JSerra Catholic High School

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Faith. Intellect. Character.

Founded in 2003 and coming into the 10th anniversary of its first graduating class, JSerra has established itself within South Orange County as an exceptional academic institution. Each year JSerra’s dedicated staff and faculty look for new ways to innovate the learning process, continually increasing its competitive edge in the classroom, out on the field, and after graduation.

Starting this fall, JSerra’s Artist-in-Residence program will officially join the already impressive collection of professional magnet programs, bringing the total to five: Medical, Business,Engineering, Law, and now Arts. Students can choose either the Visual or Performing Arts track and specialize in their respective area of interest, such as theater, dance, choir,instrumental, and more. The new status as a magnet will help grow the arts program even further, especially after such a successful 2014 -15 year full of awards and recognitions, including seven Gold Key Awards, two national 2015 Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards, top 10 vocalist for OC’s Artist of the Year, and 121 winning pieces in the Imagination Celebration and the Laguna Beach Art Festival (the most in the county).

This summer also saw the launch of a brand new middle school program called Lion Engage, a hands-on summer camp that allowed students entering grades 6-8 to dive into experiential learning. Participants had the option of choosing up to four different camps over the course of two weeks, such as medical and engineering, business, law, guitar, studio art, film/TV, vocal performance, theater, and more. The program was a huge success with over 120 campers from more than 30 different middle schools.

JSerra’s Athletic Department has earned its own reputation for excellence. The impressive on-campus facilities are among the best in the country and feature a 2,000-seat gym, an Olympic-class aquatics center, lacrosse, baseball, soccer, softball, and football fields, tennis courts, track, sand volleyball courts, and an expansive, multi-use fitness center. Student athletes can compete at the top of their game with access to first-rate equipment and the support of a dedicated coaching staff. Varsity football coach Jim Hartigan and girls swim coach Kevin Clements both earned titles as 2015 Coach of the Year. Varsity baseball was ranked number one in the state and number three in the country, and athletics as a whole made several CIF play off appearances, won Trinity League championships, and made school history in various sports.

The academic, athletic, and artistic achievements are something to applaud, and JSerra attributes its success to its core values. “All of our efforts are geared toward nurturing the character and cultivating the faith of our young women and men,” asserts Headmaster Rich Meyer. “Our ultimate success will be measured by the kinds of fathers, mothers, and citizens they become.” With an impressive 85% AP pass rate for 2015, rising SAT and ACT scores, and 80% of students playing a sport, it might be difficult to imagine your typical JSerra student having time for much else. However, the school offered two additional mission trips to Peru because of demand (approximately 85 students served abroad), the campus ministry office offered ten retreats which had the most participants in school history, and teachers and students came together to form discipleship groups and identity formation discussions in order to meet the growing demand for character-building in our society.

Needless to say, JSerra Catholic High School has much to celebrate this year. To top it off, the patron of the school, Junipero Serra – a Franciscan friar, supporter of education, and founder of California – will be canonized a saint by Pope Francis during his visit to the U.S. in September. As the school continues to provide the very best in Catholic high school education, it will be exciting to see where it goes next.

JSerra Catholic High School
26351 Junipero Serra Road, San Juan Capistrano
949.493.9307 • JSerra.org