While many members of the Convent of the Sacred Heart community are focused on the new classrooms and televisions, there are other new aspects of the school this year, namely the new members of the faculty and staff.
This year, Sacred Heart has welcomed eight new faculty members into its community, five of whom have positions in the Upper School. These new members, whose positions range from learning specialist to Arabic teacher, are gradually learning to adjust to the close-knit community.
“The transition is by no means easy. Whenever we change jobs, we have to adapt to a new environment and a new culture. It is like starting all over again,” Upper School math teacher Mr. Kenneth Leong said.
Mr. Leong, who just recently began his position teaching primarily juniors and seniors, is not new to the teaching world. In fact, he has had ten years of teaching experience, most of which was at the college level. While he did say the transition to Sacred Heart has been going relatively smoothly, it has presented difficulties.
“Most of my struggles have to do with learning about the new culture and the new expectations. It is difficult to know these things in advance.  It is almost like moving to a different country. But I am learning and adjusting quickly,” Mr. Leong said.
For Dr. Cristina Baptista, her current position as junior American Literature teacher is her first job teaching in a high school. While she has had many teaching positions, including a classroom learning assistant at Sacred Heart University, a kindergarten special education tutor at Elizabeth Green Elementary School, and, most recently, a professor at Fordham University; her previous experiences differ quite greatly from teaching Sacred Heart, according to Dr. Baptista.
“Because my background is otherwise so ensconced in a college or university atmosphere, one where there was not so much routine, meetings, scheduling, and even paperwork, getting accustomed to the nitty-gritty has been a surprising challenge, but it’s going well,” Dr. Baptista said.
Despite the sudden change in atmosphere and routine, Dr. Baptista is enjoying her time here, and says that the students and teachers at Sacred Heart have helped make the transition as smooth as possible.
“Surprisingly, the transition was a lot more fluid than I could have hoped.  Despite feeling like I had a lot of balls up in the air when I began here, I think I’m still managing to juggle things as best as possible, and feeling relatively content about that,” Dr. Baptista said. “Everyone at CSH—students, faculty, and staff alike—make transitioning into their ‘home’ delightfully easy.”
Mrs. Catherine Butler, who just began her position as the Upper School learning specialist, also agrees that the Sacred Heart students have helped make the adjustment to Sacred Heart quite easy. For the last seven years, Mrs. Butler has taught at School of the Holy Child in Rye, New York.
“The girls here at CSH are motivated to do their best and willing to seek help when they need it.  This makes my work enjoyable,” Mrs. Butler said.