same as yours.  The need for purpose is one of the defining characteristics of human beings.  We need to know that we are working for something important.  Our purpose is as individual as our fingerprints and it is what makes us unique.  Living the life that God has intended and talking to God every day, is the best way to fill our basic need to be appreciated, respected and useful.  It is truly awesome to stop for a minute and think about our special purpose.  Each and every one of us has unique gifts that belongs only to us.  They are our charisms.  A charism is an extraordinary power given to individuals by the Holy Spirit to live life as a follower of Christ.  Because they are freely given by God, they cannot be earned and they are not to be used for personal gain.

What is your charism? Perhaps you have the ability to make friends easily or you can jump right into a project and help get it finished.  Perhaps you have the gift of leadership or organization.  Maybe making music or planning events is your skill. Each of us has our own charism.  Special gifts that are to be respected.  As we grow closer together, and closer to Christ, my hope is that we all see our beautiful gifts, in ourselves and in each other.  Charism can be hard to see; it will require some quiet conversation with God.  What is my purpose?  Help me to find my gifts and to bring me closer to You.

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, Principal

What a Beautiful Place

As I look around the campus at Sacred Heart, there is a lot going on.  Volunteers are working on small projects like weeding the yard and patching the walls.  Construction companies are working on the large project of restoring the altar and refinishing the floors of the sacristy and carpeting the main church.  Semi- trailers are moving in Amish made playground equipment for the students to enjoy next year.  The offices are planning golf outings, coordinating busy schedules, creating a calendar of year-long school events and preparing the building for a fresh start in August.

The people of Sacred Heart Community are busy creating God’s presence.  Our faith is not something that can sit on a shelf at home.  It has to be shared and nurtured and exposed.  It isn’t easy to live our faith everyday and to say yes to God’s call.  It is clear that the personal connection and desire to be a part of a loving community is very strong here.  The campus itself is so beautiful and the history so magnificent, that just by being on the steps of the school or in the basement of the church, we can feel our connection to God’s community. None of this is by chance.  We are all supposed to be here, in Hudson, connected to Sacred Heart.  My hope is that when we look around, we can see God in all things and in all people. Let’s be careful with each other and let God do His work.

Anne Atkin, Principal

This is what we are working on for the upcoming school year.

Updated and Published School History

Sacred Heart School opened its doors in September 1929 and will begin a new school year in August for the 89^th year. It has been my vision to restore the historical presence of the school; with renovation to the facilities, updated published history, historical pictures, banners and milestones show cased in our halls and alumni outreach in preparation for our Centennial Celebration in 2029.

The most obvious place to start is by finishing the history of the school; publishing the history on the website and displaying the history at the school. Professor Timothy Cook says “whenever someone enters a school, walks through the halls, and carefully observes what is displayed, the experience should reflect a keen sense of what the school community holds sacred” (Cook, T 2001 p. 74). This year, we would like to incorporate the history of Sacred Heart school into our weekly newsletter, classroom social studies curriculum and Catholic Schools Week Celebrations.

Founders Day- Sacred Heart School was completed in April of 1929 and it would be so fun to celebrate Founders Day each year. We could invite the community to a day of prayer and remembrance for the school which has been a pillar in the community for almost 90 years. It would be a great way express to the church community that we are grateful for the sacrifices and donations made to keep the school operating. The students can learn the history of the school they attend with the hope that they continue to be a part of our growth in the future.

I wanted you to know that we will be working on our Action Plan and will be contacting many of you for input.

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, Principal

Stay Bold on Your Journey

It is hard to put a finger on why we feel a certain way about certain people. Sometimes you meet someone and you just hit it off. Sometimes you know someone for years and are thrown into circumstances that change the way you see them. We view the world through a lens that is filtered by experience and vision. As we grow, so does the way we see the people God has put on our path. One of the beautiful things about the Catholic Church is the sacraments. The sacraments make us holy and impart Grace as they are teaching us of Christ’s love. When we celebrate the sacraments with our loving community it deeply changes us. Not only are we filled with the Holy Spirit but we are forever changed to be closer to God. To see the world in a Divine light.

We are meant to be out in the world, gaining experience and knowledge; maybe spreading around a little wisdom of our own. This isn’t always easy and sometimes we are very guarded (we all have good reasons to protect ourselves). Giving ourselves to things that are new can be difficult. Embracing change takes a lot of courage and faith. Facing new challenges has very little to do with the work involved, it the risk of rejection or failure. In these times, we can turn to our “forever people” who make us feel safe and warm. But we also know when it is time to boldly head out for new experiences again. We are meant for adventures; challenges and we have been given all of the gifts that we need to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. You might fail. You might be rejected but by sheer virtue of this happening, you develop a clearer lens to look through when you see God’s people on your path. Take a deep breath. Open your eyes and get out in the world. You were made to be a part of something bigger than you.

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, Principal