Renée Fournier
Director, Marketing & Communications
Traditions take time to become ingrained. At Sacred Heart School of Halifax, many of ours are over 100 years old. In some cases, even older. We love our traditions. We boast about them, in fact. They are woven into the fabric of our history and culture.
We also respect that generations of our students have contributed to the endurance of these traditions, and they are rightly proud to count themselves among those who have helped shape that legacy.
Two years ago, when we introduced the idea of moving our single-gender Senior High School to a co-ed model, there was immediate and vociferous resistance. It was a lengthy process of dialogue, education, and consultation to help our community understand that it was an important change both for the quality of our student experience and the School’s long-term sustainability.
We are now living into this new model, and thanks to the feedback and input from our parents, faculty, and most importantly, our students, the transition is going well. We have been able to offer our Senior High School students a noticeably improved and relevant experience; one that they have helped guide.
As we look ahead to the end of this school year, we have begun our beloved year-end traditions for our graduating class. This year, some of those events have a slightly different flavour or format. For example, our cherished Last Will event will continue for our girls. But we will also now have a Last Will event for the boys. The Prize Day and Graduation ceremonies, however, will indeed be combined events rather than two separate events. Likewise, the Senior Day of Reflection, held earlier this month, was a co-ed event for the first time in its history.
These events have been reimagined with the input of our students so we can ensure they are the most relevant, engaging, and meaningful to them, which is the most important lens through which we have done all of this. Yet, our Administrators have done their best to also respect and honour our traditions and history.
Some will think we’ve gotten it right. And some won’t. We understand the dichotomy; it’s a delicate balancing act.
Change is hard. Change is particularly hard for an institution that is 177 years old. We take hope from this quote by author and leadership guru, Robin Sharma, “Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.” Admittedly, we’re in the “messy” stage. There are big feelings on both sides, some conflicting thoughts, and occasional heated debates. We’ll eventually get to the “gorgeous” stage, but certainly not in year one. And, probably not even in year two. But we’ll get there.
That’s because we do know that change is essential. Every species, every society, every generation must adapt to survive. And importantly for us, we look to change as a way not just to survive, but to thrive. As John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” Or as St. Madeleine Sophie Barat even more succinctly said, “Times change and we must change with them.”
When our first co-ed graduating class crosses the stage next month, we will celebrate them with the same pride and gratitude for the generations who came before them and excitement for the generations still to come.
These graduates will become part of Sacred Heart history.
They will also help write its next chapter.
And perhaps that is what tradition is really about — not preserving the past exactly as it was, but carrying forward what matters most while making room for what comes next.
After 177 years, Sacred Heart’s story is still being written. And we’re excited for the next 177 years.
