Anonymous wrote:Would a Jewish child fit in socially?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a Jewish child fit in socially?

Depends on how social he is, I guess. And how much he has in common with the other kids in terms of interests.

Many of his classmates will already know one another from Parochial grammar schools, from the neighborhoods or from sports teams like youth football and CYO basketball.

Go to a St John's home basketball game and look at the composition of the crowd and how they behave and see if you can say, "I can see my son in this group". If you can, than he'll be alright. If not, than there is room for concern.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a Jewish child fit in socially?

Depends on how social he is, I guess. And how much he has in common with the other kids in terms of interests.

Many of his classmates will already know one another from Parochial grammar schools, from the neighborhoods or from sports teams like youth football and CYO basketball.

Go to a St John's home basketball game and look at the composition of the crowd and how they behave and see if you can say, "I can see my son in this group". If you can, than he'll be alright. If not, than there is room for concern.

NP: Does everyone go to the games? My kid doesn't like to play sports much, and certainly has zero interest in watching others play sports. Surely in a school that big there wold be a sizeable group of kids with other things to do besides go to sporting events? I hope? Fingers crossed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a Jewish child fit in socially?

Depends on how social he is, I guess. And how much he has in common with the other kids in terms of interests.

Many of his classmates will already know one another from Parochial grammar schools, from the neighborhoods or from sports teams like youth football and CYO basketball.

Go to a St John's home basketball game and look at the composition of the crowd and how they behave and see if you can say, "I can see my son in this group". If you can, than he'll be alright. If not, than there is room for concern.

NP: Does everyone go to the games? My kid doesn't like to play sports much, and certainly has zero interest in watching others play sports. Surely in a school that big there wold be a sizeable group of kids with other things to do besides go to sporting events? I hope? Fingers crossed.

It wouldn't be only to see the games, but to see the kids there watching the games to see if this was a place he night want to go to school.

It's a concept college admissions people call "Institutional Fit". Kids just seem to know if a place is right for them and if the kids there are like they are.

Sports and being a sports fan is a big deal in the Catholic sub-culture. The Catholic high schools dominate the local sports scene and draw the biggest crowds and most fan support. There's a reason for that.

I'm sure there are some that wouldn't be interested, But I strongly doubt it's "sizeable".

I don't think you have a very good idea of what you are getting into here. You really ought to be looking at schools like GDS and Maret, I sense.

Anonymous wrote: We have many neighbors and acquaintances with children at St Johns and they seem happy. We are Jewish and I’m wondering if there are any Jewish families there. We have Catholic family members so we have no issues with our son being exposed to Catholicism but want to be sure he won’t feel like an outsider.

The appeal of St Johns is that it is half the price of other high schools but seems to be highly regarded. We do not qualify for FA at our current private but can’t afford 40k a year. I’m anticipating someone will suggest a Jewish day school but we can’t afford it and we are not at all observant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a Jewish child fit in socially?

Depends on how social he is, I guess. And how much he has in common with the other kids in terms of interests.

Many of his classmates will already know one another from Parochial grammar schools, from the neighborhoods or from sports teams like youth football and CYO basketball.

Go to a St John's home basketball game and look at the composition of the crowd and how they behave and see if you can say, "I can see my son in this group". If you can, than he'll be alright. If not, than there is room for concern.

NP: Does everyone go to the games? My kid doesn't like to play sports much, and certainly has zero interest in watching others play sports. Surely in a school that big there wold be a sizeable group of kids with other things to do besides go to sporting events? I hope? Fingers crossed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of non-Catholic families at SJC. I hesitate to say a lot but Jewish kids are common. They do have to take religion (think morality and spirituality rather than straight Church doctrine) and attend Mass. Non-Catholic kids attend and don’t receive communion.

My Jewish child loves the school and doesn’t feel different at all. His religion class this year is more world religion. It reminded me of how little I have taught him about other religions. Yikes!

Thank you! This is really exactly what I needed to know.

This is pretty typical of Catholic education, btw. The doctrine part is more of a Sunday school/elementary school thing. In high school, since Catholics kids have (mostly) already gone through Confirmation, the doctrine is assumed to be known. So the religious classes are more about theology in general, morality, philosophy, the Big Question topics, and ethics.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a Jewish child fit in socially?

Depends on how social he is, I guess. And how much he has in common with the other kids in terms of interests.

Many of his classmates will already know one another from Parochial grammar schools, from the neighborhoods or from sports teams like youth football and CYO basketball.

Go to a St John's home basketball game and look at the composition of the crowd and how they behave and see if you can say, "I can see my son in this group". If you can, than he'll be alright. If not, than there is room for concern.

NP: Does everyone go to the games? My kid doesn't like to play sports much, and certainly has zero interest in watching others play sports. Surely in a school that big there wold be a sizeable group of kids with other things to do besides go to sporting events? I hope? Fingers crossed.

