One of the school projects this summer was the installation of several new interactive boards in our classrooms. These were made available to any teacher who wanted one. They are like a giant touch-screen iPad/Laptop but with a screen size of 75”. They can do many things and will enhance the learning experience for our students. We have added 16 of these boards in our school. This project was made possible by private donations, our Scrip program ($6,000), Husker Seatbacks, the Alumni Golf Tournament, and the Booster Fun Night. We sincerely thank all contributors for their support.
Additional summer projects included painting in the RAC, school restrooms, and various classrooms. We appreciate the volunteers who assisted with these efforts. We also completed landscaping improvements thanks to additional volunteer support. Furthermore, we replaced the damaged metal shed resulting from a severe storm; the new shed is now in place and provides much-needed storage. Special thanks to custodian Mary Darveau, whose dedication helps keep our school looking outstanding as we prepare for the start of the new school year on August 14.
As we approach the new school year, I would like to emphasize the importance of volunteer involvement from all our families. Volunteering plays a vital role in helping us manage costs and maintain our programs. We need our crew of volunteers to grow so all our families contribute in this way. Merely paying your tuition is not enough. Your tuition only pays one-third of the total cost of educating your children. The rest comes from parish assessments, the Sacred Heart Foundation, our Annual Fund, fundraisers, and volunteering. Volunteering helps with our expenses. There are many ways to volunteer. Some are listed on the last page of the Student Handbook, which will be posted soon for the 2025-26 school year on the Sacred Heart website. Gate workers, concession helpers, odd jobs, the Sacred Heart Fun Night/Auction helpers, line judges, JH and JV referees, snow removal, activity bus driving, and working at fundraisers are some of the ways you can volunteer. As I said before, we need to grow our crew of volunteers. Contributing to our fundraisers, the Annual Fund, the Booster Auction, and donating are important ways to help us make up the two-thirds of a student’s education cost not covered by tuition.
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents has approved an agreement with Philadelphia-based food and drink vendor Aramark. The new vendor will sell food and alcohol in Memorial Stadium and the Bob Devaney Sports Center beginning this year. Aramark provides concessions for several large colleges and National Football League organizations and has experience with alcohol sales. Aramark will not be hiring anyone under the age of 18 for concessions, which would make this fundraiser almost impossible for us to continue. The sale of seatbacks has been part of UNL’s concession operations, and we have been awaiting confirmation on how this new partnership may impact Husker Seatbacks. We have since met with UNL’s Director of Event Management, who will assume responsibility for Husker Seatbacks, which is positive news for Sacred Heart. Aramark will not be in charge of seatbacks. The Husker Seatbacks program has been a significant fundraiser for our school, generating over $204,000 across five football seasons. This fundraiser has helped purchase our new playground surface, our coach bus, a couple of school vans, a short bus, renovate our school’s restrooms, and recently the new interactive classroom boards. We are grateful to Scott Magdanz and Tony Ahern, our original chairpersons, as well as Robbie Sipple and Kim Schawang, who took over these leadership roles. Special thanks to Kim, who is retiring from this position now that her last child has graduated. If anyone is interested in co-chairing or supporting the program, please let me know.
Thank you all for your continued prayers, support, and generosity. Enjoy the remaining weeks of summer vacation, and we look forward to seeing everyone soon.
