Oratory Preparatory School
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| Oratory Preparatory School | |
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| Fidelitas | |
| Established | 1907 |
| School type | Private, Day |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Headmaster | Mr. Timothy M. Lynch |
| Location | 1 Beverly Road Summit, NJ, USA |
| Campus | 10 acres |
| Enrollment | 273 |
| Faculty | 39 |
| Average class size | 16 |
| Student:teacher ratio |
10:1 |
| Average SAT scores (2006) |
1250 |
| Average ACT scores (2006) |
N/A |
| Athletics | 11 varsity sports |
| Color(s) | Royal Blue and Gold |
| Mascot | Ram |
| Conference | Mountain Valley |
| Homepage | http://www.oratoryprep.org |
Oratory Preparatory School, commonly known as Oratory Prep, is a Roman Catholic college preparatory day school for boys, located in Summit, New Jersey, United States, approximately 19 miles west of Manhattan. The school is positioned one block away from the Kent Place School and across the street from Summit High School. The school was founded in 1907 as Carlton Academy, with grades 4-12. Most of the students lived on campus. It currently serves approximately 270 students in grades 7-12. Due to the school's relatively small size, students in a given grade are not individually ranked. Oratory is home to young men from over 70 towns in the New York metro area. Tuition for the 2006 academic year is $13,850, not including transportation, books, and meals.[1] Financial aid and scholarships are offered to more than 30% of Oratory families[citation needed].Each year 100% of Oratory seniors are accepted to four year colleges.[2]
The school is currently associated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, to whom it was sold during the 1950s, when the school ran into significant financial difficulties.
For the 2005 academic school year, 73 applicants applied for the seventh grade alone. 24 were accepted, a rate of 32.8 percent.[2]
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[edit] History
Though the school is named Oratory, it does not have any connection to the Oratorian Fathers. However, there may have been an association in the past, as advertisements for the school in The New York Times during the 1910s mention the Oratorian Fathers. The reason for the name change is said to be that the school wanted to attract Oratorian Priests, however this plan proved to be unsuccessful. Oratory was founded as an exclusive boarding school serving boys in grades 4 through 12, although in 1964 it became strictly a day school.
Oratory originally resided on a fifteen acre lot, but was reduced to its current ten after selling off a portion of land in the 1960s. Among century-old specimen trees and rolling hills, the campus is comprised of two main academic buildings, athletic fields, and a prayer garden. The Newman Hall mansion, located at 14 Bedford Road, houses two classrooms, a chapel, and admission/development offices. At the turn of the century, the campus was conversationally referred to as "The Park" by Summit residents because it had various athletic fields, intricate lamp posts, its own irrigation system, and a small pond that was used for skating during the winter season.[3] The Fr. John J. Bain Academic building, built in 1959, contains classrooms, cafeteria, library, gymnasium, weight room, guidance offices, computer lab, chemistry lab, and art room. Oratory's Kelly Field hosts a baseball diamond as well as Northern New Jersey's largest high school soccer field. Three practice tennis courts are adjacent to Kelly Field.
In 2006, the land was assessed at $6,270,000, and the buildings at $2,752,700, a total of $9,022,700.[4] The school is located on block 511, lot 1.
Oratory Preparatory School is a member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools and is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.[2]
[edit] Capital Improvement Plan
Oratory Prep is governed by a 21-member Board of Trustees, appointed by the Archbishop of Newark. Annual Giving provides approximately 20 percent of the school's annual budget, which currently averages about $3.9 million. Corporations, foundations, parents, and alumni contribute to the Annual Giving Program.
With support from all resources, Oratory has made significant changes to the school in the past five years. Beginning in 2003, the school has required, as part of the "Anytime, Anywhere Learning Program", personal laptop computers for grades 9-12, and put the entire campus on a wireless internet network. In the summer of 2004, a $1.3 million renovation to Fr. John Bain Academic Building was completed, resulting in major renovations to each classroom, and the installation of smartboards. In 2005, a new library and art studio was built in the location of the previous stage area.
Throughout the summer of 2006, improvements included renovations to the main lobby and gym, and the installation of an up-to-date security system, complete with 18 security cameras and new servers. A new marquee is located on the Morris Avenue side of the campus.
