Changes ahead...

Well, news updates from New England include a few things such as:
Hurricane Arthur, the first of the 2014 Tropical storms, decided to roar (literally) up the Atlantic coastline while visiting North Carolina, New Jersey, southeastern Massachusetts (just ask New Bedford their thoughts on this event), Cape Cod, and northward.  Our family was in Wellfleet, our favorite town on the Cape, for this event. The biggest challenge for us was walking Patch and Joy in the rain, which is something that we don't usually do (thanks to a fenced-in dog run).  Like good Connecticut people, we were prepared with bread and milk, candles, flashlights, extra water and games to keep us busy. Lots of rain...wind...thunder...SAND (our cottage is near the beach) and, in 24 hours, it was over. God was good, and I was able to tick off another item from my "bucket list," namely to experience a hurricane on the Cape.

Additional news from New England is that there

are a few changes that our students will find when they return to the Academy to start the 2014-15 year. The most important one is that there will be a new, but familiar face, in the Principal's Office this year.
Mother Mary David, an alumna of the Academy, is now serving as Principal of our beloved school.  As Mother Marie Julie stated in her letter, Mother David brings a great deal of experience with her.  Perhaps most importantly, she has such a strong commitment to the Academy and what it stands for.  Mother understands its traditions as well as the importance of looking ahead to keep AHF on the cutting edge of education.  The Academy community is so blessed to have Mother David's hand guiding them.

As for me (and Joy), I will take so many wonderful memories of this past year with me.  For those, and much more, I am very grateful.  When we got home from vacation, Joy and I got back to school, but now I'm sitting in a student desk and Joy is right next to me.  I will help out AHF where I can, but I'm back in research mode while Joy works on her own type of doctoral work.  

I remain convinced that the Academy of the Holy Family is a precious resource for young women around the world and I hope that you will continue to help spread the good news about what AHF has to offer.  I will miss my girls very much, and will keep them and their families in my prayers.  I hope that you will do the same for Joy and me.  
Pax et bonum (peace and all good),
Mrs. T

Spring...for real!

After what appeared to be the longest winter season in the memory of most of our faculty, it looks like spring 2014 has finally arrived!  It has brought along with it the excitement of the Marists' Softball season (thus far, undefeated...thank you, St. Sebastian!), preparation for Advanced Placement exams, Prom, and the end of this school year.

We're also very excited about the unveiling of our newly updated website!  Our web address is still www.ahfbaltic.org, but parents, students and staff can access the site directly from their Edline page.

Along with the new, streamlined site, visitors will be treated to the AHF calendar, important links, and a full Staff Directory.  Our hope is that all of the information that you consider to be important will be easily accessible.  This includes a button leading directly to our online application site.

We hope that you'll take time to visit the site, surf through it, and let us know how you like it.  In the meantime, take time to enjoy the Easter Season (it is still Easter, after all),  and look for more information on how AHF is growing.

Have a blessed day!
peace,

Mrs. T

2014 is no longer new but is plenty white!

My apologies for having been so "quiet" (not typical of me) for so long.  By now, I should have wished you a Happy New Year, asked how your celebration of Los Reyes Magos was, told you how excited we were about our Catholic Schools Week observance, talked about that groundhog and the ridiculous amount of snow we've had here in Connecticut, not to mention marveled at the fact that February is almost over.  My goodness!  All of that has come and gone...and more!  

• Our Marist Basketball Team has made it to the States, so we know that we'll have more games left to attend and cheer at.  March Madness is alive and well at AHF!
• We have begun our first semester of Virtual High School Collaborative This has been a great opportunity for so many of our students to really step out of their comfort zones and participate in courses that are putting them in contact with other high schoolers from around the country and, in fact, around the globe.  

