Miran, High School Student

Being part of the Sacred Heart community for more than seven years, I can proudly say that Sacred Heart is a land of opportunities. I experienced a wide range of activities and classes that helped me develop my potential and character in different ways. Through these experiences, I discovered my passion, connected with students from different grade levels, and created lasting memories with the people I love. 

Most importantly, nothing is impossible at Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart is a school that wants the best of every student. It is a school that does not limit a student’s possibilities. This is mainly due to the environment which Sacred Heart creates, which is to encourage students to show Courage and Confidence in their everyday lives. As a matter of fact, I’ve adopted our school’s core value of Courage and Confidence outside of school, helping me strive for excellence in different areas other than my studies and developing essential skills that I will require beyond high school, such as leadership, time management, teamwork, perseverance, and more. 

I am thankful for the many opportunities that I was able to receive in Sacred Heart. 
Sacred Heart will not leave you with regrets.
Sacred Heart will provide you with growth, opportunities, and lasting friendships. 
Sacred Heart is simply an amazing school to attend.

Leo, Middle School student 

Being in ISSH has changed my life a lot. It was very different from my old school, but I really enjoy being here. It motivates me to get out of my house every morning to see my friends and learn the most interesting topics. 

I am glad that I came to ISSH. It made me become a better person and taught me many meaningful life lessons. I have learned that diversity is important in any society for it to function. Showing who we truly are can be difficult. That is because we are scared that people might not accept us. To avoid not being accepted, we often take the easy route to be the same as everyone else and not to stand out. On the other hand, think about it this way; if everyone is the same then what fun is there to be in that plain community? As cliche as it might sound, be yourself, speak your mind, act like how you want to, and do not care about what others may think of you, because eventually, there will be a group of people that will accept and treasure you.

I hope that everyone can experience all of the amazing things that I have here. I would definitely think back as a senior in high school and enjoy all of my memories here. Sacred Heart will always be a special place in my heart and be an important part of my life. In the words of Lao Tzu, "Whenever you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you."

Kaoru, Graduate 

“I graduated ISSH in 2012. I am based in Brussels, Belgium. I work as a junior analyst and my job is to coordinate and manage working groups for an industry organization. Our membership is made up of telecom companies and we help drive their sustainability and human rights strategies by conducting studies and developing digital tools to help achieve their goals. 

 There are so many ways that Sacred Heart helped me get to where I am today, but if I have to focus on one thing it would have to be how Sacred Heart helped me in becoming confident in myself and the things that I stood for. There is something really special when you have teachers, administrators, and staff who help build up young women in this type of environment. It’s important especially in my sector, which is mostly made up of older men, I have always been the youngest person in the room and often times, I was one of just a handful of women in the room. There were times when I would get pushed aside just because I had less experience but when I was asked for my opinion, I really knew my stuff. Because of that, I was able to show my competence and confidently share my opinions. I think this confidence had to build up gradually, but it started from my days at Sacred Heart. 

The extracurricular activities really helped steer me in the right direction. Namely, drama, Sparx, and band. From drama, I learned how to work with different types of people and to always be on my toes. Having a person like Mr. Hagans challenged me and my group because he threw scenarios at us and taught us how to do improv.  Of course, they were fun, but thinking back now, I realize that those classes helped a lot. And again, going back to my confidence, it helped me navigate social interactions. It showed me how much I loved working with people and working towards common goals. It’s so relevant to the work I do now because I handle memberships and external affairs.  So you have to be very flexible, empathetic towards people. Sparx and band taught me basic management skills – event management, project management. That’s a large bulk of what I do now. You have to be a really good multitasker. Of course, back in high school, I looked at these as fun classes to explore the arts but it’s actually because of these activities that I am very level-headed now when I do project management and event management. 

I miss the teachers a lot. I think that’s why I keep coming back. The teachers are the foundation of the school. We are very lucky to be able to build a strong relationship with our teachers and it helps that we have such a small class size. 

It was a challenge for me to get out of that international school bubble. It is very important for us to recognize that our environment and our school is not the norm. We are very lucky to have all these friends from different, beautiful cultures but that’s not how the rest of the world is. So when I moved to the US for college there needed to be a conscious effort on my part to reach out to people who have had different experiences and empathize and understand how they lived. By doing so, I ended up finding issues that I was very passionate about. I put my energy into that when I lived in Boston. I got interested in homelessness, public school education, and human rights.

