As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 145 students and 17.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.1:1. The school's student body was 62.1% (90) White, 26.2% (38) Hispanic, 10.3% (15) Black and 1.4% (2) Asian.[2] Average class size was 15 students. The administration, faculty and staff consisted of three Felician Sisters, 19 women, and 8 men. About 98% of seniors pursued higher education.[citation needed]
History
Established in 1915, the school was granted approval by the state in November 1923 to operate as a secondary school.[7] Constructed at a cost of $1 million (equivalent to $10.4 million in 2022), Newark Diocese Archbishop Thomas Aloysius Boland officiated at ceremonies in September 1957 dedicating the new school, which had a student body of 500, including an incoming ninth grade class of nearly 150.[8]
In March 2023, after 107 years of the school running, the Board of Directors announced Immaculate Conception's closure as of June 30, 2023.[9]
Athletics
The Immaculate Conception High School Blue Wolves[10] participated in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which is comprised of small-enrollment schools in Bergen, Hudson County, Morris County and Passaic County counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[11][12][13] Prior to league realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Immaculate Conception was part of the smaller Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League (BPSL).[14] With 320 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public B for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 37 to 366 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools).[15]
Sports offered included soccer, volleyball, tennis, cross country, basketball, softball, cheerleading, swimming and track.[10]
Athletic accomplishments:
2004 Bowling Team: State Tournament Non-Public B sectionals
2005-06 Basketball Team: 2nd Place BPSL Carpenter, County Tournament, State Tournament Non-Public B semifinalist
2006 Softball Team: 2nd Place BPSL Carpenter, County Tournament, State Tournament Non-Public B semifinalist
2006-07 Basketball Team: 1st Place BPSL Carpenter, County Tournament, State Tournament Non-Public B finalist
Softball
The team won the Non-Public B state championship each year from 2013 to 2019. The seven consecutive titles are the longest streak in the state and the seven state titles are tied for fifth among all programs in New Jersey.[16]
The softball team won its first state championship in 2013, defeating Sacred Heart High School by a score of 6–4 in the tournament final; Sacred Heart had defeated Immaculate Conception by a 3–1 score in the finals the previous season and was playing its final softball game before the school's closure at the end of the 2012–13 school year.[17]
The team repeated as Non-Public B champion in 2014, with a 5–0 win against St. Joseph High School (Hammonton) in the final game of the tournament, finishing with a 27–2 record for the season.[18]
The team won their third consecutive title in 2015 with a 2–1 win in a rematch against St. Joseph, coming from behind to win the tournament final by scoring one run in the bottom of the sixth inning and a walk-off run on a single with one out in the seventh, finishing the season with a 22–5 record.[19][20]
In a game that marked Jeff Horohonich's 600th career victory as a coach, the team won its fourth title with a 3–0 win against Benedictine Academy in the 2016 final, to finish the season with a 20–9 record and become the third program to win four straight group titles.[21]
In 2017, the softball team won the Non-Public B championship, defeating Wildwood Catholic High School by a score of 8–2 in the tournament final; the win was the program's fifth consecutive Non-Public B title, setting a state record for consecutive softball state group championships.[22] The team advanced to the inaugural New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association softball Tournament of Champions and made it to the final, where the team lost by a score of 7–6 in extra innings against Immaculate Heart Academy in the tournament final.[23]
In 2018, after winning the program's sixth consecutive Non-Public B title with a 3-0 win against Wildwood Catholic,[24] the team came into the state Tournament of Champions as the sixth and lowest seeded, and won the quarterfinals against third-seed North Hunterdon High School by a score 5-3 and second-seed Robbinsville High School in the semis by 12-2 before losing in the finals by a score of 9–0 to fourth-seed Steinert High School.[25]
The team won its seventh straight Non-Public B state championship in 2019 with a 4-0 win against St. Joseph High School (Hammonton) in the playoff finals.[26]
^Anzidei, Melanie. "As Immaculate Conception closes its doors, students will carry memories to new schools", The Record, July 5, 2023. Accessed July 5, 2023. "For one final time, the halls of Immaculate Conception High School were filled.... The Catholic school, founded in 1915, closed its doors on Friday after 108 years in service.... Those who ran Immaculate Conception announced its closure in March, pointing to a 'perfect storm of factors' that led to the school’s collapse: the global pandemic, declining enrollment from feeder schools and costly upgrades to the school’s facilities."
