AMessage from the Head of School ne student dreams of opening her own jewelry business. In her M&T Women in Leadership & Business Entrepreneurship course, she receives structured support on how to build and pitch a business plan, attends the finals of the 43North competition, and competes for funding for her own business from SHA’s very own Shark Tank Competition. Another student wants to explore health professions to help her determine what specific major she wants to study in college. She introduces a club- Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA). Fast forward two years and she is president of HOSA’s New York Chapter and is exploring colleges and degrees that will move her forward on her path to becoming a psychiatrist. A senior wasn’t sure what her academic passion was until her social studies course integrated the UCLA’s Urban Planning curriculum into the class. Her team designed and built a city out of LEGO that met specifications regarding aesthetic beauty, recreational spaces, healthcare, social services, residential and business areas (all with limited resources). While defending her plans and design before a panel of experts in urban planning, she discovered what she would pursue as a career choice. Another student’s desire to share her Black culture and history became a leadership opportunity for her and the rest of the Black History Month Celebration Steering Committee and resulted in a full day of learning and celebration for the whole school. IB students looking for ways to improve their world chose research topics ranging from climate change and animal agriculture to the paranoia that drove McCarthy’s Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials to effective COVID policies in Australia and Switzerland to the impact of caffeine use on mental health. At SHA, we are at our best when students have the opportunity to meld their academic interests with real world opportunities to expand their knowledge, advocacy and leadership skills. When learning is engaging and relevant, students thrive, and we fulfill our mission of graduating young women with intellectual preparedness, spiritual grounding, commitment to service and the leadership skills necessary to make a positive impact on the world. When we meet our mission, students benefit, SHA benefits and so does the community at large. We need look no further to affirm this truth than the impact our alumnae are making. Whether it is our four Distinguished Alumnae sharing their gifts and talents, TaNisha Fordham ‘05 who will be returning to SHA to share her vision and story on stage with her SHA sisters, or the impact Helen Buszka Weiksnar ‘41 had on her family to do good and give back, a meaningful and passion-filled SHA education reaps benefits for the community as a whole for years to come. SHA’s strategic planning process will allow us to modernize this tried-and-true equation for mission fulfillment:provide a welcoming Franciscan environment; multiply the impact by adding caring educators that help to ignite a student’s passion; compound the result through the help of alumnae, parents and friends willing to support a future generation of SHA girls; and the product is a next generation of young women living out our Franciscan values and making their varied and unique contributions to this world. As we expand the IB Diploma Program and certificate courses; add support for student-led clubs and service initiatives; and to connect and mobilize alumnae to engage with students and share their time, talent and treasure, our strategic planning process gives us the opportunity to study our own assumptions, see what the data tells us, and leverage relationships to enrich the opportunities for our students and alumnae- and to think, we are only about halfway through the process. More to come! Peace and All Good 2 C O R D E C H O S P I R I T . M I N D . B O D Y . ONTHECOVER Makenna Slahta ’26 participates in the Freshwomen Fun Day fashion show. During this activity, students must use teamwork and their creativity to transform a group member into a character using only newspaper and tape. The fun, imaginative, and cooperative spirit of this beloved tradition begins a student’s four years at SHA. This same spirit drives our strategic planning efforts as we seek to provide renewed opportunities for our students to discover their strengths and creativity both in and out of the classroom while meeting the demands of a rapidly changing world. S P I R I T . M I N D . B O D Y .
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTcyNDA=