St. Thomas Aquinas High School (New Jersey)


St. Thomas Aquinas High School, formerly known as Bishop George Ahr High School, is a private four-year college preparatory and coeducational Roman Catholic high school for students from ninth through twelfth grades. It is located on a campus covering in the northern section of Edison, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The school operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen.
As of the 2015–16 school year, the school had an enrollment of 832 students and 57.6 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 14.4:1. The school's student body was 56.4% White, 16.8% Asian, 13.2% Hispanic, 8.3% Black, 0.5% Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander and 4.8% multiracial. Students attend the school from Middlesex, Union, Monmouth, and Somerset counties in Central New Jersey.
The administration and teaching faculty are composed of Felician Sisters and lay people. All 72 faculty members hold a B.S. or B.A. degree; a significant percentage have M.A. degrees, and some hold a Ph.D. degree. St. Thomas Aquinas High School is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education and is accredited by AdvancED.

History

It opened in 1969 as St. Thomas Aquinas High School and was renamed Bishop George Ahr High School in 1983.
In 2015 Cardinal McCarrick High School closed, and Ahr High accepted its former students; Ahr and the former McCarrick had the same tuition prices.
On July 1, 2019, the school reverted to its original name.

Athletics

The St. Thomas Aquinas High School Trojans compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which includes public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County area and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Sports offered for men include: baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, wrestling, and winter and spring track. Women's sports include: basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross country, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and winter and spring track.
The football team was champion of the Middlesex County Blue Division in 2005, 2007, and 2008. The wrestling team won the 2007 Non-Public South B sectional championship with a 46-27 win over Holy Cross. Their baseball team won the 2006 Non-Public South A sectional championship over St. Augustine, 16-15. The school's swimming team won the Greater Middlesex Conference in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011.
The girls' gymnastics team has won the team state championship in 1992, 1994, 1995, 2003-2007, 2010 and 2013; the 10 titles are the second most of any school in the state.
The softball team took the 2009 Non-Public South A Sectional title, shutting out both Holy Spirit High School and Camden Catholic High School, and won the tournament final over Gloucester Catholic High School to win the team's first sectional title for nine years.
The girls' soccer team won the NJ Non-Public A state championship against Immaculata High School 1-0. The varsity cheerleading team won the National Championship and best overall Grand Champion in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on March 11, 2017.

Fine arts

St. Thomas Aquinas High School offers students a wide range of creative options, including art courses in a full-studio art department, graphic design courses, video production, a drama department, and a music department.
The Drama Department performs three full show runs per school year with a fall Shakespeare play, a fall drama production, and a spring musical. The Drama Department has competed and won awards at the Bucks County Playhouse, among many other events.
The Music Department includes a marching band, a symphonic band, a concert choir, a liturgical band, a jazz band, and music theory courses.
In May 2012, the school's Music Department competed in the 2012 Music Showcase Festival in Busch Gardens, VA. The jazz band won first place overall jazz ensemble. The concert band won second place overall concert band. The jazz choir won first place overall jazz choir. The concert choir won first place overall mixed choir. The concert choir also won the grand championship trophy for the highest overall competition score among all vocal groups.

Technology

St. Thomas Aquinas High School provides an array of technology courses and options to its students. Teachers have at their disposal a number of technology options that they can call upon depending on the nature of their lesson. In addition to three computer labs, teachers also have access to laptops, iPads, and Chromebooks they can use to enhance their instructional offerings. To round out these offerings, the school has a bring-your-own-device policy that allows teachers the opportunity to infuse technology on-the-fly, allowing them to incorporate technology in a real world manner and to capitalize on teachable moments.

Notable alumni