Making History Reflections on Fifty Years at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart
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As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. —Psalm 42:1
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Contents Foreword vii Introduction 1 The History of Sacred Heart and Stuart The Early Years
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Architecture 27 Goal One: A Personal and Active Faith in God
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Goal Two: A Deep Respect for Intellectual Values
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Goal Three: A Social Awareness Which Impels to Action
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Goal Four: The Building of Community as a Christian Value
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Goal Five: Personal Growth in an Atmosphere of Wise Freedom
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Appendices 126
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The first Lower and Middle Schools
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Foreword
Stuart’s first Headmistress, Sister Joan Kirby, talks with Head of School, Dr. Patty Fagin, February 5, 2013
Life Before Stuart Sr. Kirby
I came from Stone Ridge in Washington, where I had been Dr. Fagin joined Stuart in 2010 a teacher. I taught the third academic. I was immersed in American history and literature and psychology, and I loved teaching. Toward the end of the last year at Stone Ridge, Reverend Mother Barry named me assistant headmistress to give me a little bit of experience. Stuart was my first job as an administrator. Sister Kirby and Dr. Fagin, 2012
“Everybody was very crazy about the school.” —Joan Kirby, RSCJ
Dr. Fagin
Prior to Stuart, my experience had been in schools that were pretty homogeneous, so I was very excited to join such a diverse community. And my excitement was not unfounded—I very much enjoy getting to know and working with our students and families who come from such varied backgrounds and are of many different nationalities.
First Impressions of Stuart Sr. Kirby
We had an office on Nassau Street and we interviewed students while the building was in progress. So that whole summer of ’63, I interviewed students and I learned a huge amount about Princeton and Princeton’s commitment to academic excellence and development. Sister Joan Kirby, 1963
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Architecture “From the exterior to the pebbles streaming down the pillars, to the Zen Garden. It’s not only aesthetics and architecture. Jean Labatut orchestrated the spirit that resonates for Stuart students while here and well after they leave.” —Anne Soos, Science Teacher, Upper School Head
Contains excerpts from Stuart at Princeton, compiled by Herman Tull, PhD, 1998
This is no ordinary building: it is an organic entity in which every element of its design suggests a larger purpose. The green exterior tile mimics and melds with the surrounding forest; the floor to ceiling windows illuminate the building with what seems to be the light of intelligence; the small risers on the stairs—now worn through a generation of footsteps—remind us that this is a place designed first and foremost for the children that fill its halls; and the Pillar of the Sacred Heart in the front entry, cast as an organic member of the building’s structure, imbues the entire school with a deep spiritual presence.
Left: The architectural model of the Stuart campus, 1962
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From left: Melissa Robinson, Amy Masonis, and Andrea DeRochi, all Class of 1985 in 1976
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Goal Two: A Deep Respect for Intellectual Values “‘The heart of education is the education of the heart,’ said St. Madeleine Sophie Barat. It was one of the first enlightened thoughts I heard when I began teaching at Stuart, and it becomes more important to me every year.” —Joyce Felsenfeld, Fourth Grade Teacher
Stuart Enthusiast Nancy Light “We can ascribe the excellence of the school to the Goals as they are lived out. But before they were written, the founders and the nuns lived the goals, always true to their Sacred Heart mission.” Nancy Light, whose career in Stuart’s English department spanned forty years, is a self-confessed “Stuart enthusiast.” “At Stuart, there is a consistency of excellence.” Asked what sets the school apart from other private schools, Ms. Light observes, “It is a very special school, where the human touch is nearly universal.” She adds, “The students receive such individual attention,” praising “the total commitment of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.” She joined Stuart on the heels of the birth of her daughter. “Holly became ‘a lifer’ at the school, and Peter attended Stuart’s preschool.” [At her interview with]
Nancy Light (center) with Tara Malone ’04 (left) and Sophia Medina ’04 in 2004
Sister Bush and Tom Fulton, “I was attracted to the beautiful wooded approach and Labatut’s wonderful design, straight out of Le Corbusier. Such openness— a lot of glass. The classrooms were so open to nature.” 69
The Stuart Ring A Stuart girl receives her ring at the Junior Ring Ceremony, a beloved rite of passage. It is a special event at which seniors bestow the Stuart ring to the members of the junior class. Stuart’s ring is distinct in that it features a deer drinking from water. Christy Love Sadron says her design was was inspired by, “Psalm 23, Stuart’s Mater Window, and the Lascaux cave drawings.” Today’s ring is slightly different from the original, as some years ago the mold to the ring could not be located and a new version was made.
“Receiving my ring has made me a part of an eternal sisterhood.”
