Archbishop Ryan High School
Encyclopedia
Archbishop Ryan High School (often called Archbishop Ryan or simply Ryan) is a Roman Catholic high school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, USA
. Archbishop Ryan is the largest Catholic secondary school in the city 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 acres (141,640.1 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.
, Spanish
, Italian
, Latin and German
), 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.
Sr. Alice Hess, IHM, is one of Ryan's premier mathematics teachers. She has been honored by Who's Who Among American High School Teachers, PA Speaker of the House Dennis M. O'Brien, President Bill Clinton, the Toyota Foundation, as well as being named one of the nation's top educators by USA Today. A teacher of AP Statistics and AP Calculus, Sr. Alice Hess achieves an almost 100% rate of passing and an 80% rate of the highest score, 5. The Archbishop Ryan Varsity Mathletes, led by Sr. Alice since the early 90s, have won the Archdiocesan title sixteen out of the past seventeen years.
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 competitive girls' sports of Archbishop Ryan include Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Indoor/Outdoor Track and Field, Lacrosse, Kitchen, Ragdoll Cheerleading, Raider Cheerleading, Rugby, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball and Swimming.
Archbishop Ryan has a theater program and 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 and Sophomores, though not Juniors, can purchase the yearbook on their own initiative, although this policy is questioned and unpopular with the student population.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, USA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The diocese was...
. Archbishop Ryan is the largest Catholic secondary school in the city of Philadelphia.
History
The doors of Archbishop Ryan High Schools opened for the first time in 1966 as a two separate single-sex high schools with separate administration and faculty for each side of the building. Founded under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of PhiladelphiaRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The diocese was...
, 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 acres (141,640.1 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.
Notable alumni
- Steve Farrell, class of 1978, former bassist in the Philadelphia hardcore punkHardcore punkHardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band Kid Dynamite - Christopher FergusonChristopher FergusonChristopher J. Ferguson is a United States Navy captain and a NASA astronaut. He was the pilot of Space Shuttle Atlantis on his first mission to space, STS-115, which launched on September 9, 2006 and returned to Earth on September 21, 2006...
, class of 1979, pilot of the Atlantis space shuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
for NASA on September 2006. - Tom FilerTom FilerThomas Carson Filer is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during six seasons at the major league level for the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Mets. He was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in...
, 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 CurveAltoona CurveThe Altoona Curve are a minor league baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve . The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club...
, the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
. - Jonathan LoughranJonathan LoughranJonathan Loughran is an American actor who is in most Happy Madison films with his friend Adam Sandler.-Filmography:* Sexbomb* Bulletproof* The Waterboy* Big Daddy* Little Nicky...
, actor, Personal Assistant to Adam Sandler - Chris McKendryChris McKendryChris McKendry has been a journalist for ESPN since 1996. Currently, she primarily serves as co-anchor of the 12-3pm ET weekday block of live SportsCenter shows, alongside John Buccigross...
, class of 1986, ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
SportscenterSportsCenterSportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
Anchor - Chris Mooney, class of 1990, Head Coach of the University of RichmondUniversity of RichmondThe University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate...
Spiders Mens Basketball Team - Patrick MurphyPatrick Murphy (politician)Patrick Joseph Murphy is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
, class of 1991, member of the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District, and the first Iraq War veteran in Congress. - Dennis M. O'BrienDennis M. O'BrienDennis Michael "Denny" O'Brien is the representative from the 169th Legislative District and was the 137th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He is the majority chairman of the House Committee on Children & Youth...
, class of 1970, was the 137th speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Has represented Pennsylvania's 169th Legislative District in Northeast PhiladelphiaNortheast PhiladelphiaNortheast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 Census, the Northeast has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.547 million people — a population of between 300,000 and 450,000,...
since 1976 - Christina PerriChristina PerriChristina Judith Perri is an American singer and songwriter from Philadelphia. Her song "Jar of Hearts" charted in the United States after it was featured on the Fox television show So You Think You Can Dance in 2010. Rolling Stone named her the "Band of the Week" on October 26, 2010...
, singer known for her song Jar of HeartsJar of Hearts"Jar of Hearts" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Christina Perri. The song was released onto iTunes July 27, 2010, a week after its debut on So You Think You Can Dance... - Ray StaszakRay StaszakRay Staszak is a retired American professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings. Staszak played only four regular season games for the Wings, despite being a highly touted prospect...
, class of 1980, the first Pennsylvanian to play in the NHL. - Frank WycheckFrank WycheckFrank John Wycheck is a former American football tight end in the National Football League. Wycheck attended Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia. Drafted in sixth round of the 1993 NFL Draft out of the University of Maryland by the Washington Redskins...
, class of 1989, retired NFL Tight End, current color commentator on Tennessee TitansTennessee TitansThe Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
Radio Network, one of only five Tight Ends to surpass 500 receptions in NFL history.
Academics
One of Archbishop Ryan's main attributes are 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 (FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Latin and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
), 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.
Sr. Alice Hess, IHM, is one of Ryan's premier mathematics teachers. She has been honored by Who's Who Among American High School Teachers, PA Speaker of the House Dennis M. O'Brien, President Bill Clinton, the Toyota Foundation, as well as being named one of the nation's top educators by USA Today. A teacher of AP Statistics and AP Calculus, Sr. Alice Hess achieves an almost 100% rate of passing and an 80% rate of the highest score, 5. The Archbishop Ryan Varsity Mathletes, led by Sr. Alice since the early 90s, have won the Archdiocesan title sixteen out of the past seventeen years.
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.
Athletics
The competitive boys' sports of Archbishop Ryan include Baseball, Basketball, Football, Bowling, Chess Team, Cross Country, Atlatl Throwing, Competitive Monopoly, 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, Kitchen, Ragdoll Cheerleading, Raider Cheerleading, Rugby, 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 30% 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 and 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
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
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
Quill and Scroll
Quill and Scroll is an international high school journalism honor society that recognizes and encourages both individual and group achievements in scholastic journalism. According to the Quill and Scroll website, over 14,104 high schools in all 50 U.S. states and 44 countries have established local...
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
Paint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
to do layout work for the yearbook and take most of their own pictures, using digital cameras and a single Nikon D300. Freshmen and Sophomores, though not Juniors, can purchase the yearbook on their own initiative, although this policy is questioned and unpopular with the student population.