The Heart of Sheridan Road

Sacred Heart educators encompass new employees who started this academic year to several who have served for decades, and really, to anyone who has served in a Sacred Heart school. Mrs. Jill Renn, the lead teacher for Hardey 2A, co-director and choreographer of the Middle School Musical and Theater Performance Workshop, and Best Summer Yet Summer Camp director, is one of Sheridan Road’s iconic teachers.

In this episode of the Heart of Sheridan Road podcast, hear from Mrs. Renn on why she has spent much of her career in Sacred Heart education - both in Bloomfield Hills and in Chicago - including 24 years on Sheridan Road, with 21 of those years educating Hardey 2. The Goals and community inspire her, and “choosing kind” is one of many lessons she hopes her students embody.

Listen as Coach Matt Manley and Coach Margot DiMuzio, the heads of Sacred Heart Schools' Athletics program, discuss running Chicago's largest grade school athletics program, the school’s philosophy of athletics, the impact of athletics on Coach Manley's and Coach DiMuzio's lives, and more.

Meg Steele, Incoming Head of Schools by Sacred Heart on Sheridan Road

What better way to end academic year 2019-20 than with this podcast that features six members of Sacred Heart's Class of 2020? Sitting down to talk on the "The Heart of Sheridan Road" podcast were Academy students Sarah A., Francesca D., Brianna M., and Grace M. as well as Hardey students Boaz B. and Vaughn J.; Dan Gargano, Middle School Division Head, and Anne Marie Tirpak, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement, facilitated the discussion.

The podcast covers several topics—from the students' experience of single-gender classrooms and which Goal has a special meaning for them, to what it was like ending the year with remote learning. We hope you will give a listen whether you are a current student or graduate, the parent of a graduate, or are in the midst of the Sacred Heart experience.

Sacred Heart is rooted in tradition, but is also very much "of the times." In February, Sacred Heart welcomed Liz Repking, founder of Cyber Safety Consulting, as a featured speaker in our Parent Education series to talk about exercising cyber safety for the good and well-being on our young people.

In this informative and timely podcast, Ms. Repking addresses our hyper-digital age with all of its positive and negative aspects. She explains some strategies that parents can use to keep their students safe online, and also discusses using social media wisely, cyberbullying, and gaming. Invaluable information like how predators connect online to young people is included in this conversation.

The first 2019-20 Parent Ed speaker was Sheridan Road alumna and Harvard professor Sr. Nancy Kehoe, RSCJ, PhD. She spoke to our Middle School students about antidotes to stress and anxiety and with parents about ways to help minimize stress in children's lives.

Sr. Kehoe graduated from the Academy in 1955 and in 1956 entered the Society of the Sacred Heart. After teaching for 10 years at both Woodlands and the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Cincinnati, she went to Boston to study for her doctorate in psychology. She did a postdoctoral internship at one of Harvard's teaching hospitals and then had a private practice for 23 years. She currently is a part-time Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Elizabeth Connelly, the 2019 Sr. Carol A. Haggarty, RSCJ ASH'59 Leadership Award winner is our next podcast guest. As part of a Sacred Heart legacy family and parent of four Sheridan Road alumni (A'08, H'10, H'13, A'18), Mrs. Connelly has been an integral part of the school for almost 20 years. Whether as a classroom volunteer, committee member, or chair of both the Board of Trustees and Masterpiece Campaign, Mrs. Connelly has devoted her time and talent to Sheridan Road.

Our first episode of the season features Anthony Nichols H'54, the 2019 Seiker Award winner, and his daughter, Paula Bork ASH'93. As a Hardey alumnus, proud parent, and grandparent to current students, Mr. Nichols addresses what Sacred Heart-Sheridan Road was like 70 years ago and how the school has changed and remains the same. Ms. Bork talks about how her father's pride in his own school affected her upbringing, her attendance at Sacred Heart’s high school, and why she sent her own children to Sheridan Road.

What could be more fitting than to end the academic year with a podcast featuring four of our Sacred Heart graduates from the Class of 2019? Sitting down to talk on the The Heart of Sheridan Road, were Academy students Luka Dalecki and Alex Kerr as well as Hardey students Teddy Braman and Will Farrell.

The conversation was wide-ranging and covered several topics—from the students' experience of single-gender classrooms and which Goal has had a special meaning for them, to choosing a good high school and what they will miss most about Sacred Heart. They even shared some wise advice geared to younger siblings, students in other grades, and parents.

Sacred Heart encourages students to become well rounded and reach their full potential by offering a variety of academic, athletic, and arts opportunities. In this podcast, we discuss the Fine Arts program with a focus on the Middle School Spring Musical. Give a listen as we discuss why the arts are important and what makes Sacred Heart's Fine Arts program so special.

This podcast features Justin Nixon, Fine Arts Director; Jill Renn, Second Grade Teacher; and Suzanne Lynch, mother of a Sacred Heart graduate who participated in many Fine Arts programs.