BY KATHI STEARNS

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--Feb. 1, 2000 is the application deadline to apply to the two new Catholic high schools that are scheduled to open in the archdiocese in September 2000. Both schools are accepting applicants for the ninth and tenth grade in their initial year.

Tuition for the new high schools has yet to be determined. However, according to Msgr. Terry Young, Secretary for Education, the tuition is expected to be in the same range as the tuition at St. Pius X High School, Atlanta. For the 1999-2000 academic year the tuition at St. Pius is $6,075. A tuition assistance fund, which will be administered by the school, will be available to assist active Catholic families with the cost of education. Funds will be awarded on the basis of need and the availability of moneys for this purpose.

The application process consists of three steps. First, families are required to complete the archdiocesan application and send it to the Department of Catholic Education, 680 West Peachtree St., Atlanta 30308 with a $50 application fee. After the department has received the student’s application, along with a parish verification form and a previous school form, the student will be required to take the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT).

In order to be considered for the first round of admission decisions, prospective students must sit for the exam either Dec. 11 or Jan. 8. The registration deadline for the Dec. 11 entrance exam is Nov. 19 and the registration deadline for the Jan. 8 exam is Dec. 13. The Dec. 11 exam is being offered at St. Pius X High School. To register on-line or to find convenient testing locations, parents are encouraged to visit the SSAT website at www.ssat.org or call (609) 683-4440.

When the test results have been assessed, if admission is granted, an acceptance letter and registration packet will be sent to the families. A tuition payment will be required to hold the student’s place in the school. Families will be contacted by early April 2000. The deadline for submitting financial aid information is Feb. 1.

The new high schools that are accepting applications are:

--Our Lady of Mercy High School, which will be located in north Fayette County at the intersection of Highway 138 and Holyfield Highway, near the boundary with Fulton County. The high school will serve between 400-500 students. A schematic design has been developed by Hussey, Gay, Bell & Deyounge of Savannah. Batson-Cook Co. of Atlanta is the general contractor. Construction is underway.

The school, which sits on 54 acres, will house 20 classrooms; a chapel; four science labs; a learning lab; two computer labs; dance and drama facilities; an art lab with ceramics and photography production capabilities; a choral room with two practice studios; a band room with two ensemble studios; a gymnasium; two weight rooms; locker rooms; a cafeteria; a media center; and a 450-seat auditorium.

Each classroom will have an average of five computers with a projected teacher-student ratio of 20-1. The computer labs will each have 28 computers. Students will have the opportunity to check out laptop computers from the media center.

The athletic fields include a soccer field, practice field, football field, track and field area, three tennis courts and a dual-purpose baseball/softball field. The football stadium is lighted and will seat 1,000. There will be bleacher seating at all other fields as well as a scorer’s box where necessary. A concessions building and field house containing locker rooms, restrooms and shower areas for athletes and coaches is also being constructed.

Sister Dawn Gear, GNSH, was named principal of Our Lady of Mercy in August. Sister Gear, who has been an educator for over 35 years, was also the founding principal of St. John Neumann Regional School in Lilburn and the Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan School in Atlanta.

Sister Gear’s career in education began in 1963 when she taught grades four and five at Mother of Divine Providence School in King of Prussia, Pa. A graduate of D’Youville College in Buffalo, N.Y., Sister Gear received a master’s degree in education in 1979 and a specialist degree in administration from Georgia State University in 1989.

Of Sister Gear’s 36 years in education, 24 have been spent in Atlanta. From 1975-79, she taught grades six through eight at Christ the King School in Atlanta, until she went to St. Pius X High School in Atlanta as a teacher, assistant dean of studies and assistant dean of students. From St. Pius, Sister Gear helped to start St. John Neumann, where she served as principal for 11 years until she left to help found the Donnellan School.

While under Sister Gear’s leadership in 1994, St. John Neumann was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, which led to her receiving the 1996 Distinguished Principal of the Year Award for the South Atlantic States of the National Catholic Educational Association. She was also a National Distinguished Principal that year.

--Blessed Trinity High School, which will be located in west Roswell at the intersection of Highway 92 and Woodstock Road. This is the same site as Queen of Angels Elementary School, which opened this fall, and the future site of St. Peter Chanel Church, a mission of St. Ann’s Church, Marietta. The high school will serve 1,000 students. A schematic design has been developed by Hussey, Gay, Bell & Deyounge of Savannah. Batson-Cook is the general contractor. Construction is underway. A search for the first principal to lead this school is ongoing.

The school, which sits on 68 acres, will house 32 classrooms; a chapel; six science labs; two computer labs; two learning labs; dance and drama facilities; an art lab with ceramics and photography production capabilities; a choral room with four practice studios; a band room with two ensemble studios; one gymnasium which seats 1,200; a practice gymnasium which seats 150; two weight rooms; locker rooms; a cafeteria; a media center; and a 650-seat auditorium, complete with a staging area, fly tower and orchestra pit.

Each classroom will have an average of five computers with a projected teacher-student ratio of 16-1. Each of the learning labs will have 10 computers, the science labs 11 and the computer labs 28. Students will have the opportunity to check out laptop computers from the media center.

The athletic fields include a soccer field, track, competition and practice football field, a baseball field, softball field, three tennis courts and a lighted football stadium which seats 2,000. There is bleacher seating at all other fields and courts as well as a scorer’s box where necessary. A concessions building and field house containing locker rooms, restrooms and shower areas for athletes and coaches is also being constructed.

Both schools will feature a comprehensive curriculum that includes religion, mathematics, science, social studies, foreign language, journalism, business education, computer technology, music, art, dance, drama, band, chorus and physical education and health.

The two Catholic high schools opening in the fall of 2000, and the three new Catholic elementary schools which opened in the fall of 1999, are being built through the “Building the Church of Tomorrow” capital campaign held in the archdiocese in 1997.

To request an application form, call (404) 885-7232.