As part of the No Place for Hate (NPFH) distinction, SHA students worked together on a recent Sophie Day to learn about the NPFH pledge and how that relates to the Sacred Heart Goal V.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Guided by the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart Schools and rooted in Catholic faith, Sacred Heart Academy Bryn Mawr commits to foster a community that acts in the interests of equity and justice for each student. We strive to form a welcoming environment that recognizes and affirms the individual experience of each student.
We support diversity at Sacred Heart Academy Bryn Mawr through curricular and co-curricular opportunities. Our school believes that an inclusive learning community is integral to achieving academic success and individual growth. In our diverse world, Sacred Heart Academy Bryn Mawr prepares and inspires students to be active, informed, and responsible citizens at local, national, and global levels.
We aspire to nurture students to embrace their inherent value as a human being created in the image and likeness of God.
Adopted by the Board of Trustees - October, 2019
Let us keep our faces turned like the sunflower, always toward the Sun of Justice.
Janet Erskine Stuart
Society of the Sacred Heart
SHA will participate in the No Place for Hate initiative, sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League. The program will take the 2020-21 school year to complete steps to earn the No Place for Hate designation.
On this Feast of the Sacred Heart, we contemplate the pierced heart of Christ – the brokenness and hope in our world and honor Juneteenth.
Head of School, Deirdre Cryor writes to the Sacred Heart community, "As a Sacred Heart school we are committed to promoting a safe and welcoming environment in which each person is valued, cared for and respected."
The RSCJs shared in their statement against racism: "Each of us is created in the image of God, brothers and sisters, united and equal in God’s eyes.
Catholic Response to Racism
“Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love,” A Pastoral Letter against Racism by the U.S. Catholic Bishops (2018)
Combatting Racism: A Resource Board, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Resources
The following resources may be of help, as we work to understand this challenging time, help our students process these current events, and find ways to support our community
Talking to Children after Racial Incidents
Penn Graduate School of Education interview with Howard Stevenson, PhD
Helping Children Cope with Frightening News Child Mind Institute, Harold S. Koplewicz, MD
Sesame Street: Why All Parents Should Talk With Their Kids About Social Identity, by Cory Turner on NPR
31 Children's Books to Support Conversations on Race, Racism and Resistance
Bloom
Building Mindful, Well, and Equitable Schools and Businesses
Center for Racial Justice in Education: Resources for Talking about Race, Racism and Racialized Violence with Kids
Blog Series on Talking to to Kids about Race and Ethnicity
Racial and Ethnic Socialization resources from American Psychological Association
Let Us Pray
The final words of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church:
Social life is made by human beings. The society we live in is the outcome of human choices and decisions. This means that human beings can change things. What humans break, divide, and separate, we can — with God's help — also heal, unite, and restore.
What is now does not have to be. Therein lies the hope. And the challenge.
Come, Holy Spirit!
Fill the hearts of your faithful.
Enkindle within us the fire of your love.
Come, Holy Spirit!
Breath into us a fiery passion for justice.
Especially for those who have the breath of life crushed from them.
Amen.
Written by Fr. Bryan N. Massingale