Nativity BVM High School
| Nativity B.V.M. High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
|
One Lawtons Hill Pottsville, Pennsylvania, (Schuylkill County) 17901 United States |
|
| Coordinates | 40°43′13″N 76°10′50.5″W / 40.72028°N 76.180694°WCoordinates: 40°43′13″N 76°10′50.5″W / 40.72028°N 76.180694°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Private, Coeducational |
| Motto | Sequere Mariam (Follow Mary) |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Patron saint(s) | The Blessed Virgin Mary |
| Established | 1955 |
| Oversight | Diocese of Allentown |
| Principal | Mrs. Lynn Sabol |
| Chaplain | Fr. David Loeper |
| Staff | 7 |
| Faculty | 20 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 186 (2013-2014) |
| • Grade 9 | 40 |
| • Grade 10 | 45 |
| • Grade 11 | 52 |
| • Grade 12 | 49 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 11:1 |
| Color(s) | Green and Gold |
| Athletics | PIAA Athletic Assoc. |
| Mascot | The Hilltopper |
| Team name | Green Wave, Hilltoppers, Golden Girls |
| Rival | Marian Catholic High School, Pottsville Area High School |
| Accreditation | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools |
| Newspaper | Skylines |
| Yearbook | Lawtonian |
| Athletic Director | Mr. Joshua Muldowny |
| Website | www.nativitybvm.net |
Nativity B. V. M. High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown.
Nativity B.V.M. (Blessed Virgin Mary) High School is a Catholic four-year co-educational secondary school. It was founded in 1955 as the successor to Pottsville Catholic High School (formerly Saint Patrick's High School) and Saint Stephen's High School in Port Carbon.
In 1927 Father Edward L. Gatens, pastor of Saint Patrick Church, Pottsville, planned the building of Pottsville Catholic High School. On October 15, Cardinal Dougherty of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia dedicated the new building at 112 7th Street (now All Saints School) which still bears the engraving "P.C.H. School" above the door. From 1928 to 1955, Pottsville Catholic was a diocesan Catholic high school with the Sisters of Saint Joseph as faculty. Saint Patrick's Grade School, housed in the same building, was a parish school. At that time, Catholic schools in this area still belonged to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The constantly increasing enrollment made a new building imperative and Monsignor John Boyle, then pastor of St. Patrick's, Pottsville, was commissioned by Archbishop John O'Hara of Philadelphia to purchase ground for the new diocesan high school.
When Lawton's Hill was selected as the site for the new Catholic high school, the cross was a prominent theme in the building's design. Windows of amber glass, facing westward, form one large cross that looks out from all three floors of the building.
Catholic high school students beginning their freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years attended Nativity starting in September, 1955. The school was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary on April 14, 1956, with Reverend John J. Nugent serving as the founding principal. The Feast of the Nativity, or birthday, of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on September 8. The class of 1959 was the first class to go through an entire four years at Nativity. During the early years, diocesan priests and Carmelite Fathers taught at Nativity; communities of Sisters on the faculty were Sisters of St. Joseph, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Sisters of St. Casimir, and Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The first graduating class of 148 seniors received their diplomas in June, 1956. The first yearbook of Nativity BVM High School was called the Ave Maria (Hail Mary) and published in 1956. Father Nugent was principal of Nativity from 1955 to 1967. During his tenure, the Allentown Diocese was formed from an area that had formerly been part of the Philadelphia Archdiocese. In 1960, Catholic schools in Schuylkill, Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties became part of the new Allentown Diocese. In 1961, a senior named John Vincent Egan graduated and enrolled at Saint Charles Seminary. He was later to become Nativity's principal and work with faculty members who had been his teachers!
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