SHA-Cordecho-Winter-21-22

Fourteen current juniors are pioneers, making history as the first cohort of students at Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart to embark on the two-year journey toward their International Baccalaureate Diploma. After a 22-month process from exploration to authorization, in June 2020, SHA became the first and only private school in Erie County to be approved to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP). This world-recognized, gold standard high school curriculum requires students to take six courses over junior and senior years. Courses focus on inquiry, critical thinking, expanded world views, and interconnectivity of relevant topics across disciplines. All teachers in the program, as well as school administrators, have received specialized training in the International Baccalaureate Organization’s philosophy, methods and content. Students will take IB courses in world religions, history, English and math, and will choose between biology and chemistry for science, and Spanish, French, Latin or Mandarin for world language. Students will also take Theory of Knowledge, a course that explores the source and quality of the information upon which we base our “knowing” as well as any explicit and implicit bias impacting that knowledge. Additionally, students will research a topic they are passionate or curious about and then share their original thoughts and discoveries in an independent 4,000-word research paper. Finally, students will integrate their extracurricular activities by journaling about their efforts to expand their creativity, physical activity and service to the community. The IBDP provides a college-level course of study during the cohort’s junior and senior years, culminating in standardized examinations (called papers) and other final projects. While college and university policies vary on how to reward students for these efforts, some schools award a full year of college credit for students who successfully complete the IBDP. Around the globe, the International Baccalaureate Organization has been supporting this expansive and rigorous curriculum for over 50 years and has demonstrated that its diploma candidates are extremely well prepared to be successful at the nation’s most selective colleges and universities. SHA RECEIVES DESIGNATION AS AN INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAM SCHOOL AND LAUNCHES FIRST COHORT 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, The scent of freshly mown grass will forever take me back to University College Cork, where I spent ten very happy years. That first cut of grass in the spring alerted students that they should have seen all the course content for the first time. Every cut thereafter was a pacing guide to the finish line, where eight months of content was tested in a series of four-hour examinations. Amazing for a country where the sun so seldom shines two consecutive days in a row, the four weeks of final examinations always seemed to be the finest of the year. In May, the parade of students to the Stone Corridor under the Clock Tower was where hopes of a summer in the USA on a much-coveted J-1 Student VISA evaporated or became real. For secondary school seniors in Ireland, late spring is even more harrowing. Two years of course work in eight subjects are tested sequentially during the June Leaving Certificate Examinations. Students have one opportunity in the year to sit the papers, the results of which are submitted to a Central Application Office for ranking. In a system based solely on academic achievement, students are assigned courses in one of eight universities throughout the island. Given that both my husband John and I were educated in Ireland, we were ill-prepared to support our son, Sean, and daughter, Aoife ‘18, through the system of education here in the USA. We were oblivious to the demands placed on high school students to demonstrate academic prowess along with athletic ability and an inclination to serve the greater community. As parents we feel very fortunate to have had the support of the SHA faculty and staff, who are dedicated to guiding the young women through their four years at Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart and to prepare them well for a smooth transition to university life. Despite COVID, the SHA community - Sisters, faculty, staff, students, and parents have persevered and pressed forward for the past two years. Every effort has been made to continue to afford students unique opportunities to treasure and share. As with classes before them, many seniors will have had the opportunity to accrue college credit before graduating high school, which translates to substantial savings in the long term. As the pandemic continues, there is a fatigue that is unique to this era in our lives. I hope the graduating classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 will forever look back on their time at SHA and celebrate how well they tolerated the situation presented to them, and how much stronger they have grown for having overcome the obstacles placed before them. In addition to the new demands fromCOVID, we are thrilled with the launch of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in Septmeber. SHA is the first private school in WNY to offer this worldwide acclaimed gold standard in high school curricula, that aims to develop students’ intellectual, emotional, personal and social skills. 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 continue to wish all our students every happiness and success, and I pray that each of them and their loved ones keep healthy and safe. Sincerely, President, Board of Directors “The International Baccalaureate has proved to be such an enriching experience and overall an amazing program. The classes are extremely interesting and helpme broadenmy horizons. In only the first fewmonths of school, this programhas shownme the importance of friendship and collaboration and that I can achieve anything I set my mind to.” - BROOKE POLLOCK ’23