Bishop O'Hara High School
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Bishop O'Hara High School, is a private senior high school located in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. It opened in 1964 with the name Dunmore Central Catholic.
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[edit] Specifics
As of 2006, the enrollment of Bishop O'Hara is 308 students, most of whom are caucasian, and typically come from middle to upper-middle class families. Many students commute from other school districts to attend Bishop O'Hara. The school's nickname is the Bruins and the colors are Columbia blue, white and gold.
The school is typical in that its day is six hours long and there are 180 days in the school year.
It was announced on January 30, 2007 that Bishop O'Hara will be known as Holy Cross High School after the merger with Bishop Hannan for the 2007-2008 school year. Until a single school is built, the O'Hara and Hannan buildings will house grades 10-12 while grade 9 will be placed at one of the two campuses. Holy Cross will have one sports program starting next year, with a nickname and colors to be named later.
It was mentioned recently on the NBC hit show The Office and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
[edit] Sports
Bishop O'Hara offers a wide array of sports all year round. These are: (Fall) cross country, football, football cheerleading, golf, and soccer; (Winter) basketball, basketball cheerleading, wrestling, and bowling; (Spring) baseball, softball, and track and field.
The football team has enjoyed two of their most successful seasons recently. Under the guidance of coach Al "Butch" Keller, who took over in 2004, the Bruins have posted a 21-12 record, 16-7 since 2005. Also, they have made two Eastern Conference Class A Playoff appearances, winning the championship in 2006 with a 35-0 win over South Williamsport. The team plays it's home games at St. Anthony's Field in Dunmore.
Golf, coached by Tom Paddock, is a yearly contender in the Lackawanna League. They won the Jackman Tournament in 1989.
The cross country teams have also been very successful in recent years. They have posted winning records quite often and routinely place runners highly at the state level.
The soccer team, while struggling to find players after losing many seniors the past year, had previously enjoyed winning seasons. The Bruins soccer teams play at Sherwood Park in Dunmore.
In basketball, Bishop O'Hara is widely considered to have a strong program in both boys and girls competition. Head coach Al Callejas guided the boys to an appearance in the state championship in 1996. Both teams have won numerous district championships and tournaments in their history, including the Lynett in 1998, and have advanced deep in to state play.
O'Hara has seen many wrestlers achieve state medals in their storied history. The team dominated in the 1980's and 1990's and still has a competitive squad.
The bowling team in 2006 won the Lackawanna Scholastic League Bowling Championship for the first time in 29 years. This was a great accomplishment for the school. The team that won the championship consisted of 2 freshmen, 1 sophomore, and 2 juniors. They will continue to pursue future league championships.
The most successful sport at the high school in terms of championships is softball. Known as a state power since it's inception, the Lady Bruins won the PIAA Class A championship in 2001 with a victory over Sto Rox. Many district titles have been won and the team often qualifies for the state tournament. XE McAndrew is the head coach and the Lady Bruins play at St. Anthony's Field.
The baseball team has seen success in their last three years, all winning seasons. They won the district championship in 2004 and 2005 and qualified for the state tournament. Sandy Menichetti, who took over for long time coach Charles Buzad after the 2004 season, leads the Bruins. The team plays at Sherwood Park.
Recently, Bishop O'Hara formed an official track and field team in a cooperative program with rival school Bishop Hannan. The initial trial season looked promising, despite the fact that the athletes could only compete in exhibition. Several athletes including Richard Simonds took home medals in Districts and the Jordan Relays.
[edit] Drama
Bishop O'Hara has a reputation for having excellent plays and theater productions.Recently, Seussical the Musical and Beauty and the Beast were both amazing successes, the latter selling out nearly every performance. The Secret Garden, which was performed this year under the direction of Thomas J. Fidiam, continued in the Bishop O'Hara tradition of excellence. Multiple students from Bishop O'Hara have continued their studies in Musical Theatre at renowned schools and conservatories. Alumni Judy McLane is currently performing as Tanya in Mamma Mia! on Broadway.
[edit] Alumni
Kristen Harding- Nationally known horseback rider and current Temple University undergraduate with honors.
