Holy Cross High School (New Jersey)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Holy Cross High School
School type	Catholic
Established	1956
Principal	Dennis Guida (Acting Principal For Joseph Lemme (See Below))
Faculty	50
Students	800
Colors	Maroon and Silver
Mascot	The Lancer
Information	(856) 461-5400

Holy Cross High School in Delran Township, New Jersey is the only Roman Catholic high school in Burlington County. Holy Cross is fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The school is run under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, and was ranked one of the best private schools in the country.

Occupying a 100-acre campus, it has a wide variety of co-curricular activities, including 40 sports teams and over 50 clubs, for students to participate in. Tuition for the 2006-2007 school year is $7,600.00

Student population is comprised of students from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. 92% of the school's graduates go onto four-year colleges and universities, with another 13% continuing their education at junior colleges or trade schools. The school had seen a decline in students in recent years, and the school came close to closing following the 2003-2004 school year. However the school has rebounded in the past three years and freshman enrollment has increased over this time.

1 Mission Statement
2 Cross C-A-R-E-S
3 Revitalization
4 Faculty
5 Notable alumni
6 Controversy
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Mission Statement

Empowered by the Gospel message of Jesus, Holy Cross, a Catholic high school, develops young men and women to become life-long learners and well-informed citizens through dynamic spiritual, academic, co-curricular, and community activities. The mission statement is recited every day to the students in the morning announcements.

[edit] Cross C-A-R-E-S

Cross's motto is that Cross CARES; CARES is an acronym for Community-Academics-Responsibility-Extracurricular-Spiritual.

[edit] Revitalization

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message.
This article has been tagged since November 2006.

After years of hardship at Holy Cross, the school has seen a lot of positive growth in the past few years. About 96% of the student body is involved in some type of extracurricular activity. A full time trainer and brand new weight lifting facility has allowed the Holy Cross Lancers to excel on the field, court, pole vault runway, and even the bowling alley. However, athletics is not the only aspect of Holy Cross, and the arts are not pushed aside. In 2006, Holy Cross created a new, redesigned Dance Team program with a custom dance studio that was completed that summer. Holy Cross features three annual drama events: a fall play, an annual rendition of A Christmas Carol, and a spring musical. Under the direction of Jim Gallo, the 2006 lineup has so far included Antigone in October. This December, they will perform Scrooge (The Musical), a musical version of A Christmas Carol by Leslie Bricusse. This spring they will perform the musical Big River. November 2006 also marked the first Holy Cross Math Bowl. Backed by Mr. Frank Sgroi, it was run solely by Holy Cross students; everything from judging to making the questions was student-based. Junior high and middle school students from around the area came to compete.

An entire week of games and activities lead up to the big game and the homecoming dance. "Spirit Week" draws alumni, friends, family, and the curious in general. Holy Cross has a homecoming that rivals and surpasses many colleges and universities' events. Holy Cross' student government format is a student-run Activities Board that is open to anyone in the student body who wishes to be involved. While the board has a president and other positions, it takes ideas and opinions from anyone regardless of rank. The board is responsible for many of the year's events, including formal dances, homecoming activities, etc.

The school has also undergone a $25 Million renovation, including a new roof in 2005 to replace the old one which had been in place since the school opened in 1956. A renovated Gerald Finsen Media Center was built during the 2005-2006 school year.

[edit] Faculty

Holy Cross is currently led by the Acting Principal (Former Vice-Principal), Dennis Guida. He is backed by two Vice Principals, Michael Fynan and Christine Perry, as well as a Dean of Students, Marietta Agocs.

[edit] Notable alumni

Wali Lundy RB for the Houston Texans^[1]
Gervase Peterson from Survivor: Borneo^[2]
Gregg Murphy host of "Out of Bounds" on CN8^[3]
Jerry Penacoli Correspondent on Extra.^[4]
James Haggerty Alumni of The Catholic University of America .^[5]

[edit] Controversy

On November 22, 2006, Holy Cross Principal Joseph Lemme was placed on indefinite administrative leave, without pay, by the Diocese of Trenton, after a preliminary audit found "numerous financial irregularities" in certain accounts that were his responsibility. Specifics of the irregularities were not released by the Diocese nor was it immediately disclosed if money was taken from the school. The audit was done after senior administrative staff raised concerns. The county Prosecutor's Office will be consulted if wrongdoing is found.^[6] It was reported in the Burlington County Times that on November 30th, 2006, a lawsuit was filed by the school for $200,000.00 for money lost under Lemme's leadership. According to the suit, the school was missing about $35,000 collected for student trips to New York City, Disney World and other places; $21,000 collected for last year's summer school program and $171,000 from book sales in 2005 and 2006. The lawsuit does not say whether Lemme spent any of the missing money. Court filings did say he deposited $233,000 into a bank account since 2003. After school leaders suspended him, he tried to withdraw some of the funds, but by then the diocese had frozen them. ^[7]