[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 17, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1024-E1025]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN HONOR OF THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF SACRED HEART

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. BARBARA COMSTOCK

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 17, 2018

  Mrs. COMSTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and congratulate 
Sacred Heart Academy, a Christ-centered school awarded the National 
Blue Ribbon of Distinction, on the occasion of its 60th year of 
excellent service to the people of Winchester, Virginia and the 
northern Shenandoah Valley. Sacred Heart Academy was founded by the 
Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in 1957. From the 
beginning, it has been committed to providing for its students, a safe 
and nurturing environment that is conducive to academic excellence and 
guided by a strong set of morals

[[Page E1025]]

and values. The school currently has 245 students enrolled in grades 
pre-K through 8 and although it is now staffed by laity, the school 
continues the tradition of teaching daily religion classes and guiding 
students in living a prayerful, spiritual life. Furthermore, the parish 
priests visit the school weekly to aid in the teaching of the faith, 
and the students participate in weekly Mass.
  During its 60-year history, Sacred Heart Academy has developed into a 
school with extraordinarily high academic standards. A milestone in the 
school's academic development was the completion, in 2009, of a 14,000 
square foot addition to the school, that included a state-of-the-art 
science lab, media center, a music room, an art room, conference rooms 
and additional classrooms, as well as a peaceful courtyard that is 
conducive to meditation. This addition made it possible to house the 
entire student population under one roof, bringing social cohesiveness 
and a new vitality to the student population.
  Sacred Heart Academy prides itself on its STEM (Science, Technology, 
Engineering and Mathematics) initiative that included the acquiring of 
a 30-unit iPad2 mobile lab in the summer of 2012. With the use of 
digital responders purchased the year before, the mobile lab integrates 
many technological applications into the classroom and allows teachers 
to obtain immediate feedback on how well the students are understanding 
the scientific concepts being presented.
  The opening last year of the Rev. Stanley Krempa gymnasium, named 
after the longtime priest at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, 
marks another important milestone in the mission of Sacred Heart 
Academy to ``nurture the development of the whole child.'' With high 
standards in academics, the arts, and sports, the school offers a rich 
environment in which each child can excel and explore his or her unique 
potential.
  The award of Sacred Heart Academy with the National Blue Ribbon of 
Distinction in 2013 celebrates the extraordinary academic success of 
the wonderful students of the school. It also recognizes the 
extraordinary dedication of the administrators and teachers at the 
school to high standards of learning for all students, to data 
collection and honest analysis of their teaching effectiveness, and to 
staying at the forefront of best professional practices.
  The National Blue Ribbon of Distinction was also awarded to Sacred 
Heart Academy because of the faithful commitment and resourcefulness of 
the entire school community to overcome all obstacles that it has 
faced. The families of the school make up a close-knit community on 
which the school is heavily dependent. The volunteer in-service program 
asks that each family serves at least twenty-five hours a year 
performing volunteer tasks such as lunch and recess duty, chaperoning 
field trips and even assisting in the classroom. An active Parent 
Teacher Organization holds major annual fundraisers, without which the 
school could not function successfully. The generosity of other members 
of the Sacred Heart Parish and that of the Diocese of Arlington has 
also helped to accomplish important goals for the school.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me and our other colleagues in 
congratulating the entire ``family'' of Sacred Heart Academy on its 
extraordinary success over the last 60 years and wishing that, in the 
second half century of its existence, it continues to be a special 
blessing to the people of Winchester and the northern Shenandoah 
Valley.

                          ____________________