Cardinal Gibbons High School Viewbook

At Cardinal Gibbons, we believe that every student is unique and full of potential, and you’re no exception. You’re about to embark on your high school journey, where we’ll help you dream big, explore your passions and find a path for your future. Here, surrounded by extraordinary faculty and supportive peers, you can become anything when you become a Chief.

MISSION STATEMENT

Cardinal Gibbons High School is dedicated to providing our students with a strong formation of Catholic values, academic excellence, lifelong learning and a commitment to service.

BECOME A LEADER

VISION Living and learning through a Catholic education.

ABOUT

CARDINAL GIBBONS Cardinal Gibbons has spent nearly 60 years building a reputation of excellence as a college preparatory school within the Archdiocese of Miami. But who we are today has a lot to do with how we began.

Named after James Cardinal Gibbons, the second appointed Cardinal in the United States, Cardinal Gibbons High School opened its doors in 1961 as a co-institutional school. With a rapidly growing student-body of young Christian scholars, Cardinal Gibbons expanded and became a co-educational institution in 1972— and we’ve been expanding and improving ever since. Featuring an 18-acre campus with 10 academic buildings, an interactive Media and Technology Center, four state-ofthe-art science labs and a chapel that seats 300, we’ve come far from our humble beginnings.

LIVE AND LEARN

THROUGH CHRIST Our faith is central to who we are, and it’s what has helped us build a vibrant community of students and teachers united by God. Our Catholic identity and mission not only help us better prepare our students for college, but also for life as young, inspired Christians.

Rooted in the tradition of the Catholic Church, we pride ourselves on providing our students with a valuecentered, spiritual education.

At Cardinal Gibbons, we firmly believe that a complete education encompasses not only academics, athletics and extracurricular activities but also faith and spirituality.

BECOME

A PART OF OUR CATHOLIC MISSION

There are numerous opportunities for spiritual development and personal growth at Cardinal Gibbons.

We start and end every day and class period with a prayer.

We celebrate the Eucharist once a month as a community

of faith, offer our students the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation on campus four times per year and celebrate Mass every morning in our campus chapel to afford our students a more intimate space to reflect and worship.

The religious programs available at Cardinal Gibbons allow our students to strengthen, or even establish, their relationship

“Our students actively grow in faith and live out the Gospel message.” with God in a unique and personal way. Retreats, which feature prayer sessions, group activities and discussion, enable our students to evaluate their relationship with God, and, with the help of our lay faculty and their peers, reflect upon how it relates to their relationship with themselves, as well as others.

Other opportunities, such as Campus Ministry programs, allow our students to actively grow in faith and live out the Gospel message.

Within our faith-based mission, we emphasize the importance of service to others, and a life-long

commitment to service is at the core of the Cardinal Gibbons experience. Our students are committed to making a lasting, positive impact on the world through their service. We firmly believe that service to others, whether in our local community or across the globe, empowers our students and reminds them of the profound impact they can make by acting as instruments of God. Each of our students is required to complete at least 25 community service hours per academic year; meaning, you’ll have spent 100 hours—or more—making a difference in the community by the time you graduate and start your next big adventure.

Our diverse student body has an equally diverse array of talents, and we encourage each of our students to explore the numerous ways in which their unique talent can benefit the community. HOPE South Florida, Kids in Distress, Relay for Life, Bright Horizons, St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry and the Special Olympics are just a few of the organizations that our students love to support.

BECOME A SCHOLAR

DEFINE

YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS At Cardinal Gibbons, our academic programs go beyond that of the typical high school experience.

Diverse course offerings, dedicated teachers and classrooms equipped with the latest technology allow our students to dive deeper into education and emerge as well-rounded leaders, ready to take on the world. Thanks to our innovative programs, we’re not just breaking the mold of standard education, we’re reinventing it into an experience you can only have at Cardinal Gibbons.

“Our curriculum is designed to challenge and expand the minds of our students.”

The academic journey students take at Cardinal Gibbons is guided by their interests. With help from the Cardinal Gibbons Guidance Department, you can explore non-traditional courses, such as Robotics, Forensic Science or Creative Writing, craft a plan for your future and lay a foundation for lifelong success. Cardinal Gibbons only employs or contracts teachers who are state-

certified, hold baccalaureate or higher degrees, have at least three years of teaching experience in public or private schools or have special skills, knowledge or expertise that qualifies them to provide instruction in subjects taught, so you can be confident that your education is in good hands.

