By Marie Mulvenna

Atlanta’s three Catholic high schools, St. Joseph’s, Marist and St. Pius X, are well on their way into the new academic year, each with more varied curriculum, new programs and outlooks as well as plans for the future. The combined study enrollment for the three schools represents 1,786 young people currently pursuing their secondary education in the Catholic community. While maintaining their identity as Catholic schools, each school has special individual characteristics that makes it particularly distinct and noteworthy.

St. Joseph

At St. Joseph’s High School, Father Terry Young, assistant principal, described the morale of the school as “exceptional.” In spite of recent news about the school’s anticipated closing in 1976, Father Young said the enthusiasm among the students and faculty “is even higher this year than it was before.” He said concern about the closing of St. Joseph’s was “not a big preoccupation, it doesn’t hang over us all the time.”

Father Young said the students were forging ahead with new things and were not at all preoccupied with the closing thought. “I don’t know of any teacher or student who doesn’t wish the school would continue,” he said, adding that the students recently posted a notice o a school bulletin board proclaiming “a new school in an old building.”

With this year’s enrollment at 356 students, Father Young said 58 were in the new eighth grade. “In a school that’s slated to close in 1976, that’s pretty good.” He said parents wanted their children to attend the school if only for a short time.

Due to the anticipated closing, St. Joseph’s has put some additional emphasis on its accelerated program, allowing eligible sophomores to complete their education at St. Joseph’s by 1976. He reported that during the first quarter, the school would meet with students to evaluate their particular position as far as acceleration went. Father explained that accelerated programs had always been available at the school in order to permit students to pick up credits at their own pace. Some students last year were completing their studies at the school while taking courses at Georgia State and other institutions.

The current program with sophomores is proceeding cautiously and the school is considering ability, maturity and desire to accelerate before placing a student in the program.

Although the curriculum is “pretty much what we had in the past,” Father said some new emphasis had been placed in several areas. In drama, the course now stresses the ability to be able to stand before an audience, a more practical aspect than in previous offerings he noted.

In physical education, Father said expanded programs now included girls playing football and soccer. He was quick to add that the form of football was “touch” adding that they are being taught the fundamentals, how it’s played and what it’s all about. An intramural program of soccer is also planned. St. Joseph’s does not have a school football team this year, a fact Father attributed to a small turnout. “We had only 16 come out for it, and four of them were eighth graders.”

There will be some additional emphasis in the Christian renewal of the scholastic community. Last year, St. Joseph’s had offered “mini” retreats for classes and this year plans to make available special Christian experience weekends. The faculty is planning their own such weekend, a first for the school.

In the social studies area, some practical applications are seen in a course on practical politics where in the students actually take part in a campaign, working in headquarters. “This has had an interesting response from the students,” Father Young said. There is also a course about Atlanta, highlighting what is available in the city, points of interest and other facets which points of interest and other facets which make the city the student’s workshop.

Students are also involved in the school’s youth corps, working in social concern projects such as St. Vincent de Paul Society. “It helps them see all society as a learning situation,” Father noted.

Father said the students had a new student court for school offenders and had an exceptionally good student council this year.

Reflecting on the new spirit at St. Joseph’s and the school’s plans for the remaining years Father Young said, “if this is the end of St. Joseph’s, then we’ve saved the best wine till the end.”

Marist

Marist School has 643 students enrolled this year in grades nine through 12. Father James Hartnett, S. M., principal said the ROTC program at Marist was no longer a compulsory aspect of the school, explaining that it was now optional for the students with 25 to 30 percent already signing up for it.

In the past, Father said, the ROTC program had been obligatory and students were required to wear the familiar air force uniform. “This led many to see Marist as a military school,” Father said, “which in reality it was not.” He said the Air Force program was primarily a classroom project. Under the new arrangement, ROTC students would wear the uniform just one day per week with other students no longer wearing the uniform but following a prescribed dress code.

Last year, Marist introduced the tri-semester system breaking the school year into three 12-week periods. This expanded course offerings, Father Hartnett said, announcing such new classes this year as “History of Rock Music,” “The Film as Literature,” and “Sherlock Holmes.” Asked about the response to the new subjects he replied with a laugh “the response is sometimes too good.”

In the science department a revised style of presentation now presents six biology classes from which the student selects three. Six courses are also now available in chemistry. The art program has been expanded from general arts and crafts to include ceramics, print making, drawing and painting on a beginning, intermediate or advanced level.

In the math area, a new math lab has been set up which will be manned by a teacher for each class period. The purpose, Father said, is to be able to help the student with a short term problem as well as to help the student who excels in math and is perhaps held back in the regular classroom setup.

Marist hopes to establish a cross-country team soon and still offers all regular sports to its student population.

Father Hartnett noted a new course offering entitled “Note Hand” which he said was a personal elective and involved fundamental principles of taking more effective notes in a combination of shorthand and long hand. “Since most of our graduates go on to the college level, this was thought to be helpful.”

St. Pius X

At St. Pius X a much expanded curriculum has been offered in accordance with the school’s philosophy and objective of “education toward freedom.” The school seeks to provide as many opportunities as possible for students to learn the nature of responsible choice through the exercise of choice and decision making in many areas of student life. Emphasis is not on the mastery of skill for its own sake but rather learning how to learn.

Opportunities for such learning are provided Pius students through flexible scheduling, a wide variety of courses, individualized instruction, independent study, resource centers, community involved programs and extra-curricular activities.

Pius has been noted for its evolving innovations in academic programming, which it says are a combination of many resources always changing and fitting the needs of the community and student. The curriculum is essentially non-graded, except for freshmen, and the thrust of the curriculum is to acquire the skills necessary for life in the 20th century and beyond, the growth essential for mature Christian living and the development of concepts leading to an understanding of life as a sharing in the Christ-life here and hereafter. Pius views itself as not only an educational institution but an educational fellowship which seeks to communicate Christian values and attitudes as it searches for truth.

In the area of course offerings, Father James Sexstone, principal, said there were “literally hundreds” new this year. He explained that all departments had broken down one year courses into mini-courses, running for four weeks to two or three months. “The students now have a wide choice in various areas to build for graduation. The area of concentration they choose to work in is much wider than in the past.”

Father Sexstone described the reaction of the students to the new curriculum and flexible scheduling as very good. “We are all pleased that it jelled so quickly.” He reported that the faculty was excited and the students enthusiastic “after the initial shock.”

Father said the new program is not such a radical departure as first thought adding it was really an outgrowth of past programs. “We actually built toward this,” he said.

The new concept developed from workshops sponsored by the International Graduate School of Education and follow-up study of other working models. The program at Pius was developed by a faculty committee with students also participating.

Pius has 787 students this year and many new clubs and organizations to fill any possible student need or interest. Father Sexstone said many of the established clubs were abandoned because of interest changes and new groups would be added to meet future interests. The school has the largest chapter of the National Honor Society in the state of Georgia.

In athletics, Pius hopes to initiate an intramural program once their gym is completed. Currently, an outdoor program for all students is being initiated.

Father Sexstone described Pius as a “very good school that has provided much service over the past 15 years to the Catholic population of Atlanta.”