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Building Men of Intellect and Character Who Love God
Built upon the foundation of a liberal arts curriculum, personal character formation, and collaboration with parents, Northridge encourages each student to pursue his studies with professional excellence, to possess a spirit of adventure and optimism towards life’s challenges, and to become a man of virtue who desires to love God and serve others.
The spiritual formation available at Northridge is entrusted to a priest of Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church.
Educational Philosophy
Liberal Arts Curriculum
Northridge offers a contemporary liberal arts education to all its students. The curriculum is grounded in the study of literature, history, mathematics, science, languages, philosophy, and theology. It focuses on helping the student acquire intellectual virtues and a hunger for the truth. As a result, a young man learns how to write and speak well, form the habit of concentrated study, and develop a sincere interest in the goodness of the world. Unlike a vocational or technical curriculum which emphasizes specialization, a liberal arts education can be seen as the best preparation for many professions. However, its chief value is not its practical utility but that it cultivates the mind of the student and leads him to pursue a more noble human life.
An integral component to the curriculum, in conjunction with academic studies, is the student’s participation in the school’s athletic teams, performing and fine arts program, and other clubs and activities. These are the training ground for the cultivation of important virtues such as fortitude, order in one’s use of time, commitment to a cause, and a spirit of service.
Starting this educational program in middle school gives a young man a greater opportunity to mold his habits of character and study, thus preparing him to make the most of high school. The high school curriculum, in turn, is challenging and comprehensive so that it prepares the student for any college major and provides him with a broad understanding of Western culture.
Personal Character Formation
Northridge places a strong emphasis on its personal approach to education. Every student is unique and will face different challenges if he is to become a man of culture and virtue. The staff seeks to get to know each young man well and tailor the mission of the school to his personal circumstances. The most important and concrete reflection of this individual attention to each student is the advisory program.
Every student is assigned an advisor from among the faculty who, together with his parents, facilitates his full development as a man. The advisor meets frequently with him one-on-one and, through his example, advice, and encouragement, helps the young man to grow in self-knowledge, achieve his maximum academic potential, and motivate him in his struggle for virtue. Communication and cooperation between the parents (who know their son best) and the advisor is what makes this program successful. In fact, all of the men at Northridge – teachers, administrators, and staff alike – serve as an extension of the advisory program, whether in or beyond the classroom, through their countless interactions with students.
Collaboration with Parents
Northridge believes that the parents are the primary educators of their children in all areas of their development – academic, moral, physical, and spiritual. Consequently, Northridge works with parents in the task of preparing each young man for responsible adulthood. The advisor of each student together with the faculty and administration strive to maintain frequent communication with parents through formal conferences, informal conversations, lecture series, discussion groups, and other means of collaboration.
Pursue Studies With Professional Excellence
Northridge maintains high standards of professionalism for each student that are evident in nearly every aspect of school life. They are found in coursework that challenges a young man to develop enduring work habits such as perseverance and attention to detail while learning to prioritize in order to make good use of his time. They are found in a faculty that strives to embody and present to a student a model of a man who is both professionally dedicated and personally invested in those around him. They are also found in extracurricular programs that offer a young man additional opportunities to strive for excellence in all that he does.
At the heart of these standards of professionalism lies respect for others. As such, the faculty and administration emphasize punctuality, social graces and manners befitting of a gentleman, the importance of meeting deadlines, and adherence to a dress code that speaks to the dignity of each individual.
Possess a Spirit of Adventure & Optimism Towards Life's Challenges
Life is an adventure that presents a wide array of challenges and obstacles to a person, not least to one struggling for excellence. Northridge strives to foster in each student a courageous and optimistic attitude in the face of these inevitable difficulties. Rather than falling into defeatism or apathy, he is encouraged to see them as opportunities to grow in character and as risks worth taking for the betterment of others.
The demands of the classroom, of the athletic field, and of interaction among peers afford Northridge’s faculty countless occasions to teach a student the need to be resilient, to learn from his mistakes, and to be committed to causes greater than himself. This spirit of optimism is further fostered through the advisory program in which a student is guided toward a deep understanding of his own strengths and weaknesses, all the while growing in self-confidence.In turn, this confidence will enable a young man to see life as an adventure waiting to be lived.
