Contents
$1.65 million
Prep Fund financial aid goal for 2021
54% of students received financial aid in 2020, with an average package of $11,500
85% of students participate in the Prep’s 60 student clubs and 16 Varsity sports
$300,000+ in costs for busing our students safely to school, sports & events
100 Agenda Books and 600 Chromebooks for 1:1 technology program
12 annual student service trips with an average cost of $3,000
School News
The Prep Community Shows Tenacity During COVID
It was a year and a half that was unprecedented for most educators. From March 2020 until this past June, a series of pivots and adjustments were needed to get through one of the worst health crises to ever hit our world. COVID-19 and the precautions needed to stay safe was a challenge that no one was ready for, but everyone had to figure out.
In This Article:
- Academics
- Athletics & Co‑Curriculars
- International Studies
Fr. Surovick Returns to the Prep
Rev. Stephen Surovick, SJ has returned to St. Joseph’s Prep this fall. Fr. Surovick served in the Office of Mission and Ministry and Religious Studies Department here from 2014-17 and was a major contributor to the 2Philly4Francis pilgrimage that the Prep hosted for more than 400 Jesuit high school students during Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia in 2015. He also helped lead many Kairos retreats.
Athletics
2020-21 will go down as one of the most unusual athletics years in school history. Truncated seasons, games without fans, schedules altered on the fly were just some of the issues facing student-athletes and coaches. That plus the added health and safety measures made it especially challenging.
However, there were great successes in all of our sports, with some providing major highlights.
In This Article:
- Football
- Tennis
- Crew
Co-Curriculars
While health restrictions made it a bit more challenging for clubs and activities to meet, many were still able to provide outstanding experiences for our students.
In This Article:
- Strategy and Video Gaming Club
- Cape and Sword Drama Society
- Mock Trial
- Speech and Debate
- TMF Hawks
- WSJP Student Broadcasting Club
- Cooking Club
- SPIKEBALL!
Campaign Update
For Others Forever Exceeds $30 Million; Plans in Process for Start of Phase 1
Features
Investing in the Future of the Prep
Lorie and Nick Howley ’70 Give to Provide Educational Opportunities to Deserving Students
We have always believed that the only lasting thing we could give our children was a high-quality education and a strong moral compass. But not all kids have access to the kind of high-quality education that promotes character formation, and for many, that’s the only type of opportunity that can help them break the cycle of poverty.”
Presidential Transition
Farewell Fr. Swope
“It all begins with gratitude,” said Rev. John W. Swope, SJ ’72 to the community gathered in the Plaza Lot, in the shadows of the Church of the Gesu. After fifteen months of not gathering and not being together, this spring the Plaza Lot became the go-to location for lunch-time wiffle ball, Masses, award ceremonies and banquets–who could have predicted that? On that day, it was a place of gratitude: from the Prep to Fr. Swope for his six years of service to his alma mater and from Fr. Swope to the people who had made his time so special.
Greetings Mr. Marinacci
“What matters most in education is not the content we deliver, it is the way in which we care for our students in mind, body, and soul, to make them lifelong learners,” he says passionately. “Students are fires to be lit, not buckets to be filled, and the best way to do that is to provide them with the tools and opportunities for experiences and then give them a framework to make meaning of those experiences.”
Perspectives
The Prep Continued to Serve, Even During the Pandemic
By Erick Woods P ’23
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down many school operations last spring, one thing remained constant: the Prep continued to serve our community. From supplying lunches for hospital front line workers to providing meals for those most in need, the Prep’s Ignatian Service Office found new and creative ways to allow our students and faculty/staff, as well as alumni, to continue our tradition of caring for our community. Mr. Erick Woods P ’23 was the main organizer of these activities and has written a reflection on that work.
