Bishop Guertin High School
Bishop Guertin High School | |
---|---|
Address | |
194 Lund Road Greater Nashua Region Nashua, New Hampshire 03060 United States | |
Coordinates | 42°44′17″N 71°28′29″W / 42.73806°N 71.47472°WCoordinates: 42°44′17″N 71°28′29″W / 42.73806°N 71.47472°W |
Information | |
Type | Private, Coeducational |
Motto |
Scientia et Sanctitas (Knowledge and Holiness) |
Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
Patron saint(s) | Father André Coindre |
Established | 1963 |
Founder | Brothers of the Sacred Heart |
School board |
Br. Robert Breault SC Julie Brunelle '95 Br. Robert Gagne SC Patricia Laliberte Sarah Smith McDowell ‘96 Michael A. Morin '71 – Board Chair Bradley Poznanski Joseph Raczka '02 Christopher Sweeney '97 Daniel Villemaire '02 Timothy J. Wholey |
Oversight |
Br. Robert Croteau SC, Chairperson Br. Ronald Hingle SC Br. Clifford King SC Br. Michael Migacz SC |
President | Linda Brodeur |
Principal | Jason Strniste |
Faculty | 63 |
Enrollment | 785 (2014-2015) |
• College Acceptance Rate | 100% |
Average class size | 19 |
Student to teacher ratio | 12:1 |
Campus | Suburban |
Color(s) | Green and Gold |
Athletics conference | NHIAA Division 1 |
Mascot | Cardinal |
Nickname | BG, BGHS |
Team name | Cardinals |
Accreditation | New England Association of Schools and Colleges[1] |
Newspaper | Cardinal News |
Tuition |
$13.495 plus $150 activity fee |
Director of School Counseling | Brenda Poznanski |
Director of Technology | Aaron Fitzgibbons |
Athletic Director | Peter Paladino |
Director of Communications | Michele Alafat |
Director of Advancement | Michael Voute |
Director of Finance | Rebecca MacLennan |
Website | http://www.bghs.org |
Bishop Guertin (BG) is a college preparatory private Roman Catholic high school in Nashua, New Hampshire. Named for Bishop George Albert Guertin (1869-1931), it was founded by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in 1963. The school is located off Exit 4 of the F. E. Everett Turnpike in Nashua, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester.
Scholastics
Subjects are divided into nine departments: English, Social Studies, Computer Science, World Languages, Science, Mathematics, Health and Fitness, Fine Arts, and Religious Studies. Guertin students are able to take courses in these departments at the "College Preparatory", "Honors", or "Advanced Placement" level.[2] Guertin teachers are also available for personal help and tutoring before and after school, and many students capitalize on this asset. Guertin's academics "offers a college preparatory program that encourages the 'whole person' to develop...[fostering] an environment that allows students to discover their emerging identities, to develop their particular gifts and skills and to emerge as well-rounded young men and women".[3] "The excellent record of BG students in academics, plus our winning traditions in athletics, debate, Granite State Challenge and state music competitions, reflect our passion for achieving our best in whatever we do," reads the Academics section of the school's website.[2]
World Languages at Guertin are currently Latin, French, and Spanish (including 5th year of language and/or AP language); in addition to these language foundations, Ancient Greek has been recently added to the curriculum as a semester-long "Honors" elective.[4]
Bishop Guertin offers 6 class periods a day, starting at 7:45 am until 2:25 pm. The class schedule varies from day to day. There is an 8-day cycle with 6 periods each day. For example, Day 1 would consist of periods 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7. The next day (called "Day 2" due to the fact that class number 2 starts that day) would begin with period 2 and continue with periods 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8. An easy way to remember the schedule is that the first period of the previous day and the fourth period of the previous day are "dropped" for the day. The schedule continues to cycle like this every day until it reaches "Day 1" again and the cycle starts over. Also, if there is a snow day, hurricane day, holiday, etc. the BG students return to school the next day with the schedule planned for the missed school day.
The school has one of the highest rates of college acceptance for its students in New Hampshire, which reached an all-time high in 2015, with 100% of the graduating class accepted into at least 1 college .
