The Pingry School (NJ)

Athletics

Strengths

The athletics departments biggest strenghts are that it provides many more sports than I've seen at other high schools like golf, water polo, and squash. The athletics department also has amazing coaches who have been recognized for their athletic feats.

Areas of improvements

I think that there could be more school spirit surrounding Pingry athletics. There are specific sports that students show out and support very heavily but I think the athletics department could do a better job at marketing different sports and recruiting more students to show up to a variety of different games.

How likely are you to recommend The Pingry School (NJ) to a prospective student?

What is the most important thing a prospective student should know?

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

What courses would you recommend?

What overall rating would you give the Head of School?

How well did The Pingry School (NJ) prepare you for college?

Which courses in particular prepared you well for your university experience?

Favorite course

Favorite book or work studied

Favorite work or artist studied

Favorite sport

My favorite sport was Lacrosse because my Coach (Coach Carter Abbott) was truly amazing. She is a very experienced lacrosse player and she always encouraged me to give 100 and 10% effort on the field.

Arts Department

Strengths

The arts departmnets biggest strengths are that the teachers are well established artists with lots of experience in their respective fields and there are many classes in the arts categories available for students to take.

Areas of improvements

I don't think there is any way the arts department can improve

How likely are you to recommend The Pingry School (NJ) to a prospective student?

What is the most important thing a prospective student should know?

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

What courses would you recommend?

What overall rating would you give the Head of School?

How well did The Pingry School (NJ) prepare you for college?

Which courses in particular prepared you well for your university experience?

Favorite course

My favorite course in the arts department was Photography because Mr. Boyd taught us a lot about the fundamentals. Photography was especially cool because we got to work in the dark room with film developing and classic film cameras.

Favorite book or work studied

Favorite work or artist studied

My favorite artist studied was an artist whose name I can't quite remember but he was a Pingry alumni who took famous photographs during the aftermath of 911. I enjoyed studying his work because it was extreemly moving.

Favorite sport

Science Department

Strengths

The science departments biggest strengths are that there are so many opportunities for research and a lot of the teachers are very resourceful because they have experience working in high level areas. There are also so many ways to get involved in science through HIRT and IRT clubs.

Areas of improvements

I don't think there is really anything that would improve the science department. I think that the department is incredible and one of the best departments at Pingry.

How likely are you to recommend The Pingry School (NJ) to a prospective student?

What is the most important thing a prospective student should know?

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

What courses would you recommend?

What overall rating would you give the Head of School?

How well did The Pingry School (NJ) prepare you for college?

Which courses in particular prepared you well for your university experience?

Favorite course

My favorite course in the Science Department was marine biology with Ms O'mara. I liked this course because we got to do a lot of hands on work like dissections and experiments.

Favorite book or work studied

Favorite work or artist studied

Favorite sport

Math Department

Strengths

The math departments biggest strenghts are that the teachers are incredible and much like the other departments there are so many classes to choose from. I also think that it's nice that Pingry provides the option for you to take math classes during the summer if you want to move to a more advanced class during the school year.

Areas of improvements

I'm actually not really sure which areas the math department could improve on. They do a pretty good job.

How likely are you to recommend The Pingry School (NJ) to a prospective student?

What is the most important thing a prospective student should know?

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

What courses would you recommend?

What overall rating would you give the Head of School?

How well did The Pingry School (NJ) prepare you for college?

Which courses in particular prepared you well for your university experience?

Favorite course

My favorite course in the math department was Calculus with Ms Sudarsky. I liked this course because I specifically liked learning about derivatives.

Favorite book or work studied

Favorite work or artist studied

Favorite sport

History Department

Strengths

The history departments biggest strengths are that there are a lot of courses to choose from and they all go in depth about their certain topics. I also think that the history teachers genuinely love what they do and want the best for their students.

Areas of improvements

I think the history department could provide more interactive and group activities. Most history classes are lecture based and while I think lectures are extremely helpful, it would be nice to do more hands on activities.

How likely are you to recommend The Pingry School (NJ) to a prospective student?

What is the most important thing a prospective student should know?

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

What courses would you recommend?

What overall rating would you give the Head of School?

How well did The Pingry School (NJ) prepare you for college?

Which courses in particular prepared you well for your university experience?

