SHA Cordecho Fall 2020

S P I R I T . M I N D . B O D Y . C O R D E C H O 3 Dear Sacred Heart Family, After many years of dedicated service to the SHA community, Ms. Patricia Marino Smyton ’61 retired as President of the Board of Directors in June. As I step into the role of President for the Board of Directors at Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart, I would like to express our gratitude to Pat for her support of and loyalty to the Academy. Like Pat, I too had the advantage of a faith-based education in an all-girls Catholic high school, coincidently called Sacred Heart Secondary School, located in Ireland. At University College Cork, I set out on a course of education that would eventually lead to a doctoral degree in plant genetics. I worked as a research scientist in Ireland, Scotland, and Germany before moving with my husband John and family to East Aurora, NY in 2003. My son Sean Scannell attended St. Francis High School and graduated this spring with a degree in electrical engineering and a Master of Business Administration fromUniversity of Notre Dame. My daughter Aoife Scannell ’18 enjoyed four fabulous years at SHA and is currently studying mechanical engineering at Notre Dame. Aoife would say that she never worked as hard as she did at SHA and that this investment of time and energy has facilitated a smooth transition into the rigors of third level education. As the 2020/2021 school year commences, we acknowledge and applaud the courage and dedication of the faculty, staff, students, and parents and their willingness to prepare for and adapt to a year in education that is shrouded in challenges. On Friday, September 11th, I watched in awe and admiration of the staff, faculty and students as they managed class transition. The curve of their eyes indicated that beneath the masks they were smiling a salute to one another. With a keen level of oversight from faculty in the corridor, the girls moved through the routine in an atmosphere of calm resolution that this was the new norm. Throughout this COVID pandemic, Ms. Demert has kept the Board of Directors and the SHA community well-informed of the course of action planned and executed to keep the education of the young women on course. The school year came to a close for the students in May, but for the staff and faculty a three week training program guaranteed that they would have all the tools they would need to modulate instructions from in-person, to hybrid, to virtual as the circumstance demanded. We recognize that for everyone the level of anguish and anxiety presented with navigating the challenges of this pandemic takes a toll on physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It is, therefore, the determination and resilience of the SHA community to press forward that is most inspiring. This summer Fiona Shaeffer ’18 launched a wonderful podcast series “Lights In The Tunnel.” In this series, Fiona promotes searching out lights to help get through what has been a long dark tunnel. So, we look for little joys in our everyday lives that will propel us forward. There are days when just getting out of bed is a challenge, but with the grace of God that is exactly what we do; we get up, we arm ourselves for the day with masks and sanitizer, and march forward. In 1912 Olcott and Graft penned the lovely lyrics, “When (Irish) eyes are smiling, sure they’ll steal your heart away,” and in this time of masked faces and social distancing, I encourage you to share a nod of the head or a wink of an eye and allow those beautiful smiling eyes to lift the hearts, minds and spirits of those around you. We are grateful to the Sisters of St. Francis and all board members for sharing their expertise, enthusiasm, commitment, and generosity as they continue to steward the Academy. I pray that you and your loved ones are healthy and are keeping safe. Sincerely, President, Board of Directors Fiona Schaeffer ’18 records her podcast, “Lights In The Tunnel,” from her dorm room at Le Moyne College. This podcast takes an intersectional and interfaith approach to social justice issues. Through conversations with fellow Le Moyne students, the podcast examines what community looks like in the time of social distancing, and how we can be men and women for and with our most vulnerable brothers and sisters. New episodes are released every Tuesday. You can listen to the podcast at https://lights-in-the-tunnel. simplecast.com . Fiona’s inspiration for this podcast and other social justice initiatives she takes part in at LMC come from her SHA experiences, including Mock Trial and “Girl Power Fridays,” a weekly feature in Dr. Bryan Krull’s social studies classes that highlights empowering women in history.