Saint Joseph Regional High School


Saint Joseph Regional High School is a private, Roman Catholic, college preparatory school for boys, located on a campus in Montvale, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The school operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. St. Joseph Regional High School was founded in 1962 by the Brothers of Saint Francis Xavier. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1968.
As of the 2015-16 school year, the school had an enrollment of 475 students and 37.9 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1. The school's student body was 72.4% White, 11.0% Hispanic, 5.5% Black, 5.5% Asian and 5.7% two or more races. In 2014, St. Joseph Regional High School graduated its 7,000th student.
The St. Joseph curriculum includes honors and Advanced Placement courses, and has college credit courses available through Saint Peter's University in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Academics

Saint Joseph Regional offers courses in English, world/US history, science, foreign language, mathematics, theology, and a number of electives, most with accelerated and honor levels. The school offers a number of Advanced Placement and college-level courses. A Virtual High School program provides an opportunity for qualified students to take courses online through an educational consortium endorsed by the United States Department of Education. Students can take classes as diverse as Mandarin Chinese and Marine Biology.
Students may apply to the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, French Honor Society, and Tri-M Music Honor Society.

Athletics

The Saint Joseph Regional High School Green Knights participate in the United Division of the Big North Conference, a super conference of 40 public and private high schools in Northern New Jersey that operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. The school competed in the North Jersey Tri-County Conference in 2009-10, which was set up to operate on an interim basis while new conferences were established. Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in Division C of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, which was made up of high schools located in Bergen County, Essex County and Passaic County, and was separated into three divisions based on NJSIAA size classification.
The Green Knights have achieved league, county and state titles in football, baseball, basketball, wrestling, golf, ice hockey, and winter and spring track and field athletics in the last two decades. The Green Knights' rivals include Bergen Catholic High School, Don Bosco Preparatory High School and Paramus Catholic High School.
;Fall sports
SJR offers three varsity fall sports including football, cross country, and soccer.
Long considered a regional powerhouse, SJR football has grown to become one of the best high school football programs in the country. The football team won the NJSIAA state sectional championships 1987–88, 1995-96, 1997, 1999–2005, 2008–09 and 2011-13. The SJR varsity football team had a streak of seven Non-Public Group III titles through the 2005 season, a run ended with a close loss to Holy Cross High School in the first round of the 2006 playoffs. The football team has also had its share of national rankings by USA Today, including #8 in 1995, #11 in 1997, #7 in 1999, and #23 in 2004. SJR has also been ranked #1 in the state in 1995, 1997, and 1999. Other teams have been listed in the nation's top 25 rankings during various parts of the year. SJR was ranked No. 11 in the nation in the final High School Football America Top 25 in 2013. In 2015, the team finished No. 19 nationally in the High School Football America Top 50. Through 2010, the Green Knights had won 14 state championships: 1987, 1988, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009. SJR also received The Star-Ledger Trophy in 1995, 1997, and 1999, 2012, and 2013 recognizing the team as the #1 football team in New Jersey. The 2008 team finished with an 11-1 record and won against Immaculata High School 27-6 in the state championship. The 2009 varsity football team defeated Immaculata again in the state championship 14-0. Saint Joe's beat Delbarton School 45-22 in the 2011 Non-Public Group III title game played at Kean University to earn its 15th state championship title. In 2013, the Green Knights defeated Pope John XXIII High School, 62-14; it was the fifth in sixth seasons for SJR. In 2016, the program won its 18th state title, winning the Non-Public Group III state sectional championship by a score of 26-17 against DePaul Catholic High School in the tournament final.
;Winter sports
SJR offers five varsity winter sports: basketball, bowling, ice hockey, wrestling, and winter track. The SJR basketball team has won a sectional championship; three county championships, most recently in 2005; and five league championships, most recently in 2005, 2007, and in 2009, where they enjoyed recent success with a win over Teaneck High School, 63-50, less than 48 hours after losing to them in the County jamboree finals 55-53, and ended their season with a record of 16-2 in the NNJIL. In 2005, the SJR basketball team were state finalists, but lost to Seton Hall Preparatory School 63-54 in the Non-Public North A state sectional tournament.
SJR wrestling has been a long dominant force in northern New Jersey and was inducted into the New Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2005. The team won the Parochial A North state sectional title in 1986, 1988, 1993, 1997, 1998 and 1999, and the Parochial B North title in 1996. The team won the Parochial A state championship in 1993, 1997 and 1998, and the Parochial B title in 1996.
In 2010, SJR hockey, who entered the NJTCC Cup as the lowest seed, upset top-seeded Passaic Valley High School and DePaul en route to the championship on February 28. During the Winter of 2011, the Green Knight Hockey team defeated Hackensack in the first round 6-3, and then defeated Ramapo High School by a score of 2-1 before losing 2-0 to second-seeded Wayne Valley High School in the finals. In the winter of 2013, the SJR Ice Hockey team won their fourth league championship appearance in a row.
;Spring sports
SJR offers five varsity spring sports including baseball, golf, lacrosse, tennis, and track and field. SJR baseball won the NNJIL championship twelve times in 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005, the county tournament in 1984, 1986, 1988, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2016 and the state championship in 1992, 1998, and 2004. The 2009 SJR varsity squad won the county tournament by defeating Ramapo High School 10-0. The 2009 squad was also a state finalist after a 7-6 victory over nationally ranked Don Bosco Preparatory High School, but lost to Delbarton School 4-3. Despite the loss, the team was ranked #5 in the state, and #1 in the county. SJR baseball has also had its share of state and national rankings by USA Today, achieving #1 in Northern New Jersey in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2009, #1 in New Jersey in 2005, #10 in the country in 1998, #1 in the east in 1998, #9 in the east in 2004, and is currently ranked #6 in the east in the 2009 season. St. Joe's has had a long-lasting rivalry in baseball with Don Bosco Prep.

