Catholic HS entrance exam October 29, 2016

Regarding entrance to a Catholic high school in Nassau or Suffolk County, New York, the deadlines are fast approaching.  Please see the website linked HERE for a list of deadlines and other information about taking the test.  The website includes applications for the exam with or without a request for exceptional treatment "with accommodation."
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There are seven Catholic high schools in Nassau County and three in Suffolk County. One entrance exam counts for all. An eighth-grader may apply to three schools.  

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I wonder about the ratio between the number of test-takers and seats available in the ten high schools. 
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The 2016 edition of the Official Catholic Directory gives these enrollment figures:

Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Syosset, 464 girls, 51 teachers.
St. Dominic High School, Oyster Bay, 472 students, 34 teachers.
Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School, Riverhead, 481 students, 46 teachers.
St. Mary High School, Manhasset, 589 students, 41 teachers.
Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead, 825 girls (same as 2015), 93 teachers.
Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, Hicksville, 1,022 students, 62 teachers.
Chaminade High School, Mineola, 1,700 boys (same as 2015), 74 teachers.
St. John the Baptist High School, West Islip, 1,700 students, 113 teachers.
St. Anthony High School, South Huntington, 2,400 students, 133 teachers.
Kellenberg Memorial High School, Uniondale, 2,689 students, 131 teachers. (These numbers may include grades 6-8, the Latin School.)
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Round numbers and repeated numbers may not be accurate. Details of enrollment per grade level would help. 

Nassau K-8 enrollments in 2015

The 2016 edition of the Official Catholic Directory probably reports information from 2015 or earlier.  This new edition lists twenty-two parish or regional Catholic elementary schools in Nassau County.  The top ten in reported enrollment are:
St. Agnes Cathedral, 728.
St. Anne, Garden City, 540.
St. William the Abbot, Seaford, 538.
St. Aidan, Williston Park, 487.
St. Martin de Porres, Uniondale, 460.
Long Beach Catholic, 440.
St. Rose of Lima, Massapequa Park, 404.
Maria Regina, Seaford, 400.
Holy Family, Hicksville, 397.
Our Lady of Victory, Floral Park, 389.
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Eighteen schools have more than 300 enrolled.
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Only one school, All Saints Regional, Glen Cove, has fewer than 200.
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The total K-8 enrollment in Catholic schools is about 8,544.

Nassau CCD numbers from 2016 directory

Parish religious education programs for youngsters not attending Catholic schools are often called "Religious Ed" or "CCD" classes.  The establishment of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine in each Catholic parish dates back more than four centuries, and these programs have strong numbers in many parishes of Nassau County.
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The recent publication of the 2016 Official Catholic Directory has allowed me to look at the reported enrollments in religious education programs in the approximately 66 parishes of Nassau County. The numbers are slipping, just as enrollment in public or non-public schools, but nothing at all like the steep drop in marriages.
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Parish life ought not be judged by numbers, as small numbers or low revenue may may be found in parishes with a loving worship community. With that caution, I present sample enrollment numbers in CCD classes in the parishes of Nassau County.
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The ten largest are:
St. Rose of Lima: 2,557. (Two years later, 2,439.)
St. Agnes Cathedral: 1,896. (Two years later, 1751.)
St. Martin of Tours, Bethpage: 1,519. (Two years later, 1151.)
St. Frances de Chantal: 1,501. (Two years later, the same number, therefore suspect.)
St. William the Abbot: 1,486. (Two years later, 1,362.)
Maria Regina, Seaford: 1,466. (Two year later, the same number, therefore suspect.)
St. Barnabas, Bellmore: 1,450. (Two years later, the same number, therefore suspect.)
St. Kilian: 1,400.
St. Joseph, Garden City: 1,400. (Two years later, the same number, therefore suspect.)
St. Catherine of Sienna: 1,388.
St. Lawrence, Sayville, in 2018 1,188.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Massapequa Park, in 2018, 458.
St. Raphael, East Meadow, in 2018, 1,382.
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Six of the above ten have a parish schools, which adds maybe 300 to 650 students receiving religious education. Some round numbers above are suspect because they were the same figure last year.
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The median number of religious ed students is at Our Holy Redeemer, Freeport: 493.
Eight parishes reported an enrollment under 200. Several reported no students or failed to submit data.
The total number of CCD students in Nassau County is more than 42,268.

DRVC numbers from 2016 directory

The 2016 Official Catholic Directory, published recently, includes statistics probably collected in 2015 or earlier. Below are some sample statistics for the diocese of Rockville Centre. For my earlier reports on this topic, click HERE.
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Sisters in the diocese: 980.
Brothers in the diocese: 67.
Permanent deacons in the diocese: 292.
Diocesan priests, active: 208. (Was 226 in 2010.)
Diocesan priests, retired, ill, or absent: 103.
Religious priests in diocese: 54.
Extern priests in diocese: 89. (Was 128 in 2010.)
Total priests in diocese: 365.
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Students in elementary religious education programs: 99,644.
Students in high school religious education programs: 2,709.
Elementary schools, diocesan, parish, and private: 47.
Elementary school students, diocesan, parish and private: 16,047.
High Schools, diocesan and parish: 5
Students in these: 4,013.
High Schools, private: 5.
Students in these: 7,405.
Lay teachers in diocese: 1,741. (Was 1,851 in 2010.)
Sisters teachers in diocese: 20 (Was 57 in 2010.)
Brothers teachers in diocese: 30.
Priests teachers in diocese: 9.
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Infant baptisms: 14,287.
Minor baptisms: 738.
Adult baptisms: 932.
Received into full communion: 512.
First Communion: 15,312.
Confirmations: 15,195.
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Catholic marriages: 2,710.
Interfaith marriages: 537.
Total marriages: 3,247. (Was 3,956 in 2010.)
Total Catholic population (two counties): 1,455,644.
Total population (two counties): 2,908,917.
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Comparing the above marriage numbers for the Diocese of Rockville Centre with numbers for the Diocese of Brooklyn:
Catholic marriages: 1,849.
Interfaith marriages: 357.
Total marriages: 2,206.
Total Catholic population in the diocese of Brooklyn: 1,506,000.
Both dioceses have two counties.  The diocese of Brooklyn has 50,000 more Catholics and 1,000 fewer weddings. Does DRVC have more people of marriageable age?

Hymn: I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light

Yesterday, 8.7.2016, our music director chose as recessional an inspirational hymn that I had never heard before, "I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light," music and words written about 1966 by Kathleen Thomerson.  It is in the Oregon Catholic Press hymnal we use at St. William's.  The melody is soft, easy, and the words "quietly" meditative.  As I suspected, the hymn has a Methodist background.
For lyrics and commentary, please see the link HERE.