DECEMBER 2024
Service at Father Ryan
Serving Nashville and the world has been a vital part of the Father Ryan experience and our Catholic-centered mission for 100 years. Our students deepen their connections with each other and the larger community through our intentional service-learning curriculum and requirements.
Our students, faculty, and staff served more than 700 total service hours on our House Service Day on November 19. Every student participated in projects on and off campus at Room In The Inn, By Faith Farm, St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Camp Widjiwagan, Heart of Mary House, Catholic Charities, and Ladies of Charity.
House Service Day Pictures
This fall, Father Ryan athletes responded to the devastation of Hurricane Helene through a student-created supply drive, donating food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and more.
Nashville Catholic Athletics
Father Ryan is proud to be the home of the Nashville Catholic Athletics program. Each weekend, our campus is filled with boys and girls (K-8th) competing in a variety of sports to learn fundamentals and key lessons in sportsmanship, integrity, and teamwork.
Learn More
Celebrate the Holiday Season at Father Ryan!
Serving at Father Ryan
Irish Insights: The Father Ryan Blog
December's Topic: The Gift of Catholic Education
Families are understandably searching for the greatest value in their child’s education. As a school founded and focused on a Catholic educational mission, Father Ryan offers a significant “value-add” to each student’s experience academically, personally, and of course, spiritually.
We are celebrating the Advent season through this month’s Irish Insights blog with Principal Francisco M. Espinosa, Jr. He shares the benefits of a Catholic education for your child at Father Ryan, in college, and in life—and how we welcome students of all faiths. Included in Mr. Espinosa’s post is a link to download our first-ever daily Advent reflections book, written by our students, faculty, and staff.
Christmas at Father Ryan, Dec. 10 and 11, 6:30pm, Center for the Arts. Enjoy performances by our talented students at the must-see, free event.
Need gift ideas? Visit the Spirit Store Christmas Sale, Sat., Dec. 7, 12:00-4:00pm, at the Father Ryan Stadium Store for 20% off.
Breakfast with SantaLIMITED SPOTS LEFT
Very limited spots remain for this year's Breakfast with Santa. Registration is required to attend.
Sat., Dec. 14, 8:30-11:00am, Father Ryan’s Campus
Fri., Jan. 24, 6:00-9:00pm
Father Ryan High School's Catignani-Drennan Fieldhouse Girls Varsity Basketball vs. Harpeth
Traveling is an exceptional learning experience. Father Ryan offers a variety of faculty-chaperoned study abroad opportunities to help students expand their knowledge of the world and learn valuable cultural competence skills. In October, 13 students and two teachers traveled to Athens, Greece. They visited sites like the Parthenon, the Acropolis area, and the original, modern-day Olympics Stadium and experienced cultural excursions through cooking and pottery classes and boat trips.
“Being immersed in a ‘new’ old culture, the people we saw, the food we tasted, the noise of the marketplace, and even witnessing a protest were exhilarating experiences that I will remember for the rest of my life. It was so fascinating to go to the museum and learn more about Greek gods and see how big the Parthenon is in real life. The entire Father Ryan group who traveled together became closer through the experiences we shared.”
~Sophia Pryles '25
Sophia’s School & Extracurricular Involvement:
Girls Rugby 7’s Varsity Swimming Varsity Mentor Group Leader Minister of Holy Communion St. Matthew Alumna
Hall, 6:00pm
Boys Varsity Basketball vs. Montgomery Bell Academy, 7:30pm
RSVP Today
Event Details
Free admission for any Junior Irish who wear Father Ryan spirit wear or spirit wear from their current school.
Pizza from 6:00-7:00pm for all Junior Irish attendees.
Junior Irish will also have the chance to meet Father Ryan coaches from various sports throughout the night.
Parents must purchase a game day ticket here. For faster entry into the game, please purchase your tickets in advance. Preregistration for this event closes at 10:00am, Fri., Jan. 24. Walkups are welcome.
Join us for upcoming events!
Register below for these Junior Irish events. Go to fatherryan.org/admissions to schedule a personal admissions visit.
Hayes Scholars Applications Open Dec. 12
Celebrate and foster your academic abilities, intellectual passions, personal growth, and spiritual development as a Father Ryan Hayes Scholar! Applications open on Dec. 12 for our academic experiential program for top-
Our Girls and Boys Rugby 7's teams won their respective 2024 State Titles! This is the Girls Program's second title in just four years of existence and the Boys Program's 6th--the first since 2014.
On National Signing Day, Nov. 13, seven members of the Class of 2025 signed to continue their athletic and academic careers at the collegiate level.
Congratulations to:
Gracyn Becker: Girls Soccer, Miami University
Cade Bennerman: Boys Basketball, Northwestern University
Ellie Maxwell: Volleyball, University of Chicago
Brody Gobbell: Wrestling, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
Ryan Jones: Track & Field, University of Cincinnati
Casen Roark: Wrestling, West Virginia University
performing students. Available to any prospective 9th grade student upon request, the Hayes Scholars Program applications will close on Jan. 9, and decisions will be mailed in the spring.
Discover how being a Hayes Scholar sets you up for a lifetime of success.
Learn More About the Hayes Scholars Program
Sarah Beth Sizemore: Girls Soccer, Butler University View More Fall Sports Accolades
Erin (Baltz) Riggs '00
Director of Enrollment
Peyton (Carell) Fuller '13 Assoc. Director of Enrollment
Erin (Corrigan) Vallett '95
Enrollment Registrar
