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Fairfield College Preparatory School

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Coordinates: 41°9′37″N 73°15′22″W / 41.16028°N 73.25611°W / 41.16028; -73.25611
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For the school in Leicestershire, England, see Fairfield Preparatory School.
Fairfield College Preparatory school
Address
Map
1073 North Benson Road

Fairfield
,
Connecticut
06824-5157

 United States
Coordinates41°9′37″N 73°15′22″W / 41.16028°N 73.25611°W / 41.16028; -73.25611
Information
TypePrivate, Preparatory
MottoPer Fidem Ad Plenam Veritatem
(Through Faith to the Fullness of Truth)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1942
FounderThe Society of Jesus (with permission from Rev. Maurice F. McAuliffe, bishop of Hartford)
PresidentRev. John J. Hanwell, S.J.
ChairmanRobert D. Russo, Jr.
PrincipalRobert Perrotta
ChaplainRev. Laurence Ryan SJ
Faculty105
Grades9–12
Enrollmentapprox. 920 (2008)
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Pantone 186C and White   
Team nameJesuits
AccreditationNew England Association of Schools and Colleges[1]
NewspaperSoundings; Zeitgeist
YearbookHearthstone
Dean of AcademicsDr. Donna Andrade
Dean of StudentsJohn Brennan
Dean of AdmissionsGregory Marshall
Director of AthleticsStephen M. Donahue
WebsiteThe Fairfield Prep Website

Fairfield College Preparatory School (Fairfield Prep) is a Jesuit Prep School located on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is an all male school of about 950 students, first founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942. Operating with the approbation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, Fairfield Prep is self-sufficient with no diocesan or government financial assistance.

History

In 1942, the Provincial of the New England Province of the Society of Jesus was invited by Bishop McAuliffe of Hartford to establish a Jesuit high school and college in Fairfield County. The Provincial, Father John McEleney, (later Archbishop) purchased 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land overlooking Long Island Sound in the town of Fairfield. The original Jennings mansion became McAuliffe Hall, the first classroom building, and the Lashar mansion became Bellarmine Hall, the first Jesuit residence. The first graduating class of 1943 consisted of eleven young men.

By 1946, the school's enrollment was approaching 800 and two new buildings, Xavier and Berchmans, were on the drawing boards. 1947 also marked the establishment of Fairfield University.

Through the fifties, enrollment remained by design between 800 and 900 students. In the meantime, the University expanded rapidly and the original campus of two buildings and fifty students grew into the campus of today, with twenty-four buildings and over 3,000 students.

Today, Fairfield Prep has an enrollment of over 900 students. It conducts classes in Xavier Hall, Berchmans Hall and Pedro Arrupe Hall. The growth of the University has opened up to Prep a host of new facilities: The Nyselius Library, the Recreation Complex with its indoor swimming pool, basketball, racquetball, and tennis courts, the Quick Center for the Arts, and the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Academics

Fairfield Prep is known for its rigorous academic schedule. All students must take four years of Mathematics, Theology, and English. History and Science must be taken for three years, with the option of taking a fourth course senior year as an elective. A course known as Guidance Seminar must be taken all four years as well, but is worth only half a credit per year and is Pass/Fail according to the students attendance. Many teachers at Fairfield Prep also serve as adjunct professors at Fairfield University, adding to the school's theme of preparing for college. Students are typically scheduled to have six classes per day (with the option of "overloading" into a seventh course which replaces the daily free period worth credits yet not contributing to a students GPA), operating on a seven-day rotating schedule cycle.

Student life

Fairfield Prep draws students from 54 towns in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Approximately one-third of the school commutes by way of Metro North. While many students do reside in Fairfield, CT, the school is known for drawing students from a large number of towns as well as social and economic backgrounds.

Students often have 'free periods' during breaks in the school day, in which they are free to study or utilize various facilities found on the campus of Fairfield University, but are not permitted to leave campus as of 2007. Students are often found in the Academic Center located in Pedro Arrupe Hall or in the cafeteria located in the Berchmans Hall basement.

