Immaculate Heart Academy
Encyclopedia
Immaculate Heart Academy (IHA) is an all-girls college preparatory
private
Roman Catholic
high school
located in Washington Township, in Bergen County
, New Jersey
, United States. The school was founded in 1960 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace as the first regional high school for girls in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark
. In 1990, administration shifted to the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
. The school colors are blue and white, and the school's athletes are known as the Blue Eagles.
Immaculate Heart Academy has been accredited by the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
since 1971. For the 1996-97 school year, Immaculate Heart Academy was recognized with the Blue Ribbon Award
from the United States Department of Education
, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.
As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 838 students and 62.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE
basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.4.
Students come to IHA from Bergen County, Essex County
, Passaic County
and Hudson County
in New Jersey, and from Rockland County
and Orange County
in New York.
* An honors version of the class is available.
** Both an honors and advanced honors version of the class is available.
* An honors version of the class is available.
** Both an honors and advanced honors version of the class is available.
All students are also required to take Physical Education courses throughout their four years at IHA, including Driver's Education classes during a student's sophomore year.
team, both a Science League and Math League, Model United Nations
, Junior State of America
, the National Honor Society
, National Art Honor Society
, French Honor Society/Société Honoraire de Français, Spanish Honor Society/Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica and Tri-M
(Modern Music Masters.) In addition, art, theater, and music related clubs are available for students to join, including an a capella group, chorus, orchestra, jazz band and handbell choir. In January 2006, the IHA Orchestra performed a short set in Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.
Student-run publications within Immaculate Heart Academy include Accents (the school newspaper), Halcyon (the school yearbook) and ORB, a literary magazine of students' works.
The communication club, known in school as WIHA, uses the school's in-house television studio to broadcast daily news, announcements and special events directly to each homeroom every morning. WIHA also coordinates the filming of school functions, including assemblies, prayer services, liturgical celebrations and other school events. During filming, WIHA often works in conjunction with the school's Tech Corp, students who work as stage crew, audio-visual technicians and lighting crew for school events.
In the past five years, IHA has produced the musicals The Secret Garden
, Beauty and the Beast
, Guys and Dolls, Cats
and A Chorus Line. These musicals are performed in conjunction with students from St. Joseph Regional High School and Don Bosco Preparatory High School
.
and the Fourth Archbishop of Newark, who played an important role in the history of the Academy.
, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
. Before the realignment in 2010, IHA played in Division C of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League
(NNJIL) and, most recently, as a member of the North Jersey Tri-County Conference
(NJTCC.)
Immaculate Heart Academy has a long standing rivalry with Academy of the Holy Angels
.
The 2004 basketball team won the North Parochial A state championship, defeating Paramus Catholic High School
by 36-21 in the tournament final.
In 2005, the NJSIAA stripped the IHA basketball team of 22 of its victories and eliminated the team from the North Non-Public A girls basketball tournament for the use of an ineligible player. The athlete in question had played high school-level basketball at a New York State high school as an eighth grader, a practice that would allow the student to participate in all four years of high school sports in New York, but is not permitted in New Jersey.
In 2007, the soccer team won the Non-Public North Group A sectional championship with a 3-1 win over Morris Catholic High School
in the tournament final, the team's first sectional title in four years.
Immaculate Heart won back-to-back tennis Non-Public A titles in 1995 and 1996, defeating Notre Dame High School both years. In 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 the tennis team won the Non-Public Group A State championship, defeating Holy Spirit High School in three of those four championship seasons, while Red Bank Catholic High School
lost in the finals in 2006. IHA is the only team from Bergen County to have won four back-to-back state titles. They also had the most consecutive wins on record in the former NNJIL.
25-14, 25-15 in the tournament final The Blue Eagles also won the Non-Public North A sectional titles in basketball (finishing 2nd overall in the state) and spring track (finishing 3rd overall.)
