Immaculate Heart Academy

Infobox_School
name = Immaculate Heart Academy


imagesize =
motto = "In me gratia viae et veritatis"
established = 1960
grades = 9 - 12
district = Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark
type = Catholic High School
principal = Ms. Patricia Molloy
viceprincipal = Mrs. Rosemary Fuhrman and Mrs. Toni-Marie Hals
enrollment = 809 (as of 2005-06)
faculty = 54.0 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 15.0
conference = Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League
nickname = Blue Eagles
colors = White, Blue
location = 500 Van Emburgh Avenue
Washington Township, NJ 07676
information = 201-445-6800
website = [http://www.ihahs.com School website]

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 [http://www.ascjus.org Apostles of the Sacred Heart] . The school colors are blue and white; the school's athletes are known as the Blue Eagles.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 809 students and 54.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 15.0. [http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&SchoolID=00863599&ID=00863599 Immaculate Heart Academy] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 23, 2008.]

Students come to IHA from Bergen County (NJ), Essex County (NJ), Passaic County (NJ), and Rockland County (NY).

Immaculate Heart Academy has been accredited by the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools since 1971. [ [http://www.css-msa.org/search.php?MODE=VIEW(NJ131)&org=CSS Immaculate Heart Academy] , Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Accessed October 18, 2007.]

Awards and recognition

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. In addition, Immaculate Heart Academy has a rigorous admissions policy, accepting only one in four girls that apply to the institution. [http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF)] , United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.]

Athletics

Immaculate Heart Academy Blue Eagles play in Division C of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL).

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.

The 2004 basketball team won the North Parochial A state championship, defeating Paramus Catholic High School by 36-21 in the tournament final. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=56611&tclass=North%20Parochial%20A 2004 Girls Basketball - North Parochial A] , NJSIAA. Accessed April 28, 2007.]

In 2005, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (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. [ [http://www.northjerseysports.com/girlsbasketball/2005/030505IHADQ3.htm A season on the brink: IHA's battle moves into court] , "New Jersey Sports", March 5, 2005.]

In 2006, the girls tennis team won the Non-Public Group A State championship with a 5-0 win over Red Bank Catholic High School. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=180276&tclass=Non-Public%20Group%20Finals 2006 Girls Team Tennis - Non-Public Group Finals] , NJSIAA. Accessed July 17, 2007.] The 2007 team repeated as North A state sectional championship with a 3-2 win over Pingry School in the tournament final. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=242871&tclass=North%20A 2007 Girls Team Tennis - North A] , NJSIAA. Accessed October 26, 2007.] The team moved on to win the 2007 Group A state championship with a 3-2 win over Holy Spirit High School. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=242871&tclass=Non%2DPublic%20Group%20Finals 2007 Girls Team Tennis - Non-Public Group Finals] , NJSIAA. Accessed October 26, 2007.]

In 2007, the soccer team won the North A state 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. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=246050&tclass=North%20A 2007 Girls Soccer - North A] , NJSIAA. Accessed November 15, 2007.] [Leonard, Tim. [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2JmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjE5Mjc1 "Magical season lives on for IHA"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", November 9, 2007. Accessed November 15, 2007. "IHA overwhelmed Morris Catholic, defeating the Crusaders, 3-1, on Thursday at Passaic Tech to capture the State Sectional title for the first time since 2003."]

Immaculate Heart Academy has a long standing rivalry with Academy of the Holy Angels. [Chessari, Joe. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22451154.html "AHA, IHA READY TO REKINDLE BUDDING RIVALRY"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", February 14, 1999. Accessed October 26, 2007. "It's a friendly rivalry, this one between the girls basketball teams of Academy of the Holy Angels and Immaculate Heart Academy."]

Immaculate Heart Academy received the NJSIAA ShopRite Cup for the 2007-08 athletics season, which is awarded annually to the school with the top athletics program in the state.

Renovations

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, and construction is in progress on an innovative TV studio as well as a chapel in honor of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart.

Notable Alumnae

*Katrina Bowden (1988-), "30 Rock" actress. [Rohan, Virginia. "'Rock' & a good place; Wyckoff's Katrina Bowden gains rich experience on NBC's surging sitcom.", "The Record (Bergen County)", December 24, 2006. "It's a big change from the "typical Catholic school uniform" that Bowden not so long ago wore at Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township, where she juggled her studies with auditions, acting and modeling work."]
*Mary Jane Clark, crime novel author, CBS journalist

References

External links

* [http://www.ihahs.com/ Immaculate Heart Academy website]
* [http://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/sch_info_popup.asp?Type=Private&ID=00863599 Data for Immaculate Heart Academy] , National Center for Education Statistics