Finally, you've noticed that when you log onto your Edline account, you're greeted with a website that is being built.  If you were to log onto www.ahfbaltic.org, you'd still find the old one.  That is still live.  When the one that is being hosted by Edline is complete and fully loaded, we will be able to switch the two seamlessly.  The URL will be the same.  All of our email addresses will be the same.  It is a work in progress.  This blog post will be available with other links on the new website.

Well, we have three and a half more days left to this February vacation.  Enjoy what is left of it.  If your daughter is traveling back, may she be blessed with safe travel.  

Have a blessed day!

peace,

Mrs. T

The Day After...What a Week!

As 2013 winds down (holy moly, the days  are flying by!), life at AHF is never boring...always busy...keeps reminding us of the goodness with which we are surrounded.

This week, we celebrated Thanksgiving early.  We joined the entire AHF community with a number of the Sisters who live in the Holy Family Motherhouse.  This was a great treat, especially since the tradition has been for the Sisters to share a pre-Thanksgiving meal with the Resident students.  This time, ALL of our students...Day and Resident...welcomed the Sisters to Hanlon Hall for a dinner prepared with all of the trimmings!  Miss Fran and Coach Tina prepared the meal, with Mrs. Sobanski's Foods classes providing the desserts.  It was a menu fit for any family's dinner table, and we were blessed to share it with our AHF family.  

We were also treated with some entertainment that included some of our talented students, as well as an unexpected presentation by one of our beloved alumnae :) Here is Sr. Lucette favoring us with the famous "Turkey Song!"

On Friday night, 11/22, the Concert Choir hit the road to leave their mark on the Providence Bruins' rink at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.  Singing "America the Beautiful," these eight, talented and lovely young women, totally rocked the arena with their two-part version of the beloved song.  The oldest (and smallest) of the three groups that performed, they demonstrated a level of performance that really set the bar pretty high.  Following their performance, they enjoyed the game with friends, family and fans, and were treated to a Bruins win over the Bridgeport Tigers.  

What's coming up  next?  Teens in Action is sponsoring the first of two traditional FILL THE BUS! sessions at the Norwich Stop & Shop.  Check out the link for more info!

And now, to prepare for the week to come.  As always, thank you for your interest in the Academy of the Holy Family, and for supporting us in any way that you can!

Have a blessed day!
Mrs. T

Tech and Girls is the Way 2 Go!

Dear Friends...
November has arrived, and has brought the traditional "If the weather changes every day, you must be in New England" surprises with it!  

We have begun our Salt & Light theme for the month: Gratitude With An Attitude, and are hoping to help raise the awareness of everyone at the Academy in regard to what they are receiving from others.  What do we receive (small and and large "gifts") from others that impact our lives every day?  So far, so good!

So, this "STEM" business...exactly, what is it?  Simply, it is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  Traditionally, these areas have been challenges when seeking equal educational opportunities for girls and young women.  At the Academy of the Holy Family, we work to consistently develop these areas for our students, and we do this by offering a strong curriculum in each of the categories, as well as by providing valid, co-curricular activities to support them.  

In an effort to continue this work, we have begun a fundraising campaign through Indiegogo, and we are calling it Tech and Girls is the Way 2 Go!  We invite you to visit our page to read the description of our campaign.  While you're there, check out the "perks" that we are offering to our donors.  They range from a lovely package of notecards that feature full-color photos of landmarks at the Academy of the Holy Family to a five-course gourmet dinner for four!  There is also a link that you can share with others that will direct them to the page:
 http://igg.me/at/AHFTech

We ask that you pray for the success of this campaign.  If you are able to donate, we will be tremendously grateful for your support.  Please share the news with anyone you know.  The more voices we have sharing this update, the better.  At the Academy, we do our best to make sure that all of our students reach their potential: spiritually, academically, physically and socially.  Thank you for your interest in our ministry of Catholic education!

Long weekend?  Yes, indeed!  Most importantly, it is a long weekend for us because of those who have served or are presently serving in the U.S. military.  We remember them in our prayers, as we continue to pray for peace in our world.  

