1. The Magazine of Convent of the Sacred Heart
Framing Our Future
a place where
Girls
Salisbury Tribute
Teaching Creativity
Spring/Summer 2014
2. “We bring up the
children for the future,
not for the present,
not that we may enjoy
the fruit of our work,
but for others...”
Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ
3. 1Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Dear Sacred Heart Family: As we meet
with members of the Convent of the Sacred
Heart community regarding our current Capital
Campaign, we are continually reminded on a very personal
level of the power of a Sacred Heart education. It is clear that
St. Madeleine Sophie Barat’s educational and spiritual vision
continues to profoundly shape the lives of young women.
The articles in this edition of Horizons showcase many of the
ways our School’s educators, students and alumnae are living,
nurturing and benefitting from that mission.
In this issue, you will learn more about the new Sacred
Heart Center for Research, Teaching and Learning and
how its programs and experiences will create exciting
teaching opportunities for our faculty and inspire our
students. I am sure you will be interested, as well, in the
update on the new campus facilities under construction
now, thanks to the enthusiastic support we are receiving
for our Capital Campaign.
Whenever we undertake renovations and changes
to our School, our goal is to create or improve upon
meaningful educational resources that will be used by
our students to the fullest with joy and enthusiasm. We
have seen the difference that state-of-the-art facilities
can make. For example, with the addition of the Eileen
Dealy Gillespie ’49 Science Center, our students began to
excel at new levels in science and research. Our students
now regularly win awards in such areas as DNA research.
And understanding the need to match the excellence of
our faculty with the best possible facilities, the renova-
tions we continue to make to our teaching space have
allowed us to bring the most current technology into
the classroom. We are confident that the campus project
we are undertaking now will bring the same enthusiasm
and success to our students, who tell us how much they
appreciate what the new facilities will do for them both
academically and athletically.
As trustees, parents and alumnae it is with such joy that
we hear about the success and accomplishments of our
graduates. We know that when we send our young women
out from CSH they are prepared with both outstanding
academic ability and a solid moral grounding rooted in
the Goals and Criteria. History shows that they take full
advantage of life’s opportunities, and in these pages you
will meet some of our alumnae who are living fulfilling
lives and making a positive difference in the lives of others.
Of course, it is appropriate that as we prepare for the
future, with all the exciting projects on campus, we also
honor and celebrate our past. Nancy Salisbury, RSCJ was
a gifted Sacred Heart educator who touched many lives at
our Sacred Heart schools. Sr. Salisbury was headmistress
here at CSH for 10 years from 1970–1980. She also served
as a member of our Board of Trustees from 1989–1995
and from 2000–2003. Sr. Salisbury was, and is, beloved by
generations of Sacred Heart students, and it was with great
pride and affection that the Board of Trustees voted at the
March 2, 2014 meeting to rename and dedicate our main
building on campus (formerly referred to as the Mansion)
Salisbury Hall. Welcome home, Sr. Salisbury.
In closing, I would like to share some wonderful thoughts
from Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ, whose centennial we
celebrate this year: “We bring up the children for the
future, not for the present, not that we may enjoy the fruit
of our work, but for others…Therefore, we must have to do
with things raw and unfinished and unpolished…We must
remember it is better to begin a great work than to finish a
small one. A piece of unfinished insignificance is no success
at all. Our education is not meant to turn the children out
small and finished, but seriously begun on a wide basis.
Therefore they must leave us with some self-knowledge,
some energy, some purpose. If they leave us without these
three things, they drift with the stream of life.”
Thank you, as always, for your continuing support, and
please enjoy this very special issue of Horizons.
Warmest Regards,
Paula Tennyson, Chair, Board of Trustees
welcome from Sacred Heart
1Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
4. 2 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
Board of Trustees 2013–2014:
Paula Tennyson, Chair
Imma De Stefanis, RSCJ, Vice Chair
William D. Hirshorn, Treasurer
Joseph N. Walsh, III, Secretary
Neil A. Augustine
James T. Bretzke, S.J.
Dreux Dubin Claiden ’77
Lisa Burke Fallon ’89
Lorena Ferrara
Charles A. Fishkin
Donald E. Foley
Pamela Juan Hayes ’64, Head of School
Kimberly J. Huchro
Frances de La Chapelle, RSCJ
Janine Larkin, Parents’ Association
President
Douglas M. Mellert
Mandy Dawson Murphy ’85
Bernadette Prato
Shannon O’Leary Pujadas ’87,
Alumnae President
Barbara Quinn, RSCJ
Christopher R. Ryan
Joseph A. Tranfo
Patreece Williams Creegan ’84
Mission Statement:
Convent of the Sacred Heart,
Greenwich, founded in 1848, is
an independent Catholic college
preparatory school for young women,
from preschool through grade 12. In
September 2013, the newly established
Barat Center for Early Childhood
Education accepted boys in preschool,
and will accept boys in prekindergarten
in 2014. Convent of the Sacred Heart
will remain single-gender female from
kindergarten through grade 12; only
The Barat Center is coed.
True to its international heritage,
the School provides students with
experiences of diversity and welcomes
students of all races, socio-economic
backgrounds, and religious beliefs.
Convent of the Sacred Heart, steeped
in a solid academic tradition, educates
women to have independence of
judgment, personal freedom, and strength
of character so that they can become
leaders with broad intellectual and
spiritual horizons.
Service to others is a compelling
commitment of our education, and the
entire school community, as a member
of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools,
is dedicated to the Goals and Criteria:
› 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;
› Personal growth in an atmosphere
of wise freedom
ver 214 years ago, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat registered a
prophetic voice when she said that “times change and we
must change with them.” She knew with certainty that
one of the things in life that never changes is change itself
and that in order for students to thrive, schools must respond to
challenges with innovation.
Our School lives in this tradition of “a call to action,” as we
imagine the future for our community. Within that call remains
our sense of creating a faith-filled moral imperative that never
diminishes in importance.
The quality of our life together relies on the transformational
leadership of the administration and faculty to inspire with vision
and instill trust. Our way of educating is premised on the building
of personal relationships between constituencies. Great schools require great commitment, and the
belief that their mission has a lasting impact on the course of social history.
Our students are eager learners fortified by the faculty’s belief in their potential. They know that
developing courage and confidence to face challenges head on is needed to make breakthroughs and
discoveries. They have the resilience to persist in finding what they seek and to not be afraid of risking
failure in their capacity to persevere and prevail. The skills and attitudes they learn here will prepare
them to manage their lives beyond our campus and instill in themselves the courage to do so.
Enjoy the results of this year’s “Inspirational” approach to learning. Our faculty has taken on the
challenge to create authentic, innovative ways of looking at what and how we teach to serve the needs
of our students today.
I know St. Madeleine Sophie would be pleased by our attempts to embrace the future and prepare our
students for the challenges that await them.
Our students will create a better world for themselves and others because they believe that a life
well lived is a life of meaning. They look outward with empathy to repair unjust equilibrium in this
world, and fill it with solutions and passion. The central question in front of them is: “If you want to
be a change maker, who are you?” Our students know who they are and know that they possess the
power to be a force for good in this world.
With love and gratitude,
Pamela Juan Hayes ’64, Head of School
O
Horizons Offers you great digital
experiences using the layar app.
DOWNLOAD THE FREE APP, FIND THIS
SYMBOL within this issue, AND SCAN THE
PAGE FOR VIDEOS, SLIDESHOWS and MORE!
5. 3Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
remark•able
08 The Alumnae Media Network: Ellyn Stewart
15 Challenge Yourself!: Jennifer Raymond Dresden ’02
20 Making It to the Big Show: Megan Grehan ’07
40 Beating Breast Cancer: Nicole Seagriff ’03
46 A Voice Against Violence: Oanh-Nhi Nguyen ’09
59 A Passion to Make a Difference: Tory Bensen ’10
departments
01 Welcome from the Board Chair
02 Welcome from the Head of School
04 Inside Our Classrooms
16 Sacred Heart Scoreboard
36 Giving Matters
42 Alumnae News
47 Class Notes
60 In View
features
22
Framing
Our Future
Campaign and
construction
by Kathleen S. Failla
30
Nancy
Salisbury, RSCJ
Educating strong and
capable young women
through example
by Victoria
Taylor Allen
32
Creativity and
Innovation
The tinkering mindset
at Sacred Heart
by Linda vasu
06
Convent of the Sacred Heart
1177 King Street
Greenwich, CT 06831
203-531-6500
www.cshgreenwich.org
Head of School:
Pamela Juan Hayes ’64
Assistant Head of School &
Director of Advancement:
Michael F. Baber
Director of Public Relations &
Communications:
Kathleen S. Failla
faillak@cshct.org
Class Notes Editor:
Meghan Mara Ryan ’01
Director of Alumnae Relations
Contributing Writers:
Victoria Taylor Allen,
Michael F. Baber, Kerry Bader,
Cilla Bercovici, Kathleen S.
Failla, Gabrielle Giacomo ’15,
Pamela Juan Hayes ’64,
Ann Marr, Marc Maier, William
Mottolese, Mary Musolino,
Shannon O’Leary Pujadas ’87,
Nicole Seagriff ’03, Ellyn
Stewart, Paula Tennyson,
Linda Vasu, Don Wade
Contributing Photographers:
Kathleen S. Failla, Derek
Jackson, Kelsey Joyce, Jeffry
Konczal, Meghan Mara Ryan ’01
Design: Good Design LLC
Printing: Service Press
Send address changes to:
Irene Colford
colfordi@cshct.org
On the Cover:
STEAM (science, technology,
engineering, art and math)
experiences at Sacred Heart
prepare students for college
and careers. These two
seniors are enjoying their lab
experiment, an analysis of a
popular sports drink. Bringing
the world into classrooms
ignites the interest of students.