Our curriculum is designed to challenge and expand the minds of our students, helping them reach their full academic potential. With a 1:1 iPad program, we are ensuring that our students are immersed in 21st-century classrooms, better preparing them for their journey to college and the ever-evolving world outside our doors. By offering Honors, Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment courses, as well as APEX Learning Test Prep, we’ve made sure that our students are given every opportunity to challenge themselves and find a course level that fits their personal needs and goals.

Gibbons At A Glance

31 Dual Enrollment Courses 19 Advanced Placement Courses 49 Honors Classes Offered in All Core Academic Areas

Already have an idea of where you want your academic journey to take you? Pursue your passion and let one of our College Preparatory Pathways help you get there!

But no matter what path you choose to pursue at Cardinal Gibbons, you can be confident that the knowledge and skills you’ve acquired during your time with us will have prepared you to take on anything.

PRE-ENGINEERING As a Pre-Engineering student, your intellectual curiosity will drive you to ask questions, solve problems and investigate how everything in the world around you works. You’ll explore avenues of math, science and technology to gain hands-on experience and develop real-world skills that you can apply in and out of your college coursework. Whether you want to navigate the realm of virtual reality, explore artificial intelligence or build towering skyscrapers, we’ll help you get a head start on the knowledge and skills you’ll need to excel as a future leader in engineering.

PRE-LAW

BECOME CAREER READY

Your passion for politics, community service, criminal justice or social justice can be fostered into a viable career path where you can make a difference.

In our Pre-Law program, you’ll gain invaluable reading, writing, speech and critical thinking skills that will give you a competitive edge when applying for undergraduate law programs.

PRE-MEDICINE Our Pre-Medicine program will give you the necessary knowledge and skills to prepare you to pursue an undergraduate degree in athletic training, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, pre-dentistry, pre-medicine or pre-veterinary studies.

You’ll learn skills from multiple fields in science to build a strong foundation of practical knowledge to help you get ready for college.

PRE-BUSINESS As a student in our Pre-Business program, you’ll learn to exercise your entrepreneurial spirit. You’ll gain a strong foundation of leadership and problem-solving skills while building an understanding of business practices and real-world industry trends. The PreBusiness curriculum will equip you with the necessary skills to pursue a degree in accounting, business administration, finance, hospitality, human resource management or marketing.

Gibbons At A Glance

12 Academic Departments Offer More Than 100 Courses 62% of Our Senior Class Graduated With Potential College Credits of Our Students Who Took ✓ 71% AP Courses Received a 3 or Higher

PREPARE

FOR YOUR JOURNEY With five full-time school counselors on staff, Cardinal Gibbons is dedicated to fostering the academic, spiritual and personal growth of students. From the very start, students are encouraged to take charge of their academic experience, explore their interests and discover who they want to become. By working closely with their counselors, students can create an individualized academic plan, develop skills, set goals and chart a course for success, regardless of the path they choose after graduation.

BECOME READY FOR SUCCESS

Our students are prepared to take on any academic challenge, and colleges and universities around the country are taking notice. Each year, over 150 college and university admission representatives visit Cardinal Gibbons to meet and build relationships with our students. Our counselors actively support students and their families, helping them navigate the college admissions and recruitment processes through various events, workshops and informational sessions.

The following abbreviated list of colleges and universities highlights where our students have previously been accepted: American University Auburn University Babson College Boston College Boston University California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Carnegie Mellon University The Catholic University of America Case Western Reserve University The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina Clemson University Colby College Colgate University College of William and Mary Columbia University Cornell University Dartmouth College Duke University Emory University Florida Southern College Florida State University Fordham University The George Washington University Georgetown University Georgia Institute of Technology Harvey Mudd College Howard University Lehigh University Loyola University Maryland Lynn University Miami University, Oxford New York University Northeastern University Pennsylvania State University Princeton University Purdue University Regis College

Rhodes College Rollins College Spelman College Stetson University Stevens Institute of Technology Temple University Tulane University United States Air Force Academy United States Coast Guard Academy United States Merchant Marine Academy United States Military Academy, West Point United States Naval Academy University of California, Berkeley University of California, Los Angeles University of Central Florida University of Chicago University of Colorado, Boulder University of Florida University of Georgia University of Maryland, College Park University of Miami University of Michigan The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of Southern California Vanderbilt University Virginia Tech Wake Forest University

Gibbons At A Glance

96% of Our Graduates Attend College 5 Full Time Counselors on Staff 150+ Number of Colleges That Visit Gibbons Each Year

BECOME A PART OF OUR TRADITION

GET THE FULL HIGH-SCHOOL

EXPERIENCE

our students to bond with one another, creating a sense of unity, enriching their lives and helping to establish friendships that will last a lifetime.