The IHA bowling team won the New Jersey Tri-County Conference championship and eventually finished 3rd overall in the state.
In volleyball, despite losing in the Bergen County tournament, the Blue Eagles won the Non-Public Group A state championship for the fourth straight year. The team defeated Union Catholic
in the state tournament, the third straight year IHA defeated Union Catholic for the state crown. The team advanced to the Tournament of Champions
, where they lost in the semifinal round to Ramapo High School.
The IHA basketball team finished the season with a 27-1 record (the most wins in school history), winning the championship at the Joe Poli Tournament and Bergen County Championship and earning the top spot in the final Bergen Record Top 25 poll.
The swimming team scored 386 1/2 points at the Bergen Meet of Champions to win its 12th straight County title by a 177-point margin. Later, the team, seeded #2 in the New Jersey Non-Public Group A Tournament, defeated Holy Spirit High School in the state quarterfinals 118-52, Red Bank Catholic in the state semi-finals 107-63 and top-seeded Bishop Eustace High School 108-62 in the finals to win its fourth straight, and a record 16th, state championship.
By the end of the 2010-11 academic year, Blue Eagles squads were named by the Bergen Record
as the North Jersey Team of the Year in Girls Soccer, Bowling, Basketball, and Softball, while The Star-Ledger
named the IHA Swimming team the North Jersey Team of the Year.
Student-athletes have were named Athletes of the Year by The Record in Soccer, Basketball, Golf, and Track and Field, and by The Star-Ledger in Bowling. Both The Record and The Star-Ledger named IHA senior Danielle Romain as their Swimmer of the Year.
Overall, IHA teams won the following championships during the 2010-11 academic year:
.
The soccer team finished the season 15-3-2 with losses to Ramapo High School
in the BCWCA Girls' Soccer Championship semifinals, and to The Pingry School in the North Non-Public Group A sectional championship game.
In volleyball, IHA won the BCWCA Bergen County tournament by defeating Bogota High School
and also won the Non-Public Group A state championship for the fifth straight year, defeating Union Catholic in the state tournament for the fourth straight year. The team later won the school's fourth Tournament of Champions title by defeating River Dell High School
in the semifinals and Demarest High School in the championship round.
Cup for the 2007-08 athletics season, which is awarded annually to the school with the top athletics program in each statewide grouping. The school received this honor for the second consecutive year for its 2008-09 athletics season, and again for the 2009-10 season.
After the 2010-11 sports season, IHA finished second in the ShopRite Cup standings with 131 points, behind only Christian Brothers Academy
with 145 points.
of New York City
.
A FieldTurf
artificial surface was installed on the soccer/softball field and was completed in the fall of 2004. Landscaping and grounds maintenance have been significantly upgraded.
The most recent improvement to the physical plant is the renovation of the existing library space into an Information Commons. Completed in the fall of 2006, the Information Commons provides the resources of a traditional library with advanced information management and retrieval capabilities. The Information Commons also provides small meeting rooms, a conference room, a school archive section, and comfortable workspaces for students using laptops.
A new gymnasium floor was installed in the summer of 2008.
A innovative TV studio, as well as a chapel in honor of the members of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Franciscan Sisters of Peace
who served at Immaculate Heart Academy, was installed in the early spring of 2009.
In April 2011, IHA announced that it is in the process of starting the building of a small addition to the school to be located on the southern end of the building (left side when looking at the main entrance from Van Emburgh Avenue.) The addition will consist of four new classrooms at the end of the first (ground) and second levels, as well as a new art studio located on the lowest level of the school, where the school's cafeteria is located. A new school fitness center will be also be constructed in this project, to be built where the school store currently is located, again on the cafeteria level. Finally, the school's present art room, located on the main floor across from the Sisters' Chapel, will be renovated into office space for the school staff and administration.
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
private
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in Washington Township, in Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States. The school was founded in 1960 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace as the first regional high school for girls in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark
The Archdiocese of Newark is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Union, Hudson and Essex .-History:Originally established as the Diocese of...
