Pope John XXIII Regional High School is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

, in Sussex County, in the

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New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The school was founded in 1956, originally as ''Our Lady Of The Lake School'' and is part of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson The Diocese of Paterson () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in North Jersey, northern New Jersey. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese ...

. The school name was changed to honor

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

after his death in 1963. The school has been accredited by

AdvancEd The Advanced Party (), otherwise known as the Advanced Association () was a liberal and centrist Zionist political association in Mandatory Palestine founded by several urban liberal Zionists. The party was founded in order to represent the voice ...

since 2010.Pope John XXIII High School

. Accessed October 29, 2020. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 691 students and 50.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 13.6:1. The school's student body was 87.0% (601) White, 5.4% (37) Black, 2.9% (20) Hispanic, 2.6% (18) Asian, 1.6% (11) two or more races, 0.4% (3) American Indian / Alaska Native and 0.1% (1) Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander.School data for Pope John XXIII High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed November 1, 2023. In 2016, grades 5-7 at the Rev. George A. Brown Elementary School were moved into the newly built Pope John XXIII Middle School, which shares its campus with the high school. To do this the schools of Immaculate Conception Regional School (in

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

), Saint Joseph's Regional School (in Newton) and Saint Michael's Regional School (in Netcong) were all closed and merged into Pope John Middle School.

Philosophy and coursework

Pope John XXIII Regional High School has a Catholic philosophy in accordance with Church teaching. The school also has a college prep course of study in academic subjects. Students are required to not only take state required courses but an additional year of Math and Science. Theology coursework is required for every marking period a student is enrolled at the school. Two years of a foreign language such as Spanish and German are also required as well as a fine art course. Seventeen

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

(AP) courses are offered. An eighth grade honors program for math, history, English and science is also offered The math and science taught to the eighth grade honors students is also taught to the freshman. The school's music department was founded in the mid-1970s by

John-Michael Caprio John-Michael Caprio (July 1947 – December 25, 1997) was an American conductor and organist who served as the music director at St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan), St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City between 1990 and 1997. During his seven ...

, who would go on to be director of music at New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral in the 1990s. In addition to the eighth grade honors program for area Catholic schools, Pope John launched their own eighth grade class in the 2009–2010 academic year, but only accepted eighth grade students who were previously from public schools. Like most Catholic schools, students are required to wear uniforms. The uniform policy is often strictly enforced to ensure students live up the proper standard expected of them by the administration and faculty. Uniforms, for example, include uniform dress shoes, ties (for boys), and dress pants and skirts, respectively, which are coordinated by class and change as a student moves to the next grade. The school also does not allow for any facial hair on boys or any "hair that reaches past the ear or below the collar;" infractions of proper uniform often result in punishment by the administration or faculty. The school maintains a mainstream Roman Catholic theological position, with 80% of the student body being Catholic, though students from all denominations and religions are accepted.

Athletics

The Pope John LionsPope John XXIII High School

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia * St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Man ...

, Sussex and

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the

(NJSIAA). Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in the

Sussex County Interscholastic League The Sussex County Interscholastic League (SCIL) was a high school athletic conference located in Sussex County and Morris County, New Jersey. The league was formed in 1976 when a number of new high schools opened up in the previous year. The ...

, which included public and private high schools located in Sussex County and northern Morris County. With 510 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public A for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 381 to 1,454 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group II for public schools). The football team competes in the United White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Non-Public Group B (equivalent to Group I/II for public schools) for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 140 to 686 students. The 1964 baseball team won the Non-Public C state championship, defeating Saint James High School in the tournament final.Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024

, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. Note that team is listed as Our Lady of the Lake. Since the playoff era started in 1974, the school's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team won 18 state championships under coach Victor Paternostro. The football team won the NJSIAA Non-Public B North state sectional title in 1975, 1979, 1981–1983, 1986–1991 and 1993, and won the Non-Public II titles in 1995-1998, 2001 and 2002. The 1975 team finished with 10–0 record for the season and extended its streak to 34 games without a loss after a 14–6 win in the championship game against St. Mary High School gave the team the Parochial B North title. The 1979 team had a 10-0-1 record after winning the Parochial B North final over Immaculate Conception High School of Montclair by a 28-0 score. A 28-0 win against St. Cecilia High School in the 1981 Parochial B North championship game gave the team a 10-1 record for the season. A 27-0 championship game win against Immaculate Conception of Montclair gave the team the 1982 Parochial A North state sectional title. The 1983 team finished the season with a record of 11-0 after winning the Parochial B North sectional title with a 40-14 win against

Saint Joseph of the Palisades High School Saint Joseph of the Palisades High School was a private, Roman Catholic high school in West New York, in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. As of the 20 ...

in the championship game. The 1986 team took the Parochial B North title and finished the season at 10-1 after a 35-0 win against Phillipsburg Catholic High School in the championship game. The 1987 team's 22-7 championship game win against Morris Catholic High School gave the team the Parochial B North sectional title and an 11-0 season record. A 35-0 win against Marist High School in the championship game gave the team an 11-0 record and the 1991 Parochial B North title, and making Pope John the first program in the state to win six straight state football titles. The 1993 team won the inaugural Parochial Group II title with a 14-0 win in the championship game against Marist to finish the season with a 10-1 record. The 2001 team used a strong defense to finish the season with a 9-1 record after winning the Parochial Group II state title by defeating Paterson Catholic High School by a score of 13-12 in the finals. In 2002, the football team won the Non-Public II state sectional championship with a 41-12 win against Queen of Peace High School in the tournament final. In 2009, Coach Paternostro became New Jersey's winningest high school football coach with the Lions' win over

West Morris Mendham High School West Morris Mendham High School (also known as Mendham High School) is home of the Minutemen, and is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school that serves students in ninth though twelfth grades as part of the West Morris Regional ...

