Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School

Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Hudson, Florida. The school falls under the diocesan jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg. Its mailing address is in Spring Hill.

Infobox Secondary school
name = Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School

established = 2003
founder = Jane Moerschbacher
type = Private co-educational secondary
affiliation = Catholic, Christian Brothers
motto = Value yesterday, celebrate today, and envision tomorrow.
city = Spring Hill
state = Florida
country = USA
accreditation = Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
grades = 9 - 12
students = 257
faculty = 48
mascot = Hurricanes
colors = Blue and Gold
website = [http://www.bmchs.com/index.html/ BMCHS Home Page]

chool Information

Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School (otherwise known as "BMCHS" or simply "Bishop") was established in 2003, the first new Catholic high school in the Diocese in over forty years. The school was named after the first bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Charles Borromeo McLaughlin. Since the Bishop was nicknamed “Hurricane Charlie,” BMCHS is the home of the “Hurricanes;" their mascot is "Hurricane Charlie." The school's first principal, Jane Moerschbacher, held the position until she retired in 2007, following the graduation of BMCHS's inaugural class. Jane Moerschbacher was succeeded by Sarah Regan, formerly the principal of Academy of the Holy Names (an all girls school in Tampa, FL).cite web|url=http://www.bmchs.com/bmchs%20home.htm|title=School History|accessdate=2007-05-11|author=BMCHS] She holds this post to this day.

Mission Statement

The school maintains very specific goals regarding the reasons for its existence. These goals are manifested in its mission statement:

To form a Christian communitythat lives the Gospel values, that fosters the spiritual, academic,intellectual, social, emotional and physical development of all its members; and that delivers to the world a message of peace and justice.

Technology

Every student in attendance is issued a school laptop that is used in most classes daily. The school is equipped with a wireless network, with an 802.11 wireless router in every classroom so as to ensure a speedy and reliable connection. In addition to the students, teachers and other administrators also have laptops. [http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/13/Pasco/New_school_buys_into_.shtml Pasco: New school buys into technology ] ] Electronic assignments are issued over either the school's network via the "Classrooms Folder" or via Edline. [http://www.bmchs.com/documents/doc/Trifold.doc] The "Classrooms Folder" is a network folder in which each teacher has a personal subfolder in which they can post their assignment documents. All students have access to this folder from the school's network. Edline, however, is a large system in which school events, assignments, and club/sport related activities are posted. [ [http://www.edline.com Edline - Heart of the Learning Community ] ] Edline is a much more complex system, as it does everything the "Classrooms Folder" does, such as offering access to calendars and other types of data entries.

Academic Awareness

Bishop McLaughlin uses Pearson Education's PowerSchool software, an electronic grading program in which all grades are posted and subsequently calculated as per a teacher's specific grading system. The software allows for students and their parents to keep constantly updated on grades, as well as a calculated grade point average, as grades can be updated at any time by teachers. Parents also have the option to receive an email from the software every week giving them updated progress reports on their child's grades in every class.

Computer Use Policy

The official BMCHS policy on laptops is that they are to be used for schoolwork and homework only.

Dramatics

The school has only recently began producing full-scale productions in of 2006, under the direction of the drama teacher, Douglas Hollander, although in the light of recent downsizing, his contract was not renewed. They have produced and performed "Harvey", "Noises Off" [ [http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/30/Pasco/Farce_fans__take_note.shtml Pasco: Farce fans, take note ] ] , and "Blithe Spirit" [ [http://www.sptimes.com/2007/11/09/Pasco/Spirit_may_move_you_t.shtml Pasco: Spirit may move you to chortle frequently ] ] . They recently produced "Cinderella", the school's first ever musical performance. Additionally, the BMCHS Drama Club participates regularly in the Florida International Thespian Society's competitions. It should be noted that they have never reached the state level, an annual goal of theirs.

Eleanor Dempsey Performing Arts Center (EDPAC)

The EDPAC is the five million dollar theater facility located at BMCHS. It boats an extensive catwalk, a professional soundboard, expert lighting, including new smartlights recently installed, and 880 seats. School plays are held there, as well as chapel.

External links

* [http://www.bmchs.com/ School Website]
* [http://www.edline.com/ Edline Homepage]
* [http://www.powerschool.com/ Powerschool]

Notes and references