. In 1990, administration shifted to the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Catholic Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were founded in Viareggio, Italy in 1894 by Clelia Merloni. The congregation has grown to over 1,500 sisters on five continents.-External links:**...
. The school colors are blue and white, and the school's athletes are known as the Blue Eagles.
Immaculate Heart Academy has been accredited by the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer evaluation and accreditation...
since 1971. For the 1996-97 school year, Immaculate Heart Academy was recognized with the Blue Ribbon Award
Blue Ribbon Schools Program
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created in 1981 to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students. The program centers around a self-assessment conducted by the...
from the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.
As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 838 students and 62.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.4.
Students come to IHA from Bergen County, Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
, Passaic County
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 501,226. Its county seat is Paterson...
and Hudson County
Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is the smallest county in New Jersey and one of the most densely populated in United States. It takes its name from the Hudson River, which creates part of its eastern border. Part of the New York metropolitan area, its county seat and largest city is Jersey City.- Municipalities...
in New Jersey, and from Rockland County
Rockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
and Orange County
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
in New York.
Mission statement
"Immaculate Heart Academy is a college preparatory high school in the Archdiocese of Newark which has as its purpose the complete education of young women. By both cultivating the traditional Christian values of the Roman Catholic Church and by upholding exceptional academic standards, IHA offers a unique educational experience of the young women in our community. Immaculate Heart Academy strives to develop every aspect of the individual by educating the mind and nurturing the spirit. By instilling in its students a sense of responsibility, confidence, justice, peace and compassion, Immaculate Heart Academy prepares its students for life in the twenty-first century."Technology
Immaculate Heart Academy is noted for its extensive laptop program. Starting with the incoming freshman class in the 2011-2012 academic year, students will be purchasing MacBook Pro laptops. The student owns the laptop and the use of the resource is integrated into the academic programs of the school. In conjunction with IHA's laptop program, all classrooms are outfitted with SmartBoards, DVD players, projectors and other media devices.Communication
- Journalism
- Production
- Broadcast Journalism
- Speech Communication
- Advanced Editing
- Film Study and Composition
Computers
- Computer I
- Computer Applications
- Computer Science and Programming
- Computer Repair and Network Administration
English
- English I*
- English II*
- English III*
- AP English III
- English IV*
- AP English IV
- Creative Writing
Fine arts
- Introduction to Art
- Art II
- Advanced Painting and Drawing
- Design
- 3-D Art
- Digital Photography
- Honors Studio
- AP Studio Art
- Actor's Studio
- Theatre
Mathematics
- Algebra I*
- Geometry*
- Algebra I/Geometry Honors
- Algebra II
- Algebra II/Geometry Honors
- Algebra II/Trigonometry**
- Pre-Calculus**
- Calculus*
- AP Calculus
- Discrete Math
- Mathematics of Finance
* An honors version of the class is available.
** Both an honors and advanced honors version of the class is available.
Religious studies
- Introduction to Religious Studies
- The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)
- The New Testament (Christian Scriptures)
- Catholic Morality
- Sacraments
- Spirituality and Literature
- Spirituality in the Media
- Death and Resurrections
- Christian Lifestyles
- Comparative World Religions
Science
- Biology*
- Chemistry*
- Environmental Science
- Physics*
- Anatomy and Physiology
- AP Biology
- AP Chemistry
Social studies
- World History
- Western Civilization*
- United States History I**
- United States History II*
- AP United States History II
- Global Issues
- Modern World Honors
- Psychology
- AP Psychology
- Introduction to American Law
World languages
- French I-III*
- French IV Honors
- AP FrenchAP FrenchAP French can stand for two distinct Advanced Placement Programs provided by the College Board:*AP French Language*AP French LiteratureA.P. French can also refer to Anthony Philip French, an emeritus professor of physics at MIT....