Sports
The Cardinals of Bishop Guertin participate in 17 sports year-round, completely in NHIAA Division I, the division reserved for the largest schools in the state. A notable exception to this is the school's football program, which was in Division II until 2013 before moving up to Division I, the second highest size division of high school football programs in the state. While Bishop Guertin is one of the smaller schools in New Hampshire, its sports teams were noteworthy enough to be moved to division 1.
For decades, Bishop Guertin played their crosstown public school rival, the Nashua Purple Panthers in the Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving. In 2004, Nashua High School was split into the Panthers of South and the Titans of North, and Bishop Guertin no longer played in the Thanksgiving Day game. Exeter High School and Pinkerton High Schools are two main rivals of the school.
The school won seven state titles in 2005. The school's football program won three division II state championship seasons in football with a record of 35–1 between 2004 and 2006. They again won 3 consecutive titles between 2008 and 2010. The girls indoor track team won twelve straight Class L championships, from 2003 to 2014, the boys track team won both the indoor and outdoor track championships in 2010, and the boys cross-country program won titles in 2008 and 2009, while the girls won titles in 2011 and 2014. The boys hockey team won back-to-back Division I state championships in 2000 and 2001 and in 2007 and 2008, and in 2015.
The boys lacrosse team won 5 state champion ships in a row, but lost to Pinkerton in 2015. The girls lacrosse team won the state championship in 2015. BG has over 30 students committed to play a Division 1 sport in college (such was Brown University and Harvard University).
Activities
Popular after-school activities include Cardinal News (the school newspaper), Environmental Club (which saves the school thousands of dollars annually), Drama Club, Anime Club, Writer's Club, Ukulele Club, Mock Trial, French Club, Rock Appreciation Club, the Crossword Puzzle Club (XWC), Asian American Club, Cornerstone (a community service club), Debate Team, Band, Russian Club, Student Council, Campus Ministry Council (divided into 3 committees- Spiritual Life, Social Justice, and Christian Formation), the FIRST Robotics team, and the NJCL Latin Club.
The Bishop Guertin French Club is also noteworthy. It features a reading group, a film club, and an annual trip to Quebec.
Bishop Guertin has a successful FIRST robotics team with over 75 members. They won the regional Chairmans Award in 2004, and 2014, and the Championship Competition Newton Division Finalist in 2004 as well as the Johnson and Johnson sportsmanship/gracious professionalism awards in 2003, 2007, and 2008, and the Imagery Award in 2005.
In June 2008, and every year since, a group of students led by Br. Donald Tardif and Mrs. Maureen Deblasio initiated a mission trip to Zambia to visit and do community work at a high school run by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Eastern and Southern Africa.
Notable alumni
- Jason Bedrick, former member of the New Hampshire legislature and first Orthodox Jew to hold elective office in the state; class of 2001
- Jim Collins, Rhodes Scholar and MacArthur "genius" bioengineer and inventor, MIT; class of 1983
- Edward Davis, Boston Police Commissioner (2006-2013); class of 1974
- John Dionne, American businessman and educator, Blackstone Group <www.bghs.org/page/News-Detail?pk=757897&fromId=170453> and Harvard Business School <www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=768756
>
- Tim Dorsey, novelist; class of 1979
- Russell Findlay, Chief Marketing Officer for Major League Soccer; class of 1983
- Mike Lupica, sportswriter for the New York Daily News and the author of several books; class of 1970
- Jared Nathan, cast of PBS hit television show Zoom in 1999; attended 2 years before transferring to another school
- Mike O'Malley, Yes, Dear actor, "The Rick" from ESPN commercials, Glee actor, and the host of Nickelodeon GUTS; class of 1984
- Ted Phillips, president and CEO of the Chicago Bears; class of 1975
- Bridget Vezina, Miss New Hampshire 2000, 1st Runner-up Miss USA 2000; class of 1998
Notable faculty
- Chip Cravaack, former congressman from Minnesota
References
- ↑ NEASC-CIS. "NEASC-Commission on Independent Schools". Archived from the original on 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
- 1 2 "Bishop Guertin High School Academic Departments". Archived from the original on 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- ↑ "Bishop Guertin High School Main page". Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- ↑ "Program of Studies" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-24.