Learning About the Value of Faith

50 years of giving students a solid foundation of academics, faith celebrated at Sacred Heart

ROCKAWAY  Bishop Serratelli helped to celebrate the strong 50-year legacy of faith, family, academics and Christian service at Sacred Heart School here, which he declared “has been — and continues to be — a school of discipleship.”

On Oct. 16, Bishop Serratelli was main celebrant and homilist of a Mass that marked the 50th anniversary of Sacred Heart, which was held in the parish church, filled to capacity with members of the school community, past and present. Attending the 10 a.m. Mass were current and former school administrators, teachers, students and parents, as well as parishioners and current and former clergy, who served both Sacred Heart — a small parish of about 350 families — and nearby St. Cecilia Parish, also in Rockaway. They included the current pastor of both faith communities, Father Sigmund Peplowski, and their current parochial vicars, Father Marcin Michalowski and Father Mateusz Jasniewicz.

“The ultimate goal of Catholic education is to open our eyes to the Providence of God — that God rules over all Creation and, at the same time, cares intimately for each one of us,” Bishop Serratelli said in his homily. “For the past 50 years, Sacred Heart has been faithful to this mission, concerned with forming students academically, socially, personally, physically and spiritually — teaching her students to embrace God’s love. This school has equipped the young to grow in wisdom, grace and knowledge. It has laid down the necessary foundation so that they can face life without fear — courageously — and thus contribute to the good of all society,” the bishop said.

Earlier this year, Sacred Heart marked its golden anniversary through a series of service projects and celebrations. It held a gala in April, which featured a talk by a student from the first graduating class; engaged in service projects that focused on the number “50,” such as collecting 50 cans of soup; conducted a bake sale that benefited Habitat for Humanity; and collected books for children in a poor country. On Saturday, Nov. 28, the school will host an alumni reunion after 5 p.m. Mass, said Franciscan Sister of the Sorrowful Mother Marie DiLorenzo, part of the school community for 50 years and its principal for the past 29 years, who delivered a short address after the anniversary Mass.

“Our little parish built a little school with the fortitude and spunk to match the storybook ‘little engine that could.’ Our way has not always been easy. Like all schools, we have had to constantly retool to the needs of our ever-changing world. And like all Catholic schools, we have struggled to remain strong in changing times,” said Sister Marie, who started as a fourth-grade teacher at Sacred Heart, which currently educates 148 students. “Today, we can point with pride to the generations of young people we have taught, instilling them with the values that mark our brand of education. They learn to read and write, but they also learn the tenets of their faith,” she said.

Over the years, Sacred Heart in part has “kept on the cutting edge of education” by continually updating its technology — Smartboards, digital cameras, “tablet” computers and an emphasis on STEM: the teaching of science, technology, engineering and math. The school constantly strives to meet the latest educational standards and has added before- and after-school programs. Its many extra-curricular programs include gifted-and-talented, CYO basketball, an annual musical production, school newspaper, student council, Scouting, dance lessons and art classes, Sister Marie said.

Sacred Heart also prepares students for a life of faith and service by offering Mass each week; prayer as a school community everyday, including reciting a decade of the rosary; collections of money for the missions; and service projects through its chapter of the National Honor Society. Also, a group of students meets after school once a month to pray the rosary, Sister Marie said.

“We help our students see the value of faith and learn about it, so they can become loving, caring adults, who reach out to help people, especially the poor,” the principal said.

Like many members of the Sacred Heart community, eighth-grader Sarah Smith, who started at the school in kindergarten, speaks about its “family atmosphere.”

“I have made lots of friends. The teachers are willing to help. Our classes challenge us. Last year, we made a model of a cell with Cheerios in science. Now, we are making a board game about grammar in language arts,” said Smith, who considers social studies and languages arts her favorite subjects. “Faith is important at Sacred Heart, because you can’t mention it in some other schools. Here, I can pray and learn the reasons that I’m Catholic,” she said.

That “family atmosphere” extends to the Sacred Heart’s peer mentoring and reading buddies programs — both opportunities for “the older students to look out for the younger students,” such as when they sit together at Mass, said John Darminto, a fifth- through eighth-grade social studies teacher and the eighth-grade homeroom teacher.

Sacred Heart’s strong legacy of academics and faith started more than 50 years ago with the late Msgr. Emil Suchon, the former pastor, who founded the school. In an address after the anniversary Mass, Sister Marie called him “a man of vision, commitment and courage.” He built the school in an orchard across from the convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, who staffed the school when it first opened in 1965.

“Our school has persevered and endured because of all of you — the help of our diocese, the support of our parish and pastors and the commitment of our parents, the dedication of our teachers and the enthusiasm and the lively spirit of our youngsters,” said Sister Marie, who also credited the vision of Sacred Heart’s founding principal, Sister Johnice Thone, and the support of the parish’s pastors over the years.

At the conclusion of the anniversary Mass, Father Peplowski publicly thanked Bishop Serratelli and the visiting priests, before praying that “God continues to bless Sister Marie and the school.”

“We pray that God allows Sacred Heart School to continue its ministry in education and passing on the faith down to young people in the parish and the community,” Father Peplowski said.