- French V Honors
- Spanish I-III*
- Spanish IV Honors (Arte Historia)
- AP SpanishAP SpanishAP Spanish can stand for two distinct Advanced Placement Programs provided by the College Board:*AP Spanish Language*AP Spanish Literature...
- Spanish V Honors
- Latin I
- Latin II
* An honors version of the class is available.
** Both an honors and advanced honors version of the class is available.
All students are also required to take Physical Education courses throughout their four years at IHA, including Driver's Education classes during a student's sophomore year.
Extracurricular activities
IHA offers over 60 clubs, organizations, extracurricular activities and honors societies. Some of these opportunities include C.A.R.E. (Christian Action Reaching Everyone,) Student Council, an award-winning Mock trialMock trial
A Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...
team, both a Science League and Math League, Model United Nations
Model United Nations
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
, Junior State of America
Junior State of America
The Junior State of America is an American non-partisan student-run youth organization. It is also the largest high school student-run organization in the country...
, the National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
, National Art Honor Society
National Art Honor Society
The National Art Honor Society was established in 1978 in the United States by the National Art Education Association for high school students grades 10-12, for "the purpose of inspiring and recognizing those students who have shown an outstanding ability in art" from the National Art Honor Society...
, French Honor Society/Société Honoraire de Français, Spanish Honor Society/Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica and Tri-M
Tri-M
Tri-M Music Honor Society, formerly known as Modern Music Masters, is a high school and middle school music honor society. Each school has its own chapter, which is run by the students but supervised by an advisor or sponsor, usually a school teacher...
(Modern Music Masters.) In addition, art, theater, and music related clubs are available for students to join, including an a capella group, chorus, orchestra, jazz band and handbell choir. In January 2006, the IHA Orchestra performed a short set in Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.
Student-run publications within Immaculate Heart Academy include Accents (the school newspaper), Halcyon (the school yearbook) and ORB, a literary magazine of students' works.
The communication club, known in school as WIHA, uses the school's in-house television studio to broadcast daily news, announcements and special events directly to each homeroom every morning. WIHA also coordinates the filming of school functions, including assemblies, prayer services, liturgical celebrations and other school events. During filming, WIHA often works in conjunction with the school's Tech Corp, students who work as stage crew, audio-visual technicians and lighting crew for school events.
In the past five years, IHA has produced the musicals The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden (musical)
The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's book and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon...
, Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
, Guys and Dolls, Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
and A Chorus Line. These musicals are performed in conjunction with students from St. Joseph Regional High School and Don Bosco Preparatory High School
Don Bosco Preparatory High School
Don Bosco Preparatory High School is a private, Roman Catholic secondary school for young men, grades 9 through 12. Founded by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious order of priests and brothers, the school is situated on a campus in Ramsey, New Jersey, United States...
.
Christian service and volunteerism
As part of the Catholic Christian identity of the Academy, and as part of the Academy's objective to distinguish the need for serving their immediate community and ministering to those in need through interactive service opportunities, students apply their Catholic Christian values by practicing them in projects that expand the student’s awareness of God, others, and themselves. Students are therefore asked to complete between 12 and 25 hours of service, depending on their grade level, which consist of both Christian service (focused on the elderly, the sick, the poor or hungry and children or adults with special needs) and volunteerism (focused on their school community, their own local parish or church, their town, a non-profit organization or on younger children, such as a daycare center, youth program or elementary/middle schools.)Golden Jubilee
The school celebrated its Golden Jubilee during the 2010-11 academic year. Throughout the year, IHA held events celebrating the history of the school, the successes of its alumna and the rich tradition it passes on to its students of the present and the future. The year's events included a Golden Jubilee Eucharist celebrated on February 13, 2011 by Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, DCRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It comprises the District of Columbia and Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's and Saint Mary's counties in the state of Maryland....
and the Fourth Archbishop of Newark, who played an important role in the history of the Academy.
