What a glorious first day of school. Not only were there smiles(and a few tears) but also Jesus helped us start the year right with an Eucharistic procession. It's a great day to be a Cardinal.
"If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world on fire!"
-St. Catherine of Siena
Happy First Day of Kindergarten, Mrs. Wright!
If you have not found an excuse to meet our new Kindergarten teacher, please see all that God has gifted SHOJ with in the simple beauty of her smile. Mrs. Wright is a 2023 Benedictine College grad who lives a life fully embracing her Catholic faith and completely engaged in preparing for an awesome first year at Sacred Heart. She is a newlywed who comes from a large and supportive family. See the pic of her family celebrating her BC graduation.
As a new teacher, she has spent the summer preparing with Mrs. Rule under the mentorship of Mrs. Gardner.
We are so grateful God called her to Sacred Heart.
A devout life, above all things, is a life that is sweet, happy and amiable.
- Saint Francis De Sales
Happy. Sweet. Amiable. That just about sums up Mrs. O'Dowd, our Middle School Social Studies teacher. As a coworker, she greets the day with an optimistic outlook. As a teacher, she is always looking for the best in her students. She has a way of making everyone feel welcome.
As a mom of 3 Cardinals, she is constantly on the go. Her summer was busy! The O'Dowd family played lots of sports this summer- baseball, soccer, and softball. They fished at Antioch Park. She was able to read a few good books between trips to the swimming pool, a family trip to Florida and experimenting with some new ice cream recipes.
She doesn't mind sharing that she turned the BIG 4-0 this summer. Age is just a number to a person like O'Dowd who is known to turn a cartwheel or two down the hall to hype up Duchesne
House.
This ends the summer updates! Ready for school to start! (More Mrs. O
pics on SHOJ FB)
Kindergarten Parents of SHOJ Class of 2032-
We just can't resist sharing this with you. If you feel like you're sending your babies to school, we are with you. These sweet babies used to grace the halls of SHOJ from the time they were born. With older siblings at SHOJ, they didn't have a choice. They strolled, crawled, walked, ran and then, in May of 2023, they graduated. The brotherhood they formed extends beyond this picture to many other faces of classmates who are family to them. Today is their first day of high school. We had to once again recreate the scene because it is a reminder of what a Christ-centered community can gift to its members when they lean in and love. Thank you, SHOJ!
Anticipate that God has amazing things planned for you and your children. We can't wait to see our Cardinal family grow!❤️
-Class of 2023 parents
*SHOJ class of 2023- send your favorite first day of HS pics to Kathleen.Hess@shoj.org or to my cell (you probably have my #😊).
**Mrs. Coup- we missed you and your sweet girl in this photo. As we know, she is already a Sophomore at SJA. The boys will be excited to see her!
“Yes, our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:21
As she enters her 19th year, Mrs. Meidinger exudes the joy and wonder of a first year teacher. Working side-by-side with her, you can’t help but greet the day with optimism and be inspired to serve students better than you did the day before. Is she fueled by caffeine? Well, yeah. But more than that, there is the flame of that fuels her days-her Catholic faith.
The Meidinger’s started the summer at Table Rock Lake with family, making waves and catching rays! Then, hosting family and friends from out of state over the 4th of July weekend. They made time for Worlds of Fun to check out the new and improved Zambezi Zinger before all the 4th festivities and fireworks. Then, they took a break from the heat and headed north to Michigan to visit more family and dear friends. 😄 ! This summer was jammed packed with making memories.
Mrs. Meidinger looks forward to making more wonderful memories inside the halls of SHOJ
“The world tells us to seek success, power, and money; God tells us to seek humility, service, and love.”- Pope Francis
Mr. Chapman, Sacred Heart’s Technology Director, and Vice Principal, has followed God’s call to a vocation of humility, service, and love.
Service: When not at school (and sometimes even AT school), Mr. Chapman enjoys cooking for others. His main specialties are BBQ and Pizza. He kicked off the summer at an annual hog roast he hosts with a few friends in his hometown of Ottawa, KS. The July thunderstorms did a number on Mr. Chapman’s backyard tree and knocked the power out in his neighborhood. He found himself in service of his neighbors whose homes suffered tremendous damage leaving many, Chapman’s included, without power for days.