. Paternostro resigned from his coaching position after the 2010 season, leaving with an overall record of 373-68-5 in 43 seasons, including 20 state championships, 19 Sussex County Interscholastic League titles and two NJAC titles, and was replaced by Brian Carlson formerly from

Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union, Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth, and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education and is a state-designated rese ...

. The wrestling team won the Non-Public Group B North state sectional championship in 1980–1983 (as co-champion in 1980), 1986, 1988, 1992, 1994 and 2018-2020. The team won the Non-Public Group B state title in 1982, 1983, 1986, 1992 and 2018. The boys tennis team won the Non-Public Group B&C state championship in 1982, against runner-up Saint Mary's High School (South Amboy) in the final match of the tournament. The girls' outdoor track and field team won the Non-Public Group B state championship in 1984-1990 and won the Non-Public B title in 2006, 2007 and 2012-2014. The program's 12 state titles are tied for the most in the state and the streak of seven consecutive titles from 1984 to 1990 is tied for the second-longest statewide.NJSIAA Girls Spring Track Summary of Group Titles

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The 1990 team won the program's seventh straight Parochial B title, defeating Mater Dei High School by 45-32 in the finals."Pope John sweeps to Parochial B championships"
'' Daily Record'', June 3, 1990. Accessed January 5, 2021, via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

. "Pope John, which is gaining a track facility and losing a coach this fall, gave girls coach Bob Bennett a going away present yesterday. The Lady Lions won their seventh consecutive NJSIAA Parochial B title with a 45-32 victory over Mater Dei at Hub Stine Field. The boys team of coach Frank Setlock showed Bennett, who works with both the boys and girls distance runners, its appreciation by winning its first title ever, 51-37 over DePaul." The boys track team won the spring / outdoor track title as Non-Public B champion in 1990, 1991, 1993 (as co-champion) and 1994.NJSIAA Boys Spring Track Summary of Group Titles

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The 1990 team won the program's first championship, defeating DePaul Catholic High School by 51-32 in the Parochial B finals. The boys cross country team won the Non-Public B state championship in 1993, 1994 and 1995.NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The girls swimming team won the Non-Public B state championship in 1995. The field hockey team won the North I Group II state sectional championship in 1996.History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The girls cross country running team won the Non-Public Group B state championship in 2001 and the Non-Public A title in 2005.NJSIAA Girls Cross Country State Group Champions

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The boys track team was the indoor track Group II state championship in 2004 and the Group I title in 2007. The girls indoor track team won in Group I in 2007, and in Non-Public A in 2013 and 2014. In 2005–06, the hockey team advanced to the state semi-finals, where they lost 3-2 to the

Delbarton School Delbarton School is a private, all-male Catholic college-preparatory school in Morristown, New Jersey, serving seventh through twelfth grades. It is independently directed by the Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey in Morristown and is locat ...

. The 2003-04 team was the champions of the Northern Red division, going undefeated in conference play and winning the conference tournament. The 2002-03 team had lost the previous year in the conference championship game after winning the conference regular season title. During the 2018-19 season the team captured the Gordon National Division Title and finished ranked number 4 in the state in NJ.com boys ice hockey rankings. In March 2008, the Pope John ski team won its first state championship. The boys basketball team won the Non-Public Group A state championship in 2015, defeating Christian Brothers Academy in the final of the tournament. The program won the 2015 title with a 71-35 win in the playoff final against Christian Brothers Academy.

Student organizations and clubs

The following organizations and clubs are present at Pope John XXIII Regional High School: *Academic: Academic Team, Math Club, Mock Trial Competition, Pope John Robotics Team,

Girls Who Code Girls Who Code (also known as GWC) is an international nonprofit organization that aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science. Among its programs are a summer immersion program, a specialized campus program, after-school ...

*Fine Arts: Concert Band, Concert Choir, Drama Club, Jazz Ensemble, Mixed Choir, Pep Band, Pope John Players *Language & Culture: German Club, Latin Club, Spanish Club *Leadership: National Honor Society, Language Honor Society, Pope John Leadership Council *Publication: ''Le Coeur de Lion'' (Literary Magazine), ''The Lion's Pride'' (School Newspaper) *Spiritual & Service:

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

Key Club Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students. Key Club International is the high school branch of the Kiwanis International family, classified as a Service Leadership Program ...

