Bridgeton Preparatory School

Bridgeton Preparatory School  is a coeducational preparatory school that caters to students from ninth to twelfth grade. It is located in New York City and is a prestigious school to attend. It is also a highly competitive school  and most students attending Bridgeton end up at an Ivy League school or a liberal arts college.

Established at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Bridgeton has prided itself on a reputation of bettering its students. Children with special academic abilities are sent an acceptance letter from the headmaster or headmistress in the mail and the acceptance is confirmed immediately. However, if the the child in question is only seeking to enrich their academical career by attending, a teacher from the school will call ahead of time and inform the child's parents.

Location
Bridgeton Preparatory School is located in the Upper West Side of New York City. The school has extensive grounds mainly consisting of a wrought-iron gate emphasizing a wide perimeter, flowerbeds, and lampposts. There are also at least two large greenhouses located at the back of the school and additional outbuildings. There are also full-sized sports fields from a soccer field to a football stadium. There is also a courtyard where students can walk through to get to their classes or enjoy a nice day by sitting at the tables or a bench underneath trees.

The three largest buildings at the school are the gymnasium, the cafeteria, and the library. There are over forty individual staircases in the school that all connect to different floor levels.

Electricity and electronic devices are found at Bridgeton mainly in the hallways, certain classrooms, or buildings on the schools campus. Students are only encouraged to pull out their phones to engage in a specific activity, but other than that, teachers ask that students put them away as they are a distraction to the learning environment.

History
George Bridgeton founded Bridgeton Preparatory School in 1801, and he remained the headmaster until 1813 when he died of typhoid fever. His son, Alexander, was the next headmaster until his death in 1832. Since 1837, Bridgeton has been headed by both men and women. In fact the first recorded female headmaster at the school was Charlotte McIntosh, who was succeeded by five more women, the last one being Mary Walker in the early 1900s. It was in September of 2007 when John Foley left his position for undisclosed reasons and he was succeeded by Nathaniel Fullerton the following month.

In the 1890s, the school did move from it's location in the Upper East Side to its current location in the Upper West Side. At some point in the early 1900s, the school formed a partnership with St. Ignatius Loyola Roman Catholic Church, where students have been attending a monthly Friday morning mass since 1907.

School Year
The semester begins after Labor Day and lasts until the beginning of June. During the year, reach the school by various means from carpooling to taking the subway.

Bridgetons' school year is structured in a similar way to most schools in the United States, with a two-term year punctuated by nine week marking periods and holidays at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. There is also a twelve week summer holiday with students returning in the beginning of September the following year.

School spirit
Other than its location and seasoned history, students attending Bridgeton also participate in sports. Field hockey is the most popular sport at the school, with most of the student body turning out to watch each game. Football is also another popular sport as well. Bridgeton also has a cheer-leading squad that shows up during assemblies or games.

Subjects and Teachers
There are a variety of classes taught at Bridgeton Preparatory School. These include both core curriculum and electives that students can take as early as their freshman year.

Core Classes

 * English
 * English 9 - Felicity Rigsbee
 * English 10 - Logan Porter
 * English 11 - Leonard Elliot
 * English 11 Honors -- Rosalie Lyons
 * English 12 - Giselle Burton
 * English 12 Honors - Lois Parker
 * Mathematics
 * Algebra 1- Elise Thomas
 * Algebra 2 - Sabrina Adams
 * Geometry - Karen Madison
 * Probability and Statistics - Dorothy Clemons
 * Trigonometry - Kimberly Powell
 * Science
 * Earth Science - Brianna Scott
 * Biology -Skylar Johns
 * Biology Honors - Lionel Hughes
 * Chemistry - Alison Greene
 * Chemistry Honors - Gwendolyn Nichols
 * Physics - Roxy McDonald
 * History
 * World History - Richard Fleming
 * US History - Sean O'Malley
 * US History Honors - Gloria Cole
 * US Government - Wendy Moore
 * Civics - Rebecca Evans

