St. Andrew's Catholic School (Newtown, Pennsylvania)
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[edit] St. Andrew's Catholic School (Newtown, Pennsylvania)
St. Andrew's Catholic School is a private, American, Catholic, parochial school, located in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania for children from preschool through the eight-grade. According to its mission statement, its goal is to:
"...to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, in order to empower its students to live the message of the Gospel...The faculty and staff work together to create a loving atmosphere that fosters and maintains the spiritual, social, and academic needs of its students..." 1
In addition to the student body, students who attend local public schools also come to St. Andrew's for religious education classes.
[edit] History
[edit] Founding (1927)-1957
St. Andrew's School was first founded in 1927, when the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary agreed, at the request of Reverend John T. Brady, to run the school in August of that year. The original class consisted of only 47 students and 2 Sisters to teach. The original facility was located opposite of the Old Church just outside of Newtown Borough. It contained four classrooms. 2
[edit] 1957-1993
In 1957, the original building was extended, adding four classrooms. In 1959, students from Assumption B.V.M., another Catholic school in Feasterville, Pennsylvania for half the year until they could attend classes at their own facilities. 2
[edit] 1993-Present
During the school year from 1993-1994, St. Andrew's had its largest class since its founding, consisting of 615 students, with others put on a waiting list. The parish of Saint Vincent DePaul accomodate some of the students; the school used the basement at the parish rectory to teach students in preschool and kindergarten. 6 "modular classrooms" were put on the playground as well to help accomodate the larger-than-usual class size. 2
On September 24, 1993, St. Andrew's Parish current pastor, Reverend Michael Picard, announced that a new school would be built. Construction began with ground-breaking ceremonies on October 17, 1993. On January 9, 1995, the kindgergarten through eigth grade classes moved to the new school. The school cost 4.5 million $US to build, and was the first new Catholic school built in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 25 years. It was designed to have a maximimum capacity of 750 students. Between 1998 and 2000, the school was expanded to accomodate a maximum 1000 students, the current enrollment level at the school. 2
The old building that was used to teach all classes became the new site of preschool education; it offered a variety of teaching styles until 2003, when the Montessori teaching style was eliminated. 2 During the 2005-2006 school year, it was announced that the original building had become too antiquiated to continue using; roof leaks were cited specifically. The building was sold to developers, and the students currently attending were moved the main school, beginning in the 2006-2007 school year. It is unsure what the old St. Andrew School building's use will be.
[edit] Activities
[edit] Athletics
St. Andrew's currently offers three athletic activities, in addition to its mandatory physical education program. Teams compete in Region 19, one of several regions in the Philaelphia Archidocese Catholic Youth Organization. Football (Soccer) is available to students in kindergarten through eigth grade. In the third grade, students are eligible to try out for the school's "region" team, a select team that competes on a higher level than others. During the 2005-2006 school year, the boys varsity region team, which consisted of players in the 7th and 8th grades, won their Archdiocesan playoffs; they were the first boys team from St. Andrew's to do so.
Basketball is another sport available to students. Beginning in the 3rd grade, students are allowed to compete until they graduate. Students are elligible to try out for the regigon team as soon as they begin playing. In the 2005-2006 school year, the boys varsity region team, which consisted of players in the 7th and 8th grades, placed second in state-level play.
For the 2006-2007 school year, American football was made available to the students as an alternative to football (soccer). However, there were only enough students to carry a team in the 5th and 6th grades.
[edit] Academics
In addition to athletic activities, the school offers several after-school academic programs. The school sends 4-6 teams annually to the Bucks County Reading Olympics. Students from the 5th through the 8th grades are eligible to compete.
During the 2005-2006 school year, St. Andrew's began their own forensics, or speech and debate team.