18
22
40
in this issue
HORIZONS SPRING/SUMMER 2014
The Magazine of Convent of the Sacred Heart
6. 4 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
o u r c l a ss r oo m s
Middle School Musical
Shoots for the Stars
The Middle School musical has become an annual arts
extravaganza, offering many roles for all who want to
participate as cast and crew. A cast of 45 talented actors,
singers and dancers from the fifth through eighth grades
performed “Annie, Jr.,” a take-off on the Broadway hit, in
the John and Lennie de Csepel Theater.
“The show is a truncated version of the full Broadway
show “Annie,” with music transposed specifically for
middle school voices,” said Marc Maier, a member of
the English faculty who directed the show.
The musical begins with Annie languishing in Miss
Hannigan’s orphanage where she is found by Oliver
Warbucks, who eventually adopts her after a failed
search for Annie’s birth parents. It is a heartwarming
tale of love and pluck overcoming the obstacles
represented by the Depression-era setting.
The faculty production team consisted of Mr. Maier,
Assistant Director Michaela Gorman ’05, Musical
Director Annette Etheridge, and Costume/Prop
Coordinator Michelle Smith.
The show was open to all students in the Middle
School, and all who wanted to participate were automati-
cally cast, with principal roles chosen from a competitive
audition process. Rehearsals began in late November
2013, and despite several snow days, the cast, including
many first-time performers, turned in two excellent
performances to great acclaim from two full houses in
late January and early February. Students also helped
behind the scenes, working on stage crew and helping to
make and assemble costumes, props and sets.
VIEW MORE images from the performance on our
website, www.cshgreenwich.org.
It was great to see kids
from different grades and
groups come together
as a team with such
dedication and enthusiasm
Madison Miraglia ’18 as “Annie” and
Molly Cadman ’19 as “Sandy the Dog”
—Marc Maier
8. 6 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
Creative Technology Takes
Sacred Heart by Storm
Students who have gotten to know “Storm” have discovered that
computer science is fun and creative.
Our NAO robot, nicknamed “Storm,” is a fascinating, interactive
teaching tool that is assisting teachers in all divisions.
Students in the Upper School robotics and computer classes devel-
oped a variety of projects this year with their teachers, Gail Casey and
Karl Haeseler. Topics focused not only on math and science, but world
languages, English and the arts. The Upper School enjoyed presenting
their projects to the younger students, who were enchanted by Storm’s
interface and interactive applications.
In response to demand for more computer classes that encourage
creativity, the Upper School will expand its curriculum offerings.
Emphasizing creativity at Sacred Heart includes the holistic view
of what role technology plays in the world and how our students can
become leaders in that transformational movement.
Other recent additions to our creative use of technology are
the creation of a “Maker Space” in the library, Middle School robotics
and computer arts, new labs from the Cold Spring Harbor DNA
Learning Center, and educational tools, such as the 3-D printer and
Backbone Table. “It is all about creativity,” said Mr. Haeseler.
TO SEE THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY NEWS visit our website,
www.cshgreenwich.org.
The projects were designed
to raise interest and curiosity,
and inspire students to look
at science as something very
creative. The enthusiasm
of the class is remarkable
toward coding.
—karl Haeseler
9. 7Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Inside our classrooms
A Backbone of Creativity
Our library/media center embraces the digital age. These Upper
School Chinese language students are using one of the library’s newest
additions, the Backbone Table. Thanks to a gift from the Parents’
Association, students are enjoying a new level of learning that trans-
ports them beyond the classroom. Our School is the only pre-collegiate
school in New England with a Backbone Table to view a class in China.
Made for Creativity
Middle School students use the 3-D
printer for cross-curriculum projects.
For example, while studying Greek
history the girls learned to write code
in computer lab to produce 3-D ancient
Greek temples. In robotics, they used
the Maker Bot to design and print lunar
module pieces. Art classes created and
programmed lamps to light up.
10. remark•able
8 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
The Alumnae
Media Network
strategic sabbatical
By Ellyn Stewart, director of the broadcast journalism studio
Barbara Walters steps onto the set of ABC’s “The View,”
while 17 Sacred Heart students in broadcast journalism
look on with awe. The magic of this moment is not lost on me.
As one of the most iconic female journalists, Barbara Walters
is approaching the end of her last season as host, while our
students are beginning their media careers.
Last fall, ABC Executive Assistant and Internship
Coordinator Sadé Clacken Joseph ’07 invited an entire class
of broadcast students to visit the set of “The View” to watch
the daytime talk show, meet the producers, and discuss career
options. Sadé credited her broadcast journalism class at Sacred
Heart for being the place that first “put a camera in my hand”
and jump-started her career.
Over the past 10 years, our broadcast classes have gone on
field trips to studios at NBC “Nightly News,” ABC, CNN and Fox
News. At each location, media professionals encouraged our
students to intern as much as possible.
While on sabbatical last fall, I began to brainstorm ways that
our students could be exposed to real-world experiences and
have vital networking experiences.
I envision a Sacred Heart alumnae
media-networking group, where
members of all ages in video,
television, Web and social media
can support one another.
My hope is that these authentic
collaborations will allow our
students and alumnae to connect
and develop opportunities. Who
knows? Maybe the next “Barbara
Walters” is sitting in our School’s
broadcast studio right now just
waiting to meet her mentor.
My Goals for the Alumnae Media Network:
1. Provide real-world experiences and mentors for broadcast
journalism students by matching them with alumnae in
the media field. Mentoring, shadowing or internships will
provide students with hands-on experience.
2. Connect alumnae in the industry to provide networking
opportunities.
3. Create a task force of media professionals who can advise our
program on how best to stay current in the ever-changing
world of film and television.
I started the search for mentors by reaching out to alumnae
who graduated in the past 10 years. I was thrilled by their
supportive and helpful responses. Here is a list of some who
expressed an interest in participating in the Alumnae Media
Network:
• Jessica Rubin ’04, digital producer of “Katie”
• Molly Breene ’04, works at VaynerMedia, a social media
consulting company
• Kerry Cassidy ’04, digital marketing director at
Anderson Publishing
• Kate Rayner ’05, news anchor at WFSB, Hartford, CT
(CBS affiliate)
• Lizzy Connor ’06, sales team member at NBC
• Lindsey Festa ’09, production assistant for CNN “Heroes”
If you are interested in joining the Alumnae
Media Network, please contact me at stewarte@cshct.org.
Zoe Zellers ’06, Sydney DeVoe ’14,
Studio Director Ellyn Stewart
Jordan Cohen ’15 with
news anchor Kate Rayner ’05
11. 9Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Film Festival Rolls Out the Red Carpet
By Gabrielle Giacomo ’15
Not even persistent rain
clouds could block out
the shining stars of the
fifth annual Sacred Heart
Film Festival.
With 29 films divided
amongst the social justice, creative and docu-
mentary categories, student filmmakers and
guests were able to find something memorable.
“I am proud of the diversity of work
the students created for the festival,” said
Broadcast Journalism director Ellyn Stewart.
“From animation to public service announce-
ments to documentaries to creative short films,
students found their voice and expressed their
unique vision through their videos.”
After opening remarks by the co-hosts,
seniors Margot McCloskey and Jane Mikus,
the festival kicked off with the social
justice category, judged by alumna Sadé
Clacken Joseph ’07, who is an assistant to
the producers of ABC’s “The View.” These
30-second pieces ranged in topics from the
preservation of electricity to women’s rights.
The night continued with the documentary
category, judged by Todd Leatherman, an
independent filmmaker based in Brooklyn,
New York. Nine pieces were screened,
featuring student creators from both the
broadcast journalism and creative film-
making branches of the program.
Finally, the creative pieces were shown. This
category was judged by award-winning film-
maker Lauren Banta Naylor and her husband,
Rob Naylor, who is an Emmy-nominated
producer and editor of ABC’s “The View.”
The festival again featured a “text-to-vote”
system to allow audience members to choose
their favorite piece from each category.
“I definitely think that the film festival is
getting better each year,” said junior Mary
Grace Henry, a film festival coordinator.
“Not only are we learning how to better
organize and plan the event itself, but in
addition, I think that things such as new
cameras and an increased focus on screen-
play writing have made our movies more
professional as a whole.”
Inside our classrooms
film festival winners
Judges’ Awards
Social Justice:
• First place:
“Drowning in Plastic”
by Riley Doyle ’16
• Second place:
“It Starts with a Girl”
by Gabrielle Giacomo ’15
& Mary Grace Henry ’15
Documentary:
• First place:
“Empire State of Mind”
by Maddie Church ’15,
Jordan Cohen ’15 &
Claren Hesburgh ’15
• Second place:
“Suzuki: The International
Language of Music” by
Fiona Cahill ’17
Creative Category:
• First place:
“In Time” by
Gabrielle Giacomo ’15 &
Mary Grace Henry ’15
• Second place:
“Karmaeleon” by
Georgina Cahill ’16
Audience
Choice Awards
Social Justice:
“I am a Girl” by Maddie
Church ’15 & Katie Hill ’15
Documentary:
“Empire State of Mind”
by Maddie Church ’15,
Jordan Cohen ’15 &
Claren Hesburgh ’15
Creative:
“KeepingUpwiththeKonvent”
by Ana Schonander ’16 &
Brooke Wilkens ’16
Celebrating Festival 2014
Scan this page to View
all the Students’ films
12. 10 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
Math is so much about thinking,
and the Singapore Math program
places a strong emphasis on this,
which is why it is such a
strong curriculum.
