St. Thomas Aquinas High School (New Jersey)

St. Thomas Aquinas High School, formerly known as Bishop George Ahr High School, is a private four-year college preparatory and coeducational Roman Catholic high school for students from ninth through twelfth grades. It is located on a campus covering 34 acres (14 ha) in the northern section of Edison, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The school operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen.[6]

St. Thomas Aquinas High School
Address
St. Thomas Aquinas High School
St. Thomas Aquinas High School
1 Tingley Lane

Edison
,
(Middlesex County)
,
NJ
08820

United States
Coordinates40°34′41″N 74°22′35″W
Information
TypePrivate, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1967
School districtDiocese of Metuchen
PrincipalDonna Marie Trukowski[1]
Faculty57.6 FTEs[2]
Grades9–12
Enrollment832 (as of 2015-16)[2]
Student to teacher ratio14.4:1[2]
Color(s)     Scarlet and
     white[3]
Athletics conferenceGreater Middlesex Conference
Team nameTrojans[3]
AccreditationAdvancED[4]
PublicationReflections (literary magazine)
NewspaperSatoma
YearbookInsight
Tuition$12,900 (2017-18)[5]
Websitehttp://www.stahs.net

As of the 2015–16 school year, the school had an enrollment of 832 students and 57.6 classroom teachers (on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.4:1. The school's student body was 56.4% White, 16.8% Asian, 13.2% Hispanic, 8.3% Black, 0.5% Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander and 4.8% multiracial.[2] Students attend the school from Middlesex, Union, Monmouth, and Somerset counties in Central New Jersey. The administration and teaching faculty are composed of Felician Sisters and lay people. All 72 faculty members hold a B.S. or B.A. degree; a significant percentage have M.A. degrees, and some hold a Ph.D. degree. St. Thomas Aquinas High School is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education and is accredited by AdvancED.[4]

History

It opened in 1969 as St. Thomas Aquinas High School and was renamed Bishop George Ahr High School in 1983.[7]

In 2015 Cardinal McCarrick High School closed, and Ahr High accepted its former students; Ahr and the former McCarrick had the same tuition prices.[8]

On July 1, 2019, the school reverted to its original name.[9]

Athletics

The St. Thomas Aquinas High School Trojans[3] compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which includes public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County area and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[10] Sports offered for men include: baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, wrestling, and winter and spring track. Women's sports include: basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross country, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and winter and spring track.[3]

The football team was champion of the Middlesex County Blue Division in 2005, 2007, and 2008.[11] The wrestling team won the 2007 Non-Public South B sectional championship with a 46-27 win over Holy Cross.[12] Their baseball team won the 2006 Non-Public South A sectional championship over St. Augustine, 16-15.[13] The school's swimming team won the Greater Middlesex Conference in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011.[14]

The girls' gymnastics team has won the team state championship in 1992, 1994, 1995, 2003-2007, 2010 and 2013; the 10 titles are the second most of any school in the state.[15]

The softball team took the 2009 Non-Public South A Sectional title, shutting out both Holy Spirit High School and Camden Catholic High School, and won the tournament final over Gloucester Catholic High School to win the team's first sectional title for nine years.[16]

The girls' soccer team won the NJ Non-Public A state championship against Immaculata High School 1-0.[17] The varsity cheerleading team won the National Championship and best overall Grand Champion in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on March 11, 2017.[18]

Fine arts

St. Thomas Aquinas High School offers students a wide range of creative options, including art courses in a full-studio art department, graphic design courses, video production, a drama department, and a music department.[19]

The Drama Department performs three full show runs per school year with a fall Shakespeare play, a fall drama production, and a spring musical. The Drama Department has competed and won awards at the Bucks County Playhouse, among many other events.[20]

The Music Department includes a marching band, a symphonic band, a concert choir, a liturgical band, a jazz band, and music theory courses.[21]

In May 2012, the school's Music Department competed in the 2012 Music Showcase Festival in Busch Gardens, VA. The jazz band won first place overall jazz ensemble. The concert band won second place overall concert band. The jazz choir won first place overall jazz choir. The concert choir won first place overall mixed choir. The concert choir also won the grand championship trophy for the highest overall competition score among all vocal groups.[21]

Technology

St. Thomas Aquinas High School provides an array of technology courses and options to its students. Teachers have at their disposal a number of technology options that they can call upon depending on the nature of their lesson. In addition to three computer labs, teachers also have access to laptops, iPads, and Chromebooks they can use to enhance their instructional offerings. To round out these offerings, the school has a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy that allows teachers the opportunity to infuse technology on-the-fly, allowing them to incorporate technology in a real world manner and to capitalize on teachable moments.[22]