[edit] Student life
[edit] Transportation
Students travel from towns as far away as Washington Township (50 miles away), to one block down the street. Students get to school using New Jersey Transit rail and bus services. The Summit train station is located approximately 1 mile from the school. Additional busing is provided by county-run bus services. Juniors and seniors are allowed to park in designated parking spaces in the school lot.
[edit] School day
Oratory starts school in September, and ends in June (May for seniors), with 180 school days, and three major vacation periods. Each day begins at 8:21 AM and ends at 2:41 PM, however supervision is provided by the school until 6:00 PM.
[edit] Academics
[edit] Course Offerings
- Listing of all core and elective courses for grades 9 - 12; all non-AP courses have a College Prep or Honors option
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[edit] Honor Roll
Oratory operates on a numerical based graded system where no letter grades are given. Each quarter, students are awarded different levels of honors depending on their GPA. The levels are as follows:
- St. Philip Neri Highest Honors - 90% in each class with an overall GPA of 95
- High Honors - 85% in each class with an overall GPA of 90
- Honors - 80% in each class with an overall GPA of 85
[edit] Campus Ministry
At least once a month the gym is used as a chapel for school-wide masses. Mass highlights include the annual Christmas and Easter celebrations. A variety of spirited musicians participate during the mass, with instruments of guitar, percussion, piano/keyboard, chimes, and chorus. Although a Catholic school, Oratory welcomes students of all faiths and therefore often hosts prayer services without the inclusion of the Eucharist. There is a daily mass in the gym before school for whoever wishes to attend.
Students participate in community service programs such as Bridges and Habitat for Humanity. Meetings run on a weekly basis, where fundraiser ideas are discussed. Proceeds from two or more dress-down days throughout the school year are donated to the Bridges Program.
Overnight Emmaus retreats run continually throughout the year for all grades. Every school year, each class travels on a day trip to the Xavier Retreat Center at the College of Saint Elizabeth. The lower school holds their retreats at Newman Hall during the fall season. The freshmen have have an overnight retreat in Blairstown, New Jersey for team building exercises, and finish their trip at Newman Hall the following day.
[edit] Study Abroad
Oratory offers week-long trips to several countries in Europe for the purpose of acquainting students with foreign environments and customs. In past years Oratory has hosted trips to France, Italy and the United Kingdom. One highlight from the 2006 trip was having Easter mass at the Santa Maria del Fiore Church in Florence, Italy. Trips are reasonable in price, and Oratory students stay in either three or four star hotels.
Popular at Oratory is the annual ski trip to Italy. Not only do the students have the opportunity to ski on the Italian Alps, but they also experience the life of the surrounding towns.
[edit] Athletics
[edit] Fall
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[edit] Winter
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[edit] Spring
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More than 80 percent of students at Oratory participate in at least one sport.[2] The athletic teams participate in the 20-team Mountain Valley Conference, and compete in parochial B state finals because of the school's small population. Oratory has recently held the most titles of any school in the conference.
The golf team was NJSIAA Non Public B State Champions in 2004-2005, and won the NJSIAA Prep B State Championship in 2005-2006. For the 2006 season, the Oratory golf team was ranked 20th in the state by the Star-Ledger.[5] Oratory Golf's home course is Canoe Brook Country Club, and the team often plays at Baltusrol Golf Club. The team is led by coach Kevin Mahoney '86, who is also the swim coach for both Oratory and Mount St. Mary Academy. For eleven consecutive years, the swim team has won the Mountain Valley Conference and won the NJ Prep B Championship in 2004. The cross country team was the NJISAA Prep B State Champions in 2004, and has continually placed first in the conference for the past ten years. The team is led by Coach E.J. Cronin, who is also the junior varsity baseball coach. The varsity baseball team were conference champions in 2006, a feat not accomplished since 1956, and had a perfect in-conference record of 12-0.[2] Oratory employs three part-time athletic trainers for strength and conditioning year-round.
