Class of 2027 Info

A full summary calendar for the 2023-24 school year, including days off, early dismissals, and exam days, is available HERE.

Holy Ghost Prep students need to bring a laptop with them to HGP every day for school work.  CLICK HERE to find out what type of device they should use.

Incoming freshmen register for courses for the 2023-24 school year by completing the "Freshman Course and Placement Test Registration" form in School Admin. This form must be completed no later than Friday, March 24. The School Admin tab can be found under "Quicklinks" at the top of this page.

All freshmen must complete a World Language Experience Questionnaire, found HERE. The questionnaire must be completed by Friday, March 24.

All freshman are required to take the following courses:

• English: Academic Writing and Communication Skills*

• Math: Algebra 1, Intermediate Algebra, Algebra 2 Honors, or Geometry Honors/Trigonometry**

• Religion: Revelation of God and Faith and Christian Living

• Science: Biology*

• Social Studies: World History 1 or AP Human Geography**

• World Language: French, Latin, or Spanish**

• Fine Arts: Studio Art, Performance Masterclass, Guitar, or Intro to Theater

• Engineering: Design Thinking***

• Guidance: Digital Citizenship and Guidance

*Placement in an honors level section is determined by entrance exam scores.

**Placement in a specific course/honors level section is determined by placement test.

***All incoming freshmen are required to take Design Thinking during the summer prior to the start of the academic year. The course is offered in each of the three Ghost Summer sessions. It is the same course each session - students choose which session they want to take the course. They do NOT need to take it more than once. The course, offered through Schoology, HGP’s learning management system, is an online self-paced course and can be completed in the three week timeframe. You register for Design Thinking by completing the "Freshman Course and Placement Test Registration" form in School Admin.

CLICK HERE for more info on HGP's academic vision and philosophy, graduation requirements, grade scale, and full descriptions of the freshman year courses.

Design Thinking focuses on the engineering design process. Working within predetermined parameters, students will learn and participate in the engineering design process: identify the problem, brainstorm ideas, test the solutions, analyze the results, and iterate the process. By the end of the course, students will have produced an engineering notebook to be used for future curricular or personal designs. 

Design Thinking is a required course for all incoming freshmen. They must take it during the summer prior to the start of the academic year. The course is offered in each of the three Ghost Summer sessions. It is the same course each session - students choose which session they want to take the course. They do NOT need to take it more than once. The course, offered through Schoology, HGP’s learning management system, is an online self-paced course and can be completed in the three week timeframe. 

You register for Design Thinking by completing the "Freshman Course and Placement Test Registration" form in School Admin.

Holy Ghost Prep requires conservative attire. The dress code is in effect during the school day from the beginning of the school day and during special events, such as Masses or assemblies with guest speakers.  Upon entry into campus buildings, all students are expected to be properly attired.

The Dress Code is as follows:

• All clothes are to be worn in the manner in which they were intended.

• Conservative dress pants of a single color worn at the waist are required. The pants must be black, navy blue, gray, dark brown, or khaki. Unusual styles such as baggies, tapered pants, pants with rolled cuffs, pockets on the side of the legs, etc., are not permitted. Belts are mandatory at all times. The color of the belt must be appropriate to the color of the blazer and pants.

• A conservative oxford cloth dress shirt, short or long sleeve, is required. Visible writing underneath the dress shirt is not permitted. All shirts must be tucked in. Ties are mandatory at all times. Ties are to be worn in fashionable accord with the rest of the student's attire. Ties with offensive representations are not permitted.

• A neat and conservative cut blazer must be worn throughout the months of October through April. The exact dates for this requirement will be announced by the Dean of Students. The color of the blazer may be navy blue, gray, dark brown, tweed, black or another conservative color. Waist coats, oversized coats, or coats of an exaggerated style are not permitted. Sweatshirts, with or without hoods, are not permitted. Excessively wrinkled or damaged blazers are not permitted. Conservative v-neck sweaters may be worn in addition to but not in place of a blazer.

• Socks are mandatory at all times. The color of the socks can be black, dark blue, white or some other conservative color. Standard oxford or loafer-type shoes are required. No shoes resembling sneakers, boots, sandals, slippers, or clogs are permitted. Laces are to be tied. Eccentric style shoes of any sort are not permitted.

• A student's hair must be neatly trimmed at all times based on culturally appropriate guidelines.  Eccentric hair styles are not permitted. Head coverings are not permitted, however if you have a cultural or religious reason for an exception, please see the Dean of Students.

• Facial hair (including lengthy sideburns) or earrings are not permitted.  If facial hair is part of your religion, please see the Dean of Students in advance. Tattoos are not permitted.

• Visible jewelry is restricted to wristwatches for punctuality and Holy Ghost Prep Class Rings. Other jewelry is not part of our dress code and may be temporarily or permanently confiscated. The wearer of jewelry not in accordance with the Dress Code may also face detentions or other penalties as the Dean of Students determines appropriate.