^History, Immaculate Conception High School. Accessed May 5, 2022. "In November 1923, the New Jersey State Department of Education approved the establishment of Immaculate Conception High School as a private secondary school. An increasing enrollment necessitated the construction of the present building. This school was blessed and dedicated on September 8, 1957, by the Most Rev. Thomas A. Boland, Archbishop of Newark."
^Katzban, Nicholas. "Immaculate Conception High School in Lodi to close for good at end of June", The Record, April 1, 2023. Accessed April 1, 2023. "Immaculate Conception High School in Lodi announced it will close in June after 107 years due to a declining enrollment pool from Catholic elementary schools and financial headwinds, according to a statement released by the school's board of trustees on Friday. The school, which is sponsored by the Felician Sisters of North America, has operated as an all-girls' high school since 1915. But multiple factors, including a faltering economy and the COVID-19 pandemic, overwhelmed a carefully plotted financial plan to float the institution through 2024, board chair George Abaunza said."
^Mattura, Greg. "Small-school NJIC may debut its own league championship", The Record, January 9, 2017. Accessed August 30, 2020. "The small-school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference may debut its own boys basketball tournament this season, one season after introducing its girls hoops championship. The NJIC is comprised of schools from Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties and the event offered to the 36 boys teams would serve as an alternative to likely competing against larger programs in a county tournament."
^Goldstein, Eric. "Immaculate Conception-Lodi defeats Sacred Heart to win Non-Public B title", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 9, 2013. Accessed December 2, 2017. "It wasn’t supposed to end like this for the Sacred Heart High School softball team. It wasn’t supposed to end watching Immaculate Conception-Lodi celebrate winning the NJSIAA Non-Public B state title with a 6-4 win."
^Gargan, Guy. "St. Joseph softball loses to Immaculate Conception in state softball final", The Press of Atlantic City, June 7, 2014. Accessed December 2, 2017. "Immaculate Conception won its second straight state Non-Public B title 5-0, scoring a run in the third inning and adding four more in the sixth. The Blue Wolves improved to 27-2, while St. Joseph, the South Jersey champion, finished its season at 14-12."
^Schutta, Gregory. "H.S. softball: Immaculate Conception walks off with third title in row", The Record, June 6, 2015, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 20, 2015. Accessed December 2, 2017. "The junior threw off her helmet Friday and raced toward the circle where she was mobbed by her Immaculate Conception teammates after singling in the winning run in the Blue Wolves’ 2-1, come-from-behind victory over St. Joseph (Hammonton) in the Non-Public B softball championship at Kean... It gave the Blue Wolves their third straight Non-Public B crown in a rematch of last year’s state final.... The Blue Wolves (22-5) trailed most of the game after giving up a run in the first on a hit batsman, an error and a wild pitch."
^McGurk, Tom. "Softball: St. Joseph's run falls short", Courier-Post, June 5, 2015. Accessed December 2, 2017. "Five outs away from capturing the school's first state title in any girls' sport, St. Joseph surrendered the tying run in the sixth and the decisive run in the bottom of the seventh Friday as Immaculate Conception Academy of Lodi walked off with a 2-1 win in the Non-Public B final at Kean University."