—Charles Petersen
Math Department Chair
13. 11Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Singapore Math in the Lower School
By Ann Marr, Lower School head, and Cilla Bercovici, Lower School math specialist
Lower School classrooms and hallways are showcasing some new and
interesting experiences in mathematics learning.
Bulletin boards highlight practices like “bar modeling” and
“number bonds,” aspects of math work which may at first glance seem
unfamiliar. This is Singapore Math, as we complete our second year
with the program.
In the fall of 2012, classes in kindergarten through grade four
transitioned to Singapore Math, a highly focused, concise and
mastery-based mathematics curriculum that is helping to build in our
students a deeper, more foundational mathematical understanding
along with 21st-century skills. Singapore Math is a renowned and
highly respected program, thoughtful and rigorous, and is gaining in
popularity worldwide.
In preparation for introducing this new math program, Sacred
Heart conducted a study comparing Singapore Math with its then
current curriculum, Everyday Math. The process involved visits to
other schools, discussions with colleagues at area schools, a wide
variety of conferences and workshops, and on-campus consultations.
We came away comfortable and confident about adopting Singapore
Math, which focuses on teaching to mastery using a specific and
deliberate three-step process in keeping with what we know about how
children learn best: from concrete to pictorial to abstract.
Classroom teachers appreciate Singapore Math because they
recognize their students’ growing confidence and number sense, along
with an ability to apply learned skills and concepts to new challenges.
The nature of the program offers teachers ways to individualize for
their learners.
Teachers Comment
First grade teacher Shelia McCorry commented, saying, “The progres-
sion from concrete to pictorial and ultimately abstract allows for
greater differentiation and addresses numerous learning styles much
more easily than traditional math programs.”
Third grade teacher Beth Carlucci added, “The Singapore Math
program emphasizes consistent practice to mastery, helping to enable
students to build their own understanding in a logical sequence.
In addition, bar modeling allows students to visualize what might
otherwise be a more complex word problem.”
An online component, called Math Buddies, establishes a home-
school link for students and parents in grades 1–4. Online, the
students can revisit and review, even access additional practice. As
a supplemental resource, it enables easier student assessment and
differentiation—and can generate both homework and worksheets.
It becomes an online (Smart Board) option in class, as well.
Lynn Maldonado, third grade teacher, is grateful for the new
Singapore approach. “I especially enjoy teaching our students math
using the Singapore Math curriculum. The expectations are very high,
yet the program is well scaffolded, presenting complex concepts to
children in small, attainable steps. I also appreciate the availability
of Math Buddies—short, engaging online tutorials to introduce new
concepts or review concepts previously taught.”
Lower School teachers acknowledged after just one year of Singapore
Math that students showed stronger skills and comprehension. Several
teachers have remarked that students are showing an even greater
understanding of place value and numeracy—ordinality, positionality,
number bonds and combinations, and number fact fluency.
And as members of the mathematics department recognize the
advantages to Singapore Math and note the increases in our students’
numeracy concepts and number sense, Singapore Math will “trickle
up”—moving with our fourth graders into fifth and then sixth grades
during the next few years.
Old vs. New
Charles Petersen, math department chair, compared the new
program’s focus on comprehension with the more traditional
memorization. “Singapore Math talks about relational understanding,
as opposed to instrumental understanding,” said Mr. Petersen.
“It is the difference between producing versus reproducing.
Students who have a relational understanding of the subject matter
can apply their knowledge and do something different with it.
“Math is so much about thinking, and the Singapore Math
program places a strong emphasis on this, which is why it is such a
strong curriculum.”
Girls Rise to the Challenge
What a pleasure to observe our girls’ confidence, familiarity, and agility
with numbers. They can manipulate numbers mentally and apply
learned strategies to new challenges—and they have fun doing so!
“I see my students collaborating, taking risks, and using mathematical
concepts across the curriculum,” said Ashling Besgen, fourth grade
teacher. “The program is challenging, and it has been a rewarding experi-
ence to see the girls rise to meet those challenges with confidence.”
Inside our classrooms
15. 13Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
“The higher we want to fly the
greater the risk, but that is
the glorious part of it. The great
uncertainties in which we trust God,
the breathless risks we run, with no
assurances but our great trust in
Him, that seems to me to be of the
essence of our life and our beauty.”
—Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ (1857–1914)
national finalists in
Siemens “Challenge”
For several weeks this past winter, students in
my chemistry classes rushed into class to work
on their original experiments for the Siemens
“We Can Change the World Challenge,” a
national competition that encourages student
teams to research and provide solutions for
global environmental issues.
Ten teams worked on a variety of projects
from the design and of testing water purifica-
tion materials to solar-powered energy for
hand-held electronics.
To enter the Challenge, students had to
identify an environmental problem, conduct
an extensive review of literature, develop a
hypothesis to try to solve the problem, design
and perform experiments to test the hypoth-
esis, analyze and draw conclusions from the
data obtained, and design a plan for local
and global implementation. We were thrilled
to learn that two teams, a total of seven
students, were named national finalists.
Congratulations to all the chemistry
students who entered the Challenge! Working
with them has been a highlight of my career.
The National Finalist Teams:
> Alison Danahy ’16, Catherine Keating ’16,
Lilly Morriss ’16 and Isabella Parker ’16
(The Oil Avengers) studied and experi-
mented with oil spill remediation, including
the use of oil-absorbing polymers, bioreme-
diation and natural substances.
> Victoria Becker ’16, Riley Doyle ’16 and
Sydney Goldman ’16 (Soil Soldiers) worked
on soil remediation and explored ways to
clean up soil contaminated by inorganic
and organic substances.
To view the winning teams visit
www.wecanchange.com/high-school/
about-challenge/2014-challenge-winners/
2014-high-school-state-finalists
Celebrating Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ
During 2013–2014, the Religious of the Sacred Heart around the world, together
with the international schools of the Sacred Heart, are celebrating the centenary of
Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ (1857–1914), a great leader and educator.
The Network of U.S. Sacred Heart Schools invited each school to select a student
work to send to the Stuart Center in Washington, DC, in honor of the centenary.
Pippa Leigh, a junior at Sacred Heart, Greenwich, designed this mixed media piece,
which can be viewed in an online gallery at www.stuartcenter.org.
Inside our classrooms
16. 14 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
Writing is a Portal to Sacred Heart
Student Creativity and Success
By Dr. William Mottolese, Chair, Department of English
Writing is hard work. A writing task can
make one feel vulnerable and brittle at one
moment, and elated and confident the next.
In a language-saturated world, clear writing is
a crucial 21st-century skill.
Writing is also a portal to creativity.
Language is vast, varied, malleable and
musical; it fills our head and occupies our
thoughts. When we learn to tap into that
language and to control its power, it becomes
a very valuable tool.
At Sacred Heart, we approach writing in a
holistic and inspired way. Writing is a part
of most disciplines, expressly taught within
several, and central to English/Language
Arts classes.
Our students learn how to master their
writing skills in our English classes through
a wide range of deliberate writing tasks:
essays of narrative, persuasion, analysis,
explanation and description. They learn how
to write “on demand”: timed essays, in-class
journaling, responses to prompts, free-writing,
blogging, and discussion forum chats fill our
class time. They learn good compositional
habits, rhetorical strategies and conventional
grammatical usages. They come to understand
writing as a process—as a craft that requires
engagement, practice and hard work—and as
an expression of their critical thinking.
All of this work has prepared our students
to thrive as public writers. They curate wikis
and blogs; they write screenplays that turn
into films; they learn the art of journalistic
prose; they write fiction, plays and poetry.
Many of these written products have earned
Sacred Heart students public recognition.
For the last several years, a junior has
written a feature column for the Greenwich
Post. An article on the college process by
junior Grace Isford was published in The
Washington Post, and sophomore Alana
Galloway’s piece about a teenage boy who
took his life received national attention. King
Street Chronicle Moderator Matilde Larson
and Technology Director Karl Haeseler have
transformed the King Street Chronicle into a
dazzling digital newspaper. They have led the
way in their field, presenting at conferences
and setting up a consortium of newspapers.
In its first year, The King Street Chronicle
earned a national Gold Medal in the digital
category from the Columbia Press Scholastic
Association (CPSA).
Sacred Heart students hone their creative
writing in the classroom, on their own,
and through workshops in our Summer
Enrichment program.
In the last two years, Sacred Heart Middle
and Upper School students have garnered 25
Scholastic Writing Awards, including national
silver and gold medals. Voices and Perspectives,
the School’s two arts and writing magazines,
have both garnered national recognition.
Voices, a multilingual student magazine
focusing on translation, has consistently
earned gold and silver medals from CPSA over
the last half decade. Perspectives, the school’s
arts and literature magazine, has captured
similar honors. Not only has Perspectives, like
its sister publication Voices, won gold and
silver medals, it has received a prestigious
Crown Award from CPSA for the last two
years. Last year, Perspectives won a Silver
Crown. This year it is the only high-school
magazine in New England to win a Crown
Award. In 2010, Perspectives won the Highest
Award in the state of Connecticut from the
National Council of Teachers of English
(NCTE) and this year was designated Superior/
Nominated for Highest Award by the NCTE.
Sacred Heart students have also been
honored with awards in contests as varied as the
Greenwich Diversity Writing Contest and the
Associated Alumnae and Alumni of the Sacred
Heart (AASH) national essay competition.
