Convent of the Sacred Heart is an independent

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all-girls' school in

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. Teaching from

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through twelfth grade, it is located on the

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at East 91st Street and

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

. The school is housed in the former Otto H. Kahn House and James A. Burden House, both of which are New York City-Designated Landmarks, and are listed on the

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History

Founded in 1881 by the Society of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic women's

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of Religious institute (Catholic), religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from Religious order (Catholic), religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – i ...

established in

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in 1800, the school is one of New York City's oldest private schools for girls. The school was originally housed in a Manhattan

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at East 54th Street. By the 1930s, the school had outgrown its Madison Avenue space and moved into the Otto H. Kahn House. In 1940, the society acquired the James A. Burden House next door.

Membership and accreditation

In addition to being a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart and a part of the global Network of Sacred Heart Schools, a worldwide network of over 150 schools committed to the mission of a Sacred Heart education, the school is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools. It is operated independently as part of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools. The school is also associated with the New York Interschool Association. The school is also a member of the Independent Schools Association of Greater New York, the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, the European Council of International Schools, the International Schools Association and the Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States.

Facilities

The school is located in two historic mansions in the Carnegie Hill Historic District on the

, at 1 East 91st Street and 7 East 91st Street, next to

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

and across the street from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. * 1 East 91st Street ( Otto H. Kahn House) houses grade 5 through grade 12 (opened in 1934) * 7 East 91st Street ( James A. Burden House) houses pre-kindergarten through grade 4 (opened in 1940) In September 2008, the school purchased a facility located at 406 East 91st Street and created a new sports center. As of September 2014, the athletic center was open.

Athletics

The school participates in eleven interscholastic sports disciplines. There is a separate athletic building at 406 91st Street near First Avenue.

Enrollment, tuition and fees

Tuition and payment for the 2024-2025 school year: * Pre-kindergarten: $36,990 (for half day), $45,200 (for full day) * Junior kindergarten: $54,020 * Kindergarten – Grade 12 : $64,610 * The Lower School includes pre-kindergarten, junior kindergarten, kindergarten and grades 1 through 4 * The Middle School consists of grades 5 through 8 * The Upper School is made up of grades 9 through 12 * Students of color: 28 percent * Average grade size (K–12): 50 * Student–faculty ratio: 6.7:1

Notable alumnae

* Karen Akers – actress and singer * Edith Bouvier Beale – socialite, fashion model and cabaret performer * Lourdes Benedicto – actress * Jordana Brewster – actress and model * Dorothy Donnelly – actress and playwright * Stefani Germanotta – singer, songwriter, actress and activist known as Lady Gaga *

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– attorney and diplomat * Ethel Skakel Kennedy – human-rights activist * Joan Bennett Kennedy – socialite * Susan Konig – author and publisher * Leah McSweeney – fashion designer * Christa Miller – actress * Minnie Mortimer – socialite * Lia Neal – Olympic swimmer and

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* Emily Rafferty – president emeritus,

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– heiress and socialite * Emily Rutherfurd – actress * Eunice Kennedy Shriver – human-rights activist * Alix Smith – photographer * Jean Kennedy Smith – diplomat *

Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade (born 1 June 1945) is a semi-retired American classical singer. Best known for her work in opera, she was also a recitalist and concert artist, and she recorded more than a hundred albums and videos. She is especially associa ...

– singer * Elaine Stritch – actress and singer * Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt – socialite * Harriet Sylvia Ann Howland Green Wilks – socialite and heiress * Anne Elizabeth Wilson – writer, poet, editor and pet cemetery owner * Charlotte Selina Wood – actress

In popular culture

Film and theatre

* '' The Dark Corner'' (1946) – Burden Mansion, 7 East 91st Street, as The Cathcart Gallery * '' The Anderson Tapes'' (1971) * ''

9 to 5 Working time or laboring time is the period of time that a person spends at paid Wage labour, labor. Unpaid work, Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countri ...

'' (1980) * ''

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'' (play – 1975; film – 2002) – in the song "We Both Reached for the Gun" the character, Roxie Hart, was said to have attended the school * ''

The Verdict ''The Verdict'' is a 1982 American legal drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and written by David Mamet, adapted from Barry Reed's 1980 novel of the same name. The film stars Paul Newman as a down-on-his-luck alcoholic lawyer in Boston who acc ...

'' (1982) * '' Working Girl'' (1988) * '' A Perfect Murder'' (1998) * '' Uptown Girls'' (2003) * '' Night at the Museum'' (2006) – appears briefly towards the beginning of the film when Nick's teacher is putting up a sign for career day * '' Falling for Grace'' (2006) * '' Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'' (2008) – titular character Norah attends the school * '' Duplicity'' (2009)

Literature and television

* '' A Very Gaga Thanksgiving'' (2011) * '' Cashmere Mafia'' (Season 1) * ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'' (book series) – contains the line "two little Sacred Heart girls in their cute red and white checked pinafores were walking an enormous black Rottweiler" on page 86 in the first novel of the series * ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' * Madam Secretary * '' Scrubs'' – Sacred Heart Hospital, where the series takes place, was named after the Convent of the Sacred Heart, where cast member (and wife of the series' screenwriter Bill Lawrence) Christa Miller (who portrays Jordan Sullivan) attended high schoolUnknown author (Undated).
"Trivia for ''Scrubs'' (2001)"

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. Retrieved October 10, 2009. * '' White Collar''

References

External links

cshnyc.org
Convent of the Sacred Heart, official website
sofie.org
Network of Sacred Heart Schools, official website
aashnet.org
The Associated Alumnae and Alumni of the Sacred Heart, official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Convent Of The Sacred Heart 1881 establishments in New York City Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Educational institutions established in 1881 Girls' schools in New York City Private K–12 schools in Manhattan Roman Catholic elementary schools in Manhattan Roman Catholic secondary schools in Manhattan Sacred Heart schools in the United States Upper East Side