A groundbreaking new phase in Sacred Heart's mission
Trustees, students, and parents participate in the groundbreaking. Alex Dimitri ’16
Convent of the Sacred Heart community members broke ground to both enhance the school campus and enrich a Sacred Heart education May 15. The Naming of Salisbury Hall and Groundbreaking Ceremony for the “Framing our Future: Today, Tomorrow and Forever” campaign memorialized an integral leader of the Sacred Heart community and marked the beginning of construction for the new athletic facility.
Alex Dimitri ’16
The ceremony began with the renaming of the mansion building to Salisbury Hall, in honor of the former Head of School Sister Nancy Salisbury, Religious Society of the Sacred Heart. The school’s Board of Trustees voted to name the building after the headmistress because of her dedication to the goals, criteria and mission of a Sacred Heart education.
“She was a leader, educator and mentor, and she was all three of those to many people,” Assistant Head of School and Director of School Advancement Mr. Michael Baber said. “In looking at her life, we said that she isn’t just that, she is a preeminent leader, a visionary educator, and an exemplary mentor.”
Following the opening prayer read by senior and Student Body President D’Nea Galbraith, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Mrs. Paula Tennyson, and Head of School, Mrs. Pamela Hayes ’64 welcomed the community and urged them to remember Sister Salisbury’s honorable example.
“Nancy’s leadership was always about supporting, building and strengthening the community,” Mrs. Hayes said in her tribute to Sister Salisbury. “She had a warmth about her that won people’s hearts because she was an encourager of individuality and was genuinely concerned about each person’s welfare.”
Reverend Frank Allen Winn of St. Paul’s Parish blessed the plaque to be displayed in the building.
Following the renaming, the community processed to the back of the school to celebrate the beginning of the construction of the $25.2 million project designed to improve athletic, academic and social aspects of a Sacred Heart education.
In addition to the construction of an Athletic Field House, the project plans to renovate and expand the student dining room and create an outdoor commons area. These new facilities will be the site of future community events such as all-school assemblies, liturgies, outdoor classes and a variety of sports games according to cshgreenwich.org.
Alex Dimitri ’16
After Reverend Winn blessed the construction site, representatives from the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools, trustees and campaign members worked together to break the ground for the new facility. To close, senior class president Regina Ferrera led the community in prayer.
Mr. Neil Augustine and trustee Mr. Douglas Mellert currently lead the campaign. Along with Mr. Mellert and Mr. Augustine, Mr. Joseph N. Walsh III, Secretary of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, has been instrumental in the campaign’s planning stages. Thus far, the group has raised $15 million and has worked to make the extensive plan a reality.
“The campaign is going very well, the committee has worked assiduously in the past few months,” Mr. Baber said. “Mr. Joe Walsh has been indefatigable in his energy in order to keep us on time and to be good stewards of the project. We are incredibly grateful to him for that.”
All donors to the campaign contribute to the impactful legacy of a Sacred Heart education. The expansion embodies the mission of St. Madeline Sophie Barat, foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart, to provide girls spiritual, intellectual and athletic growth.
“One of the things that St. Madeleine Sophie always said was to give the children the eye for beauty,” Mr. Baber said. “We as educators try to convey that same philosophy to Convent of the Sacred Heart children everywhere in the world. This campus certainly does it, and we are continuing to provide by doing this phase of CSH.”
-Grace Isford, Managing Editor and Alexandra Dimitri, Staff Writer