Favorite course

My favorite course was AP US history with Dr. Murray. I loved this class because I love learning about American history and Dr. Murray was a super informative teacher and he made going to class fun. I also liked the style in which he taught with organized slides and clear explanations.

Favorite book or work studied

My favorite unit that we studied was the unit on african american civil rights because there was a lot of in depth important material on the subject that I didn't know before.

Favorite work or artist studied

Favorite sport

English Department

Strengths

The english departments biggest strengths are that it has amazing teachers that actually care about literature and they pick a good variety of classic books that students should read. There are also a lot of choices when it comes to picking an english class and each one is unique and interesting.

Areas of improvements

I think there can be more of a focus on actual writing. I feel like in the english department there is a lot of analyzation of books but not enough focus on how to write and how to articulate your ideas affectively. In my opinion there needs to be more of a focus on grammar.

How likely are you to recommend The Pingry School (NJ) to a prospective student?

What is the most important thing a prospective student should know?

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

What courses would you recommend?

What overall rating would you give the Head of School?

How well did The Pingry School (NJ) prepare you for college?

Which courses in particular prepared you well for your university experience?

Favorite course

My favorite course in the english department was called waterways because I loved my teacher (Mr. Shilts) and I thought that the books we read were very interesting. In waterways, the books that we read were very nautical. This included the books Migrations by Charlotte Mcconaghy and Moby Dick by Herman Melleville.

Favorite book or work studied

My favorite book studied in the english department in all my time at Pingry was The Awakening by Kate Chopin. This book was so influential to me because it sparked my love for feminist literature. My class also had very constructive debates and conversations about the book and I loved hearing what my classmates had to say.

Favorite work or artist studied

Favorite sport

College Counseling

Strengths

The college counseling departments biggest strengths were that the college counselors had lots of knowledge about colleges and were very helpful in proofreading essays and giving advice. The college counseling department also has many connections to schools and had opportunities for students to meet with college representatives that visited.

Areas of improvements

I don't think that there is room for improvement in the college counseling department.

How likely are you to recommend The Pingry School (NJ) to a prospective student?

What is the most important thing a prospective student should know?

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

What courses would you recommend?

What overall rating would you give the Head of School?

How well did The Pingry School (NJ) prepare you for college?

I think in terms of studying habits, Pingry provided me with a great foundation to start my college academic life on a great foot.

Which courses in particular prepared you well for your university experience?

I think any of my english and math courses prepared me really well.

Favorite course

Favorite book or work studied

Favorite work or artist studied

Favorite sport

Administration

Strengths

The administrations biggest strengths were that they really listened to the voice of students and wanted to hear our opinions on how to make Pingry better.

Areas of improvements

I think the administration especially the board of trustees could do a better job on making themselves known. To a lot of students, the job of the board of trustees is very ominous and people don't really understand the purpose that they hold.

How likely are you to recommend The Pingry School (NJ) to a prospective student?

What is the most important thing a prospective student should know?

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

What courses would you recommend?

What overall rating would you give the Head of School?

How well did The Pingry School (NJ) prepare you for college?

Which courses in particular prepared you well for your university experience?

Favorite course

Favorite book or work studied

Favorite work or artist studied

Favorite sport

Overall

Strengths

Pingry's main strength is that its a place where you know there are people in your corner and you know there are faculty and administrators rooting for you. For me Pingry was like a second home and I made so many connections and lifelong relationships with the people there.

Areas of improvements

I think that there is a certain level of competition at Pingry that might make students feel pressure to overexert themselves. I don't thin Pingry is a pressure cooker but sometimes it can feel like there is competition between students to do and be the best.

How likely are you to recommend The Pingry School (NJ) to a prospective student?

What is the most important thing a prospective student should know?

The most important thing a prospective student should know about Pingry is that they don't have to be only one thing. Pingry provides so many opportunities to get involved in different activities and organizations and students have a wide variety of things that they can fill their free time with. Students don't only have to be defined by one thing.

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

I don't think that I can pick just one favorite teacher because I genuinely connected so well with all of my teachers and a whole load of administrators.

What courses would you recommend?

I would definitely recommend taking any class taught by Mr. Shilts, Dr. Murray, Mr. Keating, Ms. Kelly, or Madame Weyland.

What overall rating would you give the Head of School?

How well did The Pingry School (NJ) prepare you for college?