September 2024 Junior Irish News by fatherryanhighschool

Happy Back-to-School Season!

At Father Ryan, we started a milestone year – our 100th year of school – and welcomed the great Class of 2028.

Our campus has changed since we opened our doors in September 1925 on West End, but the Father Ryan Tradition of Faith, Knowledge, Service has endured for a century. We challenge students to reach their spiritual, academic, and personal potential. Here, you will be known and loved.

This year, we look forward to sharing the Father Ryan experience with your family through our all-ages Junior Irish program. We will share school news and Junior Irish events in our monthly Junior Irish News.

Upcoming Events

100 Years of Father Ryan Community

Celebration

Saturday, September 14, 4:00-9:00pm

Celebrate our 100th year of school with a fun-filled day on the anniversary of the first day of school in 1925. The entire Father Ryan community is invited to this free event, which kicks off a year of activities honoring our milestone birthday! Wear purple and show your Irish Pride!

Discover just how welcoming – and transforming – 100 years of Irish can be!

Junior Irish Details

Back-to-School Fun

In August, we welcomed a talented freshman class of 211 students from 45 schools and 35 ZIP codes.

Watch as new students get sorted into one of our six Houses at our New Family Welcome event.

Our House System makes a big school feel smaller. Each student (and teachers and staff members) is assigned to a House for peerto-peer mentoring, leadership opportunities, and spiritual development. The annual House Cup competition adds to the fun, and the friendships last a lifetime.

First-Day-of-School traditions included Senior Crowns and Childhood Backpacks where the Class of 2025 wore handmade crowns and childhood backpacks to celebrate their final year at Father Ryan.

Junior Irish Night & Father Ryan

Homecoming

Friday, September 27

5:00pm Carnival, lawn games, DJ, Father Ryan tattoos, swag bags, meet Father Ryan students and parents, and more.

6:30pm Homecoming Game v. Briarcrest Christian School

Line up with our student body as our Marching Band leads us across the bridge to Giacosa Stadium to the game and our 100th year of Father Ryan Football!

Register

Perform with Irish Pride

Friday, October 25

Choir (5th-8th grade): 4:007:00pm; Dance (ages 5-10): 4:00pm-end of halftime

Cost: $25; Includes dinner and a t-shirt

Singers and dancers are invited to join the Father Ryan Dancers or Singers at our last home Football game of the season. Singers will rehearse, play games, enjoy dinner with the Father Ryan Singers, and perform the National Anthem before the game. Dancers will learn a routine, enjoy dinner with the Father Ryan Dancers, and perform at halftime. RSVP links coming soon.

President Paul Davis '81 on High School Transition

To launch our new monthly blog, Paul Davis ’81, Father Ryan’s President, offers his perspective on a successful transition to high school.

Read the Blog

Mr. Davis starts his 39th year at Father Ryan this fall. He taught English and served as Dean of Students and then Principal for 15 years before becoming President in 2022. A few years ago, Mr. Davis returned to the classroom with other administrators to teach our New Student Seminar, a required, semester-long course for all new students to learn about Father Ryan’s history, traditions, and culture, and how to be successful in high school.

Irish Football Fall Prospect Game Visit

Friday, October 25, 5:00pm 5th-8th Graders

Junior Irish prospects will tour Father Ryan’s athletic facilities and watch the Football team warm up from the sidelines as we prepare to take on Christian Brothers.

Preview Day

Sunday, October 27, 12:30–4:00pm

Experience Father Ryan with tours, classes, a club and activities fair, and more. Meet students, parents, educators, and alumni and learn how we customize your learning and discover our unique House System.

Open Visit Day October 30, 8:15am-1:45pm

Happy 100th, Father Ryan!

Join us to celebrate our 100th year of school with a fun-filled day on September 14, 2024, the anniversary of the first day of school in 1925.

The entire Father Ryan community is invited to this free event, which includes Community Mass with Bishop J. Mark Spalding J.C.L., Junior Irish activities, scavenger hunts, giveaways, campus tours, the Father Ryan Archival Museum, and performances by students and alumni. Food will be sold by community-owned food trucks and the Father Ryan concessions. Wear Father Ryan purple!

Register Today

Father Ryan history highlights:

Founded in 1925 as the Nashville Catholic High School for Boys on West End, relocated in 1929 to Elliston Place as Father Ryan High School, and moved to our 43-acre campus on Norwood Drive in 1991.

First school in Tennessee to integrate in 1954 after Brown v. Board of Education ended school segregation. Merged with the all-female Cathedral High School in 1970 to become co-educational.

First school in the nation to receive dual accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS).

Made civil rights history by hosting 1st athletic event in the South between an integrated team (Father Ryan) and an

Our Open Visit Day is offered for any current eighth grade student who does not visit Father Ryan with their current school. Please join us on campus for an opportunity to experience a day in the life of a Father Ryan student.

Register

Relay for Life

November 2, 12:00pm

Join us for the world’s largest student-led Relay For Life to support the fight against cancer. In 2019, the American Cancer Society awarded Father Ryan with the firstever Pat Flynn Spirit of Relay Award for our commitment to the cause since 2010.

Fall Play

Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” November 7-9

Tickets coming soon.

all-Black team (Pearl High) in 1965 basketball game known as “The Game That Changed the South”.

Discover Father Ryan's History

Download our Digital Viewbook

Check out our new viewbook with videos, fun links, student stories, and more – everything you need to discover what makes Father Ryan so special.

Meet Our Young Alumni

Father Ryan graduates join 13,000+ alumni across the world who lead and serve their communities. This month, we’re proud to feature two exceptional young alumni:

Sanjeeth George ’24

Attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University as Mechanical Engineering major and in the Corps of Cadets and Naval ROTC

At Father Ryan:

Elliston House Chaplain

Volunteer: Safe Haven Shelter, Room in the Inn, Special Olympics

Mission Trip to Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina

Varsity Football team

Recipient, General Excellence Award and Father William

Fleming ’49 Award to top student-athlete

First Generation Father Ryan Student

In a note written to Father Ryan faculty and staff before leaving for college: “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for changing my life. From all the incredible faculty and staff who worked tirelessly to make my and many others’ high school experience special, to the traditions that keep Father Ryan a living example of the Gospel, I am grateful for experiencing it all!”

Kemi Tela ’23

Attending Yale University as Global Affairs major, Spanish minor

At Father Ryan:

2023 Princeton Prize in Race Relations

Founder, Kemi’s Friends, a nonprofit to provide relief in the Democratic Republic (DR) of the Congo

Multi-Cultural Student Union leader

Spanish Club leader

Model United Nations

Mock Trial

First Generation Father Ryan Student

At Yale:

Study abroad, diplomacy program, School of International Training, Geneva, Switzerland

Researcher, Yale Policy Institute and Yale Undergraduate

Legal Aid Association where she created an English/Spanish lead poisoning awareness campaign for at-risk communities

Founder, Yale Congolese Students Association for students to learn about Congolese culture and aid Congolese communities in the U.S. and DR Congo

Mentor for Black freshmen at Yale

Documentary filmmaker

“Father Ryan’s academic learning levels, which provide each individual student with a learning plan catered to their strengths and weaknesses, ultimately help them grow and excel. This supportive learning environment developed my linguistic,

mathematical, and analytical skills and expanded my academic interests.”

Hear more from the Class of 2024 about their Father Ryan experience in the Through These Doors annual publication.

Download Through These Doors Want to learn more about

Visit our Junior Irish webpage to learn more about how you can get your child involved with Father Ryan today! Junior Irish Webpage