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Archbishop Ryan High School

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Type
  
Private, Coeducational

Established
  
1966

Number of students
  
1,344

Religious affiliation(s)
  
Roman Catholic

Tuition
  
7,350 USD

Colors
  
Motto
  
Belong, Believe, Become

Patron saint(s)
  
Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Francis of Assisi

Oversight
  
Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Address
  
11201 Academy Rd, Philadelphia, PA 19154, USA

Mascots
  
Raider (Men),, Ragdoll (Women)

Profiles

Archbishop ryan high school the class of 2016


Archbishop Ryan High School (often called Archbishop Ryan or simply Ryan) is a Roman Catholic high school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The school is named after Patrick John Ryan, Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1894 to 1911.

Contents

Established in 1966, Archbishop Ryan High School is the largest Catholic secondary school in the city of Philadelphia with a current enrollment of 1,325 students. The students come from over 60 catholic, public and charter elementary schools in Philadelphia, Bucks, and Montgomery County.

Archbishop Ryan High School consists of extensive technology resources: 84 classrooms, 7 computer labs, 3 music rooms, 2 newly renovated science labs, 2 state-of-the-art sports gymnasiums, 2 art studios, 1, 1 graphic design lab, 1 iMac Music Tech Lab, and 1 new Black Box Theater that was dedicated in the Spring of 2013 and seats 140 people. The entire school is wireless with internet access.

Over 600 of Archbishop Ryan's current students are second generation Ryan students.

Archbishop ryan high school commericial


History

The doors of Archbishop Ryan High Schools opened for the first time in 1966 as a co-institutional facility, i.e., two separate single-sex facilities with separate administration and faculty for each side of the building. Founded under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archbishop Ryan was the twenty-eighth archdiocesan high school to be founded. The process of merging the two schools into one co-educational school began in 1988.

Ryan was the twenty-eighth archdiocesan high school, the sixth begun by Cardinal John Krol, who continued the tradition of furthering Catholic education in the Philadelphia archdiocese. The 35-acre (140,000 m2) tract on Academy Road accommodates a spacious school building, and outdoor athletic fields as well as parking areas. The original design by architects, Dagit Associates, eased the merger. The central shared facilities of auditorium, library media center, and chapel serve the coeducational student body. Ryan draws students from all across the Philadelphia area extending into the surrounding suburban areas.

In the summer of 2014, Archbishop Ryan hired the current president, Denise LePera, as the previous president, Michael McArdle, was appointed to the office of Director of Financial Aid in the Office of Catholic Education within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Notable alumni

  • Steve Farrell, class of 1978, former bassist in the Philadelphia hardcore punk band Kid Dynamite
  • Christopher Ferguson, class of 1979, pilot of the Atlantis space shuttle for NASA on September 2006.
  • Tom Filer, class of 1974, Major League pitcher from 1982-1992 for the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Mets. Current Pitching Coach of the Altoona Curve, the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
  • Jonathan Loughran, actor, Personal Assistant to Adam Sandler
  • Chris McKendry, class of 1986, ESPN Sportscenter Anchor
  • Chris Mooney, class of 1990, Head Coach of the University of Richmond Spiders Men's Basketball Team
  • Patrick Murphy, class of 1991, member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District, and the first Iraq War veteran in Congress.
  • Dennis M. O'Brien, class of 1970, was the 137th speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Has represented Pennsylvania's 169th Legislative District in Northeast Philadelphia since 1976
  • Christina Perri, class of 2004, singer known for her song Jar of Hearts and A Thousand Years
  • Ray Staszak, class of 1980, the first Pennsylvanian to play in the NHL after Pete Babando who came from Braeburn PA decades earlier and scored the game-winning goal in Overtime in Game 7 of the 1950 Stanley Cup Finals.
  • Frank Wycheck, class of 1989, retired NFL Tight End, current color commentator on Tennessee Titans Radio Network, one of only five Tight Ends to surpass 500 receptions in NFL history.
  • Joe Zeglinski, class of 2006, former professional basketball player
  • Academics

    One of Archbishop Ryan's main attributes is the school's extensive and broad academic program. Offering many fields of study, Ryan offers a variety of studies such as English, Social Studies, Mathematics, Natural and Physical Science Studies, World Languages (Spanish, Italian, and Latin), Business, Technology, Religion, Music, and Fine Art Studies. Coursework is required in the fields of English, Social Studies, Mathematics, Natural and Physical Science Studies, Religion and World Languages.