League play
The Immaculate Heart Academy Blue Eagles currently play in the Big North ConferenceBig North Conference
The Big North Conference is a high school athletic conference in New Jersey. It is one of six North Jersey "super athletic conferences" created by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association in 2009...
, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports.-State championships:...
. Before the realignment in 2010, IHA played in Division C of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League
Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League
The Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, abbreviated NNJIL, was a former athletic conference located in Bergen County, Passaic County and Essex County, New Jersey...
(NNJIL) and, most recently, as a member of the North Jersey Tri-County Conference
North Jersey Tri-County Conference
The North Jersey Tri-County Conference was a high school athletic conference in New Jersey, created by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association as a holding conference...
(NJTCC.)
Immaculate Heart Academy has a long standing rivalry with Academy of the Holy Angels
Academy of the Holy Angels
The Academy of the Holy Angels is an all-female Roman Catholic college preparatory high school located in Demarest, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. The school operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark...
.
2003-2008 academic years
In 2003, the IHA cross-country team was disqualified from the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) C championship for violating High School Federation Rules limiting the number of runners each team could enter in its varsity race to seven, while the coaches had entered nine runners into the race.The 2004 basketball team won the North Parochial A state championship, defeating Paramus Catholic High School
Paramus Catholic High School
Paramus Catholic High School is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school located in Paramus in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The school, founded in 1965, is one of several high schools in the Archdiocese of Newark...
by 36-21 in the tournament final.
In 2005, the NJSIAA stripped the IHA basketball team of 22 of its victories and eliminated the team from the North Non-Public A girls basketball tournament for the use of an ineligible player. The athlete in question had played high school-level basketball at a New York State high school as an eighth grader, a practice that would allow the student to participate in all four years of high school sports in New York, but is not permitted in New Jersey.
In 2007, the soccer team won the Non-Public North Group A sectional championship with a 3-1 win over Morris Catholic High School
Morris Catholic High School
Morris Catholic High School is a four year comprehensive Roman Catholic regional high school located in Denville, New Jersey, USA. It was founded in 1957 and is part of the Diocese of Paterson...
in the tournament final, the team's first sectional title in four years.
Immaculate Heart won back-to-back tennis Non-Public A titles in 1995 and 1996, defeating Notre Dame High School both years. In 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 the tennis team won the Non-Public Group A State championship, defeating Holy Spirit High School in three of those four championship seasons, while Red Bank Catholic High School
Red Bank Catholic High School
Red Bank Catholic High School is a four-year private coeducational Roman Catholic high school, located in Red Bank, New Jersey, under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton...
lost in the finals in 2006. IHA is the only team from Bergen County to have won four back-to-back state titles. They also had the most consecutive wins on record in the former NNJIL.
2009-10 academic year
During the 2009-10 academic year, Immaculate Heart Academy won the Non-Public Group A state championship in soccer, swimming, winter track and volleyball, where the team also won the New Jersey State Tournament of Champions, gaining the title of best volleyball team in New Jersey by defeating Bridgewater-Raritan High SchoolBridgewater-Raritan High School
Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school. It is the single high school of the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District serving students from Bridgewater Township and Raritan in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States...
25-14, 25-15 in the tournament final The Blue Eagles also won the Non-Public North A sectional titles in basketball (finishing 2nd overall in the state) and spring track (finishing 3rd overall.)
The IHA bowling team won the New Jersey Tri-County Conference championship and eventually finished 3rd overall in the state.
