Woodlands Celebrates Seniors and Blesses Freshmen as Classes Resume
The start of the 2018-19 school year at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart Wednesday, Aug. 22, combined the usual fun of "Seniors Rule Day" celebrations with a traditional candlelight service blessing its newest students.
Head of School Meg Steele officially welcomed freshmen - members of the Class of 2022 - to their new home at Woodlands. "You are becoming part of a school that was founded near downtown Chicago on Taylor Street in 1858 and then moved to Lake Forest in 1904. In addition, you are joining a tradition of Sacred Heart education that traces its roots back to France in 1800," she said. "We have 24 Sacred Heart schools in the United States and Canada and more than 150 schools in 33 countries around the world.
During the service in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart each freshman was given a candle, which she lit from a candle burning on the altar. Members of the Class of 2022 then positioned themselves along the pews on both sides of the aisle to form an arch of light.
Among other things, the upcoming school year at Woodlands Academy will see a year-long bicentennial celebration draw to a close during the first semester. 2018 marks the 200th anniversary of Sacred Heart education in the United States.
Forming the foundation of a Sacred Heart education are the five goals comprising the mission statement of all network schools worldwide. Woodlands Academy has chosen to focus on Goal IV - a commitment to the building of community as a Christian value - this academic year.
"This goal calls us to live together in a community of kindness, inclusivity, generosity, honesty and openness," Steele explains. "It also calls all of us to examine how our unique gifts and talents can contribute to the building of our community. Strong community is one of the great benefits of the Woodlands experience. This year we will spend time examining fully what it means to be in community with one another."
Steele believes that his year's student body - from Chicago, Lake Bluff, Waukegan, Libertyville, Viet Nam, South Korea, China, Rwanda and many other places - is "an incredible statement of the internationality of the Sacred Heart" as sister schools in the U.S., Canada and around the world celebrate the 200th anniversary of Sacred Heart education in North America.
Woodlands Academy is an independent Catholic day-and-boarding college-preparatory high school for young women of all faiths in grades nine through 12. The school promotes engaging academics, artistic and athletic excellence, strong faith, and social responsibility. 2018 also marks the 160th anniversary of its founding in Chicago.