[edit] Extracurricular activities
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[edit] Mock Trial
The mock trial team, sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, began at Oratory in 2003. In 2006 the team won the state regional final champonship, and in 2007 the team won the state semifinals, but lost the state championship.[6]
[edit] Annual Events & Fundraisers
- Father/Son Communion Breakfast
- Family Mass
- Christmas Foreign Language Masses
- Oratory's Annual Golf Classic
- Spirit Day
- Fashion Show
- Christmas Tree Sale
- Ram Day
- Open Houses
- OPalooza Battle of the Bands
- Spring Gala
[edit] Headmasters and Faculty
[edit] Headmasters
- Mr. Charles H. Schultz (1907-1917)
- Msgr. James F. Newcomb (1917-1923)
- Msgr. Joseph M. Capoano (1923-1931)
- Rev. Felix J. Kelly (1931-1945)
- Rev. John J. Bain (1945-1967)
- Rev. James F. Pindar (1967)
- Rev. Joseph W. Russell (1967-1968)
- Msgr. Michael Fitzpatrick (1968-1974)
- Rev. Theodore Osbahr (1974-1975)
- Msgr. Michael Fitzpatrick (1975-1978)
- Mr. Joseph T. Boland (1978-1980)
- Rev. Floyd Rotunno (1980-1994)
- Rev. Paul Manning (1994-1996)
- Rev. F. Kevin Murphy (1996-2002)
- Bro. Robert J. Wickman (2002-2005)
- Mr. Timothy M. Lynch (2005-present)
[edit] Noted Faculty
- Active faculty members with at least seven years of experience- listed alphabetically by last name
- Mrs. Irene Crum
- Mr. Walter Crum
- Mrs. Donna Derise
- Mr. Steven Fava
- Mr. John T. Horan
- Mr. Kevin Mahoney
- Mr. Edward McDonnell
- Dr. Katherine Steciuk
[edit] Noted alumni
- Richard Codey, former Governor of New Jersey
- Danny Devito, actor.[7]
- Eugene Duffy, Assistant Chief Lighting Technician, most notably for Bruce Almighty[8]
- Chris Carlin, radio producer and sportscaster
- Leo J. Feeney Jr., former president of the Greater Essex Association of Financial and Insurance Advisors[9]
- David Grande, president of Vitusa Products, Inc.[9]
- William McKee, CFO and senior vice-president of Barr Pharmaceuticals[9]
- Frank J. Ponzio, Jr, entrepreneur, software developer[9]
- John P. Sullivan, Adjunct Professor of Finance and Accounting at Fairleigh Dickinson University – Graduate Business School[9]
[edit] Other pictures
 A typical classroom post 2004 renovation |
 The facade of the main building after renovation |
 Newman Hall decorated for Christmas |
 The foyer of Newman Hall |
 "Housemother and Children" |
 First hockey team |
 First baseball team |
 The foyer of Newman Hall in 1910 |
[edit] External links
- Oratory Preparatory School website
- National Center for Education Statistics data for Oratory Preparatory School
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- Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
- Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
[edit] References
- ^ Archdiocese of Newark: Catholic High School Listing, accessed September 9, 2006
- ^ a b c d e Oratory Prep Fast Facts, accessed September 10, 2006
- ^ Rae, John W. & John W. Rae Jr. (1985). Summit's Forgotten Past "The Gilded Age." Summit, NJ, John W. Rae.
- ^ Tax Records, accessed February 5, 2007
- ^ Final Golf Top 20, Star-Ledger, June 19, 2006
- ^ Oratory Prep team rules in court, Star-Ledger, March 22, 2007
- ^ Saturday Morning Shootout: Danny DeVito, AMC (TV network), accessed April 2, 2007. "DeVito attended Our Lady of Mt. Carmel grammar school and Oratory Prep School in Summit, New Jersey, but appeared in only one school play, as St. Francis of Assisi."
- ^ Eugene Duffy, accessed April 3, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Oratory Prep Alumni News, accessed April 2, 2007
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Preparatory schools in New Jersey | High schools in New Jersey | Middle schools in New Jersey | New Jersey Association of Independent Schools | Union County, New Jersey | Roman Catholic secondary schools | Private schools in New Jersey | Single-gender schools | Boys' schools | Educational institutions established in 1907