Electives

 * Business-related
 * Accounting - Laura Morton
 * Business Law - Tristan Draper
 * Carpentry - Adam Tucker
 * Culinary Arts - Victoria Price
 * Economics - Jacqueline Griffith
 * Marketing - Tony O'Connor
 * Veterinary Science - Xavier Hart
 * Communication
 * Journalism - Suzanne Rodriguez
 * Public Speaking - Eric Atwood
 * Study Skills - Georgia Monroe
 * Computer
 * Graphic Design - Nigel Cavendish
 * Programming - Curt Alvey
 * Web Design - Dustin Patterson
 * Fine Arts
 * Art - Angelica Parker
 * Ceramics - Eliza Morrison
 * Band - Peggy Wharwood
 * Choir - Philip Gates
 * Drama - Ian Marcus
 * Dance - Anastasia Mason
 * Film Studies - Harvey Duncan
 * Graphic Arts - Alfred Collins
 * Music Theory - Peter Sawyer
 * Orchestra - Brian Fitzgerald
 * Painting - Paul Carroll
 * Technical Theater - Mike Atkins
 * F oreign Language 
 * Greek - Daphne Stephanos
 * French - Henri Rousseau
 * Italian - Antonia Napoli
 * Latin - Charles Burroughs
 * Chinese - Mei Ling
 * Japanese - Yoko Miyazuki
 * Health
 * CPR Training - Richard Ashcroft
 * First Aid - Brian Watson
 * Nutrition - Harold York
 * Life Skills
 * Auto Mechanics - Dean Reynolds
 * Driver's Education - Jacob Baxter
 * Electrical Engineering - Shaun Carroll
 * Home economics - Jeanine Maguire
 * Interior Design - Alice Thomas
 * Plumbing - Vinny Finkelstein
 * Physical Education
 * Aerobics - Andrew Winters
 * Weightlifting - Michael Dorsey
 * Gymnastics - Stephen Lehman
 * Sciences
 * Astronomy - Kathleen Holverson
 * Oceanography - Blake Simmons
 * Botany - Morgan Scott
 * Meteorology - Nikki Darren
 * Geology - Nichole Mortenson
 * Social Sciences
 * Sociology - Doug O'Conner
 * Anthropology - Emily Parker
 * Psychology - Edward Norton
 * Philosophy - Marie Beecher
 * Virtual Courses
 * Art History - Anthony Bowen
 * AP Latin - Charles Stein
 * French History - Anne-Marie Blanchet
 * Personal Finance - Martha Prichard

Grading System
At Bridgeton, the teachers have a grading system that varies depending on the following factors: attendance, participation, quizzes, exams, and homework.

Uniform
The students at Bridgeton are required to wear a uniform. The uniform is different for boy and girl students. For girls, they wear a navy blazer, a white-collared blouse, a white-and-blue pleated skirt, and an accordion-pleat tie that shows the school's colors. of blue and gold. As for shoes, girls either have a choice of wearing loafers or Mary Jane shoes.

Male students wear the same shirt and ties as the girls do, with the exception that they wear a sweater and slacks with their uniforms along with leather oxford shoes.

All students can wear regular clothes during what are called "free dress days". This means that students can purchase passes for five dollars for an entire semester. If they are unable to purchase them, teachers can give students these passes if they have good grades or perfect attendance.

During the winter months, Bridgeton allows the students to wear coats, gloves, hats, and scarves. Girls can wear cable-knit stockings and knee-high riding boots while boys can wear newsboy caps and overcoats.

Trivia

 * Bridgeton is a state school with the State of New York covering the school's finances.
 * The school's bicentennial was celebrated in 2001.
 * Chloe Dixon has attended Bridgeton Prep along with a few members of her prestigious family with Marie Dixon, Walter Dixon, Marjorie Dixon, Louise Seymour, and Allan Dixon.
 * The marble floors in the lobby were walked on by Alexander Hamilton.
 * Thomas Jefferson personally donated most of his own books to the school's library.
 * Unlike other private schools in New York, Bridgeton is a multi-faith institution that recognizes Catholicism, Christianity, Islam, Anglican, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, and Eastern Orthodox.
 * It can be assumed that tuition at Bridgeton is less than $20,000 per year, as Walter Dixon regularly paid the school a $50,000 check for tuition, uniforms, and supplies. However, by the time Chloe received the bill from the school, she realized she still had some money to attend Juilliard.
 * Class sizes rarely exceed forty students as the staff only consists of less than two hundred people.
 * Bridgeton has several sports teams. The sports that are offered are baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, swimming, and volleyball.
 * The school's sports team is known as the Bridgeton Bishops.
 * The mascot for the school is a barn owl.
 * Christine Lange has stated her inspiration for Bridgeton Preparatory School was inspired by Chilton Preparatory School on the show Gilmore Girls.
 * There are dancers from the American Ballet Theater as well as the New York City Ballet who have given classes at Bridgeton alongside the school's dance instructor, Anastasia Whitlock.
 * Drama was added to Bridgeton's curriculum in 1924, the same year Yale founded their prestigious drama school.