Theater program

SJR's theater program presents a musical in the fall/winter, and a drama or comedy in the spring. SJR students also perform in productions put on by Immaculate Heart Academy and Academy of the Holy Angels.

2006

In 2006, SJR presented the world high school premiere of Miss Saigon. It was nominated for multiple awards in the 10th Annual Drama Festival at Fairleigh Dickinson University, as well as the Helen Hayes Theater Awards, and the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards.
Awards won at FDU include:
Helen Hayes awards include:
As of October 15, 2006, SJR presented Urinetown: The Musical.
Helen Hayes Theater Awards:
Paper Mill Rising Star Awards:
In 2008, SJR presented West Side Story. It had seven final nominations for the Helen Hayes Theater Awards, and four final nominations for the Paper Mill Rising Star Awards. West Side Story also received the 2008 Showstopper Runner-Up Award for best musical in the country by USA Weekend.
Helen Hayes Theater Awards include:
Paper Mill Rising Star Awards include:
The 2009 musical was The Who's Tommy. SJR received seven final nominations from the Metropolitan High School Theater Awards, formerly known as the Helen Hayes Youth Theater Awards, and three final nominations from the Paper Mill Rising Star Awards.
On January 28, 2009, Fox 5 News aired a special on the senior citizens production of SJR's Tommy, which aired on Good Day New York. The special included interviews of cast members, and clips of the cast performing on stage.
Metropolitan High School Theater Award :
Paper Mill Rising Star Award:
In 2010, SJR presented Curtains, which was recognized by the Metropolitan High School Theater Awards as Outstanding Overall Production.

2011

In 2011, the musical presented was Les Misérables, which earned a Metropolitan High School Theater Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for Taylor Popielarz.

2012

In 2012, SJR presented Cabaret.

2013

In 2013, SJR presented Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
SJR presented Noises Off as their spring drama, garnering a number of MSU Theatre Night Award nominations, and two wins.
In 2014, SJR presented Fiddler on the Roof as their winter musical.
SJR presented Brighton Beach Memoirs as their spring drama, garnering 11 Montclair Theatre Night Award Nominations, including Best Overall Production, and two wins.
Montclair State University Theatre Night Award wins:
In 2015, SJR presented Miss Saigon, which earned a Paper Mill Rising Star Award.
Paper Mill Rising Star Awards:
SJR presented You Can't Take It With You as their spring drama.

2016

In 2016, SJR presented Urinetown, and Ordinary People.

2017

In 2017, SJR presented West Side Story and Rumors.

2018

In 2018, SJR presented Curtains and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

WSJR

St. Joes has a TV studio, WSJR, that runs on a closed circuit system on every school day from 8:15am to 8:24am. WSJR generally has students as anchors, and broadcasts school announcements and sport results.

Notable alumni