Catholic schools are recognized for superior academic achievement and Middle States accredited St. Michael’s is no exception. Over the past four years, St. Michael’s students have, on average, surpassed nationwide Terra Nova standardized test scores.
High test scores are just one indicator of our students’ academic achievements. Walk through St. Michael’s halls and look into any classroom and you will see our students actively engaged in inquiry, discovery and learning. You may see pre-schoolers sitting in a circle learning the Spanish alphabet. Or, if you visit a second-floor classroom, you may watch the seventh graders debating the environmental impact of a recent lab experiment.
Our certified teachers are integral to our students’ academic success. They bring to their classrooms diverse educational and professional backgrounds that contribute uniquely to academic enrichment. St. Michael’s teachers are committed to bringing out the best in our students through individualized attention in controlled class sizes.
St. Michael’s graduates are well prepared for high school and beyond. Alumni go on to top area schools such as Union Catholic, St. Peter’s Prep, Seton Hall Prep, Roselle Catholic and Mount St. Mary’s Academy. Georgetown, Notre Dame, Princeton, Marist, Harvard, Fordham University, Dartmouth, Seton Hall, Columbia, New York University and the U.S. Air Force Academy are among the universities our recent graduates have attended.
STUDENT LIFE
New students soon discover that St. Michael’s fosters a truly friendly and nurturing environment. Mornings will find Mrs. Miragliotta, the school principal, greeting students by name as they come into the building. Children who are dropped off early are welcomed into our before-care classroom by Mrs. McGlynn. As children head to their classrooms, they are also warmly greeted by teachers and friends in other grades and classes.
The school’s facilities – which are superior to those of many public and private schools in the area – also contribute to a positive environment for students. The spacious, well-maintained gymnasium allows each grade’s twice-weekly gym classes to be conducted in an atmosphere that promotes fun and physical activity. The auditorium, with its large stage and new sound system, is well-used for school activities including assemblies, drama club performances and book fairs. The school also offers an sizable library and a separate computer lab with state-of-the-art networked computers, with more in each classroom.
Wander down to our Art Lab, and you will see visible signs of our students’ creativity and love of art. Just outside the lab, you’ll notice a beautiful mural of a garden scene painted on the walls. Look inside and you will see children in paint-spattered smocks diligently working on their masterpieces.
While observing the artists, you may notice the aroma of pizza, pasta or hamburgers cooking down the hall in the full-service cafeteria. Lunchtime is a very social time, giving students the opportunity to relax and enjoy each other’s company, and reconnect with siblings and friends from other classes. Each meal is preceded by and closed with a prayer.
At St. Michael’s, the school day may end at 2:45, but the activities continue and students are encouraged to participate. Through Project WISE (Widening Interest in Student Experience), students are given the opportunity to learn new skills and hobbies. The school’s sports program provides the opportunity to participate in instructional and competitive sports such as basketball, softball, cheerleading, volleyball, track, and bowling.
Home School Association activities such as Spooky Bingo, Breakfast with Santa Claus, the Family Fun Fair and the Easter Bunny Breakfast, allow our children and families socialize outside of the school day, deepening bonds among students, siblings and parents.
To accommodate working parents, the school also offers a daily after-care program. Our after-care teachers continue the friendly and nurturing environment. The after-care teachers work with the students on their homework, engage them in playtime activities, and often bake delicious chocolate chip cookies for children.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
St. Michael’s students are encouraged to put their faith into action through community service. This begins in the younger grades with students bringing in gifts for the Christmas Giving Tree, offering canned goods for an area food bank or donating a new stuffed animal for the recent Girl Scouts’ project to aid hurricane victims. Each year, the third-graders sponsor Milton, a Guatemalan child, by contributing to his care and schooling. Children donate “Money for Milton” that they earn by doing chores and helping others.
Each month, the eighth-graders take an active part in service focused on community outreach and stewardship. In the past they have worked for the Hillside Food Bank, Archdiocesan Emergency Relief Services, Heifer International Hunger Programs and various local service projects in Cranford.
Upper classmen are also active as mentors to younger students, assisting them at lunchtime and helping first graders with their pen pal letters. The eighth-graders also frequently serve as “bigger buddies” to the pre-schoolers, walking with them in events like Annual Halloween Parade.
FAITH & REASON CONTINUE
A strong testament to the worth of a St. Michael’s education is the number of parents who attended St. Michael’s as children and later chose to send their own sons and daughters to our school. Our legacy families are successful and active members of the local community. Many of them say the purpose and direction of their lives were influenced by the values they learned while attending St. Michael’s School. This is never truer than for the alumni who return to us as teachers, choosing to give back to the St. Michael’s community much of what they received from it themselves.
