Upper School (9-12)

PEER GROUP
Mandatory for students in grade 9. Meets once per cycle, currently during office hours and lunch. 

Peer Group is a mandatory full-year course for freshmen designed to ease the transition from middle school to upper school. Through thought-provoking discussions and engaging activities facilitated by senior peer leaders, Peer Group offers a safe and welcoming space for students to learn more about themselves, each other, their communities, and society. This supportive, educational, and community-building program covers an array of topics, including goal setting, health & wellness, academics, friendship, diversity, and current events. Parents and guardians have the opportunity to meet their child's peer leaders during Stuart's annual fall event, "Peer Group Parent/Guardian Night." 

COR CORDIS 9: AGENCY
Mandatory for students in grade 9 (Trimester 1). 

Cor Cordis 9: Agency will introduce the Sacred Heart Goals and use them as a framework to develop the skills needed for success in upper school and beyond. This course helps ninth graders build their spiritual core, strengthen their inner self, achieve academic success, and grow their leadership skills—all in order to develop agency. The greater a student’s sense of agency, the more engaged she can be at Stuart. Research shows that engagement in school (academically, extracurricularly, and socially) is connected to well-being, and the more engaged a student is, the more fulfilled she will be. Cor Cordis 9: Agency will build self-efficacy, a sense of belonging at Stuart, and a deeper connection to our Sacred Heart community. 

Sacred Heart Academic Exchange Program (SHAEP) is an important feature of the Upper School curriculum. Exchanges are opportunities for students to broaden their horizon academically, socially, and culturally by sharing the life of other Sacred Heart students in other parts of the world. To further our commitment to building personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom and to advance the global Sacred Heart mission, Stuart faculty have designed the Sacred Heart Academic Exchange Program (SHAEP) as part of the grade 10 curriculum.  SHAEP is a unique academic immersion program.  Stuart sophomores will attend classes for two weeks at other schools in the Sacred Heart Network internationally. Students follow regular classes, as in their home school, and may be involved in special programs or activities. They will live with another Sacred Heart family or board at a Sacred Heart boarding school and have the opportunity to host a visiting Sacred Heart exchange student from the other school. Since it is a reciprocal exchange, costs are minimal. We hope that this program inspires students to become increasingly active, informed, and responsible members of our international community.

Learn more about SHAEP

JUNIOR YEAR

During junior year, the focus of the College Counseling program is on exploration of both colleges and self. Students are encouraged to use their critical thinking, investigative, and research skills to look beyond the hype and marketing of the college process to identify for themselves the colleges and universities that are the right fit for their needs, ambitions, and future goals.

While Upper School students and families are welcome to meet with College Counseling at any point, the college process begins formally in November of junior year with a kickoff program for students and their parents/guardians. Students then schedule their first official meeting with College Counseling in January. This is followed by one-on-one conversations with students and parents as needed. From January through May, all juniors attend a once-per-cycle College Seminar during Flex in which purposeful lessons give them a solid understanding of the college search and application process, all the while discovering their personal stories. Topics include:
    •    Beginning your college search and determine best fit
    •    Using skills and interests to explore potential majors and careers
    •    Building a balanced college list
    •    Understanding the components of college applications and how they are reviewed
    •    Completing activities lists and the Common Application
    •    Learning best practices for interviews and speaking with college admission representatives
    •    Deciding how you want to share your story with colleges through essays

JUNE TERM AND SUMMER BEFORE SENIOR YEAR

An application boot camp is offered during June Term during which juniors will receive guidance from College Counseling as well as current college admission officers. Students will complete their Common Application, learn how to craft a meaningful college essay that best represents who they are, and cover other topics such as interviews and supplemental essays in order to best position them for success in the fall of senior year. Throughout the summer, College Counseling is available to help students with any college related questions.

SENIOR YEAR

Senior year focuses on a calm and consistent approach to the application process with the help of small deadlines along the way. Throughout the fall, seniors take stock, review and receive feedback on their application work and essays, and continue to develop their college lists. Seniors typically meet with College Counseling once per cycle to ensure they are comfortable and confident with their college applications, choices, and overall strategy. To encourage continued exploration, final college lists are not due until December of senior year. Support continues throughout senior year as students navigate scholarships, offers of admission, financial aid packages, and more.

College Counseling

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY COURSES

Princeton University allows local high school juniors and seniors to apply to take classes in mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, world languages, and music if they have exhausted all courses at Stuart in that subject, received no grade below an A- in those courses, and have an overall GPA above 3.5. Additionally, the student must take the AP exam and achieve a minimum score determined by the University. Students must be recommended by the teacher of that subject and consult the Director of College Counseling.

SERVICE LEARNING

Each Upper School student will participate in a minimum of four service learning experiences in each grade year for a total minimum of 16 service learning experiences during her Upper School career.  The Upper School Service Learning Requirement will emphasize Sacred Heart Goal 4, “the building of community as a Christian Value.”  Stuart students are members of several communities.  They are members of their Stuart Community, their local community, their national community and the global community.  As such, a Sacred Heart student must learn to build and serve each of her communities. This results in annual required experiences in each of the four categories:
    •    Service to her Stuart Community
    •    Service to her Local Community
    •    Service to her National Community
    •    Service to her Global Community

Stuart's summer session is a co-ed virtual program for students wishing to advance in mathematics over the summer. This program is offered to all current and rising high school students (not exclusive to Stuart students) and can be taken wherever you are for the summer.

Algebra 1 (Synchronous Instruction)
Advanced Precalculus (Asynchronous Instruction)
Trigonometry (2-Week Course, Asynchronous Instruction)

Interested students must fill out an online application form to be considered.

Students transferring to Stuart wishing to advance in math should apply first and contact the Upper School STEM Coordinator to set up a time to meet and discuss their math progression. Stuart students may only advance one math level during their time in the Upper School.

Students who do not attend Stuart and wish to register for a summer math credit course should complete the registration form, which will go to Stuart's STEM Coordinator for review.