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Although we are late in the game, we are looking at the these three Catholic high schools - St. Domenic's, Holy Trinity, and St. Mary's.
My child has been accepted to all three for fall and we need to make a final decision by the end of the week.
Any pros/cons or feedback on any or all of these schools would be greatly appreciated.
I am currently at a crossroads as each of the schools has benefits that we want or negative's we don't want. Just hoping to some more info that could lead to a decision.
one2ten
Congratulations on your child's acceptance on all three! You must be proud I am not there yet, one more year for my son... but... I know one family who went to Holy Trinity, so far two of her kids graduated and her third will be going next year. They were happy with the school... never said anything negative about it..her kids were accepted into good colleges...
St Dominick’s is supposedly an excellent school, I have heard a lot about it..the only thing that some may not like is, it's a very small school. They also have beautiful grounds..I do not think you can go wrong with this one if a smaller school is fitting.
I have never heard anything about St Marys... Hopefully some one who know's about any of these schools first hand will give you more info. It is so hard to pick ... we visited the schools last year, going back to see them all again for the second time this year. He has a good idea on what he will put down, but I want to visit the schools one more time. My son is taking the high school co-op course this sept. the test is on halloween.. (believe?) he will have to list his three choices that day... I know you've been there, done that and a step a head.. but I feel like he is picking a college! Good luck!!!! Let us know what was decided, I would love to hear
Holy Trinity is closest to my house which is a BIG plus. However there is over 1700 kids in the school which I worry about. I don't want my child getting "lost" in the mix.
I was very impressed with St. Mary's but some of my concerns with it are... no band which my child has played in for many years and even though their are only 900 or so students, class sizes can be as large as 25 or 30 students. Also, there is no late bus to my area which will make it difficult (although not impossible) for my child to stay late for sports/clubs/activities.
I don't know very much about St. Dom's other than the fact that they are very small (slightly over 400 students) and classes are as small as 17 students. I have also heard that it is easy to get into and they do not require the Cath. HS Entrance Exam for admission (which slightly concerns me.. do the let in anyone?!) I have heard that many of the students come from the upscale surrounding areas such as Old Brookville, Muttintown, East Norwich etc. I do not want my child feeling like they need to "keep up".
Good luck to your son on the entrance exam. I think it is horrible that it is on Halloween. My friend whose child is taking it, recently mentioned that to me too.
Not sure what area you are in but they are having a co-op class (starting in Sept.) at Holy Trinity that is very inexpensive compared to some of the other ones.
It is so difficult trying to pick the “perfect “ school for our kids. I think there will be some things we like, and some we don’t in all of them. I believe most catholic HS’s have large numbers in students except schools like St Dominick’s and Our Lady of Mercy. I never heard St Dominick’s did not require a student to take the co-ops..are you absolutely sure about that? It ‘s known to be a very good school. As far as keeping up, I would worry about that at all. They are all in the same uniform As far as class sizes in HS the class sizes will vary in each class..some classes will have more, some less. It’s not like their elementary where their home room is who they are with all day even when they switch classes as they all go together. HS is much different.. They all have different classes at different times. My girl friend was very happy with Holy Trinity , she never said anything bad about it.
Thanks for the info. about the co-ops . I already signed him up a few months back. We live in South Amityville and he is going all the way to Minneola for the course … it's a great course. It’s the CERTA program. They only accept 9 students per class…can’t beat that! So I had to get my check in right away , it filled up super fast… until I found this course I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out which one would be best.
good luck, I am sure which ever school is chosen will be the right one. Maybe go on line and look at all the schools web sites again, this may help a little. Please keep me posted
When I was a teenager going from middle school to high school, I wanted to try catholic high school. So, I actually attended St. Dominick's and would have graduated in 1992 if I stayed.
This is what I can tell you from what I remember way back when:
I attended St. Dom's for a year and a half (9th & half of 10th grade):
I liked the school b/c it was small and I felt you got a good education there. I also liked that we all wore the same uniform and there was no "competition" in that respect. The kids were from many different areas (Hicksville, Bethpage, Greenlawn, Plainview, Oyster Bay, Levittown, etc.) The reason I left was for my own personal reasons..I felt the girls were very snobby and I also had my first fist fight in that school. I seemed to have met people with a lot of issues.
