Type Private, Coeducational Established 1962 Principal Edward Gere Number of students 685 (2013–2014) | Religious affiliation(s) Catholic Church Director Rev. G. Scott Shaffer Phone +1 732-349-8801 Colors White, Blue | |
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Motto "It makes a difference" Address 711 Hooper Ave, Toms River, NJ 08753, USA School district Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton Similar Toms River High School N, Jackson Liberty High Sch, St Joseph Grade School, Jackson Memorial High Sch, Point Pleasant High Sch Profiles | ||
Donovan catholic high school
Donovan Catholic High School, (formerly Monsignor Donovan High School) located in Toms River, is the only Roman Catholic high school in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, and operates under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton. Located in the coastal community of Toms River Township, the school originally opened in 1962 as St. Joseph High, but was renamed as Monsignor Donovan High School after its founder, Msgr. Lawrence Donovan in 1983, before adopting its current name in 2014. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1977.
Contents
- Donovan catholic high school
- Academics
- Dress code
- Athletics
- Extracurricular activities
- Notable alumni
- References
As of the 2013-14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 685 students and 61.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.1:1.
The school mascot is the Griffin. In the 1960s, the school (then St. Joseph High School) sponsored a contest to name the mascot. Finalists were chosen by the faculty from the submissions, and then the students voted on the finalists.
Academics
Donovan Catholic has created an Enhanced Learning Community (ELC) though the educational vehicle known as block scheduling. This model, implemented in the fall of 1998, includes two eighteen-week (Fall and Spring) terms. Terms may be divided into quarters depending on curriculum needs. Students take four courses each term. Each course meets for approximately twice the standard instructional time than is offered under the traditional schedule. In order to graduate, students must complete four years of religious studies, have completed seventy hours of Christian Service, and have taken twenty credits of English, ten credits of United States History, five credits of World History, fifteen credits of Mathematics, fifteen credits of Science, ten credits of the same Foreign Language, three credits of Fine and Practical Arts, and ten credits of Physic and Health/Driver Education.
Monsignor Donovan offers a variety of Advanced Placement courses, including English Literature and Composition, United States History, World History, Psychology, Calculus AB & BC, Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, and Physics.
Students who excel at Donovan Catholic and who meet particular standards of academics, service, leadership, and character may apply for entry to the National Honor Society.
Dress code
Students are required to wear uniforms. Girls must wear navy knee socks or tights,and a navy plaid pleated skirt. They may also wear white dress shirts with a navy blue sweater in the winter or blue golf shirts in the fall and spring. The boys wear khaki pants, belt, black or tan Sperry top-siders, dress shirts with a tie and navy blue sweater for the winter, or the blue golf shirts in the fall and spring.
Athletics
The Donovan Catholic High School Griffins compete in the Shore Conference, an athletic conference made up of private and public high schools centered at the Northern Jersey Shore. All schools in this conference are located within Monmouth County and Ocean County, and the league operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).
The athletic teams compete in the following sports: football, soccer, powerlifting, baseball, hockey, basketball, swimming, gymnastics, cheerleading, softball, lacrosse, tennis, golf, wrestling, track and field, volleyball, sailing, bowling and cross country running.
The Donovan Catholic Cheerleading Competition team finished the 2011-2012 season with the best record in school history:
The Donovan Catholic sailing team won the NJ State High School Sailing Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2007, they have also won the CT State High School Sailing Championship in 2005 and 2008. In a period of six years, the M.D.H.S. Sailing Team has qualified for the Inter-Scholastic Sailing National Championship four times.
The Donovan Catholic boys' bowling team succeeded in the winter of 2006-07, finishing with a 34-11 record and taking home the titles of divisional champions, Shore Conference tournament champions and South Jersey Group II state sectional champions all in a single season.
The Boys' and Girls' varsity bowling teams both took 1st place in the Shore Conference in the 2009-10 season, and the Boys took 2nd place in the Sectionals Tournament, and in the States tournament, took 2nd place in their group
The Donovan Catholic girls' swimming team won the Ocean County Championship for the first time in school history during the 2007-08 season, a first for a non-public school, then repeated in 2008-09.
In 2008, the men's track and field team won the State Championship.
In February 2012, the men's bowling team won the Non-Public State Championship.
Extracurricular activities
The school's mock trial team won the Ocean County tournament in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. The school has also sent teams to the National Championships of the National History Bee and Bowl since its inception in 2011.