17 students and faculty chaperones spent their winter break on a ten-day immersion in the Philippines, where they worked on Sophie’s Farm, a sustainable farm owned by RSCJs, as well as island hopping and participating in different cultures and traditions.  

“Going to the Philippines was an opportunity to immerse myself into a different culture,” freshman Ruby Quintos said. “I was able to learn about a multitude of different Filipino cultural experiences and traditions,”

The focal point of this immersion was to work with Sophie’s Farm to aid their local farming community. Within the past few months, there have also been multiple service opportunities to make contributions to this location — the Walk for Sophie’s Farm, as well as multiple bake sales, contributed over $2000 to the cause. 

“On a practical level, we supported the organic lettuce program at Sophie’s Farm, but the place was also an educational center for community development. While the work was essential to our visit, the unexpected gift involved meeting other high school students from rural communities who interned at Sophie’s Farm that week,” Ethics teacher Michael Campos said. “Seemingly so different from each other, we recognized a similar commitment to transformative learning — a hallmark of Sacred Heart education,”

This winter break allowed other students to travel up to snowy weather as the winter season comes to a close. Students traveled to places such as Lake Tahoe to ski and snowboard — the past week was perfect ski weather, according to freshman Elizabeth Fox. 

“My family went to Tahoe to ski, and we had a really great time — it was snowing most of the time, so it was pretty chilly, but the snow also meant perfect ski weather,” Fox said. “Since there is no snow in the Bay Area, we always try to take advantage of our breaks to ski,”

With school commencing yesterday, students have time to recall their respite and be thankful for the time off, according to Quintos. 

“I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel to the Philippines over break,” Quintos said. “Going to Sophie’s Farm was a way to give back to the community and connect with the Sacred Heart Schools on another level — I would recommend it to anyone.”