Years later (in my early 20's), I dated someone who graduated from St. Dom's and well, after getting to know him and his friends (who also graduated from there), they were major drug users. I am not saying that all kids who graduate from St. Dom's turn out to be like this but it just seems, in my opinion, althought it's an excellent school, the people I met turned to drugs. I'm not speaking of pot..I'm speaking about coke and heroin. Therefore, it left a bad taste in my mouth in general.
From what I remember about Holy Trinity when I was looking to attend a catholic HS, I remember everyone saying that Holy Trinity was considered in the kids eyes, more like a public school. Now, I am not sure how it is today and I am sure it's a great school.
Please remember, everything I've written was from my era which is dated back to 1992. I felt like the kids in St. Dom's were rebellious and I know that's just my opinion. After attending Catholic School, I promised myself, I would never send my children to a Catholic school...unless I lived in a very bad school district.
I just wanted to let you know what I knew about St. Dom's and what I can remember hearing about Holy Trinity. Can I ask you what public HS you are affiliated with? After attending St. Dom's, I went back to public HS (Bethpage) and thought it was 100x better than Catholic school. I'm also not saying that kids from public school don't do drugs but I seem to have met a lot more kids from different Catholic Schools in different groups who either had emotional issues and rebellous issues or who were major drug users.
When I was a teenager going from middle school to high school, I wanted to try catholic high school. So, I actually attended St. Dominick's and would have graduated in 1992 if I stayed.
This is what I can tell you from what I remember way back when:
I attended St. Dom's for a year and a half (9th & half of 10th grade):
I liked the school b/c it was small and I felt you got a good education there. I also liked that we all wore the same uniform and there was no "competition" in that respect. The kids were from many different areas (Hicksville, Bethpage, Greenlawn, Plainview, Oyster Bay, Levittown, etc.) The reason I left was for my own personal reasons..I felt the girls were very snobby and I also had my first fist fight in that school. I seemed to have met people with a lot of issues.
Years later (in my early 20's), I dated someone who graduated from St. Dom's and well, after getting to know him and his friends (who also graduated from there), they were major drug users. I am not saying that all kids who graduate from St. Dom's turn out to be like this but it just seems, in my opinion, althought it's an excellent school, the people I met turned to drugs. I'm not speaking of pot..I'm speaking about coke and heroin. Therefore, it left a bad taste in my mouth in general.
From what I remember about Holy Trinity when I was looking to attend a catholic HS, I remember everyone saying that Holy Trinity was considered in the kids eyes, more like a public school. Now, I am not sure how it is today and I am sure it's a great school.
Please remember, everything I've written was from my era which is dated back to 1992. I felt like the kids in St. Dom's were rebellious and I know that's just my opinion. After attending Catholic School, I promised myself, I would never send my children to a Catholic school...unless I lived in a very bad school district.
I just wanted to let you know what I knew about St. Dom's and what I can remember hearing about Holy Trinity. Can I ask you what public HS you are affiliated with? After attending St. Dom's, I went back to public HS (Bethpage) and thought it was 100x better than Catholic school. I'm also not saying that kids from public school don't do drugs but I seem to have met a lot more kids from different Catholic Schools in different groups who either had emotional issues and rebellous issues or who were major drug users.
My cousin went to Holy trinity was involved in drugs as well. Didn't do anything while in public school- wouldn't touch the stuff. Once he went to HT, that's where it started. I'm not blaming the school itself, but clearly it was who he was hanging out with there that got him into it. (This was 6 years ago).
AmityGirl - Although I am not 100% sure about St. Dom's not requiring the Coop exam, I DO know that my child did not list St. Dom's as one of their choices. When I later decided St. Dom's might be another option for us, I just sent in my child's school records. They never asked if my child took the entrance exam or not, nor did I submit anything pertaining to it.
LIGirl - The reason I was looking into private schools is because I felt that the public middle school did not "push" my child enough and there was really no accountability. To keep this short, I am a very invloved parent, my child is very bright but not working to potential, M.S. did not really give a hoot since grades still in mid 80's (even though HW would not get done for weeks at a time). I feel that the public HS will be the same, if not worse.