Athletics

Fairfield College Preparatory School is part of the Quinnipiac Division in the Southern Connecticut Conference.

Hockey

Hockey is historically the most successful sport in the school’s rich athletic history. Currently, the team is coached by English teacher Matt Sather, who graduated from Prep in 1993. Prep won the CIAC Division I Championship 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2011. The school’s main rival in hockey is Hamden High School. Each of the last five state titles has belonged to either Fairfield Prep or Hamden. Hockey games at the school are very well attended by a student cheering section known as the “Bomb Squad.” 300 students make it out to home games while many still support the team on the road. During the state playoffs, the “Bomb Squad” grows to over 700 screaming Fairfield Prep students. The most famous alumni of Prep’s historical hockey program are Ted Drury (class of 1989) and his younger brother Chris Drury (class of 1993). Both Drury brothers spent time in the National Hockey League and with the US Men’s National team.

Cross Country

Fairfield Prep’s Cross Country team has been coached by Bob Ford Jr. for multiple decades. Ford has had a very successful career as the team’s head coach. The team’s accomplishments include wins at the CIAC Class LL and CIAC State Open Championships in 1997 followed by another Class LL title in 1998. Recently, Ford picked up his 200th win as coach. Today, Fairfield Prep is still one of Connecticut’s best programs. In 2010, the Jesuits won the SCC Quinnipiac Division. The team’s great postseason also included fourth place finishes at the CIAC Class LL Championships and the CIAC State Open. At the 2010 New England Championships, Prep finished in fourth place as a team, placing ahead of every other team from Connecticut that qualified for the race.[2]

Swimming & Diving

The Jesuit swim team has been coached by Bruce Jaffe for just over four decades and has enjoyed much success in recent years. They have had a winning dual meet record in every season since 2003 and they have won the Southern Connecticut Conference Championship every season since 2005. Prep posted three straight undefeated seasons from 2007 to 2009 and won the CIAC Class L Championship in 2007. The Jesuits have placed second behind rival Greenwich High School in the CIAC Class LL Championship in each season since the Class L title in 2007.[3]

Lacrosse

Prep’s lacrosse program has made it all the way to the CIAC Class L Championship game in each of the past six seasons, winning the title in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 while losing in 2010 and 2011. In 2006, Prep beat Norwalk High School 13-12 to win the first lacrosse championship in school history. The next year, Prep beat Greenwich High School 10-9 in the title game. The 2008 title game was a 15-14 triple overtime thriller versus Ridgefield High School (Ridgefield, Connecticut). The school’s fourth lacrosse championship came in a 15-3 beating of Simsbury High School in the 2009 championship game. The past two seasons, Prep has lost in the state championship game, getting beat by Cheshire High School in 2010 and Ridgefield High School (Ridgefield, Connecticut) in 2011.[4]

Tennis

Prep's tennis team has won nearly a dozen of state championships, with the most recent in 2003. In the last 4 years, the team has finished top 3 for Class LL State Championships. Todd Paul, Class of 2003, won the Class LL Singles Championship 4 years in a row and had a very successful career at Wake Forest University.[5]

Rivals

Prep's rivals include: Greenwich High School, Hamden High School, Notre Dame of West Haven, Notre Dame of Fairfield, and Xavier High School

Other information

The tuition for the Fairfield College Preparatory School for the 2008-2009 school year is $14,285. [1]

Notable alumni

Notable Former Faculty

Notes and references

  1. ^ NEASC-CIS. "NEASC-Commission on Independent Schools". Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  2. ^ http://www.casciac.org/pdfs/champions_boyscrosscountry.pdf
  3. ^ http://www.casciac.org/pdfs/champions_boysswimming.pdf
  4. ^ http://www.casciac.org/pdfs/champions_boyslacrosse.pdf
  5. ^ http://www.casciac.org/pdfs/champions_boystennis.pdf
  6. ^ http://oilers.nhl.com/club/roster.htm
  7. ^ http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/football/article/Prep-s-Brown-signs-with-Kansas-City-Chiefs-462254.php
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