Educating the whole child for this life and the next
By Jenny Dunn
Principal and Counselor,
Sacred Heart School in Falls City
Nestled in the southeast corner of Nebraska, roughly 10 miles from Missouri and 5 miles from Kansas, is my alma mater and the preK-12 Catholic school of which I am proud to be the principal and school counselor: Falls City Sacred Heart.
With 250 students in grades preK-12, we have started our 134th year. Each year, we continue to welcome new students to our Sacred Heart family. One of the first things I share with visiting families is our mission statement, which I often think of as our “elevator pitch.” What would make a person want to be part of our school? What do we have to offer that other schools may not offer? What makes us special?
As you can see, our mission answers all of these, in under 20 words:“Sacred Heart School is a family educating heart, mind, body, and spirit for this life and the next.”
Our mission statement was crafted in 1997 by a steering committee led by Msgr. Robert Roh who was superintendent at that time. Also part of that committee were two teachers who just retired at the end of last year after a combined 91.5 years of teaching at Sacred Heart. One of these teachers was Mrs. Linda Kirkendall, who was my secondary English teacher, and the other was Mrs. Pam Smith, who was my kindergarten teacher. In an article written for The Flashlight in February of that year, Msgr. Roh wrote about the importance of our Catholic school having a clear vision and making sure that our mission statement clearly captured that vision.
“We seemed to all know what Sacred Heart is trying to do, but we found it peculiarly challenging to put into words,” he wrote.
Today, nearly 28 years later, this mission has not changed, and it is behind all that we do at Sacred Heart. It adorns the walls in every classroom. Our elementary students begin each day reciting the mission, with accompanying actions. However, it goes beyond just being able to recite that mission; it truly is the driving force behind all the decisions we make and the actions we take. What are we doing as a school to prepare our students in all areas? How are we helping them to grow academically, socially, and spiritually? Will they be ready for life after high school? Will they be ready for eternal life? We are not here to simply graduate scholars; we wish to graduate disciples, as well.
In my counselor role, I have the pleasure of teaching guidance to every grade once per week. We begin each class by reciting our mission statement, including the actions – yes, even with the high school students. As we began the new school year, in each opening guidance lesson, we talked about the word mission, and I asked students to think of synonyms for it. Some of the best included journey, quest, and goal.
We then dug into how that related to their purpose as a student at Sacred Heart. We talked about the fact that journeys are not always easy. There are going to be ups and downs along the way. Often, guidance is needed. We spent time focusing on each part of our mission statement and making sure that they are not just saying the words and going through the motions, but truly thinking about their meaning as a constant reminder of why they are part of this Sacred Heart family. For our older students, this reminder is especially important as they face a world full of distractions and competing priorities.
A unique aspect of our Catholic schools, not just Sacred Heart, but all of the schools in the Diocese of Lincoln, is that our missions cannot be fulfilled without the stakeholders who are part of this journey. From staff members like Mrs. Kirkendall and Mrs. Smith, to parents, to alumni, to fans and friends, we continue to be blessed by those who make it possible. By offering prayers for us or donating time, money, and talents; we would not be able to work toward this mission without so many generous benefactors. As we continue to prepare the “hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits” of our Sacred Heart students “for this life and the next” I can’t help but think that Msgr. Roh would be grateful for the time he and the steering committee put into framing our mission. This 18-word mission has served as our guide for many years and has been a true anchor for the Catholic education of students from three states who are blessed to attend Sacred Heart.
