Donations can be made on line via secured server.  Click on the "How to Invest"  link on the left.                                              May/June 2008 Calendar of Events

                                                                                                                                                                                     

 

Home

About Us

Curriculum

Staff

Summer Programs

View August 2007 Camp

Read March Newsletter

Wish List

Contact Us

How to Invest

A participating organization of DonorEdge.

 

 

Mission Statement 

The Nativity School of Harrisburg, an independent middle school for boys of low-income families from the city of Harrisburg, covenants with each family to provide a comprehensive holistic education to students who otherwise would not have access to such an education.  Following the principles of the NativityMiguel Network of schools throughout the United States, Nativity-Harrisburg provides a rigorous academic program while focusing on the personal, moral, spiritual and social development of each student.  Small classes and individual attention encourage each student to reach his full potential in a structured and nurturing environment.  

The Judeo Christian values which have inspired the Nativity model include a respect for the dignity and worth of each person, a responsibility to assist the poor and those in need, a strong sense of community within the one family of God, and the obligation to promote a society characterized by social justice.  The Nativity School of Harrisburg embraces students and families of all faiths, races and cultures.                   

 

On September 4, 2001, the vision of an independent middle school for low-income boys from the City of Harrisburg became a reality as The Nativity School of Harrisburg welcomed its first class of students.  Prominent local professionals and the Joshua Group, an inner-city youth development program in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, shared the dream of increasing opportunity through education.  Together, they collaborated to build a community of hope in the poorest area of the city, where the dropout rate in 2001 was nearly 75 percent.   The promise of a school that specifically targets students most in need, those most at-risk, was kept with the birth of a NativityMiguel model school. 

Our First Day 

On September 4, 2001, Nativity-Harrisburg welcomed nine students as members of its first sixth grade class.  Carole Cheney, Founding Head Teacher, and Kirk Hallett, Acting Director, greeted each student at the door of the classroom, which was transformed into Nativity-Harrisburg’s one-room schoolhouse and the setting for the adventure that lay ahead.

Six Years of Growth & Success

Nativity-Harrisburg quickly outgrew its “one-room schoolhouse” and moved to the Education Building of St. Francis of Assisi Church at 1453 Zarker Street.  One class of sixth graders expanded to nearly three dozen boys in 6th, 7th & 8th grades – and dozens of graduates attending Bishop McDevitt High School, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg SciTech High, Harrisburg Academy, and the Milton Hershey School.  The staff of two grew to include full-time teachers for each grade, intern teachers, and volunteers.  Building on core NativityMiguel Network principles, the extended school day helped the boys develop skills and improve their classroom performance, and the already extended school year grew to include several weeks of overnight camp.

Year Seven and Counting

Nativity-Harrisburg’s Seventh School Year  begins on August 13, 2007, with two weeks of sleepover camp at Camp Shikellimy in northern Dauphin County.  Summer Leadership Camp includes refresher lessons in math and reading, participation in environmental education exercises, a range of athletic and recreational activities, and work on leadership and character-building.  On-campus classes resume on Wednesday, September 5, 2007.

What We Are

The Nativity School of Harrisburg is a private, independent, faith-based, non-denominational preparatory middle school.  We are the only NativityMiguel Network School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  We are NOT a charter school, not a parochial school, and not a behavior-alternative school.                                  

 

Read more in the March Newsletter..........

 

 

We nurture character and faith.

 We celebrate manners, morals, creativity  and compassion.     

  

We recognize the dignity and worth of each individual. 

 We honor hard work and achievement.

 

 

    

In the non-sectarian NativityMiguel model, students are enrolled without regard to race, color, religion or ethnicity.  The Nativity School of Harrisburg is not affiliated in any way with the Diocese of Harrisburg or with the St. Francis of Assisi Parish.  For further information about the Nativity model, please visit http://www.nativitymiguelschools.org/.

This site was last updated on 05/08/2008

This site is maintained and sponsored by a friend of The Nativity School of Harrisburg.

Questions and comments regarding format or content may be sent to:  mailto:webmaster@nativityharrisburg.org

 © 2002 The Nativity School of Harrisburg

  ClickandPledge BBBOnLine Reliability Seal TRUSTe Privacy Statement