Holy Spirit Preparatory School is an independent, Roman Catholic preparatory

University-preparatory school

A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...

 school located in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 and was established in 1996, originally as the Donnellan School. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southeastern United States. It is composed of the northern counties of the state of Georgia and is led by a prelate archbishop, who is also pastor of the mother church, the...

.

Location and administration

The students in Kindergarten through 6th grade are located on a multi-acre site at 4820 Long Island Drive. The Preschool program is located at 4465 Northside Drive on the lower level of Holy Spirit Catholic Church adjacent to the 57000 sq ft (5,295.5 m²) Upper School campus which opened in the fall of 2004.

Although an independent Catholic school it is closely tied to Holy Spirit Parish and the pastor of the parish serves as Board Chair of the school.http://www.hsccatl.com/About_ParishHistory.aspx It is led by its president Gareth Genner.

Curriculum

Holy Spirit Preparatory School offers a classical curriculum in both Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

 and Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, and instructs students in Catholic theology as well as typical college preparatory subjects and numerous electives.

An assigned faculty mentor, tutorial support, and a Philosophy department are distinguishing features of the program. Specialized academic offerings include Ethics, Genetics, Forensic Science, Lyceum, Anatomy & Physiology, Robotics, Theology, Canon Law, Constitutional Law, Aeronautics, Musical Theatre, One-Act Play, Radio Station; and Honors, AP, College Level, and College courses.

The school's Classics

Classics

Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...

 department describes its program as being "designed around an awareness of the historical significance of the Greek and Latin languages as foundations for the Western intellectual tradition and the history of the Catholic Church."

Upper School students are also required to complete community service and "school service" hours in order to graduate.

Athletics

The school offers a number of student athletics programs, including cross country running

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, soccer, archery

Archery

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

, baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, cheerleading

Cheerleading

Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...

, golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

, tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

, and volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

.

House system

Holy Spirit Preparatory School has a house system

House system

The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...

. There are four houses, each named after Ecumenical Councils, and each house has its own mascot and color:

• House of Chalcedon: Cerberus
  Cerberus
  Cerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
  
   - Purple
• House of Trent: Dragon - Blue
• House of Lyons: Lion - Orange
• House of Nicaea: Eagle - Red

Holy Spirit's house system divides students randomly into four groups. There is competition between these houses in order to win a grand prize of going to Six Flags over Georgia

Six Flags Over Georgia

Six Flags Over Georgia is a theme park located west of Atlanta, in unincorporated Cobb County. Opened in 1967, it is the second park in the Six Flags chain, after the original opening in 1961 in Texas....

 at the end of the year. The house point system works by enforcing positive behavior, such as volunteering for service opportunities, holding the door, helping a teacher carry something, cleaning the teacher's boards, etc. However house points can also be deducted from a student for using negligent behavior. There are also House competitions (like field day) in which members of each house competes in events, whether sporting or academic in nature.http://www.holyspiritprep.org/documents/ushandbook.pdf

Ranking and accreditation

Holy Spirit Prep has been repeatedly named as one of the top fifty Catholic high schools in the country by the National Catholic High School Honor Roll. In 2009 the Lower School was named as a National School of Excellence by the US Department of Education http://www.georgiabulletin.org/local/2009/09/17/blueribbon/http://www.ajc.com/news/a-dozen-georgia-schools-139027.html?cxtype=ynews_rss

The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...

 and the Southern Association of Independent Schools

Southern Association of Independent Schools

The Southern Association of Independent Schools is a U.S.-based voluntary organization of more than 340 independent elementary and secondary schools through the South, representing more than 180,000 students...

 (SAIS) and is a member of the Southern Association of Independent Schools and the Georgia Association of Independent Schools (GISA).

Holy Spirit College, an outgrowth of the preparatory school, is a Georgia Non-Public Secondary Education Commission authorized degree-granting institution, and it is accredited by the American Academy for Liberal Education. Dr. Del Kiernan Lewis serves as Provost of the college and is advised by a Board of Visitors.

History

The school was established as an independent Catholic school in 1995. In 1999, the Legion of Christ

Legion of Christ

The Legion of Christ is a Roman Catholic congregation of pontifical right, made up of priests and seminarians studying for the priesthood. It was founded in Mexico in 1941, by Fr. Marcial Maciel, who directed the congregation as its General Superior until January 2005...

became associated with the Donnellan School. Friction between the administration and some teachers, and parents resulted in the termination of four staff and a number of resignations and student withdrawals. A new school, the Atlanta Academy, was founded by some of the individuals involved in the dispute, and many of those who had withdrawn from the Donnellan School enrolled there. The school is recognized by the Archdiocese of Atlanta and listed in the Official Catholic Directory as a lay sponsored Catholic school independent of any religious order or congregation.