Have a blessed day!
Mrs. T

Catching up...Salt and Light at a Very Cool School!

Hello, dear friends!
It has been a while since I've posted, but you deserve an update on what has been going on at AHF. All of it has been a combination of amazing and blessed. Our community is committed to infuse the three Goals into all aspects of life at AHF for the duration of this year. We have embraced an Academic Goal: Continuing to promote writing across our entire curriculum; a Social Goal: Continuing to strengthen the sisterhood and strengthen the connections between our day and boarding students; and a Spiritual Goal: To be Salt & Light to all we encounter (Matthew 5:13-16).  

First, our students have really been coming together and creating community.  I love watching them as they interact in Hanlon Hall, in their classrooms and on the soccer field.  We are so blessed to be able to observe their growth; socially, academically, spiritually and more.  The saying, "Where friends become family" is so evident, regardless of where you look around campus.  

Secondly, our co-curricular activity selection has just grown in leaps and bounds!  One of our newest ones, the Human Rights Club, received a great kick-off when AHF hosted a High School Invitational to celebrate Peace One Day.  Students from St. Bernard School and Marianapolis Prep arrived on our campus for sessions with visiting speakers, a soccer challenge and a game of dodge ball, a chance to share lunch and a FlashMobDance.  The Human Rights Club is now preparing their programming for the rest of the school year.  Among their efforts, the young women in this organization are focusing on Children's Rights

Our Teens In Action club, a long-standing organization at AHF, got off to an outstanding start to their year as they sponsored a pot-luck supper to raise funds for Andrea Dellarco-Legore, teacher of English at the Academy who underwent a double-lung transplant.  By the grace of God, Andrea is recovering, and we look forward to having her rejoin us at the Academy.  The girls have been doing a great job of keeping her up to date with what has been going on during the day with their videos, "selfies," and more.  

The Guardian, the AHF newspaper, is off and running.  As of this writing, its staff has produced its first edition and is currently completing its second.  Hard copies are distributed on campus, but you can read The Guardian by following this link.  We look forward to future editions of this great effort that combines our students' writing, technology and artistic skills!

So much more...so much more!  If you didn't catch it during its debut airing, you can watch AHF on WFSB's Cool Schools, as our students and faculty shared four reasons why the Academy is just SO cool!  Here are some photos of the taping that took place when Meteorologist, Mark Dixon and Videographer, Mike Fisher visited us for a morning.  Memories were made, the word about AHF's COOLNESS was shared, and what a day it was.  

Have a blessed day!
Mrs. T

Meet Cedric, one of our Guidance Office staff members.  Cedric's name was voted upon in two rounds by the entire AHF community, and he received his name on the Feast of St. Francis.  

And, we are OFF!

The countdown is over, and the 2013-2014 academic year at the Academic of the Holy Family has officially begun!

PowerWeek 2013 was a terrific experience for everyone involved.  It has been especially grace-filled to greet the students as they arrived.  Of course, the young women who were new to AHF showed a bit of nerves, but it didn't take long for the veteran students to swoop them up and carry them along into life at the Academy.

New students participated in placement exams for Math and English.  Our international students also had the chance to have their abilities in reading, writing and speaking the English language assessed.  Returning students prepared display boards that were to be used to spread the word about our co-curricular activities.

Returning students through the Student-Family Handbook, including the opportunity to ask questions about policies and "what if's."  The Class of 2014 did a great job of designing and leading "ice breaker" activities.  Hanlon Hall was alive with laughter!

Our students met their Homeroom Teachers and had the chance to begin building or continue strengthening the bonds that make each Class so unique. Our Activities Fair served a number of purposes.  Besides giving all of the students the opportunity to learn about the activities that have been part of life at AHF, they all had the chance to learn about new activities that are debuting this year.  Finally, the Activities Fair really gave our returning students the opportunity to shine as leaders.  They stepped up and represented well.  It is true: The leaders of tomorrow walk our halls today!