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Welcome to the Sacred Heart School System! Our Brief History...
Sacred Heart Schools include a K-12 complex under the direction of the Sisters of Divine Providence. Sacred Heart is a unique Christian community organized to foster the spiritual, moral, intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth of each child. All of these are accomplished in the spirit of dedication, freedom, and love that is rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The Sisters of Divine Providence were founded in Germany for the purpose of teaching and nursing. They touch the lives of many various peoples and cultures throughout the world. The Sisters were welcomed to the New England shores by Archbishop Richard Cushing in 1946. At the time, there was a sincere concern about the feasibility of a Catholic school in such a remote area of the South Shore , where Catholics were in the minority. The wooded parcel of the Kingston land, once a dairy farm and only accessible by a dirt road, was purchased by the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence. In the beginning, the existing barns and buildings were remodeled for use as a summer camp for girls. During the winter, the camp became Mishannock Alpha School , later named Sacred Heart Pre-Primary School , for nursery to second grade students (22 children). In 1949, two large homes were purchased on Court Street in Plymouth . With renovations, Sacred Heart Elementary School opened grades K-7 with 148 students. Grades 8 and 9 were added in 1950-51. In 1952, plans were prepared to build a high school on a clearing once used to raise food for prize cattle, and the road now known as Route 80 ( Bishops Highway ) was begun. Finally, in January 1954, grades 1-6 were continued at Court Street in Plymouth , while the kindergarten moved to the Camp Mishannock property in Kingston (1957-62). With the increasing enrollment, ground was broken in 1961 "just down the street" for the new Sacred Heart Elementary School . Sacred Heart Pre-Primary School moved from Camp Mishannock to the Court Street property. The kindergarten, along with an Adult Education Center , remained in Plymouth until the 1974 when the property was sold to the town of Plymouth with the specific purpose of housing the elderly. The Pre-Primary was relocated in 1974 to the present location in the Kingston Provincial House of the Sisters of Divine Providence. Through many innovative changes, Sacred Heart School system (K-12) has grown from 22 students in 1947 to approximately 1,100 students at the present time. One of the important changes that has occurred over the years is the fact that Sacred Heart School was, in part, a resident school. At the present time, all of the students commute. The enrollment is drawn from a radius of about 50 miles, and approximately 25 towns on the South Shore . The schools have flourished in large measure due to the faith and hard work of the Sisters of Divine Providence, committed lay faculty and staff members.
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