Every February, Convent of the Sacred
Heart co-sponsors a Writing Festival with
Greenwich Academy and Brunswick. The
schools invite published writers to hold
workshops with the students. Recent writers
have included teen author Sarah Mlynowski,
New York poet Scott Hightower and singer-
songwriter Reid Genauer.
Our Upper School students have organized
a Writing Club, and every April, students and
faculty hold a school-wide poetry reading.
Sacred Heart students enter college very well
prepared as writers. For many, writing helps
them find their voice; for others, writing is a
vehicle for deeper critical thinking and more
lucid articulation.
From coaching first graders in the craft of
short personal narratives to guiding twelfth
graders through difficult papers on existen-
tialism, Sacred Heart teachers inspire their
students to be dynamic and confident writers
and to be proud of a skill that will serve them
well their whole lives.
The King Street Chronicle received a national Gold
Medal in the digital category from Columbia
Press Scholastic Association
In the last two years, Sacred Heart Middle and
Upper School students have garnered
25 Scholastic Writing Awards.
17. remark•able
15Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Challenge Yourself!
Jennifer Raymond Dresden ’02 speaks to Cum Laude assembly
Twelve seniors were inducted into the national Cum Laude
Honor Society this spring at a ceremony that featured
Jennifer Raymond Dresden ’02 as the guest speaker.
Seniors inducted included Bianca Chiappelloni, Amanda
Crowell, Margaret Ellison, Jane Gerstner, Tara Hammonds,
Christina Huchro, Marissa Licursi, Sarah McDonald, Stephanie
Mellert, Jane Mikus, Audrey Moukattaf and Colleen O’Neill.
Jennifer inspired the Upper School assembly with her story
of confronting personal challenges. She urged students to seize
the challenges they will be presented with in life, knowing their
grounding in the Goals and Criteria will see them through.
At Sacred Heart, Jennifer was a student-athlete and was
recognized as a Presidential Scholar in her senior year.
Community service at Sacred Heart grew into an interest
in peace and conflict studies, which she focused on for her
master’s degree at St. Andrews University in Scotland, after
graduation from Harvard University. She is currently a Ph.D.
candidate in government at Georgetown University.
At the cum laude ceremony, she spoke about where her
research has led her—not so much in global destination, but to
the source of her inner strength, which she found in the Goals
and Criteria. Here is an excerpt:
“My first night in Sierra Leone was, hands down, the most
frightening night of my life. I was by myself in a country that I
had never been to before. All I could think about that night was
what an idiot I was for thinking that I could manage living in
such a difficult place.
“That was a Monday.
“Over the course of the week, I started to figure out how to
manage—where to find a taxi, where to find groceries, how to
contact the people I needed to speak with for my research.
“When Sunday came around, I went to Mass in one of
the neighborhood churches which, coincidentally, was
named Sacred Heart.
Here again, I learned two
things. First, I learned
that Mass in West Africa
takes at least two hours.
Second, and more impor-
tantly, I learned what
it is like to worship in
a church of 200 people
who know, with absolute
certainty, that their
lives are completely
dependent on God’s grace. The faith in that church was so
powerful and so open that you could almost touch it.
All I could do was marvel at it.
“That first week in Sierra Leone, I was just trying to figure
out how to do my research, and I did. God used that space to
show me an entirely different kind of faith. I could never have
experienced that if I had not taken on the challenge of going
there in the first place.
“These are the gifts that living your life as a ‘child
of the Sacred Heart’ offer you.
“These are the challenges that being a ‘child of the Sacred
Heart’ present to you.
“This is a gift given to you, but it also calls you to take up the
challenge of living out the Goals and Criteria. I hope you do so, both
while you are here, and wherever life takes you in the future.”
remark•able
19. 17Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
fall Season 2013
Western New England Preparatory School Athletic
Association All-Stars
Field Hockey: Kate Burkett ’15 and Alice Millerchip ’15
Soccer: Kaitlyn Adamini ’16 and Tracey Hagan ’16
New England Preparatory School Athletic Council All-Stars
Cross Country: Emma Church ’15 and Mackenzie Jordan ’17
Volleyball: Margaret Ellison ’14 and Grace McKenney ’15
winter season 2013/14
Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) ALL-LEAGUE
Basketball: Colleen O’Neill ’14 and Emily O’Sullivan ’15
Squash: Mary Grace Henry ’15
FAA HONORABLE MENTION
Basketball: Claire O’Neill ’15
Squash: Catherine Keating ’16
New England Preparatory School Athletic Council All-Stars
Basketball: Colleen O’Neill ’14 and Emily O’Sullivan ’15
2013 Kingswood Oxford Basketball All-Tournament Team
Colleen O’Neill ’14
27 Championships won since winter 2008
National Tournaments Champions
United States Squash Middle School Team Champions
(2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11)
New England Preparatory School Athletic Council
Tournament Appearances
7 School appearances in New England Tournaments (requiring bids)
Class A: Basketball (Quarterfinals 2013–14)
Class B: Squash (Champions 2007–08), Tennis (Champions 2012–13),
Volleyball (Champions 2009–10, Finalists 2010–11, Semifinalists
2011–12, Finalists 2012–13)
Western New England Preparatory School Athletic
Association Champions
Class B: Field Hockey (2000, 2001)
FAA REGULAR SEASON League Champions
Basketball (2011–12), Field Hockey (Co-Champions 2008–09),
Lacrosse (2010–11), Tennis (Tri-Champions 2012–13),
Volleyball (Co-Champions 2009–10, Co-Champions 2010-11)
FAA TOURNAMENT Champions
Basketball (2011–12), Lacrosse (2010–11), Tennis (Doubles 2008–09,
Singles 2010–11, Singles 2012-13), Volleyball (2009–10, 2010–11,
2011–12, 2013–14)
Catholic Challenge Swim Invitational Champions
2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
Get the latest scores and stats for all
our teams at cshgreenwich.org
20. 18 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
Sports Matter
Why
It gives us the
confidence that
we can conquer
the world!
Sports
empower
women.
Kelly Stone, Convent of the Sacred Heart’s director of
athletics, brought a wealth of experience when she came to
the School in 2006. After graduating from the Taft School,
she attended the Division I University of New Hampshire on
an athletic scholarship and played field hockey, ice hockey
and lacrosse. She coached and taught at Hotchkiss for 17
years and earned a master’s degree in sports management
from the University of Massachusetts. After working at
Disney’s Wide World of Sports, she moved to Kansas to
work in sports marketing, then worked for the Eastern
College Athletic Conference for six years.
Veteran journalist Don Wade visited with her to talk about
the importance of sports for young women and the state of
the athletic program at Convent of the Sacred Heart.
Why do sports matter for young
women in a school setting?
Sports empower women. It gives us
the confidence that we can conquer
the world! There are also significant
health benefits related to sports, both
physical and mental. Studies have
shown that athletes as a group have
better cognitive scores than non-
athletes. It’s fascinating that so many
women who are CEOs of Fortune 500
companies have athletic backgrounds.
Sports helped them develop the
leadership skills that carry over to
professional success. Additionally,
there are tremendous socialization
benefits connected with being part of
a team, particularly for kids entering
a new school. Striving together for
a common goal transforms a group
into a team; a powerful journey that
teaches each teammate that it isn’t
about me, but “we.” These lessons
help prepare us for what lies ahead.
Plus, it’s AWESOME to play with your
classmates for your school.
Athletes were once considered to be
great role models for kids. That’s
not necessarily the case now. Does
that worry you?
There’s so much coverage of negative
stories like the Penn State scandal,
drug abuse and steroid use, but the
truth is there are so many great stories
that don’t get much attention. There
are scores of great role models playing
in scholastic, collegiate and Olympic
venues that deserve our attention and
admiration. The good in sports vastly
outweighs the bad.
How important are athletics in
the CSH culture?
First, unlike most independent schools,
athletics at Convent of the Sacred Heart
are not required. Still, we had 170 out
of 300 Upper School girls sign up for
spring sports, which tells us how impor-
tant the kids think sports are. It turns
out that by not making sports manda-
tory, we attract the kids who really
want to play and commit to a team.
Participation is at a record high for the
Upper and Middle School interscho-
lastic programs this spring. Secondly,
the CSH community values the
importance of being physical, playing
for “Team CSH” and takes pride in our
many accomplishments. Witnessing
the maturation process our athletes and
21. 19Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
teams experience throughout the course
of a season or career is pretty special.
Their growth inspires us and gives us so
much to cheer about.
There is so much pressure on kids
to excel in every facet of their lives
and that includes athletics. Does
that concern you?
Absolutely, I feel it is too much too
soon. We want our students to play
because they are passionate about
sports and love being on a team, not
because it is a means to an end. Our
Middle School ethos is participation.
It is not about winning and losing,
but rather equal playing time for all
regardless of ability and/or experience.
The Upper School program is driven
by competitiveness. Sub-varsity teams
serve as a feeder system and provide
an opportunity for those who may not
be varsity-caliber. Playing, competing
and being a part of a team should
be fun, not about building a college
resume. Unfortunately, what we want
is not always reality.
Do you think sports help kids cope with
the challenges life throws at them?
Without a doubt. Athletics is a vehicle
for developing mental toughness.
Experiencing how to challenge oneself,
to be disciplined, to overcome hard-
ships, to be resilient, to bounce back
as an adolescent in a crew boat, on a
court or field with teammates develops
the inner strength and resources to
handle life. It’s experiential learning
that reminds us, “yes, we can.”
What are some other life lessons
kids can take from sports?
