Bergen Catholic High School

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Bergen Catholic High School
Deus Vult - "God Wills It"
Location
Oradell, NJ, USA
Information
Religion Roman Catholic
Enrollment

816 (as of 2003-04)[1]
Faculty 48.9 (on FTE basis)[1]
Student:teacher ratio 16.7[1]
Type Private
Athletics 14 varsity sports
Athletics conference Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League
Team name Crusaders
Color(s) Scarlet and Gold           [2]
Established 1955
Homepage School website

Bergen Catholic High School is an all-male Roman Catholic high school in Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade.[3]

Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, Bergen Catholic currently has enrollment of approximately 850 pupils. Bergen Catholic's reputation draws students from a wide geographic area that includes North Jersey, Rockland County in New York and Pennsylvania. People of many ethnicities and creeds come to Bergen Catholic for its academic and athletic programs. Bergen Catholic has a long-standing rivalry with fellow Catholic school, Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey.[4]

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 816 students and 48.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 16.7.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Bergen Catholic High School was founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and opened on September 11, 1955 with an enrollment of 114 freshmen. Classes were originally held at Our Lady of Visitation School in Paramus, New Jersey while construction was being completed on the school. Brother Eugene D. McKenna was appointed the first principal. The students chose Crusaders as the school symbol and scarlet and gold as the school colors. In keeping with the Crusaders symbol, the school motto "Deus Vult" ("God Wills It") was chosen.[2]

The campus now occupies twelve acres of land on the corner of Oradell and Forest Avenues in Oradell, New Jersey. An additional academic wing was built onto the school in the early 1960s, and a new and larger library was added in 1984. In 1989, a special weight training facility was erected. The school building also houses a student chapel, science laboratories, cafeteria, computer science laboratory, and gymnasium. A parking area is on the property. In 1998 the football field underwent a revitalization when one of the first FieldTurf fields in the nation was installed.[5] In 2003, the Nicholas G. Saingas Weight Training Center and Wrestling Room was added. Over the 2008 summer the school has planned for a renovation of the football field including new FieldTurf and the possibility of a baseball field. Although the baseball field is planned there is still speculation whether or not it will be included in the final renovations.

The library is currently under construction to relocate the current faculty room which will become a smaller classroom primarily used for AP classes.

[edit] Mission statement

"Bergen Catholic High School is a Catholic community of men and women which deepens religious faith, develops academic excellence, and strengthens social consciousness and responsibility in young men."[6]

[edit] Technology program

Bergen Catholic High School is noted for its laptop program, in which the students buy a ThinkPad through the school as their own laptop for completing work that requires internet access and for taking notes. Other notable parts of the computer include the use of an interactive whiteboard and Edline. The program was phased in starting with the class of 2007. Every student now carries a laptop.

Edline is a website utilized so that Bergen students can communicate with their teachers, and stay up to date with their homework assignments and standing in the class. Aside from Edline, Bergen Catholic has recently introduced TurnItIn, a website that boasts an extensive plagiarism prevention tool utilized by most of the faculty. Its GradeMark and Peer Review features have proven to be very useful in the second full year of its integration.

[edit] Awards and recognition

Bergen Catholic High School won the 1991 National High School Mock Trial Championship, held in New Orleans.[7]

[edit] Activities

Activities within the school include CCA (Crusaders for Catholic Action, a Catholic activist group), the Student Government, The Herald school newspaper, The Crusader yearbook, a chorus group (which plays at all school liturgies), a jazz ensemble which performs both in and out of school, a dramatics club, ski club, chess club and team, math club and team, guidance club, stock market club, an award-winning mock trial team and a quiz bowl team.

Bergen Catholic also offers a program of intramural sports for students not on the schools interscholastic teams: golf, basketball, tennis, bowling, volleyball, and street hockey. A program of weight training is available.

BCTV is the school's own television crew. BCTV presents a TV show every day in the morning of first period which shows the cafeteria menu for the day and the current news for the day. BCTV is headed by Mr. Charles Flynn.

Bergen Catholic has one of the most successful Mock trial teams in the State, with many state and county championships and one National Championship. The club is headed by the students, and moderated by Mr. Coleman and Mrs. Sainclivier, J.D.. In 1991, Bergen Catholic High School won the National High School Mock Trial Championships held in New Orleans, Louisiana.[7] In the 2005-06 season they made it to the County Semi-Finals before losing to Immaculate Heart Academy, a Catholic, all-girls school in Washington Township. The team is currently working on the 2007-2008 case as of October 2007.

[edit] Athletics

Bergen Catholic Offers fourteen sports at the varsity level:

[edit] Football

Bergen Catholic is known for being a state powerhouse in football[8] and other sports as well. In 1998, they won the Parochial Group IV championship along with the Star Ledger Trophy. In 2004, they were named by Sports Illustrated as having the top athletic program in New Jersey. In 2004, the football team went to Giants Stadium to play Don Bosco Preparatory High School and earned the title of State champs with a 13-10 victory.[9] The Crusaders have won four state football championships in the last ten years (1998, 1999, 2001, 2004).

