WHAT'S GOING ON NOW:

OUTSTANDING RELIGIOUS HIGH SCHOOL

Fostering Intellectual Curiosity
Steeped in history, young women pursue the academic, spiritual

Walking through the entrance of the Convent of the Sacred Heart on the Upper East Side is to walk into a world thought to no longer exist. The sophisticated marble staircase and intricate stonework convey a sense of old-world sophistication, calm and serenity. School facilities are rivaled only by the grand, sweeping view of Central Park, seen from the top of one of two historic landmarked mansions that house this private religious pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade school.

But within the walls of this more than 100-year-old home once owned by New York banker and dedicated arts patron Otto Kahn is a modern world. Each of the school’s five floors boasts a bevy of hightech classrooms with computers and smart boards, up-to-date science and technology labs, and state-of-the-art theater and art studios, complete with kilns, ovens, darkrooms and film labs.

Although the school is affiliated with the Catholic faith, it is not part of the Catholic Diocese. Of the large faculty, two nuns remain teaching and one school chaplain leads the classes in weekly Mass. Although Sacred Heart’s philosophy is based on Christian principles, religion is taught as an academic subject.

Barbara Root, director of admissions, said that Sacred Heart endeavors to teach young girls to be strong and intellectually curious.According to Root, their mission is to teach students how to create a sense of personal spirituality.

“We at Sacred Heart assume the existence of God,” she said. “We must address the spiritual being. Our students have to care about their souls.”

Root and Maureen Lampidis, Ph.D., principal of the upper school, explained that the curriculum is set up to engage students with their own spirituality and passion in this world. Be it through music, art, theater, poetry or nature, the goal is to mold a deeply intellectual and spiritual being throughout the student’s studies.

The school was founded by St. Madeline Sophie Barat in France in 1800. Barat believed that by teaching girls how to find self- and spiritual fulfillment through education, women would sustain a passion for learning throughout their lives. More than 200 years later, Sacred Heart carries on Barat’s mission, in conjunction with 23 sister schools in the United States and 44 schools internationally.

Though each school is independent, they are linked through a common dedication to teaching the five goals of a Sacred Heart education: “a personal and active faith in God; a deep respect for intellectual values; a social awareness, which impels to action; the building of community as a Christian value; and personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom.”

“The goals are a good way to look at choices in life,” Lampidis said. “It helps the girls form a philosophy for living.”

The upper school’s curriculum, which includes grades eight through 12, centers on liberal arts and sciences. Students are provided with a wide variety of advanced placement classes and the opportunity to complete independent senior projects.

Girls are encouraged to participate in the arts and intellectual clubs, such as publishing one of seven periodicals throughout the year or joining the Model UN, Habitat for Humanity or forensics clubs.

Upper school students are regularly honored for their work in local and national competitions throughout the year. In the spring, four students had their poetry published in a collection of New York student poetry and two juniors were admitted to the prestigious Barnard College Saturday Science Seminar. Three students were also presented with honors in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, a countrywide competition in which 250,000 seventh through 12th grade students compete in regional programs. Sacred Heart students won awards in journalism, photography and creative writing.

Director of Admissions Root said that finding a passion like writing is integral to reinforcing a sense of spiritual connection in the world. As students find those passions together, their sense of camaraderie is enriched as well.

“This is not a horse race where two or three people win, but one where everyone gets something out of it by participating,” Root said.

Lampidis and Root said that students are supportive of one another’s endeavors, and they laughed as they recalled this year’s display of rejection letters from various colleges, which were posted up on the walls. Students read each others’ letters and left notes of encouragement like “It’s their loss.” Throughout the year, as awards are given out to top students, Lampidis said the girls really support each other.

“The girls cheer,” said Lampidis, “and there is a real joy at watching someone else winning.”

Sacred Heart does struggle, as does any New York City school, with teaching its students the value of an intellectual and spiritual life not inextricably linked to material possessions. The faculty works to balance the fact that the school is located in one of the highest income neighborhoods with its mission to teach spirituality, not materialism.

“We teach the girls that the quality of one’s joy derives from the source of one’s joy,” said Root. “If what you value are ‘things,’ then your life is going to be empty.”

-- Carla Zanoni