There are two I believe are the most
important. The first: “on any given
day it is the team that comes to
play.” You could be totally prepared,
more skilled, more physically fit,
better coached, you’ve done all the
right things to get there, but for
whatever reason you fall short. It is
heartbreaking, but authentic and
true to life. There are no guarantees
on “Game Day.” The same holds
true in our personal lives and in the
workplace. It is a valuable lesson to
experience first-hand on a playing
field. Secondly, “it ain’t over until the
fat lady sings.” You never know what’s
going to happen. Play hard to the final
whistle, to the finish line; never give
up; don’t assume if you are down in
the final seconds, there’s no way; stay
focused and on task. Teams that have
experienced comeback victories in
the final seconds are impacted for a
lifetime. Those athletes always see the
glass as half full. There is always hope.
How important was Title IX, which
provided equally opportunities for
girls and women in sports?
It was huge. It opened the door of
opportunity for female athletes at
all levels. We are grateful to Billie
Jean King and other pioneers who
recognized the inequities and with the
support of Title IX helped pave the
way for an equal playing field with
our male counterparts. As a single-sex
school, we at Sacred Heart can focus
completely on providing the
best opportunities
for our girls. The capital
campaign is critical to that
mission and the resources
generated will support our
current need for more
athletic “classrooms” for
our girls to flourish in.
And increasing the
opportunities for the
students is central to
Sacred Heart’s mission, true?
Sacred Heart is all about providing
the best education and experience
for its students. There are so many
outstanding and award-winning
programs available; athletics is just
one piece of the puzzle. Sports are
important, but they don’t overshadow
any other aspect of the School. Sacred
Heart values the girls being involved
in sports, as it helps build spirit and
pride in the School. Our new facilities
will only add to that because
they reflect the commitment
that the School, the parents and
the alumnae have to Sacred
Heart and the students.
You never
know what’s
going to
happen.
Play hard
to the final
whistle, to
the finish line;
never
give up.
22. remark•able
20 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
et’s hear it for Megan Grehan ’07, who is teeing up for the
next stage of what has been a remarkable career—
golfing and otherwise.
Megan is living out a dream by playing in her rookie season
on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.
Megan, who graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart in
2007 and then went on to Vanderbilt University, enjoyed an
admirable amateur and academic career. At Vanderbilt, she
pulled down an impressive 3.65/4.0 grade point average while
qualifying for every tournament and improving her stroke
average each year. Her performance was so impressive that the
school instituted the Megan Grehan Academic Award. She was
the first recipient and gave credit to her parents and the lessons
she learned at Convent of the Sacred Heart.
“Convent of the Sacred Heart is a great school,” she said.
“It prepared me for college and I made lots of life-long friends
there. The school was very supportive of my golf and I learned a
lot about discipline and time management there. It was also very
challenging. My parents have been great. They taught me to
have high expectations and have always been supportive.”
Golf has also played a big role in her success. “Golf taught
me to have patience,” she said. “It’s a great analogy for life. Just
when you think you’ve got it in golf, it disappears the next day.
You always have to keep working and learning.”
Megan grew up in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and developed her
game at Westchester Country Club in Rye, the long-time site
of the PGA Tour’s Westchester Classic. Her parents played
and they got her started in the game. She just liked tagging
along with them and eventually became one of the best
amateurs around. She won two New York State Women’s
Amateurs, and became the youngest winner in the history of
the event when she won in 2002 at age 13. A wealth of other
successes followed.
But after graduating from Vanderbilt, she walked away
from the game—but only briefly. “I needed some perspective
By Don Wade, journalist and former senior editor for Golf Digest
Making It to the Big Show
Megan Grehan ’07 Rises in the LPGA Ranks
and a little bit of gratitude of how awesome it is to play golf
for a living,” she said. “You kind of lose that in the shuffle of
everything sometimes.”
She turned professional in 2012 and played in Europe,
playing in seven events and making three cuts.
“I learned a lot about golf and traveling and professional golf
while I was there,” she said.
“Golf taught me
to have patience.
It’s a great analogy for life.
Just when you think you’ve got it
in golf, it disappears the next day.
You always have to keep
working and learning.”
23. 2121Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Average Driving Distance:
248.455 yards
Driving Accuracy: 73%
Greens in Regulation: 65%
Rolex Rookie of the
Year Ranking: 5th
At the 2013 LPGA Qualifying School, she put together an
admirable final round, finishing up with an eagle to finish at
10-under par and tie for seventh place, which earned her an
exemption for qualifying for the 2014 season.
“There’s so much talent out there and you don’t realize
that until you turn pro,” she said. “It’s important to surround
yourself with good people and I’ve been able to do that.”
Andwhileshe’sgoingontothetourwithhereyeswideopen,she
hasn’tlosttheenthusiasmshe’shadforthegamesinceshewasakid.
“Two of my two favorite players are (two-time U.S. Women’s
Open champion) Meg Mallon because she’s just the nicest
person and (2013 Masters champion) Adam Scott because he’s
so nice to people and he has a phenomenal golf swing. Plus he’s
easy on the eyes.”
(Year-to-date from LPGA website)
and good luck!
So play away, Megan…
credit:VanderbiltUniversity
24. 22 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
“Generosity and courage come from the vision
of how beloved we are and the mission to
share that love and all God’s good gifts—sharing
it through the school’s long tradition of
educating young women to learn and to lead.”
--- Rev. Paul Holland, S.J., in his homily at the liturgy
celebrating the launch of “A Gift for Every Girl,”
the alumnae capital campaign effort
framing our
25. 23Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
one of the
highlights of the
campaign is a new
two-story athletic
center filled with
state-of-the-art
squash and
basketball courts,
an expanded dance
studio, a fitness
room and more.
Building on the legacy of a Sacred Heart education, our goal is to
physically transform our campus by creating spaces that encourage
values such as faith, character, community, courage, sportsmanship,
teamwork, leadership, critical thinking and reflection.
By Kathleen S. Failla, director of public relations and communications
26. 24 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
gets underway for New Facilities
Construction
Current students
are excited about
the creation of an
united school for
generations of our
girls to come.
Scan this page to
watch a video about
the impact of these
changes from the
point of view of our
Sacred Heart Students.
When students returned from
spring break, they got an exciting
first look at the construction underway
to transform our campus with a new
athletic complex, dining room and outdoor
commons area.
To prepare the ground for construction,
some of the existing structures—the garage
and west cottage—were demolished during
spring break. The area behind the School will
be transformed into an attractive space that
will fully engage students in the life of the
School. All this takes planning, hard work and
the support of the entire School community.
Groundbreaking took place on Thursday,
May 15, with the entire School community
gathering to celebrate. Students are looking
forward to the results this new construction
will bring—a 35,600-square foot athletic
complex with all-purpose space for liturgies
and assemblies, a fitness center and dance
studio; the new, expanded dining facilities
including a fireplace, indoor student lounge
and connection to an outdoor terrace; and the
exciting outdoor commons, which will feature
new playgrounds; a large amphitheater for
outdoor study, classes and performances;
and the alumnae brick walk with benches for
study, quiet reflection and gathering.
These new facilities will transform the
physical appearance of our beautiful 118-acre
campus and enhance the educational experi-
ences of all students.
“When I first heard the news that Mrs. Hayes
gave, I felt extremely excited,” said sophomore
Brooke Wilkens. “I play two of my sports each
year in the gym—volleyball and basketball, and
having only one court has been very difficult
with the amount of student athletes that we
have at Sacred Heart. Now that we are getting
more courts built, our athletic program is
going to be so much stronger. It is going to be
very exciting to be able to have more flexibility
with practice and game times.”
Eighth grader Laura Holland is eagerly
looking forward to the additional courts for
basketball, squash and volleyball. She echoed
a common complaint from students about
overcrowding in the gym on game days with
only one court, little room for spectators and
no locker space for visiting teams.
Sixth-grade student Kathryn (Katie) Keller
looks forward to playing squash on campus,
rather than taking the bus to play off-
campus on rented courts. “The new courts
(for squash) will help improve our skills
because we’ll be able to practice more and
prepare to play,” Katie said.
FramingourFutureTODAY TOMORROW AND FOREVER
27. 25Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Sophia Curto, a sixth grader who has played
basketball since she was four years old, is
thrilled about the additional court time
that will provide her with opportunities for
practice. “I’m really excited about much more
space for basketball in the gym,” she said.
In the Lower School, where dance and
physical education classes are more the focus,
students are excited, too. “I’m actually very
impressed with the plans,” said second grader
Catherine (Catie) Ruf. “There is going to be
more space and big glass that will carry in
more light,” she said, speaking about the new
athletic facility. Catie is looking forward to
using a larger, light-filled dance studio where
she will have room “to practice my turns.”
The new outdoor commons area will be
closed to traffic due to the rerouting of
the current road at the back of campus. In
its place there will be a large green space
for the amphitheater, playgrounds and an
alumnae brick walk. “I’m happy because we
won’t have to look over our shoulders when
we go to the gym,” said Robin Murphy, a
third grader. Robin said the elimination of
the road will also provide additional space
for students to enjoy themselves outdoors
during the school day.
With the road gone, the new student
dining room will be extended to include an
outdoor dining terrace, featuring a courtyard
design with a fireplace and water feature.
The Outdoor Dining
Terrace will be used
by our students
primarily for social
activity with open
skies and an attractive
outdoor fireplace as
the focal point.
“I’m actually very impressed with the plans.
There is going to be more space and big
glass that will carry in more light.”