My kid does not go to games. We are not Catholic. He loves SJC. He plays xbox, goes to homecoming, does normal teen things with his friends. Theology is a tough class, taught in an academic fashion, not religious. You will see Fox News on the lunch room TVs when visiting the school. Let him explore and decide. The school recently highlughted a Jewish grad in its alumni magazine. I wish he had more Jewish classmates at SJC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of non-Catholic families at SJC. I hesitate to say a lot but Jewish kids are common. They do have to take religion (think morality and spirituality rather than straight Church doctrine) and attend Mass. Non-Catholic kids attend and don’t receive communion.

My Jewish child loves the school and doesn’t feel different at all. His religion class this year is more world religion. It reminded me of how little I have taught him about other religions. Yikes!

Thank you! This is really exactly what I needed to know.

This is pretty typical of Catholic education, btw. The doctrine part is more of a Sunday school/elementary school thing. In high school, since Catholics kids have (mostly) already gone through Confirmation, the doctrine is assumed to be known. So the religious classes are more about theology in general, morality, philosophy, the Big Question topics, and ethics.

9th Grade religion starts with the Torah - the first 5 books of the Bible. K - 8 is geared more to Catechism, so I was pleased they covered fundamentals in SJC religion. By Junior year they vear off into a bunch of SJW crap - it's amusing for most conservative Catholics, but I'd rather my kids take that as an elective than some nonsense public school elective.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of non-Catholic families at SJC. I hesitate to say a lot but Jewish kids are common. They do have to take religion (think morality and spirituality rather than straight Church doctrine) and attend Mass. Non-Catholic kids attend and don’t receive communion.

My Jewish child loves the school and doesn’t feel different at all. His religion class this year is more world religion. It reminded me of how little I have taught him about other religions. Yikes!

Thank you! This is really exactly what I needed to know.

This is pretty typical of Catholic education, btw. The doctrine part is more of a Sunday school/elementary school thing. In high school, since Catholics kids have (mostly) already gone through Confirmation, the doctrine is assumed to be known. So the religious classes are more about theology in general, morality, philosophy, the Big Question topics, and ethics.

9th Grade religion starts with the Torah - the first 5 books of the Bible. K - 8 is geared more to Catechism, so I was pleased they covered fundamentals in SJC religion. By Junior year they vear off into a bunch of SJW crap - it's amusing for most conservative Catholics, but I'd rather my kids take that as an elective than some nonsense public school elective.

I don't understand. I would think the junior year curriculum focusing on social justice would be an awesome experience for a child of any religion. I love that my son is taking Ethics this year and a social justice class next year. This is one of the main reasons we are paying for a private school education. I am glad nobody is exempt from taking the classes. Maybe it will keep away the riff raff.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of non-Catholic families at SJC. I hesitate to say a lot but Jewish kids are common. They do have to take religion (think morality and spirituality rather than straight Church doctrine) and attend Mass. Non-Catholic kids attend and don’t receive communion.

My Jewish child loves the school and doesn’t feel different at all. His religion class this year is more world religion. It reminded me of how little I have taught him about other religions. Yikes!

Thank you! This is really exactly what I needed to know.

This is pretty typical of Catholic education, btw. The doctrine part is more of a Sunday school/elementary school thing. In high school, since Catholics kids have (mostly) already gone through Confirmation, the doctrine is assumed to be known. So the religious classes are more about theology in general, morality, philosophy, the Big Question topics, and ethics.

9th Grade religion starts with the Torah - the first 5 books of the Bible. K - 8 is geared more to Catechism, so I was pleased they covered fundamentals in SJC religion. By Junior year they vear off into a bunch of SJW crap - it's amusing for most conservative Catholics, but I'd rather my kids take that as an elective than some nonsense public school elective.

I don't understand. I would think the junior year curriculum focusing on social justice would be an awesome experience for a child of any religion. I love that my son is taking Ethics this year and a social justice class next year. This is one of the main reasons we are paying for a private school education. I am glad nobody is exempt from taking the classes. Maybe it will keep away the riff raff.

riff raff- so basically someone who doesn't share your beliefs and yet you want social justice and ethics????

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a Jewish child fit in socially?

Depends on how social he is, I guess. And how much he has in common with the other kids in terms of interests.

Many of his classmates will already know one another from Parochial grammar schools, from the neighborhoods or from sports teams like youth football and CYO basketball.

Go to a St John's home basketball game and look at the composition of the crowd and how they behave and see if you can say, "I can see my son in this group". If you can, than he'll be alright. If not, than there is room for concern.

NP: Does everyone go to the games? My kid doesn't like to play sports much, and certainly has zero interest in watching others play sports. Surely in a school that big there wold be a sizeable group of kids with other things to do besides go to sporting events? I hope? Fingers crossed.

My kid does not go to games. We are not Catholic. He loves SJC. He plays xbox, goes to homecoming, does normal teen things with his friends. Theology is a tough class, taught in an academic fashion, not religious. You will see Fox News on the lunch room TVs when visiting the school. Let him explore and decide. The school recently highlughted a Jewish grad in its alumni magazine. I wish he had more Jewish classmates at SJC.

See.

There is life at the fringes of any large, homogeneous group.