Immaculate Heart Academy (IHA) has announced its inaugural Scholae@theheart Program, to begin in the 2022-23 academic year. This novel program enhances IHA’s superlative college preparatory curriculum by providing increased opportunities for specialization and recognition in areas that capitalize on students’ strengths and interests. Scholae@theheart will allow students to investigate areas for postsecondary education and receive additional extracurricular experiences to support their discernment and learning.
All of the scholae share a common liberal arts core curriculum that provides the foundation and skills that universities expect from top tier applicants. Students enrolled in one of the five initial scholae offered at IHA will benefit from guided course selection, exposure to community professionals within the chosen emphasis field, afterschool enrichment opportunities, and the experience of developing a capstone synthesis presentation in their senior year. All successful scholars receive a designation on their transcripts. The initial scholae to be introduced, all named after female saints, include:
The St. Hildegard Arts Schola
The St. Clare of Assisi Communications Schola
The St. Barbara Engineering Schola
The St. Catherine of Siena Humanities Schola
The St. Gianna Molla Life Sciences Schola
Female saints were carefully selected to encourage students to recognize themselves, and their academic passions, in the stories of the saints. “As students face academic challenges and discover new interests, their signature saint stands as an example of another faithful young woman who pursued her dreams, often against great odds, and found a deep relationship with God and with her community as the fruit of that pursuit,” said Miss Kerry Carroll’04, IHA principal. “We hope our saints will inspire our students to grow and give of the talents that God has blessed them with.”
Scholae@theheart will not require a prescriptive curriculum nor be tied to an academic scholarship. The program will serve all students with emphasis classes available at all academic levels and providing in-depth study opportunities for all core disciplines. It also allows the flexibility of students to join a schola as early as March of their ninth grade year or as late as March of their eleventh grade year, permitting them to truly explore all of IHA’s offerings and to pursue new interests.
“Harvard, among other top tier universities, asks, ‘Do you have a direction yet?’ ‘Do you care deeply about anything?’ ‘What have you learned from your interests?’”, explained Miss Carroll. “The Scholae@theheart program equips students with the experiences and vocabulary necessary to answer these questions persuasively and will graduate students who exemplify colleges’ desire for well-rounded specialists who can actively contribute to campus communities.”
The faculty and staff of Immaculate Heart Academy are committed to offering exemplary courses in a wide variety of disciplines, as it is a strong belief that high school is the time for students to begin exploring their passions and to take advantage of diverse opportunities for growth. Scholae@theheart allows students to explore an area of passion in-depth while also allowing enough freedom in their schedule to undertake other coursework outside their area of emphasis.
“IHA’s sisterhood is truly special and empowers students to recognize that they are children of God,” Miss Carroll said. “The Scholae program will provide students an additional community of like-minded classmates, promote inter-grade level friendships, and connect students with an expert faculty advisor.”
Looking into the future, IHA plans to augment the Scholae program by adding the disciplines of Business, Global Citizenship, and Performing Arts. Additionally, the new program emphasizes community cultivation and growth.
Will you be a member of IHA’s Class of 2027?
Sunday, October 23rd
11 a.m.-2 p.m
Thursday, October 27th
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Founded in 1960, Immaculate Heart Academy is an all-girls Catholic regional high school of the Archdiocese of Newark presently celebrating its 62nd year. A Blue Ribbon School, IHA enrolls approximately 700 girls in a competitive college preparatory program from more than 100 towns in Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Hudson and Essex counties in New Jersey and Rockland and Orange counties in New York. Over the years, IHA has continually grown and evolved, fortifying its academics, activities and facilities to prepare students for further education, and for the enhancement of society through their personal, professional and spiritual gifts. Immaculate Heart Academy is located at 500 Van Emburgh Ave., Township of Washington, NJ.
College Preparatory High School for Young Women
500 Van Emburgh Ave
Township of Washington, NJ 07676
(201) 445-6800