Sacred Heart School began classes on Aug. 7, starting with a full school day from 8 a.m to 3 p.m. Its after-school care program goes from 3 to 6 p.m. daily.

Sacred Heart is a private school open to all children, kindergarten through eighth grades. The campus is at 385 Lumen Christi Lane in Salisbury and includes 100 acres, new school facilities and innovative classrooms, many outdoor learning environments, and a 2-mile nature trail with an outdoor classroom.

Sacred Heart is triple-accredited by AdvancED of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Diocese of Charlotte, and N.C. State Certified by the Department of Non-Public Education. All teachers are certified in the areas they teach and have years of experience.

Sacred Heart offers advanced academic curriculums, STREAM learning, community involvement, competitive athletics, virtues education, creative and innovative learning all on a secure campus. Younger students have their own educational hallway, including learning centers, outdoor playgrounds, and a new library space to encourage reading and exploration.

Upper elementary students have small guided reading groups to encourage lifelong reading, math centers to allow individual growth and close proximity to the Cranium Cove Makerspace for creativity in learning. These students are engaged in real-life history lessons, interactive science projects and problem-solving.

Middle school students work with a team of four core teachers who help them navigate through grades six through eight. These students take English 1, Math 1, world history, and foreign language for high school graduation credit. The Rosetta Stone program allows students to choose from 24 languages to learn.

New this year is the Math Madness Tournament to lead students into fun math problem-solving.

Sacred Heart will host parent orientation at 6 p.m. Monday and student classroom visitations at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

For Principal Tyler Kulp, this is his fifth year at Sacred Heart.

“We have spent all summer making our safe campus even more secure and also preparing for a fantastic year of learning. We have added three new learning spaces to our school campus. One dedicated to innovative learning and research with new computers on wheels and interactive tables and whiteboards,” Kulp said. “This new space is called our “POWER POD,” developed to help students create and think in a research environment.”

Other spaces support the school’s fine arts programs, said Kulp, adding, “We want to educate their minds, but we cannot forget to educate their hearts.”

Additionally, while many schools are cutting funding to fine arts programs, Sacred Heart is committed to developing the whole child, he said.

Athletics are also an integral part of Sacred Heart and include junior varsity teams for grades five and six and varsity teams for grades seven and eight. Robin Fisher is the athletic director. She comes with a wealth of athletic youth development knowledge and has raised three college athletes; two were D1 soccer goalies for UNC-Charlotte and Furman, and her youngest is a left-handed pitcher for the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks.

“She can organize and schedule 16 different sports and all their integral parts like a mastermind,” Kulp said. “I am ecstatic that she was willing to step back into this role at Sacred Heart.”

Sacred Heart offers many sports including soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, cheerleading, golf, cross country, and track and field, and student athletes learn discipline, perseverance and strength through their athletic programs.

Sacred Heart also offers a tutoring program for reading and math and Title 1.

“Our school fills a unique role for students who need just a little more help in the classroom,” said Erin Brinkley, dean of students. “Our smaller size and individual tutoring program really gets these students back on track to high educational success.”  

Sacred Heart offers personal tours daily. Financial assistance is available to families who qualify. The school also participates in the N.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

For more information, call 704-633-2841, or visit the website, www.salisburycatholicschool.org.