—second grader
Catherine (Catie) Ruf
—continued on p. 28
28. 26 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
“My years at Sacred Heart enabled me to develop the character, motivation
and focus that allowed me to pursue my goals during my college years and
beyond. The environment is unique, and provides the ideal setting for young girls
and women to learn the skills, confidence and compassion that they’ll need to
compete in an increasingly competitive world.”
FramingourFutureTODAY TOMORROW AND FOREVER
29. 27Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Athletic Complex
The new 35,000 sq. ft. complex will incorporate
a variety of needs for our high-performing
athletic program. It will also serve as the
School’s central indoor gathering space and be
large enough for all-school student liturgies
and assemblies, and special events such as the
Mother-Daughter Liturgy and Father-Daughter
Dinner Dance. Features Include:
• Large new gymnasium for basketball
and volleyball
• Multi-purpose space for all-school liturgies
• 6 squash courts
• Dance studio
• Fitness center
• Individual rooms and class space for gym,
physical education, trainer
• Administrative offices
Dining Room
This will be a major gathering space for
students and it will feature an attractively
furnished new dining space, student lounge,
indoor/outdoor fireplaces, and an outdoor
dining terrace.
Outdoor Commons Area
Students will enjoy outdoor activities and
learning opportunities on this new, centralized
green space. Located between the main building
and the new Athletic Complex, it will feature a
large outdoor amphitheater, playgrounds and
the Alumnae Brick Walk.
NEW outdoor
classroom
Amphitheater
—Cathleen Mendelson Daly ’85,
CSH’s first All-American lacrosse
player and Denison University
Hall of Famer for lacrosse and
field hockey
30. 28 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
From the terrace, students will enjoy a view
of the nearby athletic complex and the
beautiful landscape with its amphitheater,
alumnae walk with benches, and the
playgrounds. It will be a delightful area in
which to gather in nice weather.
When the facilities open at the start of
the 2015–16 school year, Madison Sieg says
she will be in sixth grade, just the right age
to enjoy some of the new freedoms that
come with being in Middle School—sports
teams and forming new friendships. “I’m
really so excited to see all the changes. I
can’t wait,” she said.
Grace Hasselbeck, now in third grade,
is already planning to go out for sports in
Middle School. “I’m excited for the dance
studio and athletic facility, but also the
dining room,” she said. “The whole new
facility because I like sports and stuff.”
One of the hallmarks of a Sacred Heart
education is the lasting friendships our
students form. Building relationships and
collaborating with others is taught in the
classroom, encouraged by our Goals and
Criteria. With the new dining space, which
includes an indoor student lounge around a
fireplace, and more room to gather outdoors
in large and small groups, students will be
inspired to put into practice what they are
learning in the classroom.
Our goal with the new facilities is to invest
in our students and enhance an already vibrant
program by providing new opportunities for
personal and spiritual growth, an athletic
discipline that maximizes individual and team
performance, and new creative endeavors.
“In meeting this goal, we will build on the
legacy of a Sacred Heart education, said Head
of School Pamela Juan Hayes ’64. “Our goal is
to transform our campus by creating spaces
that encourage the values of faith, character,
community, courage, sportsmanship,
teamwork and leadership.”
Students are excited about reaching these
goals. “It is going to be such a privilege for
all the students to use these facilities,” said
sophomore Brooke Wilkens. “It is really
important that we all use them wisely,
constructively and as much as we possibly
can since they are going to be so much fun
to have!”
—Brooke Wilkens ’16
The Indoor Student lounge
will be located in a section
of the new dining room. This
area will be a comfortable
area open to students for
gathering, studying and
relaxing between classes.
To stay up-to-date with the
latest campaign information,
visit www.cshgreenwich.org/
FramingOurFuture
“It is really important
that we all use them wisely,
constructively and as
much as we possibly
can since they are going to
be so much fun to have!”
—continued from p. 25
31. Sacred Heart has always prided
itself in its mission of teaching
on environmental issues. How will
the new building project affect
the environment?
We continually consider how to deliver the
very best education to our students based on
the Goals and Criteria of a Sacred Heart educa-
tion. The same high standards we uphold in
education translate to the School’s thinking
with regard to the design and construction
of a healthy, high performance school. This
thinking includes a focus on environmental
areas in air quality, ambient lighting, architec-
ture, energy, efficiency, maintenance, outdoor
space planning and site engineering.
Sacred Heart will work to protect the
environment during construction. Elaborate
underground storm water storage systems are
being provided to handle and treat runoff so
as not to pollute the natural areas of the site
and neighboring properties. The local chapter
of the U.S. Green Building Council considers
this measure a top regional priority, espe-
cially in light of recent storm events. Natural
environments on the site will be protected
from erosion and sedimentation impacts
from construction activities.
Can you tell us some of the “green”
highlights of the new facilities?
First, we know through studies that “green”
schools are healthy for students, teachers/staff
and the environment. Our new facilities will be
productive learning environments with ample
natural light, high-quality acoustics and good air
quality. Natural light will spread throughout the
new Athletic Complex and Dining Room with
maximization of natural light without compro-
mising environmental efficiency and the views
connecting indoor spaces to the outdoors.
Existing well water will provide a non-potable
water source for the irrigation of plantings.
Other green highlights:
• From an energy perspective, the buildings
have been designed to exceed the State of
Connecticut’s energy code requirements
by roughly 20%. A commissioning agent
has been retained to make sure all systems
are performing at an optimal level before
the buildings will be occupied.
• The mechanical systems were selected to
provide maximum fresh air levels that
do not trap water or pollutants. Systems
will be protected during construction to
avoid contamination and filters will be
replaced prior to occupancy.
• Roofing materials will meet Energy
Star standards for “Cool Roofing,” thus
reducing air-conditioning loads and the
heat-island effect of the site.
• Water will be used efficiently with low-
flow fixtures. Appliances for such uses as
laundry and food service were selected to
meet Energy Star requirements.
• A plan for construction waste manage-
ment is in place. Construction waste
will be recycled to the maximum extent
possible with a goal of 85% waste recycled.
• Paints, sealants, adhesives, shade fabrics,
carpets, furniture, ceilings and wood
products meet the requirements of the
Collaborative for High Performing
Schools program.
• Products were selected with a preference
for local manufacturing, durability, low
maintenance, recycled material content,
and wood products grown with sustain-
able forestry practices.
Does the School have a plan for air
quality and dust?
Sacred Heart has adopted a plan to minimize
dust and air contaminants during construc-
tion. This includes testing by a qualified
licensed professional scheduled on a regular
basis to ensure that we are meeting our goals
for providing a healthy environment for
our school community. The contractor is
required to post and enforce an air-quality
management plan that meets the standards
of the U.S. Green Building Council LEED
program. This applies to outdoor dust
control, as well as indoor air quality in spaces
occupied during construction, such as the
dining room and existing gym.
What are the major environmental
lessons Sacred Heart is learning
from this process?
There are many environmental lessons we
are learning from designing and constructing
our new facilities. “Going green” is about
making choices that benefit our environment.
We have realized throughout the planning
process that being environmentally conscious
is not just a one-time decision, but a continual
process. Through our Goals and Criteria, we are
fully committed for the long term to finding
ways to do our part to live in balance with the
natural world that sustains us.
of sacred heart
“Greening”A Q&A with Head of School
Pamela Juan Hayes ’64
the
29Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
32. 30 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
Nancy Salisbury, RSCJ
By Victoria Taylor Allen
School Archivist and Historian
Educating Strong and CapableYoung Women Through Example
33. 31Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
SSr. Nancy Salisbury’s journey through life, and the talents and strength she would
develop along the way, came from a deep faith that allowed her to be both a leader
and an inspiration to those whose lives she touched. This year we honored her
example by renaming the first building on our Greenwich campus, the former
Block mansion, Salisbury Hall in honor of Sr. Salisbury’s legacy. Founded in 1848 in
Manhattan, our School moved several times in New York City before the land for our
current campus was purchased. When we opened on King Street in 1945, the mansion,
now Salisbury Hall, was the center of student life.
When Sr. Nancy Salisbury graduated from
Manhattanville College, she knew that she had deep
faith in God and a vocation to religious life. What
she never imagined was that in spite of her timid and
solitary nature, she would develop the strength to draw
from within the power to change her own life, as well
as the lives of many, for she would become a woman
capable of making lasting changes in the schools and
people whose lives she had touched.
In the 52 years between her graduation in 1952 to
her death in 2004, she did indeed make a difference
as an educator and as a mentor, as chair of several
boards, trustee of various schools and as head of
school at both Greenwich and 91st Street for a
combined total of 30 years.
By 2004, the shy and withdrawn young girl had
become an educational visionary, a strategist who
directed two strong and effective schools. Her legacy to
us today is that the life sustained by faith can allow us
to draw upon inner strength that helps us to be open
in acknowledging ambition and relishing leadership,
while remaining both wise and compassionate.
Sr. Salisbury’s life demonstrates to women that
although there is no doubt that they can be forceful
leaders, they must ascribe their success not to luck, but
to themselves and to the hard work and inner strength
that success entails.
Her early life was a lonely one as the only child of
older parents who moved so often that their daughter
was unable to make friends. She spent solitary hours
reading and eventually gave up even trying to make
friends. By the time she had reached high school age,
an aunt offered to pay her tuition at Convent of the
Sacred Heart, Overbrook, just outside Philadelphia.
Manhattanville College, to which she won a scholar-
ship, brought her academic success and broadened her
horizons. She joined several campus organizations and
served on student government. During her senior year,
she made the momentous decision to enter the Society
of the Sacred Heart. After three difficult years as a
novice, working with a woman whom she did not find
supportive, she began her career in education.