You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself and you need to seek things that you are passionate about. I know it’s easier said than done when there are all these external forces telling you otherwise. But it’s ok to be unsure. I honestly wasn’t sure by the time I graduated. I had so many interests. I think students need to give themselves time to explore things. In the meantime, when you are exploring you should choose areas that help you build the right skills until you figure out a path that works for you. So for example, I wasn’t sure about my path, but in the first year of college I ended up taking courses that would end up benefiting me no matter which path I took. Everything will work out as it should as long as you keep doing what you are interested in.” 

Hana, High School Student

When I first came to Sacred Heart, I didn’t expect this school to be able to change my school life completely. In my 10 years of being at Sacred Heart, this school has taught me the importance of friendship and kindness. The Sacred Heart community is a warm welcoming school to anyone. They always allow us to make new friends from all around the world, people from many different countries and cultures. I’ve always thought, what it would be like not going to Sacred Heart. This school, not only teaches us academics but also allows us to develop our skills and talents. Sacred Heart provides different fine arts programs and many different sport teams. Having many opportunities in sports and arts allows us to do what we like and do what we believe to do. This year, I take a part in the MS choir, MS/HS orchestra, MS band, volleyball, soccer, etc. All of these that I take a part in is a very special part in my life and am sure that I will never forget these moments. In conclusion, I am thankful for my parents to give me this opportunity to come to this school. I am sure that all students at this school is very thankful of Sacred Heart in uncountable ways.

Tamima, Middle School Student

Sacred Heart is where you can find your weak point to be a better person. In my experience of my 2nd year, Sacred Heart never made me blue. It always cheered me even though I didn’t tell it too. It always make me try for new things and learn the difficulties through mistakes. Join a lot of activities that makes you delighted. It always made me think this is impossible to accomplish and be a Sacred heart student.However, my dream took an action. By help of amazing teacher, friendly students that are so easy to make friends and the most important thing is the whole school throughout the year. When this world began, it was impossible to understand everything because I could only speak english only a little bit. Nevertheless, teachers taught me to learn throughout mistakes. I couldn’t believe the day I was told I became a student council. This is when I learned how to make a wise decision and be a great student. I love Sacred Heart which pushed me toward a goal. This is my story and I think I am lucky to join the International School of the Sacred Heart.

Maria, High School Student

I was a timid 5 year-old when our Principal asked my mother what her expectations were from the school if I were to be admitted. To this, she replied, “I want my daughter to know - before she graduates - exactly what she wants to do. I want her to be prepared for her future.” 

13 years later, I’m a senior applying to college, and her expectations seem to be fulfilled. 

Sacred Heart, of course, prepares students to pursue a challenging academic path by emphasising the importance of a strong fundamental education. To truly allow students to gain confidence in their skills and develop an interest, however, is the freedom students are given to personalise their studies. Our school offers a range of values classes, elective courses, and extra curriculars, which all allow students to explore and begin to understand themselves better. 

‘Personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom’ is greatly valued by our community and is a school goal that many students live by, whether they know it or not. Every time we challenge ourselves, we add to the diversity of our community and learn about our personal boundaries while doing so. We grow together as students, athletes, musicians, leaders, and friends, preparing ourselves for the years to come. 

Looking back now, I finally see how our warm, diverse Sacred Heart community has helped shape my past, present, and future, preparing me for college. I can say with confidence that I know what I want to do and who I want to be. 

Riya, graduate

Joining a new high school in Grade 11 definitely has its obstacles, however, Sacred Heart’s environment and supportive faculty allowed my transition to be smooth and exciting. Even though I only spent 2 years in such wonderful school, I have learnt from students, teachers and faculty values that I will forever cherish. As a 16 year old, I was still unsure about what I wanted to do in the future. However, the AP program provided by the school and the support of dedicated teachers and faculty, allowed me to explore wide variety of subjects and in the end, I decided I wanted to major in Physics. Even after graduating, the school always welcomes its alumni with open arms and it feels as if I never left! No words can describe how thankful I am that I had the opportunity to spend the last crucial years of my high school in such a wonderful institute that I can now call my other home