Monsignor Donovan High School

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Monsignor Donovan High School is the only Roman Catholic High School in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, operating under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton. Located in the coastal community of Toms River Township, the school originally opened in 1962 as St. Joseph's, but was renamed after its founder, Msgr. Lawrence Donovan in 1983. The school mascot is the Griffin. In the 1960s, the school (then St. Joseph's High School) sponsored a contest to name the mascot. Finalists were chosen by the faculty from the submissions, and then the students voted on the finalists. The Griffin was the clear favorite.

Contents 1 Block Scheduling and Flex 2 Dress code 3 Extracurricular activities 4 Statistics 5 Administration 6 Motto 7 Notable alumni 8 Kairos 9 Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School 10 References 11 External link

[edit] Block Scheduling and Flex

Prior to the 1998-1999 year, the school operated under a traditional eight-period system. The following year, a block scheduling system was implemented. The school then changed to a two-semester school year, similar to the traditional college format. Each semester, a student takes four classes. At the end of January, students begin a new set of four classes.

Each class is either 75 or 80 minutes long, depending on whether the class takes place before or after lunch. The lunch period (referred to as "Flex time") is fifty minutes. At first, all students were served at once. The cafeteria became too crowded, so the school implemented a lunch schedule. Seniors have first lunch everyday, regardless. Juniors, sophomores, and freshmen lunch times are rotated throughout the week for first, second, and last lunch.

[edit] Dress code

Students are required to wear uniforms. Girls may wear navy knee socks or tights, navy and gray pleated skirts, navy blue skorts, or khaki pants. They may also wear white or blue golf shirts in the Fall/Spring, and white or blue oxford shirts in Winter. Sweaters are optional.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

The athletic teams compete in the Shore Conference in the following sports: football, soccer, baseball, hockey, basketball, swimming, gymnastics, softball, lacrosse, tennis, golf, wrestling, track and field, sailing, bowling and cross country running. The Monsignor Donovan basketball team clinched their division of the Shore Conference for the second consecutive year, going undefeated in divisional play.

The most accomplished athletic groups are the powerlifting team, headed by Mr. Mark Deppen, and the cheerleading squad, led by Mrs. Donna Milana. Both teams frequently win national championships in their respective categories. Women's cross-country, women's indoor and outdoor track, men's and women's basketball, and men's soccer are also very strong programs.

The school is also noted for its performing arts department, under the direction of Ms. Cindy Wald-Hardyal and Mr. Harold Frazee. Mr. Harold Frazee enjoys celebrity status on campus for having given Jon Bon Jovi piano lessons. He is the school's band director and heads the jazz band and concert band. He's known for his wonderfully unusual tastes in selecting music for both bands and his very exciting performances. He also likes to choose music that does not fall into the range of the usual school band. For example, many times the bands have played music by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, mostly to showcase the band's unusually large rhythm section.

The Monsignor Donovan drama department is headed by Mrs. Carol Babuschak and her husband Deacon Frank Babuschak. The couple retired from teaching art and religion respectively in 2006, but continue to be a part of performing arts at Monsignor Donovan. Both have been especially successful in directing the school's Spring Musicals. Their hard work and dedication, plus the support of many students, parents, and friends, earned the drama department the honor of performing at the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2006. Monsignor Donovan was the only school chosen from the state of New Jersey to take part in this event. The school was chosen above performing arts schools, which is especially impressive considering Monsignor Donovan does not even have a theatre. Unfortunately, the department was unable to participate due to a ruling of the Diocese of Trenton which banned air travel. It is unlikely, however, that the trip would have taken place, as most students had decided not to take the trip due to financial or other concerns.

[edit] Statistics

For the 2006-07 academic year, the school's student population is 975, a 2.3% decrease from the 2005-06 academic year. The most recent Senior Class graduated 232 students on June 5, 2006. Tuition is $7,235 per year, plus fees.

[edit] Administration

• Administrator: Msgr. Sean Flynn
• Principal: Dr. Edward Gere
• Vice Principal: Mrs. Kathleen D'Andrea
• Assistant Principal: Mrs. Eileen McCullion
• Deans of Discipline: Mrs. Kim Sandomerski and Mr. Jason Asch
• Chaplain: Fr. Dean Gaudio

[edit] Motto

The school's motto is "Modern Excellence, Rich in Tradition".^[1]

[edit] Notable alumni

• John Cudia - Broadway Actor
• J. T. Makoviecki - Author ^[2]
• Scott Palguta - Professional soccer player for the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the USL First Division
• Glenn Taranto - Actor
• Diamond Dallas Page - professional wrestler
• Mike Straka - Fox News journalist.^[3]

[edit] Kairos

Seniors of the school have the opportunity to participate in a Kairos retreat. Although they are not sworn to secrecy, participants usually choose not to tell others about what happens there in order to ensure that future participants get the full experience of the retreat.

[edit] Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School

Monsignor Donovan High School should not be confused with Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School, an independent Catholic high school located in Athens, Georgia. However, beginning in 2002, the administration began referring to the school as Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School. This name change was not made official, but was reflected on the cover of the school handbook for that year.

[edit] References

[edit] External link

• Monsignor Donovan High School