2010-11 academic year
The soccer team won its fourth straight Bergen County championship, only the second team in the county to win in four consecutive years. In the state tournament, the Blue Eagles defeated The Pingry School for the Non-Public Group A North sectional championship in double overtime by a score of 1-0. The team advanced shared the Non-Public Group A state title with Red Bank Catholic after a 1-1 tie, giving IHA a third straight state title. With this championship, the 2010-11 Blue Eagles Senior Class won 11 out of a possible 12 titles (County, Sectional and State) in their four year career at IHA.In volleyball, despite losing in the Bergen County tournament, the Blue Eagles won the Non-Public Group A state championship for the fourth straight year. The team defeated Union Catholic
Union Catholic Regional High School
Union Catholic Regional High School is a private accredited high school located in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. Its motto promises to provide a "Quality education in a faith-based environment." Founded in 1962 as separate schools for boys and girls, each with its own separate administration and...
in the state tournament, the third straight year IHA defeated Union Catholic for the state crown. The team advanced to the Tournament of Champions
Tournament of Champions (NJSIAA)
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament of Champions is the sports tournament for New Jersey high schools that determines which high school will be crowned as the #1 overall team in the state for each sport...
, where they lost in the semifinal round to Ramapo High School.
The IHA basketball team finished the season with a 27-1 record (the most wins in school history), winning the championship at the Joe Poli Tournament and Bergen County Championship and earning the top spot in the final Bergen Record Top 25 poll.
The swimming team scored 386 1/2 points at the Bergen Meet of Champions to win its 12th straight County title by a 177-point margin. Later, the team, seeded #2 in the New Jersey Non-Public Group A Tournament, defeated Holy Spirit High School in the state quarterfinals 118-52, Red Bank Catholic in the state semi-finals 107-63 and top-seeded Bishop Eustace High School 108-62 in the finals to win its fourth straight, and a record 16th, state championship.
By the end of the 2010-11 academic year, Blue Eagles squads were named by the Bergen Record
The Record (Bergen County)
The Record is a newspaper in northern New Jersey. It has the second largest circulation of New Jersey's daily newspapers, behind The Star-Ledger. Owned by the Borg family since 1930, it is the flagship publication of the North Jersey Media Group. Stephen Borg is the publisher of The Record...
as the North Jersey Team of the Year in Girls Soccer, Bowling, Basketball, and Softball, while The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
named the IHA Swimming team the North Jersey Team of the Year.
Student-athletes have were named Athletes of the Year by The Record in Soccer, Basketball, Golf, and Track and Field, and by The Star-Ledger in Bowling. Both The Record and The Star-Ledger named IHA senior Danielle Romain as their Swimmer of the Year.
Overall, IHA teams won the following championships during the 2010-11 academic year:
- Big North United Division - Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Volleyball
- Bergen County - Basketball, Bowling, Golf, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Softball, Swimming
- North Non-Public Group A Sectional - Soccer, Softball, Volleyball
- Non-Public Group A State - Outdoor Track, Soccer, Swimming, Volleyball
2011-12 academic year
In cross country, IHA won the Big North Conference United Division championship, finished third in the Bergen County Championships, third in the North Non-Public Group A sectional meet, and fifth in the Non-Public Group A state meet to champion Mount Saint Dominic AcademyMount Saint Dominic Academy
Mount Saint Dominic Academy is a four-year Catholic college preparatory school for women located in Caldwell, New Jersey, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. The school was founded in 1892 by the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell...
.
The soccer team finished the season 15-3-2 with losses to Ramapo High School
Ramapo High School
Ramapo High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in the affluent New York City suburb of Franklin Lakes, in Bergen County, New Jersey. The school is a part of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, serving students from Franklin Lakes, Oakland and Wyckoff...
in the BCWCA Girls' Soccer Championship semifinals, and to The Pingry School in the North Non-Public Group A sectional championship game.
In volleyball, IHA won the BCWCA Bergen County tournament by defeating Bogota High School
Bogota High School
Bogota Jr./Sr. High School is a comprehensive public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Bogota, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Bogota Public Schools...
and also won the Non-Public Group A state championship for the fifth straight year, defeating Union Catholic in the state tournament for the fourth straight year. The team later won the school's fourth Tournament of Champions title by defeating River Dell High School
River Dell Regional High School
River Dell High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school, part of the River Dell Regional School District, which is shared with the neighboring communities of Oradell and River Edge in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States...
in the semifinals and Demarest High School in the championship round.