I know that there are immediate consequences at most of the private schools such as academic detention/demerit when HW is not done that day.
From what I was told by another parent, Trinity might not have changed much in the sense that they are considered the "public" school of private schools. A parent I spoke to, whose child is a senior at St. Mary's had toured/looked into Trinity when looking for a private school. They felt that Trinity was just "average" and were not willing to pay for a just average school. Their child did extremely well at St. Marys and they are submitting applications to most of the Ivy League colleges.
Thanks again for the insight - I am glad to hear all the pos. and neg. (like the drug use too)
Even though at any of the schools, the uniform is the same, the can still be that "keeping up with the Joneses"
My friends child just graduated from Chaminade. Many of these kids got brand new BMW's, Mercedes, Acuras etc. when they started driving. Another example - the "ads" for the seniors in the yearbook. Many of these families got full pages ads for their kids - which I thought my friend said was $1,000+. Just a small 1/4 page ad was $250 or $350. One family "donated" part of the new gymnasium. Everyone had the IPhones etc.
Another friends daughter currently goes to Kellenberg. She has been begging for a MacBook because all of her friends have them. The girls have the latest, most expensive designer bags, sunglasses, phones etc. When they take school trips, it's competition who has the best sneakers - best sweatshirt.
Yet another friend - who lives in Levittown and has a lovely home, has a child in Kellenberg who is embarassed to bring their school friends home. Why? because many of the school friends live in humongous, gorgeous, million plus $ homes.
So, although we are very middle class and my kids get much of what they want, I do not want any of them feeling bad that we are not richer than rich.
Just wanted to elaborate why I was concerned with "keeping up." even though all of the schools have uniforms.
private schools would never tolerate missing work and many other things.. you can ask my son about detention for missing assignments..lol I only know one family in HT. She is a very strict parent and her kids walk a very straight line.. her son is in college for a few years already and he is into the science/ medical field. The daughter is going for her RN at Molloy. I am surprised she would allow her kids to go to a school like that if it is true what is said... I never knew this..that school is not a popular one in my kids catholic elementary school..most pick Kellenburg, Chaminade, St. Anthony's , St Johns and Our Lady of Mercy..all excellent schools.
try to reach the principals/ administration and talk about your concerns . This may be the best thing to do, see what they will share with you. Did your child list three schools? What was the other one?
Even though at any of the schools, the uniform is the same, the can still be that "keeping up with the Joneses"
My friends child just graduated from Chaminade. Many of these kids got brand new BMW's, Mercedes, Acuras etc. when they started driving. Another example - the "ads" for the seniors in the yearbook. Many of these families got full pages ads for their kids - which I thought my friend said was $1,000+. Just a small 1/4 page ad was $250 or $350. One family "donated" part of the new gymnasium. Everyone had the IPhones etc.
Another friends daughter currently goes to Kellenberg. She has been begging for a MacBook because all of her friends have them. The girls have the latest, most expensive designer bags, sunglasses, phones etc. When they take school trips, it's competition who has the best sneakers - best sweatshirt.
Yet another friend - who lives in Levittown and has a lovely home, has a child in Kellenberg who is embarassed to bring their school friends home. Why? because many of the school friends live in humongous, gorgeous, million plus $ homes.
So, although we are very middle class and my kids get much of what they want, I do not want any of them feeling bad that we are not richer than rich.
Just wanted to elaborate why I was concerned with "keeping up." even though all of the schools have uniforms.
yes..this is true..but it's really everywhere...
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I am not there yet, one more year for my son... but... I know one family who went to Holy Trinity, so far two of her kids graduated and her third will be going next year. They were happy with the school... never said anything negative about it..her kids were accepted into good colleges...
As far as class sizes in HS the class sizes will vary in each class..some classes will have more, some less. It’s not like their elementary where their home room is who they are with all day even when they switch classes as they all go together. HS is much different.. They all have different classes at different times. My girl friend was very happy with Holy Trinity , she never said anything bad about it. 
