This past summer, Ele Grenfell ‘19 and Hannah Joseph ‘19 had the opportunity to trace the footsteps of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat at the Faces of the Heart trip in France.
47 students from 26 different Sacred Heart schools all over the world were represented. The goal of the trip was to complete a group project on the topic of “education for a better world.”
Ms. Kimberly Falatko, Upper School English Teacher, Network Exchange Coordinator, and Assistant Dean of Students was key in organizing this trip.
“We seek to be able to bring students together from all backgrounds of varying experiences and understandings of the world so that they can engage with each other in a common, safe space,” said Ms. Falatko. “We look to learn from them as much, if not more, than they learn from us.”
“There was an incredible atmosphere of solidarity and community,” said Joseph. “I’ve never had a group project where everybody wanted to contribute so much.”
Joseph’s group created a song about the life of one girl and how her learning needs were not being met, and made a website for Sacred Heart students to discuss their school policies.
Grenfell’s group created an app similar to Instagram for Sacred Heart students.
“I really liked that they gave us a real project,” Grenfell said. “They gave us a really broad topic, ‘education for a better world,’ and then it was up to us… to interpret it and come up with something that we thought could actually change people’s lives in a way.”
When they were not working to solve some of education’s biggest challenges, they were able to sightsee around Paris, where Madeleine Sophie worked; Joigny, where she grew up; and Nantes, where the Sacred Heart school La Perverie is located.
At the Faces of the Heart trip, Grenfell and Joseph were able to experience first-hand the power of the Sacred Heart network.
Joseph said, “It’s hard to conceptualize unless you see it, but we really are one family, the Sacred Heart network.”