Sacred Heart High School - Vine Leaves Yearbook (Vineland, NJ)

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Sacred Heart School N THE 3rd of July 1919, Rev. James A. Bulfin came to Vineland as the new pastor. The thought uppermost in his mind was the neces- sity of religious training for the children of his new parish. Although the need of a new church was pressing. Father Bulfin insisted on furthering the plans for a school, since he said, “Without religious training of our youth our churches would s x n be empty, and then in a few years there would be no need of a Church.” Hence his motto was school- first, church-second. Finally, resolutions were drawn up and passed that a com- bination building be erected at the corner of Landis and Myrtle. Under the direction of the Sisters of Charity a private school had been opened in the parish some years previous to Father Bulfin’s coming. But this school was not successful and the Sisters of Charity left Vineland. There were then no Sisters in Vineland until 1921 when in September five Sisters of Saint Joseph arrived to take charge. They were Mother M. Albcrtinc, Sister Mary Edmond, Sister Grace Stanialaus, Sister Teresa Carmel, and Sister M. Barnabas. A few days later the doors of the class rooms were thrown open and the first enrollment was 235 chil- dren of all grades. First and foremost, then, comes Father Bulfin, who worked and worried so incessantly, yet successfully over this problem. To him the credit is unbounded. Were it not for him, our Catholic boys and girls of High School age would not be blessed with the Catholic education they are receiving. It was he who im- printed on the heart of his parishioners the necessity of Catholic High School education, which had, until then, been made possible for very few graduates of the Sacred Heart Grammar School. Enough cannot be said for the first Sisters of Saint Joseph, who with Mother Albertine in charge, came here and labored so strenuously and under so manv disadvantages. Success was heralded for the sch x)l and the pupils, when it was guided by such a learned and experienced principal as Mother Albertine. The Sisters’ wonderful work will never permit that they be forgotten; for to them we owe the progress of the school in all its various stages. To Mother Davidica, who followed Mother Albertine, belongs the credit of starting the first High School Class and doing her utmost to make them brilliant scholars, good Catholics, and excellent citizens. When the doors were thrown open for the first time to receive the students, the nucleus, composed of 25 members, took the first step toward learning the unforget - able lessons of heart and mind, in a section of the prospective school, still con- taining pews that had been used in the church. Two weeks after the school was started, the first class meeting was held and the name of the sch(x l was decided on as Vineland Catholic High School. The school colors chosen were blue and scarlet. In the summer of 1929, an addition of gray stone (to match the Church) was made in front of the Grammar School. The entrance was beautifully planned and erected with its new name, SACRED HEART CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, over the doorway. On a memorable Sunday in October, 1929, the High School was dedicated bv the Most Reverend Bishop McMahon with very impressive ceremonies.

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Lcq.v’cq SOURCES OF OUR PRIDE Splendid curriculum Activities—widely varied Capable faculty Respectful students Expert guidance Devoted priests High standards Enviable equipment Actual achievement at work and play Religious atmosphere Tradition—deeply rooted

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c Mother Davidica labored untiringly with her pioneer project of opening a new school and watched it grow, year by year, with added success. In 1933, she was succeeded by Mother M. Henrietta whose short stay came to an end in January 1935, leaving behind her many pleasant memories. Mother Evangelia was welcomed to Vineland in 1935. She worked hard to bring our school up to the high standard of Catholic schools in the country. Additional new texts were added to the various subjects and the library was enriched with many new volumes entitling it to a high rating of certification. With the coming of Mother Carmela in 1941, the high aims of her predecessors have been furthered in the practice of Catholic principles, fostered and cultivated, in the new and wider range of subjects, additional teachers, and more varied activities, calling for a greater sense of cooperation and gratitude on the part of the students. In the instruction given in the various courses, and throughout the careful ordering of the high school life with its religious influences and its upliftng as- sociations, its liberties and its restraints, a two-fold idea is kept in view; first, the true woman and gentleman, with a clear, reverent sense of duty to God, them- selves and their fellow creatures, with gifts and virtues well developed, with strong self-reliant characters, with resourceful abilities for high service, whatevei be their destined sphere of life or chosen fields of labor. Second, the true scholar, with knowledge many-sided as well as thorough, with a firm grasp of first princi pies, a just judgment, and a cultured appreciation of all that is true, and good, and beautiful. These are, and God grant they may never be, the ideals which brought Sacred Heart into existence, encouraged its work, and ensured its growth through the past twenty-five years. These are the aims constantly held before the students. May they ever lx faith- ful to what they represent. Leases M