Sacred Heart School in Valley Park has received the Physical Fitness State Champion Award for the 2007-2008 school year. This award was bestowed upon the school by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Sacred Heart School is one of only two schools in the state of Missouri who were awarded this status.  Sacred Heart School had the highest percentage of students achieve the 85^th percentile or higher on a battery of physical fitness tests. All students first grade and older were tested as part of qualifying for the honor.

The tests included:

A shuttle run

Sit-ups

A Mile run

Push-ups

A flexibility test

This award is in itself a great accomplishment.  But the fact that Sacred Heart School achieved it without a gymnasium is a credit to the school and to their physical education teacher, Mrs. Susan Schriever.  She did not allow this obstacle of space to keep her from leading her students to this high level of fitness.

Sacred Heart is in the process of building a state-of-the-art gymnasium, including a walking track. Sacred Heart School in Valley Park has 426 students from three-year-old preschool through eighth grade. Sacred Heart School has won this award three times in the past four years.

"Our goal is to instill in our children lifelong habits of good health and fitness," said Mrs. Joan Wojciechowski, Principal