^Iseman, Chris. "H.S. softball: Immaculate Conception wins fourth state title in row", The Record, June 11, 2016, backed up by the Internet Archive as of June 13, 2016. Accessed December 2, 2017. "Fueled by a three-run fifth inning and another dominant performance from Piening – confident and composed in the circle as always – Immaculate Conception defeated Benedictine, 3-0, Friday in the Non-Public B state title game at Kean University. The Blue Wolves (20-9) became just the third program to win four consecutive state championships.... This was also the 600th career win for Horohonich, who was at the helm of Immaculate Heart when the Blue Eagles won four straight state titles from 1993-96."
^Schneider, Jeremy. "Lodi Immaculate downs Wildwood Catholic for record-setting fifth straight Non-Public B title", NJ Advance Media NJ.com, June 4, 2017. Accessed December 2, 2017. "As Lodi Immaculate's players posed for pictures with the Non-Public B trophy on Sunday, they all put their thumbs up, symbolizing where they would be putting the program's latest ring — one for the thumb, which became the team's rallying cry.The Blue Wolves, No. 14 in the NJ.com Top 20, took out Wildwood Catholic, 8-2, to win the NJSIAA Non-Public B crown at Kean University for a fifth straight title — setting a record for the most consecutive state titles in New Jersey softball history."
^Schneider, Jeremy. "IHA walks off in extras to beat Lodi Immaculate for first-ever T of C title", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 9, 2017. Accessed December 2, 2017. "It was, by definition, the biggest game in New Jersey softball history — the first-ever Tournament of Champions final, which would crown a true No. 1 team.... Senior outfielder Caroline Ventor blasted a two-out, two-strike walk-off single to left field that scored Mia Recenello as Immaculate Heart, No. 18 in the NJ.com Top 20, came from behind to down No. 14 Lodi Immaculate, 5-4, in eight innings in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions final at Ivy Hill Park on Friday night.... The inaugural Tournament of Champions trophy joins Immaculate Heart's state-best 12 group titles — the last of which came last weekend when the Blue Eagles downed No. 4 Donovan Catholic for a third straight Non-Public A title."
^Cooper, Darren. "The dynasty lives on for Immaculate Conception softball: Six state titles and counting", The Record, June 3, 2018. Accessed December 11, 2020. "The Blue Wolves added to their state record with a sixth straight Non-Public B title Sunday afternoon at Kean, shutting out Wildwood Catholic, 3-0, behind a two hitter from junior Caylee English.... The Blue Wolves (20-7) are the last remaining North Jersey softball team, and will open up play in the Tournament of Champions in the first round on Tuesday."
^Cooper, Darren. "Softball: Bad first inning dooms Immaculate Conception in TOC Final", The Record, June 8, 2018. Accessed July 18, 2019. "Steinert, the reigning Group 3 state champion, scored nine runs in the first inning and ran away with a 9-0 win over the Blue Wolves in the Tournament of Champions final Friday night at Ivy Hill Park.... Immaculate Conception was seeded sixth in the event, despite coming off a state record sixth straight Non-Public B state title, but rallied to beat North Hunterdon 5-3 and then Robbinsville 12-2 in the first two days of the second annual TOC.... The Blue Wolves (22-8) were retired in order by Steinert right-hander Kaylee Whittaker, then Spartans center fielder Dara Kelly walked on four pitches.
^Koob, Andrew. "Softball: English dominates again as No. 8 Lodi Immaculate wins 7th-straight NPB title (PHOTOS)", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 2, 2019, updated August 22, 2019. Accessed October 8, 2020. "English tossed a three-hit shutout, her second straight shutout performance in a state final, as Lodi Immaculate, No. 8 in the NJ.com Top 20, won its seventh consecutive NJSIAA/Wilson Sporting Goods Non-Public B tournament with a 4-0 victory over St. Joseph (Hamm.) Sunday."
^Kramer, Peter D. "Steven Spielberg's West Side Story Maria on stage in Lodi this weekend", The Record, April 11, 2019. Accessed July 18, 2019. "Friday was big for Clifton's Rachel Zegler. It was opening night for Shrek, her last musical at Immaculate Conception High School. It was also her last day as a student in the halls of the Catholic girls school in Lodi."
