Students Encounter with Christ

The Sacred Heart Educational Centre, the official name of our school, is a private school subsidised by the State, and provides free education to girls. It was founded in 1969 to respond to the educational needs of girls in the area. It is situated in the southern area of Santiago, in the municipality of Lo Espejo, in the town of Clara Estrella.

The school provides pre-Elementary, Elementary and Professional Technical instruction, and within the latter, two specialisations: courses in Administration, and Secretarial courses.

Throughout these 35 years we have worked in close contact with the team of directors, the teaching staff, students, parents and trustees. For some years now the school has been directed by a lay woman; the present incumbent is Señora Lucía Montes, with a mandate of three years.

The school has set itself the following goals:

• To provide the students with a solid religious formation in the Spirit of the Gospel, so that their faith and courage may be kept alive in daily experiences, fostering consistency of faith and life, and so serving as an example to future generations.
• To provide an education in attitudes and morality, fostering social awareness and enabling the students to confront contemporary crises (Social Milieu).
• To accompany the students actively, closely and lovingly in their process of growth and leaning, leading them to develop their own potential, to the benefit of society itself.
• To use a teaching method that motivates, develops and gives power to interests, capacities, talents and skills in the students, for the sake of human development, personal, academic and intellectual, which will enable them to face up to life and the common good.
• To support the family, so that it may become a space that fosters communication and living together, where family members accept one another, are clear about their values, and grow in a holistic manner.
• To stimulate care for nature and its ecosystems as a gift from God, in order to preserve the life and identity of each being.
• To foster knowledge and respect for our national identity, valuing its roots and traditions.
• To promote a healthy lifestyle that favours balanced personal development.
• To recognise the pros and cons of advances in the communication media, science and technology, making use of them while preserving a critical outlook.

In view of the girls' socio-economic situation, the school endeavours to provide them with a space for integral development, in which they can grow in their experience of faith, interacting with others, taking the initiative in meeting others, and developing a spirit of service. For this purpose the girls in the 7th and 8th elementary classes begin their formation with a camp held in the spring, taking a closer look at their promise of service, which becomes stronger and more concrete in the middle school. There they participate in various pastoral forms of service: Missionary Youth, Life Communities, leadership in teams of day camps. They also take part in activities organised on the junior pastoral level of the Province, and collaborate in pastoral activities of other communities, especially with insertion communities.

Another aspect of the formation of the girls is interchange and meeting with students from other schools in the Province, through the Student Centres of each school and through pastoral activities.

The teachers too have special sessions for formation and interchange, since for some years we have been working on the level of the Latin American Network of Formal Education. On the basis of pastoral work there has also been progress in formation, and in meeting with the Lord and deepening that relationship through retreats and in-service days.

Province of Chile