• Sometimes, for specific purposes, a “Dress Down Day” is scheduled. At these times, the formal dress code is temporarily suspended and a more casual dress code is allowed. This casual dress, however, does not suspend all dress code regulations. Rather only the formal dress shirt, pant, and shoe may be substituted by a casual replacement still in the spirit of a college preparatory school such as Holy Ghost Prep.

Final determination of acceptable dress rests with the Dean of Students and the Principal. Violators of the dress code may be subject to various disciplinary actions. Frequent offenders are in opposition to the ideals of Holy Ghost Prep and may be removed from the community through suspension and/or expulsion.

This course is strongly encouraged for incoming freshmen. The Ghost Foundations course is a great way for new students to get acclimated to HGP’s academic environment and social culture. The Ghost Foundations course includes a review of basic English grammar rules, algebra concepts, and science lab safety. Regardless of what English, math, or science class a student is taking, this course will provide worthwhile content review and help create a solid foundation to succeed in each course. Additionally, part of the Ghost Foundations course focuses on developing study skills specifically related to acquiring a new language. This will help students with language acquisition as a whole, taking into account the enormous cultural benefits, the wider understanding of the world, as well as many useful guidelines and suggestions for learning and practicing a second or additional language. The course will regularly refer to Spanish, French, and Latin and use numerous examples from these three languages, since these are the languages currently offered by Holy Ghost Prep. Also included in this course is a review of the parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, definite articles, indirect object pronouns, etc.) and other linguistic terms (person-number agreement, conjugation, infinitive, etc.) needed by the students for a quicker and more comprehensive understanding of the textbooks and commonly used educational material for language acquisition.  A few basic greetings in these three languages will be mastered by the students. Students will engage in community time to get to know their soon-to-be classmates. Finally, students will also learn valuable time management, note-taking, and organizational skills from the Counseling department. 

You can register for Ghost Foundations HERE.

Schedule

Monday 7/31: 9:00am to 12:00pm

Tuesday 8/1: 9:00am to 12:00pm

Thursday 8/3: 9:00am to 12:00pm

Monday 8/7: 9:00am to 12:00pm

Tuesday 8/8: 9:00am to 12:00pm

Thursday 8/10 9:00am to 12:00pm

Monday 8/14: 9:00am to 12:00pm

Tuesday 8/15: 9:00am to 12:00pm

Ghost Summer courses offer something for every HGP student—whether that's the chance to earn academic (GPA) credit for the 2023-24 academic year, pursue additional enrichment experiences, diversify his academic resume, or gain an extra free period. The courses cover a wide range of topics, from journalism to performance and from engineering to robotics. 

There are three sessions, beginning June 12, July 10, and July 31, respectively. Each session is three weeks and each course is worth a quarter or half credit. When you take a Ghost Summer course, you will get academic (GPA) credit for it and it will appear on your HGP transcript. 

To fulfill the freshman engineering requirement, all incoming students MUST take Design Thinking during Ghost Summer prior to the start of the academic year.*

*You register for Design Thinking by completing the "Freshman Course and Placement Test Registration" form in School Admin.

Ghost Foundations, offered from July 31 to August 12, is strongly encouraged for incoming students.

Session 1 Offerings (June 12 - June 30): Journalism, VEX Robotics, Design Thinking (required)

Session 2 Offerings (July 10 - July 28): Competitive Performance Prep, Design Thinking (required)

Session 3 Offerings (July 31 - August 18): Ghost Foundations, Design Thinking (required) 

To see the full Ghost Summer schedule and descriptions for each course, click HERE for a printable course brochure.

You can register for a Ghost Summer course, including Ghost Foundations, HERE.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 24 - First Day of Freshman Orientation. All freshmen will report for a day of welcome, food, fun, and community. Dress is casual. Additional information will be provided in the July opening of school packet sent via email.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 25 - First Day of Freshman Classes. All freshmen will report for an abbreviated class day. Students are expected to be in full dress code with blazers. Photo ID/Portraits will be taken. Additional information will be provided in the July opening of school packet sent via email.

Incoming freshmen register for placement tests by completing the "Freshman Course and Placement Test Registration" Form in School Admin. This form must be completed no later than Friday, March 24. The School Admin tab can be found under "Quicklinks" at the top of this page.

**Study guides are not provided for placement tests. The objective of the placement tests is to determine what students already know so they can be placed in the proper class. Preparing for a placement test may lead to a skewed score, which can result in an inaccurate placement.**

MONDAY, MARCH 27 (3:30 PM - 5:00 PM, DINING HALL): Math Placement Test. Required for all students both to ensure proper honors math placement and to identify students of special concern. Any student interested in honors consideration in math at any level during his attendance at Holy Ghost Prep or any student trying to gain recognition of any other work accomplished in math must take this test. If your son chooses not to take the placement test, he will be placed in Algebra I. Also, many science honors courses require concurrent math honors enrollment. Bring a #2 pencil. No calculators may be used.

TUESDAY, MARCH 28 (3:30 PM - 4:30 PM, LIBRARY): World Language Placement Test. This is an optional test and should only be taken by those students who have studied French, Latin or Spanish in middle school for two consecutive years at a pace of three to five class periods per week and want to be considered for an honors level 2 language course. We strongly recommend that heritage speakers take the French or Spanish test. If your son chooses not to take the placement test, he will be placed in a level 1 language course. Bring a #2 pencil and a pen.

