Catholic High School Graduates
Excel
CAMDEN (June 11, 2007) – In May and June, a total of
1,453 students graduated from parish and diocesan run high
schools in the Diocese of Camden, with over $85
million in scholarships and grants awarded to students.
A total of 1,297 of the graduates (89%) will attend
either a four year (67%) or two year (22%) college in the
fall.
The schools also boasted 22 National Merit Scholarship
Commended Students, and 65 N.J. State Edward J. Bloustein
Distinguished Scholars.
1,191 graduates came from parish-run high schools:
Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester), St. Joseph (Hammonton),
Sacred Heart (Vineland) and Wildwood Catholic (Wildwood)
and three diocesan-run schools: Camden Catholic (Cherry
Hill), Paul VI (Haddon Township) and Holy Spirit
(Absecon).
Also, 262 graduates were enrolled in two private
Catholic schools: Bishop Eustace Preparatory School
(Pennsauken) and Our Lady of Mercy Academy (Newfield).
St. Augustine Preparatory School, a private Catholic high
school in Richland, did not provide data on its graduates.
“We commend this year’s graduates for their many
accomplishments as they prepare to take the next steps in
their life’s journey,” said Most Reverend Joseph
Galante, Bishop of Camden. “We thank also their
parents for making faith formation and academic excellence
a priority by choosing Catholic schools for their
children. We also express our gratitude the teachers
and school administrators whose dedication and skill have
contributed so much to readying these young men and women
for the challenges, responsibilities and opportunities
that lie ahead.”
###
The Diocese of Camden, established in 1937, serves
500,000 Catholics in 124 parishes in Atlantic, Camden,
Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties.
HIGH SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
IMPORTANT: The
local newspapers have already announced Gloucester
Catholic is going to move to Mullica Hill. The truth
of the matter is there is a hold on land for two years.
Right now, the diocese is beginning a Feasibility Study to
ascertain if a new high school will be built in Mullica
Hill, and what the school will be called. To this
end, I will be giving your addresses to the company
running the Feasibility Study; you will all receive a
questionnaire. Please respond to the questionnaire!!
The future of the new high school in Mullica Hill depends
on you and your response to the survey. The company
hired to do the Feasibility Study is Meitler Consultants,
Inc. When you receive your letter from them, do not
treat it like junk mail! Recommendations will be
made to the bishop in June based on your response.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
By KRISTY DAVIES
Courier-Post Staff
HARRISON
The Diocese of Camden will meet with township officials
today to discuss the possibility of building a Catholic high
school here, Mayor Mike Koestler said.
"We should have had a (Catholic) high school in this
area a lot sooner," said Koestler.
He said the Diocese is under contract with the Eachus
family, owners of the 100 acres off Route 77 across from the
Gloucester County 4-H Fairgrounds, south of the Mullica Hill
section of the township.
"The Diocese has been looking for a number of years
for a suitable location with a possibility of establishing a
high school in the Gloucester County area," said Andrew
Walton, spokesman for the Diocese of Camden. "We looked
at a number of locations, including that area and it's still
in the very early stages. We have no definitive plans
yet."
At the township committee meeting tonight, Land
Dimensions Engineering, on behalf of the diocese, will
address the issue of sewer capacity.
The nearest sewer line to the property is less than a
quarter-mile away in front of a shopping center on Route 77,
Koestler said.
"We're not at capacity, but we have committed sewer
lines," said Koestler.
He said the township could free up more than 60,000
gallons of sewer capacity by purchasing properties for open
space. The mayor said the township is already looking at two
sites to preserve.
Walton said population growth in Gloucester County over
the past two decades has created a need for a Catholic high
school.
"We believe that population has been underserved in
terms of a Catholic high school," Walton said.
The diocese serves about 500,000 Catholics in six South
Jersey counties: Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Atlantic,
Cumberland and Cape May.
The nearest Catholic high schools to Gloucester County
are Our Lady of Mercy Academy, an all-female school, in
Newfield; Gloucester Catholic High School in Gloucester
City; and St. Joseph High School in Hammonton.
Walton said the size of the school would be based on the
number of students anticipated.
"It's so early in the process that there are a
number of phases that we must look at and have resolved
before plans can become firm for any location," Walton
said. Any plans would have to be approved by the township.
In 2005, the diocese abandoned plans for a high school in
Deptford near Gloucester County College, because of lawsuits
filed by an adjacent property owner.
The owners of the Harrison land, the Eachus family,
operate the largest dairy farm in the state. Fifty acres of
the farmland adjacent to the site have already been
preserved through Gloucester County's Farmland Preservation
program.
Koestler says the family is not giving up farming, just
selling a parcel of land.
The family could not be reached Monday.
Reach Kristy Davies at (856) 251-3341 or krdavies@courierpostonline.com
|
SMS Class of
1974: Mr. Michael Beneke recently donated $100,000. Mr.
Beneke lives with his wife and children in Washington
State. Mr. Beneke credits SMS and especially Sr.
Carmelisa Dragoni, his math teacher, with instilling work
ethic and the importance of giving back. This
extraordinary donation will be put to good use. The
entire community is grateful to Michael for his generosity.