But the Cardinal Gibbons experience doesn’t end after graduation. Through our Alumni Association,

At Cardinal Gibbons, your education will extend

you’ll join a network of over 13,000 loyal alumni

far beyond the classroom. Our diverse community

and always be connected to the Cardinal Gibbons

of students has created nearly 40 clubs and

family. From reunions to networking events, there

organizations, so it’s easy to find your niche—along

are numerous opportunities for you to come home,

with a new group of friends who love the same

reconnect with friends and continue living the

things you do. Whatever your skills or interests

Cardinal Gibbons experience.

are, whether they include photography, robotics or politics, you’ll have every opportunity to pursue them at Cardinal Gibbons.

“Traditions define the Cardinal Gibbons experience.”

In addition to our dozens of clubs and student

Gibbons At A Glance

39 Clubs and Organizations

organizations, we also proudly sponsor a number of academic honor societies to complement your studies perfectly. Regardless of what academic

57 Years of Quality Catholic Education

area in which you excel, you’ll find an opportunity to celebrate your talents and further enrich your education alongside your mentors and peers.

There is no shortage of things to do on campus, and we know our pep rallies, dances, recollections

13,000 Loyal Gibbons Alumni 25,000+ Community Service Hours Performed Each Year by Our Students

and movie nights are sure to become some of your fondest high school memories. Traditions like Welcome Week, Homecoming and our annual Raffle define the Cardinal Gibbons experience and allow

18 Acre Campus Located in Fort Lauderdale Along the Beautiful Intracoastal Waterway in Coral Ridge

BECOME INSPIRED

TRANSFORM YOUR PASSION INTO A

PATHWAY TO COLLEGE

We are dedicated to inspiring our students and providing them with every opportunity to pursue their passions. Whether you dream of painting breathtaking murals, composing the next great concerto or bowing to thunderous applause on stage, we’ll help you get there and be your biggest supporter along the way.

We embrace the belief that creativity contributes to the development of a well-rounded person, and our students are proof that there is no shortage of creativity at Cardinal Gibbons. Our visual art students are continuously developing technical skills and a profound

appreciation for the arts, and the community is taking notice. The Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, the Boca Art Museum and Nova Southeastern University are just a few of the local artistic hubs that have exhibited artwork by Cardinal Gibbons students.

“Creativity contributes to the development of a well-rounded person...”

The students in our Music and Drama Departments have seen no shortage of success either.

Featuring Marching Band, Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, String Orchestra, Chorus and Electronic Music courses, our Music Department provides our students with a robust education in music theory and hones their performance skills. Our students consistently receive Superior

ratings at local and state Florida Bandmasters Association competitions and have traveled to Georgia and New York to perform and display their talents.

The students in our Drama Department work hard year-round, producing two Mainstage productions and a one act performance, while also participating in local and state competitions through the International Thespian Society, where our troupe earns Superior ratings every year. Acting, choreography, stagecraft and vocal techniques are just a few of the skills our students learn in the Drama Department while building confidence and character that they’ll carry with them to college.

Gibbons At A Glance

30% of Students Participate in Fine Arts

BECOME A CHAMPION

PLAY HARD

WORK HARDER

Cardinal Gibbons is where athletes become champions and excel on the field as well as in the classroom. Since opening our doors in 1961, we’ve produced 57 state championship teams and over 70 individual state champions. With a winning tradition like ours, it’s easy to see why over 70 percent of our students participate in at least one of the 43 athletic teams we have on campus.

We strive to give our student-athletes all of the tools they need to succeed on the field, in the water and on the green. Our extensive athletic facilities include a 1,200seat air-conditioned gym, a state-of-the-art synthetic turf football field, a quarter-mile track, batting cages, baseball and softball fields, weightlifting facilities, a wrestling room and access to tennis courts, golf courses, a local pool and an ice hockey rink.

BECOME A CHAMPION

Gibbons At A Glance

70% of Students Participate in Athletics 43 Sports Teams for Boys and Girls with a Proud History of Success

BECOME A CHIEF VISIT US Come and experience firsthand all that Cardinal Gibbons has to offer to help you become the best version of yourself.