, Lifeguards, Mission Club, Pope John Vision Club, Search

Robotics team

The Pope John XXIII Regional High School FIRST Robotics Team supports three levels of

FIRST First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

robotics: FLL for area elementary schools, FTC and FRC for high school students. In 2011 a

Zero Robotics Zero Robotics is an international high school Computer Programming, programming competition where students control robotic SPHERES (Synchronised Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites) aboard the International Space Station. E ...

team was also started. Pope John does not restrict the program to their own students, approximately ten to fifteen percent of the FTC and FRC team members in any given year come from other area high schools, and FLL students come from both public and private area elementary schools. In the 2010–2011 academic year sixty-two students were involved in some level of the program. In the 2009–2010 season the school's two FTC teams both qualified for the World Championship held in Atlanta, Georgia. FTC Team 247 won the New York City Championship as captain team, and FTC Team 248 won the New Jersey Championship as captain team. Additionally, the teams jointly came in second place at the Pennsylvania Championship. In the 2010–2011 season the school expanded FTC to three teams. One of the three teams qualified for the World Championship held in St. Louis, Missouri (team 4391). This marked the third consecutive season in which a Pope John FTC team qualified for the World Championship. In the 2011–2012 season the school added a

team and was one of only nine schools nationally to qualify as a captain team in the finals. The finals were held on board the International Space Station on small SPHERES robots which maneuver in zero gravity. Pope John and other finalist teams observed from MIT. Astronauts on board the ISS served as referees for the game. Although the tournament only officially named the top three winning teams, Pope John's scores during elimination rounds placed them at fourth position nationally. The team also publishes a book, ''FTC Robotics: Tips, Tricks, Strategies, and Secrets'', which guides new and veteran teams through the process of building a winning FTC program. The book is available through major online retailers. Over one thousand copies sold during the 2010–2011 season. The team has also donated hundreds of copies of the book to rookie FTC teams across the United States as an outreach effort. A major expansion of the Robotics program took place in 2010–2011. This expansion included adding academic awards recognition to robotics team participants, creating the first Varsity Letter program for Robotics in Sussex County, New Jersey on March 31, 2011, and adding a new academic course, Honors Robotics I.

Notable alumni

* Bryce Aiken (born 1996),

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player for the

Seton Hall Pirates The Seton Hall Pirates are the intercollegiate athletic sports teams representing Seton Hall University, located in South Orange, New Jersey. The Pirates compete as a member of the NCAA Division I level (non-football sub-level), primarily compet ...

* Larry Arico (born 1969), former head college football coach for the Fairleigh Dickinson University–Florham Devils and

William Paterson University William Paterson University, known as WP, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 an ...

Pioneers football programs * Noah Brown (born 1996, class of 2014),

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

Delicate Steve Delicate Steve is the stage name of musician Steve Marion, an American multi-instrumentalist who leads the band of the same name. Delicate Steve's sound has been described as hand-crafted with elements of progressive rock, folksy twang, African r ...

(born Steve Marion, class of 2005), recording artist signed to

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

's Luaka Bop Records *

Jerry Doyle Jerry Doyle (July 16, 1956 – July 27, 2016) was an American talk radio host, political commentator, television actor and founder of the content platform EpicTimes. His nationally syndicated talk show, ''The Jerry Doyle Show'', aired througho ...

(born 1956), actor and radio personality best known for his role as Michael Garibaldi on ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

'' * Brian Driscoll (born 1979), acting director of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) * Katie Henry,

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter *

Ryan Izzo Ryan Anthony Izzo (born December 21, 1995) is an American professional football tight end. He played college football at Florida State, and was selected by the New England Patriots in the 2018 NFL draft. Early life Izzo grew up in the Highland ...

(born 1995, class of 2014),

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

Louis King Louis King (June 28, 1898 – September 7, 1962) was an American actor and film director of westerns and adventure movies in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Early years King was born in 1898 in Christiansburg, Virginia. His name was also written ...

(born 1999), college

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

, who attended for part of his sophomore year * Alison Littell McHose (born 1965), politician who served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from 2003 to 2015, where she represented the 24th Legislative District * Tim Sweeney (born 1980), former professional baseball player who became a sports agent and participated in ''

The Amazing Race 23 ''The Amazing Race 23'' is the twenty-third season of the American reality competition show ''The Amazing Race (American TV series), The Amazing Race''. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationsh ...

''Goovaerts, Diana
"Ex-Sparta resident recalls ''Amazing Race'' challenge"
''

New Jersey Herald The ''New Jersey Herald'' is a newspaper published six days (Sunday-Friday) every week. Its headquarters are in Newton, New Jersey. It is the only daily newspaper published in Sussex County, New Jersey and one of the oldest in the state. It has ...

'', March 7, 2014. Accessed October 10, 2017. "Being selected to compete on the hit CBS show ''The Amazing Race'' was just one turn in a series of fortunate events for Tim Sweeney.... The 33-year-old is a Sussex County native, originally hailing from Sparta and attending Pope John XXIII Regional High School."

References

External links

Pope John XXIII High SchoolNJIT High School summer internship programData for Pope John XXIII Regional High School

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope John Xxiii Regional High School 1956 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1956 Private high schools in Sussex County, New Jersey Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson Catholic secondary schools in New Jersey Sparta, New Jersey