Oratory Preparatory School

Awards, recognition and rankings

In 2015, the United States Department of Education announced that Oratory had been recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence, the Education Department's highest honor. Oratory was one of 15 schools in the state and one of two private secondary schools across the nation to receive this distinction.

History

Though the school is named Oratory, it does not have any connection to the Oratorian Fathers. However, there may have been an association in the past, as advertisements for the school in The New York Times during the 1910s mention the Oratorian Fathers. The reason for the name change is said to be that the school wanted to attract Oratorian Priests, however this plan proved to be unsuccessful. Oratory was founded as an exclusive boarding school serving boys in grades 4 through 12, although in 1964 it became strictly a day school.

Oratory originally resided on a 15-acre (61,000 m²) lot, but was reduced to its current ten after selling off a portion of land in the 1960s. In 1967, the school was sold to the Archdiocese of Newark after running into financial difficulties. Among century-old specimen trees and rolling hills, the campus consists of two main academic buildings, athletic fields, and a prayer garden. The Newman Hall mansion, located at 14 Bedford Road, houses two classrooms, a chapel, and admission/development offices. Around the start of the 21st century, the campus was conversationally referred to as "The Park" by Summit residents because it had various athletic fields, intricate lamp posts, its own irrigation system, and a small pond that was used for skating during the winter season. The Fr. John J. Bain Academic building, built in 1959, contains classrooms, cafeteria, library, gymnasium, weight room, guidance offices, computer lab, chemistry lab, and art room. Oratory's Cavalero Memorial Field, an artificial turf field constructed in 2010, hosts a baseball diamond as well as Northern New Jersey's largest high school soccer field. Three practice tennis courts are adjacent to Kelly Field.

In 2006, the land was assessed at $6,270,000, and the buildings at $2,752,700, a total of $9,022,700.

Capital improvement plan

Oratory Prep is governed by a 21-member Board of Trustees, appointed by the Archbishop of Newark. Annual Giving provides approximately 20 percent of the school's annual budget, which currently averages about $3.9 million. Corporations, foundations, parents, and alumni contribute to the Annual Giving Program.

With support from all resources, Oratory has made significant changes to the school in the past five years. Beginning in 2003, the school has required, as part of the "Anytime, Anywhere Learning Program", personal laptop computers for grades 9-12, and put the entire campus on a wireless internet network. In the summer of 2004, a $1.3 million renovation to Fr. John Bain Academic Building was completed, resulting in major renovations to each classroom, and the installation of smartboards. In 2005, a new library and art studio was built in the location of the previous stage area. In 2010, an artificial turf field, named Cavalero Memorial Field, was constructed on the former Kelly Field. That same year after the observation that the library was unused, they turned the library into a state-of-the-art music room, and started a jazz band.

Throughout the summer of 2006, improvements included renovations to the main lobby and gym, and the installation of an up-to-date security system, complete with 18 security cameras and new servers. A new marquee is located on the Morris Avenue side of the campus.

Transportation

Students travel from towns as far away as Washington Township (50 miles away), to one block down the street. Students get to school using New Jersey Transit rail and bus services. The Summit train station is located approximately 1-mile (1.6 km) from the school. Additional busing is provided by county-run bus services. Juniors and seniors are allowed to park in designated parking spaces in the school lot.

School day

Oratory starts school in August, and ends in June (May for seniors), with 180 school days, and three major vacation periods. Each day begins at 8:10 AM and ends at 2:40 PM; however, supervision is provided by the school until 6:00 PM. There are four periods, with the third being split up into three sections (3A, 3B, and 3C), in which two are compromised of a class (Either 3A and 3B or 3B and 3C) while the third (Either 3A or 3C) is a lunch period.

Course offerings

Honor roll

Oratory operates on a numerical based graded system where no letter grades are given. Each quarter, students are awarded different levels of honors depending on their GPA. The levels are as follows:

Campus ministry

Faculty Supervisor: Catherine Marshall. At least once a month the gym is used as a chapel for school-wide masses. Mass highlights include the annual Christmas and Easter celebrations. A variety of spirited musicians participate during the mass, with instruments of guitar, percussion, piano/keyboard, chimes, and chorus. Although a Catholic school, Oratory welcomes students of all faiths and therefore often hosts prayer services without the inclusion of the Eucharist. There is a daily mass in the gym before school for whoever wishes to attend.

Students participate in community service programs such as Bridges, Operation Helping Hand, Habitat for Humanity. Meetings run on a weekly basis, where fundraiser ideas are discussed. Proceeds from two or more dress-down days throughout the school year are donated to the Bridges Program.

Overnight Emmaus retreats run continually throughout the year for all grades. Every school year, each class travels on a day trip to the Xavier Retreat Center at the College of Saint Elizabeth. The lower school holds their retreats at Newman Hall during the fall season. The freshmen have an overnight retreat in Blairstown, New Jersey for team building exercises, and finish their trip at Newman Hall the following day.

Study abroad

Oratory offers week-long trips to several countries in Europe for the purpose of acquainting students with foreign environments and customs. In past years Oratory has hosted trips to France, Italy and the United Kingdom. One highlight from the 2006 trip was having Easter mass at the Santa Maria del Fiore Church in Florence, Italy.

Popular at Oratory is the annual ski trip to Italy (however in 2007, they went to Utah instead of Italy). Not only do the students have the opportunity to ski on the Italian Alps, but they also experience the life of the surrounding towns.

Athletics

Oratory Prep now competes in the Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in the Mountain Valley Conference, which included public and private high schools in Essex County, Somerset County and Union County. Oratory had recently held the most titles of any school in the conference. Teams compete in the NJSIAA non-Public B state tournaments because of the school's small population. More than 80% of students at Oratory participate in at least one sport.

Oratory Golf's home course is Canoe Brook Country Club. The golf team was NJSIAA Non Public B State Champions in 2004-05, and won the NJSIAA Prep B State Championship in 2005-06. For the 2006 season, the Oratory golf team was ranked 20th in the state by The Star-Ledger. Steve Zychowski won the state and Mount Valley tournaments and helped lead the golf team to a win in the NJSIAA Parochial B tournament in 2009. The golf team most recently captured the North Jersey Non-Public B title in 2013, as well as earning the title of Union County Conference Champion for the Watchung Division in 2014.

For 14 consecutive years through 2009, the swim team won the Mountain Valley Conference and won the NJ Prep B Championship in 2004. The cross country team was the NJISAA Prep B State Champions in 2004, and has continually placed first in the conference for the past ten years. The team is led by Coach E.J. Cronin, who is also the junior varsity baseball coach. The varsity baseball team were conference champions in 2006, a feat not accomplished since 1956, and had a perfect in-conference record of 12-0.

The spring track team won the New Jersey Prep B Championship two years running (2009 and 2010). The track team won the inaugural winter track Prep B championship in February 2011.

Oratory employs three part-time athletic trainers for strength and conditioning year-round.

Mock Trial

The mock trial team, sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, began at Oratory in 2003. In 2006, the team won the state regional final championship, and in 2007 the team won the state semifinals, finishing third in the state. The team has won the Union County Championship 3 of 4 years, including the past two years. In 2007 the team qualified for the American Mock Trial Invitational held in New Jersey. There the team won two of three trials, and finished fifth in the nation. The team was coached by Bill Martin, former athletic director, for all four years. In 2012, the team won the state championship, marking the first time that a school from Union county had won the state championship.

OPalooza

Oratory hosts a battle-of-the-bands style event, called OPalooza, twice a year, in the spring and fall. Most of the performers are school or local bands.

Annual events and fundraisers

Headmasters

Noted alumni