[edit] Administration

  • President: Br. Lawrence T. Murphy
  • Principal: Mr. Timothy J. McElhinney
  • Vice Principal: Ms. Francesca Tambone-Puzio
  • Vice Principal of Technology and Student Affairs: Mr. Joseph Haemmerle
  • Dean of Students: Mr. John Tedeschi
  • Dean of Underclassmen: Mr. Joshua Powers
  • Director of Admissions: Mr. Richard Ardito

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Bergen Catholic High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed June 5, 2008.
  2. ^ a b About, Bergen Catholic High School. Accessed June 5, 2007. "The students selected Crusaders to be the school symbol and that scarlet and gold should be the school colors."
  3. ^ [http://www.bergencatholic.org/about/ About Bergen Catholic High School. Accessed March 10, 2008.
  4. ^ Stapleton, Art. "Bosco, Bergen face off in Bergen Jamboree", The Record (Bergen County), February 21, 2007. "When Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco get together, no matter the playing field, nothing matches the enormity of the event that unfolds. It will be that way again tonight when the rivals meet for the 51st Bergen Jamboree boys basketball championship inside the Rothman Center in Hackensack."
  5. ^ Lu, Adrienns. "Artificial turf takes root", The Record (Bergen County), May 23, 2005, accessed April 28, 2007. "Before we put it in, it used to be a quagmire around here," said John Puzio, athletic director at Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, one of the first schools in the state to install the newest generation of artificial turf eight years ago."
  6. ^ Mission Statement, Bergen Catholic High School. Accessed June 10, 2007.
  7. ^ a b Participant History & Past National Winners, National High School Mock Trial Championship. Accessed July 1, 2007.
  8. ^ NY GIANTS NAME RIDGEWOOD’S JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE WEEK FOR WEEK, New York Giants. Accessed July 23, 2007. "The victory was the first for Ridgewood against perennial powerhouse Bergen Catholic since 1987."
  9. ^ 2004 Football Tournament - Non-Public 4, NJSIAA, accessed May 13, 2007.
  10. ^ Glier, Ray. "COLLEGE BASKETBALL; Carney Answers Call for Memphis", The New York Times, March 20, 2004. Accessed November 7, 2007. "While the rest of the Memphis Tigers were finishing practice here Thursday, the day before their N.C.A.A. tournament opener against South Carolina, their coach, John Calipari, was handing his cellphone to Sean Banks, the freshman forward from Bergen Catholic High School."
  11. ^ Carl Barisich, database Football. Accessed August 28, 2007.
  12. ^ Popper, Steve. "Pedro a step closer to opening day", The Record (Bergen County), March 20, 2006, accesed April 17, 2007. "But it wasn't the strikeouts or even the home run hit by former Bergen Catholic star Jim Burt Jr. - the son of former Giants lineman Jim Burt who gained fame riding on the shoulders of his dad after the Giants' 1987 Super Bowl win."
  13. ^ "Brian Cushing's Rose Bowl diary", The Record (New Jersey), January 3, 2006. Accessed June 10, 2007. "Southern California freshman linebacker Brian Cushing, a Bergen Catholic graduate and Park Ridge native, is preparing for the Rose Bowl with the top-ranked Trojans."
  14. ^ Caldera, Pete. " DeRosa re-invents himself with Rangers", The Record (Bergen County), July 26, 2006, accessed April 29, 2007. "'They gave me a chance to play again, and it's been a nice situation. It's been fun,' said DeRosa, a 1993 Bergen Catholic graduate from Carlstadt who has become an important fixture in Showalter's everyday lineup."
  15. ^ Alecko Eskandarian profile, US National Soccer Team Players Association, accessed April 17, 2007. "Selected as the 2000 Gatorade National Player of the Year at Bergen Catholic.
  16. ^ Jim Finn at NFLPlayers.com, accessed November 29, 2006.
  17. ^ Handler, Eric. "YES Interactive only on DIRECTV", YES Network, July 25, 2006. Accessed September 30, 2007. "YES Interactive only on DIRECTV puts Yankees fans in the director's chair, said Ray Hopkins, COO of the YES Network."
  18. ^ "PLUS: COLLEGE FOOTBALL; LoVecchio Leaves Notre Dame", The New York Times, May 23, 2002. Accessed January 1, 2008.
  19. ^ Popper, Steve. " HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL; Even Struggling, Bergen Catholic Wins Easily", The New York Times, September 19, 1999. Accessed January 1, 2008.
  20. ^ Brown, Clifton. "GOLF; A Former Rising Star Hopes to Rise Again", The New York Times, December 18, 1999. Accessed November 7, 2007. "When Jim McGovern was an all-state tight end at Bergen Catholic High School, few people would have predicted that he would become a professional golfer. He didn't start playing golf seriously until 11th grade. And don't most golfers come from warm-weather states like California or Florida, instead of places like Oradell, N.J.?"
  21. ^ Gulitti, Tom. " MCGUIRE OPEN TO RANGERS", The Record (Bergen County), April 5, 2000, accessed April 17, 2007. "Alpine native Pierre McGuire among those who will be keeping a close eye on the reconstruction of the Rangers' management. The former Hartford Whalers head coach and Bergen Catholic graduate would like to get back into coaching after spending the last three seasons as a color commentator for an English-language radio station ..."
  22. ^ County Executive Dennis McNerney, accessed November 29, 2006.
  23. ^ McIntyre, Jason. "`BIG BIRD' THE CENTER OF ATTENTION", The Record (Bergen County), March 16, 2002, accessed April 17, 2007. "He appeared with his father - the famously bald Gordon - on "Sesame Street" practically since birth, but at 8 years old Miles Orman outgrew his part when he had become tall enough to post up Big Bird.... Even now, when he's on the basketball court playing center for state champion Bergen Catholic..."
  24. ^ Bob Papa profile, HBO Boxing, accessed April 17, 2007. "Bob Papa was born in the Bronx before moving to New Jersey as a child. After graduating from Bergen Catholic High School in 1982, Papa received a business degree from Fordham University in 1986."
  25. ^ Rich Scanlon at NFLPlayers.com, accessed November 29, 2006.
  26. ^ Biography of Monsignor Robert Sheeran, Seton Hall University, accessed April 17, 2007. "Born in Troy, New York, Robert Sheeran graduated from Bergen Catholic High School in Oradel [sic] before enrolling in 1963 as an undergraduate at Seton Hall."

[edit] External links