Love: Every day is “Take Your Child To Work Day,” as Mr. Chapman and his 4th-grade daughter Cardinal daughter spent many hours over the summer working at Sacred Heart. His love for his daughter fuels his determination to serve Sacred Heart wholeheartedly.
Humility: Mr. Chapman remains humble despite being, in his words, “heavily featured” in Episode 2 of Netfilx’s summer hit, Quarterback. Put your readers on to find him in the picture. 😏
Note - Mr. Chapman did NOT attend the Taylor Swift concert.
He is ready to roll into a fantastic school year!
Kids growing too fast? New order forms for Uniform Tops and SHOJ Spirit Wear are available on our website and app. Uniform Tops https://5il.co/21f8v and Spirit Wear https://5il.co/21f8w Forms are due by August 24th! Turn in order forms and checks to the front office.
“Whenever you begin any good work, you should first of all make a most pressing appeal to Christ our Lord to bring it to perfection.” Saint Benedict
First Day of School for Teachers!
Sacred Heart teachers gathered at Saint Michael the Archangel in Leawood today to ready our hearts for His lesson plans. Over 660 educators from the Archdiocese gathered for a full day of worship and formation. We were reminded to keep our schools and classrooms Christocentric-with Christ at the center of everything.
Through Mass, Adoration and continuing education, we found ourselves recalibrating our own hearts to rise to the high calling to “Prepare minds for the future and souls for eternity.” It is hard to ignore the pure joy on the faces of these teachers. God is SO good!
“Teach us to love and not count the cost”. St. Ignatius of Loyola
Any parent of Mrs. Jones’ (Middle School ELA) students would say this quote pretty much sums up the experience students have in her classroom. She teaches a classroom full and yet, the instruction and attention is poured into each individual soul in her classroom. She will tell you without hesitation that she has her dream job. Lucky us!
It would follow then that she spent 3 days on a silent Ignation retreat at Cloisters on the Platte (https://cloistersontheplatte.com/ ) focusing on drawing closer to Jesus. In addition, she enjoyed a Disney Cruise to celebrate her parents’ 40th wedding anniversary, and a trip to Evergreen, CO with her husband Jeremy.
She is ready to roll with another awesome year at SHOJ!
“We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become”. St. Clare of Assisi.
Mrs. Pendergast is passionate about all the things she loves-family, friends, faith, and teaching. Her heart is shaped by this love. The summer of 2023 has been spent wrapped up in all of these treasures.
◦ A vacation spent with her hubby and a group of lifelong friends.
◦ Royals games with her boys.
◦ At the ballpark where one son played while the other umpired…wait…is that legit? Wonder who won. 😜
◦ Solidified her status as a Swiftie alongside her daughter and another Cardinal family.
In the classroom, she is a constant innovator. We can’t wait to see what she has planned for this year!
“The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother.” St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Ms. Gardner (1st Grade) and her son Wyatt took a road trip through the Southwest. They went hiking in Zion National Park, went on a canyon tour, a star gazing tour, and visited the Four Corners. She has logged more than a few hours at the pool, gone camping, and enjoyed a float trip.
For those who know her well, it is no surprise that Ms. Gardner has also devoted herself to supporting our new Kindergarten teachers. She has spent hours doing whatever is needed to ensure an amazing start to the school year. The gift of Ms. Gardner helps us understand what St. Thérèse of Lisieux means when she refers to a mother’s heart as a lovely masterpiece.
"What a great favor God does to those He puts in the company of good people." - St. Teresa of Avila
As Mrs. Macan retired from teaching Kindergarten, we were blessed to have Mrs. Victoria Rule teach alongside her during Mrs. Macan's last semester. Wow! Is she a gem! This summer, she's been preparing her classroom with the help of some very special friends (see pic). Her days have also been spent traveling with her family, coaching volleyball, reading good books, all while working on her Masters in Elementary Education at K-State. She is excited for an awesome year with the incoming Kindergarteners aka SHOJ Class of 2032!