The ShopRite Cup
Immaculate Heart Academy received the NJSIAA Group A ShopRiteShopRite (United States)
ShopRite Supermarkets is a retailers' cooperative chain of supermarkets in the northeastern United States, with stores in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania...
Cup for the 2007-08 athletics season, which is awarded annually to the school with the top athletics program in each statewide grouping. The school received this honor for the second consecutive year for its 2008-09 athletics season, and again for the 2009-10 season.
After the 2010-11 sports season, IHA finished second in the ShopRite Cup standings with 131 points, behind only Christian Brothers Academy
Christian Brothers Academy (New Jersey)
Christian Brothers Academy , located in the Lincroft section of Middletown Township, New Jersey, is a private, all-boys college preparatory school with a focus on Christian education run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, founded by St. John Baptist de la Salle...
with 145 points.
Renovations
The main building was completed 1961 to the designs of architect Anthony J. DePaceAnthony J. DePace
Anthony J. DePace was an American architect who designed numerous Roman Catholic churches in throughout the Northeastern United States area during the mid to late 20th century.-Early life and education:...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
A FieldTurf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
artificial surface was installed on the soccer/softball field and was completed in the fall of 2004. Landscaping and grounds maintenance have been significantly upgraded.
The most recent improvement to the physical plant is the renovation of the existing library space into an Information Commons. Completed in the fall of 2006, the Information Commons provides the resources of a traditional library with advanced information management and retrieval capabilities. The Information Commons also provides small meeting rooms, a conference room, a school archive section, and comfortable workspaces for students using laptops.
A new gymnasium floor was installed in the summer of 2008.
A innovative TV studio, as well as a chapel in honor of the members of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Catholic Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were founded in Viareggio, Italy in 1894 by Clelia Merloni. The congregation has grown to over 1,500 sisters on five continents.-External links:**...
and the Franciscan Sisters of Peace
Franciscan Sisters of Peace
The Franciscan Sisters of Peace are a Roman Catholic community of women in consecrated life found in the United States, who minister or have ministered in the Archdiocese of New York, Archdiocese of Newark and Archdiocese of San Francisco, as well as the Diocese of Paterson, Diocese of Metuchen,...
who served at Immaculate Heart Academy, was installed in the early spring of 2009.
In April 2011, IHA announced that it is in the process of starting the building of a small addition to the school to be located on the southern end of the building (left side when looking at the main entrance from Van Emburgh Avenue.) The addition will consist of four new classrooms at the end of the first (ground) and second levels, as well as a new art studio located on the lowest level of the school, where the school's cafeteria is located. A new school fitness center will be also be constructed in this project, to be built where the school store currently is located, again on the cafeteria level. Finally, the school's present art room, located on the main floor across from the Sisters' Chapel, will be renovated into office space for the school staff and administration.
Notable alumnae
- Katrina BowdenKatrina BowdenKatrina Bowden is an American actress. She is known for her short role as Britney Jennings on One Life to Live and for her role as Cerie in 30 Rock .- Education :...
(born 1988), 30 Rock30 Rock30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
actress. - Mary Jane ClarkMary Jane ClarkMary Jane Clark in an American author of two series of suspense novels. Her first twelve books are media thrillers influenced by her three decades of experience in broadcast journalism. She plots murder mysteries investigated and solved by the characters who work at KEY News, the fictional...
, crime novel author, CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
journalist. - Erin C. ConatonErin C. ConatonErin Cathleen Conaton is the current United States Under Secretary of the Air Force, having been sworn in to office on March 15, 2010.-Biography:...
(born 1970), Under Secretary of the United States Air Force and 2010 Commencement Speaker.
External links
- Immaculate Heart Academy website
- Data for Immaculate Heart Academy, National Center for Education StatisticsNational Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...