The years that followed were a period of serious
growth, both personal and professional. She began to
apply herself to her teaching specialty, mathematics,
earning a master’s degree from the University of
Detroit. In 1968, she came to Greenwich as head of
the Middle School, and during those years, through
great personal effort, she began to develop, not only as
an educator and leader, but as a woman who believed
in herself. In 1970, just two years later, she became
head of school, a role she fulfilled with energy and
determination until her appointment as head at 91st,
where she was to serve until her retirement in 2000.
The combination of her faith in God and her hard work
allowed her to become the warm and loving person she
would remain for the rest of her life.
Sr. Salisbury was gifted with a clear view of the
balance between the spiritual, personal and profes-
sional sides of life. Because she had deep faith, as well
as experience in the changes that life brings, she was
able to maintain a firm, basic commitment to the
quality of education and life direction of each person
she served. Each person became that “one child”
touched by a Sacred Heart education.
At the time of her retirement from school life in
2000, her colleagues in the world of independent
schools stated, “The spiritual framework of her personal
and professional life have inspired all of us. She is one
of those people who, when the going gets tough, brings
us back to our fundamental commitments.”
Her ministry to the teachers and students she served,
her capacity for leadership, courage and love remain
her legacy to us, as does her deep commitment to
educating strong, capable women of faith, not only in
God, but in themselves as well.
35. 33Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Innovation:
n a recent New York Times piece “Learning to Think Outside the Box:
Creativity Becomes an Academic Discipline,” Laura Papano reports
that, “Once considered the product of genius or divine inspiration,
creativity—the ability to spot problems and devise smart solutions—
is being recast as a prized and teachable skill.”
Teaching creativity? Of course we are! One look at children playing
anywhere on the Sacred Heart campus, and we discover that everyone is
creative. Maria Montessori echoed Jean Piaget when she asserted, “Play is
the work of the child.” She observed that play is inspired by curiosity and
wonder, and involves making imagination real through learning about
how things work. This is the essence of tinkering, a process of discovery
characterized by exploration, a sense of timelessness and flow. The
tinkering mindset approaches problem solving through unstructured
experimentation that is insightful, dynamic, messy and innovative.
Innovation is the taproot of the Sacred Heart educational mission.
St. Madeleine Sophie Barat’s forward-thinking vision embraces educa-
tion for competence, courage, confidence and community.
Here on our hilltop, an engaged and purposeful student body views
the world through a 360-degree lens grounded in the five Goals and
Criteria, one of which is “a social awareness which impels to action.”
A year ago, building upon the values of St. Madeleine Sophie, Head of
School Pamela Juan Hayes ’64 launched The Sacred Heart Center for
Research, Teaching & Learning.
St. Madeleine Sophie’s enduring legacy of agency and entrepreneurship
for women perhaps began with these two words: “What if.”
• What if we imagined the future?
• What if we adopted a tinkering mindset and played with
existing ways of sharing ideas, practices, methods and tech-
nology resources?
• What if we dedicated time to thinking about innovative ways of
serving our local and global community?
• What if we crafted a new model of distributed leadership, learning
and collaboration?
• What if we established a Center that models creativity, connec-
tion, communication, excellence and joyful rigor beyond
traditional divisions of classroom, grade level and division?
The Tinkering Mindset
By Linda Vasu, Upper School English & World Literature Faculty;
Founding Director, Center for Research, Teaching & Learning at Sacred Heart
Creativity and
I
36. 34 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
Seventy Sacred Heart innovators responded to the call to action,
motivated by the challenge to frame our future. One of the priorities
of the Center for Research, Teaching & Learning is teaching students
adaptive academic mindsets and methods for solving complex,
systemic, global problems.
Innovation as a high-order thinking skill begins with erasing
boundaries, generating ideas, receiving critical feedback, and then
refining, prototyping and implementing these ideas. In his book
Drive, Daniel Pink uses the metaphor of the “asymptote” to describe
learning as an ongoing process of creative reaching or tinkering, like
the straight line that a curve on a graph comes near, but never meets,
as it heads toward infinity. Learning is all about stretching minds
towards that abstract horizon.
The Sacred Heart Center for Research, Teaching & Learning fosters
the design, development and integration of inspired practices for
preschool to twelfth grade learner-centered instruction. The over-
arching goal is to imagine our future—by curating resources, finding
innovative ways to build capacity and efficiency, and preparing the
Sacred Heart community to meet the demands and challenges of a
global society. Members meet monthly for peer-to-peer collaborative
work in one or more strands.
The Five Strands:
• The Early Childhood Strand explores best practices for creating a
dynamic, coeducational learning environment in The Barat Center
for Early Childhood Education. Guiding our youngest students in
the appropriate use of technology and the development of skills for
their future is critical for this next generation of innovators.
• The Research & Documentation Strand focuses on relevant, robust
research skills for life by teaching ways to locate, manage, curate,
organize, visualize and present information. This group has created
a repository that aggregates, publishes and distributes pedagogical
resources for the entire community.
• The Preschool–12 Curriculum Strand aims for ambitious, rigorous
pedagogy and varied methods for engaging students’ passions in
an intentional curriculum spiral. This group works on integrating
content and skills across disciplines, divisions and grade levels.
New and refined courses of study purposefully build on students’
prior learning and cultivate opportunities for deep and signifi-
cant learning, rooted in the Goals and Criteria and the National
Association of Independent Schools’ “Six Cs,” which are critical
thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, character, and
cultural competency.
• The Education for Girls Strand focuses on strategies, initiatives,
programs and opportunities to develop and position our girls
for courageous, compassionate leadership. Through initiatives
in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math)
leadership, the group explores ways to leverage our girls’ engage-
ment, expertise and experience. Sacred Heart’s membership in
the Network of Sacred Heart Schools, the Online School for Girls,
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s DNA Learning Center and the
National Coalition of Girls’ Schools leverages our commitment to
the transformative power of all girls’ schooling.
• The Partnerships Strand explores and develops innovative opportu-
nities for establishing collaborative alliances with local and global
teacher-training colleges, universities, and community organiza-
tions to enhance the Center’s mission, and with professionals
participating in our Shadow Program, which provides our students
a workplace experience in a field of interest.
Outside of meetings, the Center functions in a virtual space on Google
Drive, accessible to all members of the school community. The group
of innovators is self-motivated and action-oriented; they monitor and
archive their own progress in the development and implementation of
projects. And together the group manifests St. Madeleine Sophie’s vision
of harnessing their time and talent for transforming the world.
towards that abstract horizon.
Learning is all about stretching minds
39. 37Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Philanthropy at Sacred HeartBy Michael F. Baber, Assistant Head of School and Advancement Director
gratefulheartsgivegenerously
Sacred Heart, Greenwich
for years to come.
From the Rockefellers to the poor box in church, generosity is not
only measured by the amount, but by the spirit in which a gift is given.
This maxim is true as we launch our capital campaign, “Framing
Our Future,” and as we continue with the Annual Fund, the Senior
Class Gift to Endowment and other philanthropic initiatives in this
year of “Inspirational Giving.”
Why exactly is Sacred Heart at the top of so many people’s lists for
philanthropic giving?
In the complex world of charitable giving, donor-advised funds,
gifting-appreciated stocks and planned giving, the answer is quite
simple. Parents are grateful for their daughters excelling at Sacred
Heart. It is because of our proven track record of making a lasting and
positive impact in the lives of girls and in the women they become.
As one donor summed it up, “Giving to Sacred Heart feels good, it
feels right.” Part of our cachet is the simplicity of our aim: We aim to
make fit citizens of the world. Not only women of God, but of finance,
diplomacy and executive efficiency, too.
We successfully provide our students with the best experiences and
opportunities available to learn leadership skills, and to apply these
skills in the midst of a group. As our students graduate, they take not
only their diplomas with them into the world, but also skills for a
lifetime. This ideal of education is zealously pursued at Sacred Heart,
Greenwich, and at all Sacred Heart schools across the world.
Unequivocally, life at Sacred Heart changes lives. Your giving
makes a real difference in the lives of these girls. This is true for all
our students. Because of these “outcomes,” that is, changed lives,
grateful families take care of Sacred Heart. Because we take such good
care of their children we become family.
St. Madeleine Sophie Barat herself spoke about giving: “Pray.
Grow holy. Collect funds, alas! Why must one always, when
planning the works of God, put this vile question of money on par
with spiritual means? It is because, in truth, without it, one can do
nothing.” Other maxims capture motivations to give. “The gift you
receive, give as a gift;” “Love the giver;” “Those to whom much is
given, much is required.”
While some people might argue that they prefer to give directly to
those in dire need (see Kerry Bader’s article on pages 38–39), many see the
long-term and lasting return on their investment by giving to Sacred
Heart. For this we are very grateful. Just as families today directly
benefit from the generous giving of previous families, our current, as
well as future families, will continue to make a Sacred Heart educa-
tion possible for succeeding generations.
We are confident that your generosity will sustain the ideal of a
Sacred Heart education which is serious in its principles, strong in its
studies, rich in a spirit of love and of life. In this spirit of gratitude, we
are thankful to you for keeping Sacred Heart at the top of your list!
37Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
40. 38 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
“A social awareness that impels to action,” is one of the five Goals
and Criteria of a Sacred Heart education. Scores of alumnae dedicate
themselves to making the world a better place. Here is one example.
Lauren Manning and Joan DeGennaro, friends from the Class of 2009,
both graduated in 2013 from Northwestern University, and work in
the fields of social justice and development. They credit Sacred Heart
for inspiring faith in action and providing opportunities to develop
organizational skills.