“I have finally become my own part of the Stuart tradition of powerful girls in the world.” —Caroline Scott ’14
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—Bianca Moreno-Paz ’14
The original Stuart Ring was designed by Christy Love Sadron ’66
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“I purposely wear my Stuart ring on a daily basis as a beacon for me to stay focused on the fundamentals that I learned at Stuart… as they have become my core.” —Kathy Fox Feeny ’71
“Twenty years from now I can look down at my hand and be reminded that no matter where life takes me I am still a child of the Sacred Heart.” —Samielle Taylor ’14 2012
2010
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Lower School girls campaign during the presidential election, 1976
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Goal Five:
Personal Growth in an Atmosphere of Wise Freedom “I think we’re the most special school in the world because we have wise freedom. It feels good to be trusted. Thank you Janet Erskine Stuart. In my heart I shall always be a child of the Sacred Heart.” —Fourth Grader Jolie Brakey, in 2006
Beloved Coach and Teacher Missy Bruvik “I can’t imagine teaching anywhere else. It’s a place where you’re happy doing what you love. It evokes the same response in students—the girls know how much you love what you’re doing.” Missy Bruvik is devoted to Stuart’s students and principles. She arrived at Stuart in 1986, having grown up in Princeton. “Of course, I knew of Stuart,” she begins. At Princeton High School, she remembers, “We played them. And sometimes, I’d lose my buddies to Stuart.” Ms. Bruvik was teaching part-time at St. Paul’s School and coaching at the high school, when, “through somebody who knew somebody, I received
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1975
“The community. It’s my favorite aspect about life at Stuart and it always has been. Stuart is like a home away from home. I chose to come here because I could tell there was something special about it.” —Amethyst Carey ’12
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2007
2012
1977
2011
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Appendices 50 Year Highlights c. 1963
July 1960
Founding mothers travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with Reverend Mother, Superior Vicar of the Washington Vicariate of the Society of the Sacred Heart.
December 1960
Founders Fund celebrates 123 individuals who gave $208,709 to buy land and construct the school. The Raissa Maritain Library is dedicated.
The Society of the Sacred Heart approves a school and “Project Princeton� is born.
Children of Mary, the predecessor to Stuart First Friday Gathering, begins to meet under the direction of Reverend Mother Mary C. Wheeler, RSCJ.
Founders Fund organized to finance the building of Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart.
November 22, 1963
1961
Jean Labatut, professor of architecture at Princeton University, is chosen to design the building. The school is named for Janet Erskine Stuart, the fifth Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart.
The first field hockey game is played at Stuart against Eden Hall.
1964
175 students attend Stuart in its second year. Beginning of Stuart Fathers Club, forerunner to SPA.
First Stuart Christmas Bazaar in anticipation of the founding.
September 18, 1963
Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart opens to 94 students in Preschool through Grade 10. Joan Kirby, RSCJ, is the first Headmistress of Stuart.
October 4, 1963
Father Robert Murray says the first Mass at the Stuart Chapel.
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c. 1969
1965
Gertrude Baker and Sigrid Sittig are the first graduates of Stuart.
1966
Mary Russell O’Brien (Rusty) ’67 is elected the first Student Council President.
1967
Mary Bush, RSCJ, is the second Headmistress of Stuart. First Thistle, student literary publication, is published. Opening of Stuart Art Gallery. First annual Stuart Garden Party.
1968
First Stuart yearbook is published, becomes La Source in 1969.
1972
Student exchanges are held with Sacred Heart students from Philadelphia, Rhode Island and Scotland and Spring Break excursions are led by faculty to France and Spain. Stuart Alumnae Association is formed. First “Black Student Caucus” of Independent Schools of the East Coast is held at Stuart.
1973
Judith Garson, RSCJ, is the third Headmistress of Stuart.
1974
A gift from the Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust contributes $300,000 toward reducing the school’s debt.
1975
1969
Beginning of the ice hockey program at Stuart.
First annual giving drive contributes 4 percent of Stuart income.
1976
Gymnasium and art space is completed, funded by gifts of nearly $270,000.
1970
First alumnae reunion with 61 of 90 graduates returning. First issue of Stuart News is published.
1971
Community of the Religious of the Sacred Heart have transitioned from wearing habits to lay clothing. Upper School students stop wearing uniforms. Stuart Parent Association is organized.
1977
“A Commitment to the Future” campaign concludes, raising $788,598.
1977
Joan Magnetti, RSCJ, is the fourth Headmistress of Stuart.
1978
Stuart begins working with Loaves and Fishes in Trenton.
1979
Students and faculty participate in the Appalachia Service Project trip for the first time.
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To order MAKING HISTORY: Reflections on Fifty Years at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart Go to www.stuartschool.org/50book
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