Ms. Hart❤️She does a little (actually, a lot) of everything around SHOJ. She lights up with excitement about all things math related as our Math Resource Teacher. She is our Resource Coordinator who has a knack for managing schedules and placing the right teaching support in the right place at the right time. She is an idea person who brings energy and optimism to our SHOJ staff. This summer, she has been busy!
Her summer started with a trip through Sedona and Page Arizona and Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. She hiked, kayaked, and biked through the beautiful parks. Her family took a trip to the beach in Florida as well. The highlight of her summer was cherishing the role of “fun aunt Sarah” as her brother and his family from Florida spent a month in town .
God, thank you for Ms Hart; a kind soul who cherishes family and calls Sacred Heart her home.
Sentimental Saturday
If you have been around the SHOJ school and church community a while, you will love this. We spied a familiar face at 8:15AM Mass today. Harper Schmelzle, former (and always) Cardinal, attended Mass this morning at Sacred Heart. Some of the youth (including Harper) from Father’s prior assignment in Sabetha, KS are in town today to serve the hungry alongside the Franciscan Poor.
The Schmelzle family is excited for SHOJ-Shawnee to receive the gifts the Holy Spirit has planned as their community, SHOJ-Sabetha, did the past few years when Father Zarse was their shepherd. God bless our Sacred Heart community: past, present and future.
If you have ever walked by Mrs. Cooney’s class (1st grade) when she is teaching religion, you might find yourself pausing to breathe in the goodness she is sharing with her students. She is deeply connected to the wonder found in the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith. Because of this, we are not surprised to see she has spent time this summer immersed in the natural world enjoying time outdoors in Idaho, Tetons, Wyoming, Yellowstone, and South Dakota.
Can’t wait to have her back at Sacred Heart this fall!
The SHOJ Circle of Life:
Mrs. Bonnel (née O’Malley) is a lifelong Cardinal who now works in the Resource Room. She is an SHOJ grad who not only sent her sweet girls to us, but is on staff as well. How blessed are we to work with someone who shares the perspective of a student, parent, and staff member?
Her summer update: She, husband Cody, and her fellow Cardinal daughters have been camping, road-tripping, Swiftie-ing, playing volleyball, hanging at the pool, running lemonade stands and so much more. Sounds like a lotta Hakuna Matata!
(Not responsible for Lion King soundtrack songs you can’t get out of your head after reading this.)
Roadtrip!!!
Check out this pic of some lovely teacher faces captured mid-roadtrip this summer. Where did the adventure take them? Wichita, KS! The Sedgwick County Zoo was NOT their destination. It was a writing strategies workshop. Love their dedication to their vocation.
Ready for another SHOJ staff summer update? Mrs. Lyons (3rd grade) started her summer relaxing at the lake. As she immersed herself in full summer mode, she officiated an endless number of board game sessions with her three beautiful children. Who knew Candyland could be so competitive? Her activities have included going fishing, riding bikes, eating ice cream, celebrating the 4th of July, going to Royals games (a true blue fan), and spending many, many, MANY hours at the pool. It might sound exhausting to some, but this is how Mrs. Lyons fuels up for an awesome school year.
Sacred Heart Family-
If you know our music teacher, Mrs. Reynolds, you know how passionate she is about life. From her deep love of family to her childlike appreciation of Garfield, she fans the flames of faith and living life to the fullest in all she does. Her summer has been full of Garfield playdates, music camp, grandbaby lovin, enjoying nature, and it is definitely not summer for her without garden tomatoes. See the photo of “Team Bruce Surgery Support Squad.” Please hold her family in prayer as her husband Bruce recovers from heart surgery. Thanks be to God for surrounding our staff and our students with a beautifully gifted soul like Mrs. Reynolds!
As we anticipate the return to a new school year, our principal, Mrs. Rhodes, shares some of the blessings she has received in her role as a daughter, mother, and grandmother.
Her family celebrated the Ordination of her son, Father George Rhodes. See the joy on the faces of the Rhodes family on his Ordination day.
She and her family joined her siblings and their families as they celebrated the 80th birthdays of both her mother and father. She also revels in the joy of spending time with her first grandchild, baby Theo.
This appreciation of family inspired her to read a great book on developing virtue in the family. Looking forward to helping everyone - herself included -grow in virtue.
