Principal Sr. Helen Leaves Salpointe with a Legacy

Sr. Helen Timothy, IBVM is departing Salpointe after eight and a half years as the school’s principal. Sr. Helen has been selected by her religious order to be the Provincial Leader of the North American Province. The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary has seven provinces around the world, with its headquarters in Rome. When she’s not in Chicago, Sr. Helen will gather with the other provincial leaders at different locations around the world to share information.

Alongside President Kay Sullivan, Sr. Helen has witnessed an incredible season in Salpointe’s history. January 5, 2015 will always stand out in Sr. Helen’s memory and not just because of the rainstorm that hit that day. It was the dedication of the high school expansion created by the Building Leaders and Legacy capital campaign. Despite the pouring rain, over 1,500 people attended the dedication. 

“Before the expansion,” Sr. Helen said, “the center of campus was home to the garbage dumpsters. That just couldn’t stand.” After two years of design development and fundraising and 15 months of construction, Salpointe had a state-of-the-art STEM Center and a new Student Center including a new library, chapel, cafeteria, office for student services and spirit store.

“Now, here we are and we’re finishing another equally significant expansion,” said Sr. Helen, in reference to the Aspire: Arts Academics Athletics capital campaign to be completed in the Summer of 2020. With the exception of the administration wing, the high school will have been entirely renovated.

In addition to reshaping the campus, Sr. Helen oversaw the redesign of the academic curriculum. “In my second year here,” she said, “it became apparent that the students coming here had greater educational needs than in the past. This did not just require redesigning the classes, but also getting the teachers to think differently about who’s sitting in front of them. They have been champions of that and have done a beautiful job.” Salpointe also developed support programs outside of the classroom, including two different tutoring programs that still run at full capacity today.

During the same time, Salpointe has taken its Advanced Placement program to 20 courses, soon to be 22 AP courses next year. “We’re taking care of the students who need additional support, but we’re not lagging for students who excel,” Sr. Helen said. “We want to have everything available to them that they’re asking for.”

A Lancer fan inside and outside the classroom, Sr Helen said, “I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that we’ve won 23 state championships in my eight and a half years here. I had absolutely nothing to do with it, except I enjoyed it and I enjoyed being at all of the events that led to that!” In comparison, Sr. Helen’s last school never had a state championship in the 20 years she was there. “People here think this is normal,” she said, “but the number of state championships at Salpointe is unbelievable.”

The greatest experience that Sr. Helen recalls is the football state championship in 2013. “It was the most amazing thing ever held at the UA,” Sr. Helen said. “To have thousands of alumni and families from all around Tucson - children who weren’t yet attending, but there they were supporting the Lancers. By the time they get here, they are ready to be Lancers and to take the challenges and become part of this great community. It’s just a great honor to work at this high school.”

Sr. Helen came from Loretto High School, a Catholic girls’ school in Sacramento, California. “I had been in single-sex education at the secondary level for 20 years. I knew everything about adolescent women, but I knew very little about adolescent men. I picked it up very quickly though,” said Sr. Helen. “What struck me my first week here was the devout commitment to the faith in the Hispanic community. It was amazing! I didn’t have that experience before.”

Sr. Helen also had 800 years of Carmelite history to get caught up on. Overall though, the transition was easy for her. “The shocking part was that I had no idea it was going to be so hot!” she said. “I’ve adapted to that now though, and as I leave to go to Chicago, I know it’s going to be much different there. I’m looking forward to being cold.”

Looking back on her time at Salpointe, Sr. Helen said, “Salpointe is successful because of the support of the families, the faculty and the students all working together, plus the staff that handles everything that our community needs to operate, including the wonderful support of our maintenance and food service. It all works because everybody is about the mission. The school has a tremendous future. With the leadership that the school has under Kay Sullivan, it will just continue to thrive. It has been a great experience and I will definitely be keeping track of Salpointe.”

The entire Salpointe community thanks Sr. Helen for her years of service and dedication to the Lancers. We will deeply miss her constructive guidance and quick humor. In addition, we will miss hearing Sr. Helen’s voice come over the PA system with “Lancers… Sr. Helen here,” followed by advice on proper football game attire or reminders to celebrate Mothers’ Day.

Thank you, Sr. Helen, and good luck on the next phase of your journey!
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Salpointe Catholic High School

1545 E. Copper St.,
Tucson, AZ 85719
(520) 327-6581
Attendance: (520) 327-1990
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