Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?"- Martin Luther King Jr.
Thank you, Mrs. Rhodes for knowing JUST what your teachers needed after a late (but great) night at Back to School! Jesus, jeans and caffeine.
First full week of school and these teachers are still smiling!
"A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows."
St. Francis of Assisi
At Back to School night, God was up to his usual business; creating beauty in the natural world. He painted a backdrop for our church while we gathered as a family of his families inside. As if that wasn't enough, he was simultaneously telegraphing his love for his Mother as the light from the rose window reflected upon her.
Perhaps he was hinting that we can go to Jesus through a burning love for his Mother.
Thankful our staff members who happened to capture these moments and share them with the team. These are the same eyes that look lovingly at your children each day and see the marvel of God's creation in them, too.
Father Zarse shared a simple message with our students today at All School Mass. He wants to build a bridge from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the heart of our children. He wants to build a bridge from the school to our namesake; the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Come, Holy Spirit!
We thank God for Father Zarse's vocation and we are humbled that our parish loves and supports our school so generously.
Our hearts overflow with gratitude as we meet at the foot of the cross.
Attention SHOJ Parents - You are invited to the Domestic Church Parent Retreat on Saturday, Sept. 9th. Childcare is provided, please register at: bit.ly/parent-retreat Contact the SHOJ Parish Office for more information. 913-422-5700
"Laughter has been implanted on our soul, that the soul may sometime be refreshed." St. John Chrysostom
For all of those smiling first day of school pictures we see, we begin to wonder, "Is everyone REALLY that happy that summer's over?"
Grateful for this 6th grader for keeping it real- and for his grandpa, for keeping it real-er.
Love the love in this pic! God bless our SHOJ families!
The Room Parent signup genius link is available right here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4faba62daaf49-room4#/
Check it out!
A Throwback Thursday with all the good feels.
Today we are sharing two stories from two different eras at Sacred Heart. One is a picture from 2014 of four young men (l to r Sam, Billy, Jackson, and Jack Farnsworth) dressed to serve at All School Mass. These four young men grew up together, and although these boys, now men, would consider themselves friends still, we want to focus on the young man on the far right. Jack Farnsworth is all grown up and is a valued Associate at Happy Hearts Working (HHW). HHW was born in his mother's heart, long-time and much cherished SHOJ school nurse Carol Farnsworth. Please click on the link and fall in love with the mission of HHW and the good work Jack is doing as he makes the world a better place. So, to update you on the photo, from left to right, we see an architect, an accountant, a physical therapy student, and a Happy Heart Associate. Good for all of them. http://theleaven.org/happy-hearts-associates-find-appreciation-collaboration-and-meaningful-work/ (cut and paste into browser if needed)
2nd Throwback Thursday: Fast forward ten years to the Class of 2024. Nine years ago, this child’s mom snapped a picture of her with her arms outstretched, just like the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue in the kindergarten hallway when the child was at the Ice Cream Social before starting Kindergarten. Nine years later, that sweet child is now a young lady who is a House leader and an eighth grader preparing for Confirmation. You have to appreciate that she indulged her mom to get this awesome picture of her outside the kindergarten hallway nine years later as she helped serve at the Ice Cream Social. A beautiful full-circle moment.
God is SO good!
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.