    Archbishop Ryan has a student/teacher ratio of 21:1. Classes at Ryan are tracked. Ryan offers a mandatory writing skills course and 11 AP classes. Ryan offers a 4-year art program, including AP art and a 4-year music instrumental program. Holy Family University offers college level courses at the Ryan campus for seniors during the regular school day.

    Archbishop Ryan hosts the archdiocesan program for students with diagnosed learning needs, the Bonaventure Program. The Bonaventure Program is for applicants with an IEP.

    Archbishop Ryan carries a traditionally successful Model U.N. team, with the team regularly representing the school in local and state area competitions. Regularly simulating the The General Assembly, Ryan has won the last 5 years of PA State League Competitions.

    The Class of 2013 received $18 million in scholarships and financial aid for post-graduate study. Approximately 92% of Ryan's graduates go on to higher education.

    Athletics

    The competitive boys' sports of Archbishop Ryan include Baseball, Basketball, Football, Wrestling, Bowling, Cross Country, Ice Hockey, Golf, Indoor/Outdoor Track and Field, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swimming, and Tennis. The competitive girls' sports of Archbishop Ryan include Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Indoor/Outdoor Track and Field, Lacrosse, Ragdoll Cheerleading, Raider Cheerleading, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball, and Swimming.

    Extracurricular activities

    With a variety of extracurricular activities, Archbishop Ryan emphasizes and stresses the importance of involvement and participation in the school and community with almost 94% of the student body participating in after school activities and sports. The school boasts well over 74 clubs with everything from Game club to a Fashion Design club.

    Archbishop Ryan has a theater program that produces 2 musical productions per year. Ryan is working to complete the construction of a new sound and lighting booth in their auditorium. Set to be completed in 2013, this booth will provide up to date Izod Surround Sound 55:1 settings to hopefully provide an ample opportunity for prospective students to test both sound engineering and leadership capabilities. The aesthetics themselves are planned to harken back to older times (a classic design theme has been growing in popularity in Ryan), although a definite design direction or theme has yet to be decided upon, leaving the renovations to remain blank plywood.

    In recent years, Archbishop Ryan's chess club has earned a prestigious reputation, taking first prize in the Philadelphia Secondary School Chess Conference 5 of the past 6 years. Because of the school's excellence in PSSCC competition, members of the school's chess club have received 4 of the City of Philadelphia's 7 past Bobby Fischer Memorial Scholarships, which are $1000 awards to the college of one's choice given to students displaying exceptional finesse and critical thinking skills in intramural competition. Fisher's family established the Memorial Fund after reading through the late chess master's diary and discovering that he had been saved from drowning in the Delaware River after a match by a Philadelphia school teacher driving home from work.

    The Ryan Review, Archbishop Ryan's award-winning newspaper, has received recognition year-after-year for journalistic excellence. All of the Review's editors are members of the Quill & Scroll International Honor Society for High School Journalism and the staff writers study closely with the editors. The staff uses Associated Press Formatting and InDesign to produce their paper. The Ryan Review does most of its own photography through the Photo Editor and two photographers through the use of a Nikon D40 camera with a 14-155mm lens. You do not need to be in the Journalism Course to submit written work or photo into the paper. All submissions should be sent to room 217N. This paper also features a unique texting service to allow student interaction with the editors. See the paper for details.

    The Yearbook provides a way for students to participate in creating a yearbook which will be handed out to each graduating class as part of their prom fee. Students use InDesign, Photoshop, and Paint to do layout work for the yearbook and take most of their own pictures, using digital cameras and a single Nikon D300. Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors can purchase the yearbook on their own initiative.

    References

    Archbishop Ryan High School Wikipedia