BOOK A CAMPUS TOUR Explore our campus and get a glimpse into the life of a Cardinal Gibbons student on a campus tour. Led by a member of our Admissions team, a campus tour will show you points of interest throughout our extensive academic and athletic facilities.

During your tour, you’ll see firsthand what sets Cardinal Gibbons apart from other local high schools and you’ll learn how we can help you reach your full potential. Campus tours are offered on select weekdays and can be booked online by visiting www.cghsfl.org/admissions.

SHADOW WITH A STUDENT AMBASSADOR Spend the day shadowing one of our students to learn about the real Cardinal Gibbons experience. Shadows will spend the day following one of our Student Ambassadors, while attending classes, meeting teachers and exploring our campus. Shadowing opportunities are available to current eighth and ninth grade students from October through February. To schedule a shadowing session, please visit www.cghsfl.org/admissions.

Director of Admissions Mrs. Elyse Geraghty (954) 491-2900 Ext. 108 geraghty@cghsfl.org Admissions Counselor Mrs. Jill Lescher (954) 491-2900 Ext. 148 lescher@cghsfl.org

Gibbons At A Glance

1,200 Students

17:1 Teacher Ratio 1:1 iPad Program

BE A LEADER TUITION AND FINANCIAL AID INVEST IN YOUR FUTURE Tuition per child: $12,200 Registration fee: $400 (Non-refundable) Tuition payments for each academic year are broken up into 10 separate payments and must be paid through the FACTS tuition management program. The first tuition payment of the academic year is due on, or prior to, July 1.

OPTION 2: TUITION ASSISTANCE If a student wishes to apply for need-based financial aid they must apply through the Step Up for Students Scholarship (SUFS) or the Florida Private School Scholarship (AAA), and must also apply online through FACTS. Students are only eligible to receive funding from either the Step Up for Students scholarship or the Florida Private School scholarship, not both.

Our Tuition Assistance program allows Cardinal Gibbons High FINANCIAL AID School to assist in funding your OPTIONS Catholic education. Families seeking financial assistance OPTION 1: PARISHIONERS directly funded by Cardinal TUITION REDUCTION Cardinal Gibbons wants to support Gibbons High School must register online with FACTS and those who support the Church submit a FACTS application and our Catholic mission. Active after they have applied for parishioners of the Church, who support their parish and regularly state tuition funding. Funding is limited and available on a attend Mass on both Sunday first-come basis. Students and Holy Days of Obligation, are must submit new applications each eligible for a discretionary tuition year for all types of financial aid. reduction.

BECOME A CHIEF ADMISSIONS CHECKLIST APPLY ONLINE

Create an Admission Portal by completing our online application at www.cghsfl.org/admissions.

TAKE THE HIGH SCHOOL PLACEMENT TEST

To be considered in the priority pool of applicants, all current eighth-graders must take the HSPT at Cardinal Gibbons in December. All transfer students are exempt from testing.

SUBMIT REPORT CARDS AND TEST SCORES

Current eighth-graders must submit copies of their seventh and eighth grade report cards and most recent standardized test scores to admissions@cghsfl.org. Transfer students will need to submit copies of their high school report cards and transcripts, as well as recent test scores (SAT, ACT, PSAT).

SUBMIT LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

Submit two letters of recommendation from current teachers to the Admissions Portal.

SUBMIT STUDENT EMERGENCY/RELEASE FORM

CONTACT

Director of Admissions Mrs. Elyse Geraghty (954) 491-2900 Ext. 108 geraghty@cghsfl.org Admissions Counselor Mrs. Jill Lescher (954) 491-2900 Ext. 148 lescher@cghsfl.org CARDINAL GIBBONS HIGH SCHOOL 2900 NE 47TH Street Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 (954) 491-2900 www.cghsfl.org

This form can be found and submitted in the Admissions Portal.

RECEIVE A DECISION

Decision letters for all current eighth-graders will be mailed out in January. Decisions for all transfer students will be made on a rolling basis beginning in May. All supplemental documents must be received by the Admissions Office before an application will be reviewed for consideration.

#BeAChief

A Roman Catholic College Preparatory School

2900 NE 47th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 www.cghsfl.org | (954) 491-2900

Cardinal Gibbons is fully accredited by AdvancEd and a member of the National Catholic Educational Association