In Gulu, Uganda, Lauren Manning ’09 works to protect children
who fall prey to exploitation and abuse. A fellow in the Princeton in
Africa program, Lauren is currently the communication officer for
Invisible Children.
Although more than 4,000 miles from her home in Connecticut,
Uganda does not seem like a strange land to Lauren because during
her five years at Sacred Heart, she saw the School address the needs of
Ugandans, in particular the children attending our sister school.
Her friend and classmate, Joan DeGennaro ’09, also finds herself
immersed in using her organizational skills to help those in need.
As a development associate at Catholic Charities in New York City,
Joan uses the skills she first honed at Sacred Heart to help Catholic
Charities fund services that alleviate the pain, suffering and alien-
ation felt by the poor and vulnerable in New York and its suburbs.
Both women participated in community service while students at
Sacred Heart. Lauren traveled on a Lourdes pilgrimage to help the
sick and to New Orleans to build homes. “Although the immediate
community at CSH is small, one of the most important things I found
is that Sacred Heart recognizes the power of our wider community,
both locally and globally,” said Lauren.
Sacred Heart provided a catalyst to ignite her desire to work in
global relief. The real-life experience Lauren received as a member
of CSH’s student-run philanthropy, the Barat Foundation, not only
helped her gain a broader understanding of the needs of the domestic
and international community, but it also provided an opportunity to
learn how non-profits are funded and prioritize projects.
“During my four years on the board, I learned a lot about
measuring impact and how funding influences program structure,”
she said. Now, when she sits in grant meetings, she recalls Barat board
discussions. “It makes me consider what a committee might look for
when deciding who to award funding to,” Lauren said.
Leading on a Global Scale
By Kerry Bader, Upper School theology teacher
Lauren Manning&JoanDeGennaro
(top of page)
Lauren Manning ’09, third from
left, with Invisible Children staff
Lauren Manning ’09
in Uganda
Lauren Manning ’09, left,
and Joan DeGennaro ’09
41. 39Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
Learn to Lead
The complete education of women has been
the aim of Sacred Heart from the very
beginning, with the goal that they exercise
a profound influence no matter what their
role in life may be. Succinctly put, Sacred
Heart women are meant to learn and lead.
Similarly, Joan credits her education at Sacred Heart for enabling
her to grow the skills necessary to be successful in the non-profit
field. As a student at Sacred Heart, she had opportunities to develop
organizational and inter-personal skills, which continue to serve
her well today. Joan was particularly drawn to the Angel Board,
an Upper School club partnering with the parochial schools in
Bridgeport, Conn. As a founding member, Joan was able to direct
Angel Board’s mission.
As co-head of Model United Nations when Sacred Heart hosted its
first conference, Joan picked up some new skills. “I spent hours coor-
dinating schedules and working collaboratively with other schools
and CSH faculty to make sure the event was a success,” she said. After
graduating, she attended Northwestern University, where she ran
the Global Engagement Summit, a week-long series where delegates
interested in affecting change in the world come together to discuss
best practices. “I managed a budget of $80,000 and coordinated a
staff of almost 100 students,” said Joan. “Looking back, I realize that
my experience running the Model UN conference, although on a
smaller scale, primed me for success on this
larger stage.”
Joan speaks fondly of the commitment
to faith fostered at Sacred Heart, where
she became familiar with the principles of
Catholic social teaching. At Northwestern
the language of service was more secular,
but the ideals and principles were similar.
The concept of a just world and the
mechanisms needed to achieve this are the foundation of Catholic
social teaching, and these goals continue to inform Joan’s decisions
and passions today.
Lauren and Joan credit Sacred Heart for instilling in them a desire
to help others and to live a life of social justice. Coincidentally, both
women graduated from CSH in 2009 and Northwestern University in
2013—Lauren with a degree in journalism and Joan in social policy.
Both say the seeds of compassion, understanding and confidence
were planted and nourished on the Greenwich campus. Their work is
but one example of CSH graduates continuing the mission of Sacred
Heart education to become globally aware and to act. In so doing, they
are alleviating the suffering of the vulnerable on a macro level. As
Lauren stated, “I credit Sacred Heart with teaching me how to learn,
how to manage time effectively, digest and process information, to ask
critical questions, and participate in stimulating discussions.” These
are the ingredients for their success today.
[United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon]
Scan this page to view the video that Bridget Scaturro ’14
produced about Sarah for “Today from the Heart.”
UsingCrewto Propel Others
39
“Achieving equalityand empoweringwomenisagoalinitself,itisalsoacondition
forbuildinghealthier,better educated,morepeacefulandmoreprosperoussocieties.
Whenwomenarefully engaged,allofsocietybenefits. Onlyinthiswaycanwe
successfullytakeonthe enormouschallengesconfrontingourworld.”
SHARE YOUR STORY about giving back, email faillak@cshct.org
Sarah Hirshorn ’13, Class of 2013 salutatorian
and four-year varsity crew member, took
lessons learned on giving back to Stanford
University, where as a member of the
crew team, she launched a project to help
disadvantaged youth attain success.
Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
42. remark•able
40 HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
It feels like yesterday that I was sitting in a
medical office with my mother waiting to be
called for my first MRI to monitor me for possible
breast cancer.
Even though I am a nurse practitioner and
know that MRIs are painless, I was nervous.
As I looked around the crowded suite in the breast cancer
center, I saw women significantly older than me, some with
scarves on their heads, one who was even on supplemental
oxygen, and I thought, “I am too young to be here.”
I had already gone for genetic testing about six months earlier,
which is why the doctors ordered the MRI. Also, when I found out
that my mother was BRCA 2 positive I realized that I had a 50
percent chance of inheriting the BRCA 2 mutation. Based on my
mom’s mutation alone, I still wasn’t able to know my cancer risk
for sure. Once I found out I had the BRCA 2 gene it meant that I
had a 50–80 percent chance of developing breast cancer.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think that MRI would change
my life and that I would be diagnosed with breast cancer—just two
weeks after my 27th birthday. My chances of being diagnosed at
that age, even with the BRCA gene, were 1 out of 20,000.
How did I get through it?
Looking back I realized my actions were very similar to some-
thing we at Sacred Heart know very well. Without recognizing
it as such, I—along with my family, who was with me every step
of the way—followed the five Goals and Criteria.
Step One (Goal 1):
I turned it over to God. I believed fully in my heart that He
would never give me a cross too big to bear, and I never doubted
that He needed me to go through this experience. I know He
Beating Breast Cancer
through Early Detection
was with me when the doctors said I would probably need
chemotherapy. I also know it was by His unbelievable mercy
that I ended up not needing chemo after my final pathology
returned weeks later with much better than expected results.
My mom told me that she faithfully prayed every day that
God would keep me safe from cancer and what my family and I
have come to realize is that He did.
The cancer was there whether we knew it or not. Waiting a
few years to begin screening, as many healthcare professionals
had advised me, would have allowed the cancer to advance to a
point of life-altering repercussions.
Step Two (Goal 2):
While keeping my faith in God, I moved to step two (Goal 2).
Valuing intellect, I learned everything I could about the
disease, my prognosis and the best course of treatment. For
me, it was a bilateral mastectomy. After recognizing my risk
of reoccurrence given the BRCA mutation, I knew this was the
treatment option I had to take, even though it meant not being
able to breastfeed any children I might bear. As a primary care
provider, that is still hard for me. But I don’t regret my decision
because it was the most effective way for me to beat this disease.
Step Three (Goal 3):
I took action to raise social awareness and joined the executive
board of a group called The Pink Agenda, which focuses on raising
awareness in young professionals about breast cancer while
fundraising for research through the Breast Cancer Research
Foundation. I also signed up for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer
with my mother, who is also a breast cancer survivor.
Subsequently, Avon asked me to give the keynote address for
the New York City walk. In addition to walking and speaking, I
By Nicole Seagriff ’03
43. 4141Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
have shared my experience to help others
with articles for CNN.com, iReport and the
Huffington Post.
Step Four (Goal 4):
I have built a community of young survivors
through attending conferences, speaking
and connecting with others. I have reached
out to others with mentoring, and continue
to check in with them by email.
Step Five (Goal 5):
The process of personal growth is still
ongoing for me with regard to this experi-
ence. It has allowed time for reflection.
What I have realized is that breast cancer
has not taken anything from me that has
not been replaced by something beautiful.
Each step of the way had its moments of
kindness and love, in addition to the ability
to see my own emotional strength. These
gifts were truly a part of God’s grace and
answers to my prayers.
My chances may have been 1 out of
20,000 for something devastating to occur,
but I consider myself an extremely lucky
and blessed for the supportive people in my
life, the gift of a full recovery, the ability
to continue my life knowing I beat cancer,
and, as I have always known, the privilege of
being a “child of Sacred Heart.”
“What I have
realized is that
breast cancer has not
taken anything from me
that has not been replaced
by something beautiful.”
Giving the keynote speech
at the NYC Avon Walk for
Breast Cancer October
2012, three months after
her diagnosis
Nicole with Jennifer Einersen ’03, Joanna
Eisman ’03 and Jennifer Pitman ’03
at the NYC American Cancer Society
walk in 2014
Posing at the podium
during a visit to the Vice
President's house for a
breast cancer event
“My mom and I did the Avon walk,
three months into my diagnosis. It was
two days: 26.2 miles the first day and
13.1 miles the next day. My mom is also
a breast cancer survivor (our surgeries
were 10 years and 5 days apart by the
same surgeon at Sloan Kettering).”
