John Bapst Memorial High School

John Bapst - A Tradition of Excellence

John Bapst is a magnet for students who want to be challenged and who are looking for high academic expectations, including an outstanding Advanced Placement Program. It’s a school where it’s cool to be smart. John Bapst students are motivated and focused on learning, leadership, and the future.

At John Bapst, students get involved in all aspects of school life. They understand that success today means more than just good grades. John Bapst students are active, excelling on athletic teams from football and baseball to field hockey and track; serving the community through Key Club and National Honor Society; and participating in theater, music, and art.

John Bapst students are friendly, embracing school spirit, welcoming diversity, and respecting individuality. The school provides a welcoming environment where students get a great education, grow personally, and open doors to a successful future.

A World-Class Education

Picture yourself in a community of thinkers, developing your knowledge and creativity, getting ready for the dynamic world that awaits you. An exclusively college-preparatory school, John Bapst is that community. You’ll be among the best and brightest, and since John Bapst is a small school, you’ll find a learning environment where faculty members know you and are dedicated to nurturing your talents.

At the core of the school’s college-preparatory mission is the Advanced Placement program. Offered in every department, AP classes match the rigor of university courses, prepare students for selective colleges and universities, and allow students to measure their progress against their peers around the world. Six John Bapst faculty work with the College Board and ETS developing and scoring AP exams – an unprecedented number in our state.

The John Bapst program leaves plenty of room for individual choices. Depending on talents and interests, students take an extra math or science course, study computer programming or graphic design, or work with their counselor to design a multi-year program in visual arts.

Outside the classroom, John Bapst students have further opportunities to expand learning through travel in New England, around the US, and abroad.

Acclaimed Fine Arts and Athletic Programs

Inside the classroom or out, every day is an opportunity for John Bapst students to weave the thread of excellence into art, music, and theater. They can get involved and pursue their passions. Whether they’re experienced or inexperienced, there’s something for everyone at John Bapst.

Students in the arts are spotlighted throughout the year in a variety of ways. They might play an instrument in the Concert Band; write for The Bapstonian, the school yearbook; act on stage in the fall play or spring musical; sing in the Concert Choir; design a web page in a technology elective; score an original composition; join the Photography Club; build stage sets for one of the theater productions; paint for the Spring Art Show; operate stage lights for one of the many performances each year; perform with the pep band at a football game; audition for the Chamber Ensemble; swing with the Jazz Band; manage a stage production; solo in a school assembly; develop a portfolio in AP Studio Art; experiment with poetry for Passages, the school’s literary magazine; entertain the crowd in the Annual Talent Show; create something unique on canvas; or just surprise themselves with talents they didn’t know they had.

At John Bapst, 70% of the student body is involved in one or more of the 18 interscholastic sports offered by the school. Student-athletes get in shape and have a great time building their athletic skills. Our coaching staff includes many former college athletes who teach skills, strategy, and sportsmanship. The school offers the following varsity sports programs: Fall cheering, cross-country, field hockey, football, golf, and soccer; winter basketball, cheering, ice hockey, indoor track, alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, swimming and diving, wrestling; and spring baseball, softball, tennis, and track and field.

In addition, the John Bapst Intramural Program offers students the opportunity to participate in annual intramural basketball, badminton, and table tennis tournaments.

Accelerated English Program for International Students

The goal of John Bapst’s Accelerated English Program for International Students is to help students whose first language is not English to develop the language ability and confidence they need to succeed in an American high school and then in a top college or university.

That ability – along with the fun of learning a language – comes through speaking, listening, and cultural immersion. At John Bapst, a student’s language skills will improve dramatically with the help of daily opportunities to practice with teachers, fellow students, and others.

For international students, the essential academic foundation includes English proficiency at a high level. The innovative John Bapst Accelerated English Program prepares non-native speakers for the same college entrance examinations – the SAT and AP exams – that American students take. With appropriate support – at no extra cost – international students follow the same course sequence as their American counterparts. The letters “ESL” do not appear on John Bapst transcripts.

Students in the John Bapst Accelerated English Program take English and social sciences classes alongside American students. This not only speeds up language learning, it also speeds up the process of making friends and becoming comfortable in a new culture. International students take a second English class daily, receiving lessons in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, along with help in specific class content. In the evening, house parents are ready to help with English, both formally (with extra help on homework, for example) and informally (in conversation during meals).

Important to student improvement is the English Pledge. All international students agree “to focus on improving the four language skills – reading, writing, listening, and speaking – every day” while in school. Of course, if a student selects a second foreign language (French, Chinese, Latin, or Spanish), that language is spoken in class.

Admissions

In addition to its day program, John Bapst offers both 7- and 5-day boarding programs.  Residence halls are within walking distance of the main school building and are located in Bangor\'s Broadway Historic District.  For more information, write [email protected], call 207-947-0313, or visit us online at www.johnbapst.org.