TUESDAY, MARCH 28 (3:30 PM - 4:30 PM, LIBRARY): AP Social Studies Placement Test. This is an optional test and should only be taken by those students who want to be considered for AP Human Geography. Admission into AP Human Geography is extremely limited and only those approved by the Placement Committee are accepted. Placement is based on the placement test, entrance test scores, elementary school grades, and elementary school standardized test scores. If your son chooses not to take the placement test, he will be placed in World History I. Bring a #2 pencil and a pen.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 (3:30 PM - 5:00 PM, LIBRARY): Placement Test Make-Up Date. Students who cannot make the other scheduled dates may take one of their placement tests on this date. If you need to take a test on this date, please call our Main Office at 215-639-2102 to specify which of the placement tests your son will need to take on this day.

In order to play a PIAA sport at HGP, all students must have a physical and complete a series of forms. ALL medical/PIAA documentation and concussion education modules must be completed prior to the dates listed below for each season: Fall Sports: August 1, 2023  Winter Sports: November 3, 2023 Spring Sports: March 1, 2024 Click HERE for more information on sports forms. Contact Mr. Peter Cerenzo at pcerenzo@holyghostprep.org or Athletic Director Mr. Craig Conlin at cconlin@holyghostprep.org with any questions.

Holy Ghost Prep offers extensive summer sports camps for students of all ages, including incoming students. Click HERE to learn more about HGP's summer sports camps.

To prepare for the 2023-24 school year, all incoming freshmen are required to:

• Read "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah.
  • Reading "Born a Crime" is a joint collaboration between Unum, the freshman orientation program, and D.I.C.E., HGP's club which celebrates and promotes diversity, inclusivity, community, and equity.  Noah’s story of adolescent self-discovery in a complicated world is bound to resonate with the Class of 2027. Student leaders from both Unum and D.I.C.E. will be reflecting on "Born a Crime" with the Class of 2027 during orientation.
• Read about Spiritan history and mission and respond to a few short reflection questions.
  • These Spiritan readings will be discussed and reflected upon during orientation. 
• Read "The Alchemist" by Paolo Coelho and respond to a few short reflection questions for their English class.
• Answer a few short reflection questions for Revelation of God, their first semester Religion class.

There are additional assignments for Math, Science, Social Studies, and World Language depending on what class you have. 

**"Born a Crime" and the Spiritan readings should be completed by August 24. All other assignments for English, Religion, Math, Science, Social Studies, and World Language should be completed by the first day of class, August 28.**

D.I.C.E. 

• "Born A Crime" by Trevor Noah

Spiritan Readings

• Spiritan History and Mission Readings and Reflection Questions

English

• "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho Reflection Questions

Religion

• Revelation of God Reflection Questions

Math

• Algebra 1
• Intermediate Algebra
• Algebra 2 Honors
• Geometry Honors

Science**

• Bio
• Bio Honors

**Students will need their HGP email address to complete the Science summer assignment. Login credentials will be emailed to Class of 2027 families the week of June 19.**

Social Studies

• AP Human Geography
• World History does not have a summer assignment.

World Language

• Spanish 1
• Spanish 2 Honors
• French 1
• Latin 1 does not have a summer assignment.

All freshmen must complete a World Language Experience Questionnaire, found HERE. The questionnaire must be completed by Friday, March 24.

What are the language requirements at HGP?

At HGP, students are required to take three consecutive years (six semesters) of French, Latin, or Spanish beginning their freshman year. A fourth year of language study is strongly recommended and available in all languages. AP courses are also available in all languages. We also encourage students to take a second language as an elective, which they can begin as early as sophomore year.

Which language should I study?

Choosing which of the three languages we offer - French, Latin, or Spanish - is an important decision. Each language offers its own unique benefits. We believe that it is good for a student and his parents to make an informed decision together. Click HERE for a pamphlet that can provide you with information about each language so you can make an educated choice about which language to pursue during your time at HGP.

Algebra 1 and Intermediate Algebra:

• Calculator: TI-84 Plus CE Color Graphing Calculator or TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator
• Pencils, notebook, and a binder with loose leaf

Algebra 2 Honors and Geometry Honors:

• Calculator: TI-Nspire CX II Color Graphing Calculator
• Pencils, notebook, and a binder with loose leaf

French I:

• 1 Mead College Ruled Spiral Notebook
• 1 pocket folder
• 1 Bic 4-color ballpoint pen
• #2 pencils

Latin I: 

• Notebook, folder, and writing utensils

Spanish I:

• 1 Smead Poly Three-Ring Envelope
• 1 Yellow Mead College Ruled Spiral Notebook
• 2 Inch Light Blue Binder
• 1 Bic 4-Color Retractable Ballpoint Pen
• 1 Yellow highlighter
• 1 Blue Highlighter
• 1 Pencil
• 1 Eraser

Religion (Revelation of God and Faith and Christian Living):

• Notebook