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Classical Education
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy is a private, independent school with a Catholic philosophy, operated by lay Catholics who are loyal to the Magisterium and adhere to the Church's unchanging doctrine. We are dedicated to academic excellence, and to forming future Catholic leaders and saints. Pope John Paul II has issued a threefold call to the laity to grow in the Lord, restore vitality to our ecclesial lay movement, and make the Church present with a new consistency and originality in our society. OLSHA answers this call by exposing our students to the ancient liturgy and beautiful sacred music of the Church. Students participate in the 1500‑year old Latin Mass, of which our Holy Father has asked for "a wide and generous application," and which Bishop Thomas Doran graciously encourages in the Rockford Diocese. This exposure provides students a rare insight into their Catholic heritage, and allows them to experience the same form of worship, as did so many saints and martyrs throughout the history of the Church. ACADEMICS K‑12 © Challenging classically‑oriented curriculum © Small class size © Phonics‑based K‑2 program © College‑preparatory diploma © History of Christendom © Catholic faith illuminates all areas of study © Formal study of Latin Why Latin? © Latin improves understanding of the English language. © Fifty percent of all English words come from Latin. © Latin students scored 159 points better than average on the 2001 SAT verbal section. © Latin is fun and easy for young children to learn. © Latin remains the official language of the Church, and is the birthright of every Catholic. "Latin is not dead, it's IMMORTAL." G. K. Chesterton
SPIRITUAL AND MORAL FORMATION OLSHA IS COUNTER‑CULTURAL © Modest, uniform dress © Daily practice of the virtues © Decidedly pro‑life culture, prayer at the abortion mill © Morning prayers, Angelus and grace, daily Rosary © First Friday Benediction and Mass © Confessions available weekly, priests' visits
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The children and teachers of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy
The Catholic Church has used classical education for almost two millennia, and it is the conviction of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy that the restoration of this type of education allows
Religious Life
Children in the school attend Mass and Benediction on First Fridays. Daily prayers, including the Rosary, create a rhythm of worship for the staff, teachers and students. Religious studies form the core of the curriculum at all grade levels, including high school.
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A Letter from the President Sacrificing the Good for the Perfect By Louis Bageanis I had been wondering a great deal recently why there was so much infighting and discontent among Catholics, conservatives, teachers and parents; then, in a homily, a priest said we should not sacrifice the good for the perfect. His statement hit me like a truck. It has helped me to understand why so often great causes fail or are damaged just as they are beginning to produce fruit. Here are some of my conclusions. None of us will ever reach perfection in this life, although we should strive for it. Knowing that only one man was ever perfect, and we’ll always fall short, is it not logical that we should accept the greatest good we can reach? Knowing that perfection is not possible in this world, is it not foolish or the last word in pride to demand perfection, and to reject the good that isn’t perfect? Not even those who become saints are perfect here, so should we not create all the good we can along our path to Heaven? Does anyone think Maximilian Kolbe did wrong in giving his life for that one man because he should have given it for the entire camp (obviously the more perfect deed)? Of course not. The rest of the camp was beyond his control, so he did the good he could. Ah, but while most of us would adjudge his choice correct, if asked directly about it, in real life we do the opposite all the time. Why do so many of us (including me) commit to an obvious good, and then sit back and watch its demise or destruction, or even participate in its downfall, because it is not perfect? I believe it is because we are not perfect, and our pride, vanity, envy and irritability overcome us. We succumb to those flaws, destroy the good and become instruments of the devil. How often have we seen great damage done through gossip and backbiting, for example, never to be repaired? What a shame to have so much good destroyed in such a petty way! What is really behind the standard of all-or-nothing? I am no scholar ask anyone who has known me for more than ten seconds but I believe it is cowardice. Favoring only the perfect allows people to sit on the sidelines, complaining and whining. Their pure standard of perfection allows them to sit in judgment on those who sweat and bleed for a good cause, and it exempts them from both the obligation of effort and the risk of failure. We all know people with Jell-O for backbones who lack the will to reach out and grasp a victory, even when it is right in front of their faces. We know these people well, and they make us ill because it is all of us I am talking about. Our own prideful, cowardly, hateful ways damage both us and the good we are trying to achieve. I do have some solutions for the malady. We should frequent the sacraments. They have the power to transform us and to turn our projects, our missions, our apostolates, into the means God can use to save souls. We should attend Mass far more often than the legal minimum, and we must give the Mass the complete attention of our minds and the complete devotion of our hearts. We should pray often during the day. Few of us can manage the Divine Office, but frequent prayers, however brief, can work the same way for us as the Office does for the contemplative: they can sacralize the ordinary, conquer temptation, strengthen virtue, increase grace and make us more alert to the discern the will of God, as the catechism says, and more ready to do it. We should bring dilemmas to wise counselors before they have a chance to become failures. We should present them frankly, and be open to good advice, however unpleasant. Perhaps, then, we’ll be able to notice when we’re about to sacrifice the good for the perfect, and stop, and think twice, and think again, and choose the good. Lou G. Bageanis
Single Click mail box below to contact our Administrative Assistant for your registration or questions by E-mail.
Piano music "Rhapsody in Blue - finale" By Dr. Julio J. Pro
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children not only to grow in the Faith, but also to defend it "in the marketplace."