Notable alumni
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References
  1. Contact Us & Staff Directory Archived 2018-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, Bishop George Ahr High School. Accessed July 4, 2018.
  2. School data for Bishop George Ahr High School Archived 2017-08-18 at the Wayback Machine, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed October 20, 2017.
  3. Bishop Ahr High School Archived 2015-05-31 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 30, 2016.
  4. Bishop George Ahr High School Archived 2016-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, AdvancED. Accessed December 30, 2016.
  5. Tuition and Financial Aid Archived 2016-03-17 at the Wayback Machine, Bishop George Ahr High School. Accessed August 17, 2017.
  6. Bishop George Ahr High School Archived 2012-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen. Accessed December 30, 2016.
  7. "St. Thomas Aquinas High School". www.stahs.net. Retrieved August 1, 2019. As of July 1, Bishop George Ahr High School will once again be known as St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Bishop Ahr was founded as St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 1969, and although the name was changed to Bishop George Ahr High School in 1983, we have always proudly remembered the school’s beginnings.
  8. "McCarrick Catholic school to close". App.com. 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  9. Tufaro, Greg (2019-07-01). "Bishop Ahr High School renamed St. Thomas Aquinas again". Courier News and Home News Tribune/mycentraljersey.com. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  10. League Memberships – 2016-2017 Archived 2012-11-09 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed April 26, 2017.
  11. Haley, John. "Middlesex County Football Blog: All-time GMC champions chart" Archived 2012-10-11 at the Wayback Machine, The Star-Ledger, November 4, 2009. Accessed October 3, 2011.
  12. 2007 Team Wrestling Tournament - Non-Public, South B Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 28, 2007.
  13. 2006 Baseball - Non-Public, South A Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 28, 2007.
  14. "NJSIAA Boys and Girls Team Swimming History" (PDF). NSIAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-08-10.
  15. History of NJSIAA Girls Gymnastics Archived 2017-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 7, 2017.
  16. Iezzi, Bill. "Plate call pulls plug on Rams' hopes" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 3, 2009. Accessed October 3, 2011. "Ahr (24-2), the second seed, won its first sectional trophy since 2000, when its coach, Missy Magyar, was a junior playing shortstop for the Trojans.... The Trojans, who shut out Holy Spirit, 13-0, and Camden Catholic, 2-0, to advance to the final, demonstrated that they could get their bats on the ball one through nine."
  17. "Girls soccer: Unranked Bishop Ahr knocks out No. 4 Immaculate Heart, 1-0, for first Non-Public A title". NJ.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-07. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  18. Content, Submitted (March 22, 2017). "Champs - Bishop George Ahr High School Cheerleaders". Greater Media Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  19. Home page Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, Bishop George Ahr High School. Accessed October 16, 2012.
  20. Drama Announcement and News, Bishop George Ahr High School. Accessed October 16, 2012.
  21. Joseph Cullinan Archived 2013-08-13 at the Wayback Machine, Bishop George Ahr High School. Accessed October 16, 2012.
  22. Technology Policy, Bishop George Ahr High School. Accessed May 13, 2012.
  23. Biography Archived February 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Ed Kalegi. Accessed December 24, 2011. "Some years later, Ed's acting abilities were first cultivated at Bishop George Ahr/St. Thomas High School in Edison, NJ during the early 1980s under the tutelage of Drama Director Gordon Inverno."
  24. "Woodbridge Mayor Challenges BGAHS" Archived 2017-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Bishop George Ahr High School. Accessed April 26, 2017. "Mr. John McCormac, the mayor of Woodbridge Township, also happens to be a BGA/STA Class of 1976 alumnus."
  25. About Mayor McCormac Archived 2018-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. Accessed July 4, 2018. "After graduation from St. Cecelia's grammar school in Iselin and St. Thomas Aquinas High School (class of 1976) Mayor McCormac went on to earn a BA in Accounting from Rutgers University and a Master’s Degree in Finance from St. John's University."
  26. Staff. "D.C. Law Firm Names Morrisey as Partner" Archived 2018-07-05 at the Wayback Machine, The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains - Fanwood Times, March 11, 2004. Accessed July 4, 2018. "The former Westfield resident grew up in Edison, where he graduated from Bishop Ahr/St. Thomas Aquinas High School."
  27. Mets sign RHP Kevin Mulvey Archived 2008-01-17 at the Wayback Machine, Major League Baseball press release dated August 9, 2007. Accessed June 12, 2007. "Mulvey, 21, is a native of Parlin, N.J., and graduated from Bishop George Ahr High School in New Jersey."
  28. Staff. "Darrin A. Winston, 42, of Clarksburg in Millstone Township", Asbury Park Press, August 17, 2008. Accessed September 4, 2008. "Winston, who was 42, starred at Bishop Ahr High School in Edison before moving on to Rutgers."
  29. Sullivan, William J. "Former Rutgers baseball star Darrin Winston dies of leukemia" Archived 2018-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, The Star-Ledger, August 16, 2008. Accessed July 4, 2018. "Winston, a product of Bishop Ahr High School in Edison, has six children and one grandchild."
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