Principal's Newsletters

June 2, 2008

Dear Sacred Heart Parents, Faculty and Staff:

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to our pastor, Fr, Dariusz, for this invitation to be principal of Sacred Heart School. After spending a great amount of time praying and discerning about God’s will for my life, and having the support of my entire family, present here today, I can sincerely say that I have felt called to accept this invitation, which I consider to be an honor, a blessing, a privilege and a sacred ministry. And today, I am overjoyed to stand before you, putting all that I have and all that I am to the service of our students, families, faculty and staff.

I have accepted this opportunity first and foremost because this is a community that I truly love and for which I deeply care. I have been part of this community for 7 years. My three oldest children are alumni of this school and my youngest is currently a student in 7th grade. I worked in Sacred Heart as the Middle School science teacher back in 2002-2003, and I have been an active volunteer both at the school and the parish.

I also accepted because I think I have something positive to offer to our school community. I have been an educator for 15 years and in that period of time I’ve had the opportunity to be professionally involved in every step of the educational process, from pre-school, elementary and middle school to high school and college level. With this experience, I intend to provide our school all the opportunities available at my reach to ensure that our students are prepared to succeed at each next step of their educational journey. But most of all, I have accepted to be principal of Sacred Heart School for the same reason that I have been a Sacred Heart School parent for the last seven years: and that’s because I believe that Catholic Education is outstanding. It is outstanding because it seeks the student’s growth intellectually, socially, emotionally and spiritually. It provides a distinctive environment that allows the faculty and staff to work together with the parents in all aspects of our students’ education.

As principal of Sacred Heart, I pledge to continue to strengthen the holistic principles of Catholic education. Intellectually, I believe that Catholic education should provide the students with the knowledge and skills that will prepare them to be productive and competent in today’s complex society. Not only knowledge of facts but also the development of the thinking and problem solving skills that will allow them be creative, resourceful, analytical, and articulate, ultimately being able to become independent learners.

Regarding social and emotional growth, Catholic education should focus on the development of a civic and moral conscience. Our Catholic tradition of service to others is rooted in faith, love, and compassion. It should emphasize pleasant and considerate behavior and it teaches that all human life is to be respected and valued. A Catholic school should provide plenty of opportunities for charitable work and for the development of leadership skills, giving our students a formation that leads them towards social responsibility.

Spiritually speaking, Catholic education is unique in that it prepares the student for life temporal and eternal. Religious education should enrich the student’s spiritual experience, creating an environment that promotes greater awareness of their relationship with God through personal and group prayer, the Mass, the sacraments, and a life of virtue and service to others.

This has been our tradition in Sacred Heart School for 50 years. This is the school that I am receiving from the dedicated and talented hands of our current principal Deacon David Young. In his short tenure as principal of Sacred Heart School, he has made important contributions that will benefit our school for years to come. I am so very grateful to him for all the guidance that he has given me in the past few weeks. He has gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that this transition proceeds smoothly and seamlessly. I have learned and continue to learn so much from you, Deacon Dave, and thanks to you, I am receiving a school that is financially sound and ready for the next year.

I also feel blessed for the opportunity to work with an extraordinary faculty and staff. True to the principles of Catholic education, they are not just a remarkable group of professionals. They are also ministers in their work as they teach both actively and by example about loving God through a life of faith and dedicated service to others. Their very choice of working at Sacred Heart School is proof of this. And what an exceptional task they carry out! It is my promise to you, faculty and staff, that I will work tirelessly to promote an environment that will foster your growth both at a personal and professional level.

And finally, to our school parents I want to be ever accessible and a partner you can always count on. Starting this August, I will have not 4 but 244 children and for them I will demand of myself no less than what I have given to my own sons and daughters. I humbly ask you for your support as I start this new chapter. It is no coincidence that I am wearing red tonight. I have chosen to wear this color because it is the color of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in whom we trust and under whose care we are. It is also the color of the Holy Spirit of whom I prayerfully ask to grant me the gifts and graces needed to succeed in this ministry. Our school community will be in my thoughts and prayers every day of my tenure as Sacred Heart’s principal. I ask you to please join me by remembering our students, families, faculty and staff in your prayers as well. Let us all together continue this extraordinary mission. And let us start by placing ourselves under God’s divine care and guidance. Thank you!

Soraya Betancourt-Calle