Become a Man of Virtue Who Desires to Love God and Serve Others
A Northridge education would be an empty shell if it did not help each student to grow in character and to discover the importance of the spiritual dimension of his life. The example of the faculty, the guidance each student receives from his advisor, and the image of the human person that permeates the school as a whole all contribute to an environment where the practice of virtue is made attractive.
As a result, during his years at Northridge, a student will have the opportunity to develop a father-son relationship with God. He will be taught to seek the truth and to form his conscience according to it. And he will be encouraged to foster within himself a genuine desire to serve and respect others, seeking their ultimate good.
A Note From Our Headmaster
Northridge offers a rigorous liberal arts curriculum focused on educating the whole person. Our students learn not only their subjects, they learn how to work hard, think critically, and develop a spirit of adventure. And they learn how to care for others and appreciate the beauty and goodness of creation. Our graduates score impressive results on AP exams and standardized tests, and many go on to the top universities in the country.
Our mission is to develop men of great character, the type of men you would want your daughter to marry, who have the professional competence to become leaders in society and who love God and their faith. Allow me to discuss how we do this.
Knowing each student and working with parents. We view parents as the primary educators of their sons, and our faculty and staff work closely with parents so that together we help each student grow into a great man. Our focus on character has led us to stay deliberately smaller in size, so that we can know each young man who attends, while being large enough to offer competitive athletics and extracurricular programs.
Middle School. Middle School is where – more than any other time of life – a boy’s values are established. By the time he is entering high school, your son’s deepest held values and habits will have been formed. Of course, these will need to develop further and can always change, but it is in grades 6 through 8 where they are firmly planted. Our Middle School teachers work together with parents to help our students grow in virtue: strong habits of character. We focus especially on the virtues of generosity, friendship, hard work – to sit at a desk and study for an hour or more – organization, fortitude and sincerity. And we help our students grow in their habits of mind, focusing especially on their ability to write well, read critically, take notes, and ask questions.
High School. By the time your son graduates high school he is an adult. A high school senior who has had great instruction, challenges, and role models, and who has taken advantage of these opportunities can develop much more than mastery of academic subjects. He can have strong powers of critical thinking, an appreciation of beauty, a capacity for deep friendship, and the ability to give his life to his wife, his country and to God. He knows nonsense when he sees it, and has developed logical principles of thought that he can apply to new situations in his life. He also understands and can defend his religious convictions. And he views his life as an adventure, and has a willingness to risk challenges in order to impact the lives of others.
Our faculty. This education of the whole person requires much more than merely capable classroom instructors. Our all-male faculty members are role models, hired not only for their abilities as instructors, but for their character; they are the models our students see for what it means to be a good man.
Academic excellence. I encourage you to read our Mission and Philosophy section, to understand our approach towards education. Our liberal arts curriculum includes many of the great works of Western Civilization. Students are challenged to think critically and develop strong capabilities in writing and speaking. At the same time, we offer a strong Science and Math curriculum, with a Math team that consistently ranks among the top three schools in the state, for our size.
Advising. Our faculty are mentors to our students. I encourage you to view our Advising section, to see how each student has a faculty mentor whom he meets with every three to four weeks. This unique program tailors what the school is offering to each student. In advising, a student learns to know himself, to discover his strengths and gaps, and is coached in how to improve.
Our sports and extracurriculars. Our athletic coaches and extracurricular leaders deliberately use these activities as means of developing virtue, and great results follow. Please explore our Athletics pages and Student Life section. We offer a range of sports programs, and because of our smaller size the majority of our students are able to participate. Our teams perform well. Many of our teams will win conference championships. We offer a robust arts program with a band, musical and drama productions, and a fine arts activity. We have robotics, photography, investment clubs, and more. These experiences are important for rounding out a boy’s education, and helping him develop an interest in the broader world.
A Christian spirit. We offer a full curriculum in the Catholic Faith, with daily Religion class, and the option to attend Confession and daily Mass. Our full time Chaplain is available to meet with students one on one. Equally important is the example of our faculty, who provide daily models of a cheerful life lived with a Christian spirit.
Our website will help you learn more about Northridge, and I hope you find it helpful. But there can be no substitute for a live conversation, and I hope you visit our campus soon.
Thank you for visiting our website!
Niall Fagan
Headmaster
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Get in touch with our admissions office to see if Northridge would be a good fit for your son and family. Our admissions process is focused on getting to know each prospective parent and student exceptionally well.
We look forward to hearing from you soon!