St. Francis Preparatory School

Infobox School2
name = St. Francis Preparatory School
established = 1858
type = Franciscan High School, Private, Catholic, Co-ed
head_name = Principal
head = Br. Leonard Conway
head_name2 = Dean
head2 = Mr. Theodore Jahn
city = Fresh Meadows
state = New York
country = USA
students = approx. 2800
faculty = 137
mascot = Terrier
school colors = Red and Blue
color box|red color box|blue
website = [http://www.sfponline.org/ www.sfponline.org]

St. Francis Preparatory School, commonly known as St. Francis Prep, is a private, independent Catholic college preparatory school in Fresh Meadows, New York City, and the largest Catholic high school in the United States. Located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, St. Francis is run by the Franciscan Brothers, who also maintain a residence on the top floor of the school. The school has a student body of about 3,000 students and graduates between 600 and 700 students annually. St. Francis is a very rigorous and competitive high school. It is one of the most prestigious college prep schools in the nation. By providing a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, nearly all (99.8-100 percent) of graduating seniors continue on to a higher education. St. Francis Prep graduates are accepted to some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities. St. Francis Prep was recognized by the U.S. News & World Report as An Outstanding American High School and is continuously ranked as one of the top high schools in the country. St. Francis is also a member of the CHSAA.

History

The school opened in 1858 as St. Francis Academy, a small all-boys high school in Brooklyn, It took its current name in 1935, then moved to a larger facility in Brooklyn, NY in 1952. The school moved to Queens (Fresh Meadows) in 1974 when it acquired the facility that formerly housed Bishop Reilly High School, a co-educational Catholic high school, thus becoming the St. Francis Preparatory School seen today. Until September 1974 St. Francis Prep was an all male school.

Co-curricular activities and athletics

"The Seraph" is St. Francis Prep's official student newspaper and is published once a month. Another student-produced publication is "The Little Portion", which showcases creative writing and poetry from St. Francis students.

St. Francis Prep offers sports teams such as track and field teams, a tennis team, a golf team, a basketball team, a baseball team, a football team, a swim team, a lacrosse team and both a varsity and junior varsity cheerleading squad.

Academic - Business Club, Biology Club, Chemistry Club, Diplomacy Club, Duns Scotus Speech/Debate Club, Fine Arts Workshop, Mathematics Club, Mathematics League, Mock Trial Club, Model United Nations, National Honor Society, NYS Science Honor Society,yaaaa Political Science Club, Prepmun, Science Olympiad, Student Technical Service (STS), Women in History Club Campus Ministry - Campus Ministry Main Site, Communion Services, Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Liturgical Committee, Liturgical Dancers, Liturgical Ensemble, Liturgy Assistants, Prayer Team, Retreat Leaders, Soup Kitchen Volunteers Drama - Alvernian Drama Society, Alvernian Set Design, Alvernian Technical Services, Stage Crew Environment - Animal Rights Club Ethnic - African American Heritage Club, Chinese Club, French Club, German Club, German Exchange Student Program, Greek Club, Guyanese Club, Indian Club, International Night, Irish Club, Italian Club, Korean Club, Polish Club, Spanish Club, West Indian Club Intramurals - Basketball, Football, Softball, Volleyball Literary - The Little Portion Literary Magazine, The Seraph, San Fran Yearbook Mentoring - Drug & Alcohol Prevention, Peer Counseling, Tutoring Project Challenge - Backpacking, High Ropes, Orienteering, Snowshoeing Religious - Christian Awakening, St. Vincent de Paul Society Rock Club- Rock show, weekly meetings, guitar

Professional Wrestling Club - Weekly meetings and viewings. Volunteer - Blood Drive, Bookstore Service, Library Aides, PS 4 Volunteers Peer Counselors, hi

Quick facts

St. Francis Prep is the only high school in America to boast a Super Bowl winning head coach (Vince Lombardi) and a World Series winning manager (Joe Torre). In 2003, the boy's varsity soccer team clinched the city and state championship after twenty years. St. Francis Prep is also known for having an undefeated handball and girls tennis team. The school's varsity football team is routinely ranked among the best among Catholic high schools in the United States. It won the AA championship in 2005 and has won more football championships in New York than any other program. In 2006, the boys varsity soccer team won the city championship and made it to the state championship. In 2007, the boys baseball team defeated Regis High School 8-0 to win the city championship. St. Francis' pitcher, Danny Forman, pitched a no-hitter in the championship game to lead the Terriers to victory. St. Francis Prep also has their very own news broadcast team, named Channel 1. They also have another channel called, Channel one and a half, which pokes fun at the school and others, through skits, while also delivering announcements. On January 19th, 2008, St. Francis Prep will have their first Model United Nations conference (Prepmun I). It will be one of the first conferences held in Queens.

In May 2008, Saint Franics Prep was chosen for the "Ultimate Prom" in which R&B singers Lloyd & Ashanti performed, and JoJo hosted. She went to the actual prom with Mike Bow.

Notable Alumni

*Frank J. Aquila, corporate lawyer
*Marco Battaglia, NFL Football Player
*Bishop Vincent DePaul Breen, former Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen
*Christian Carbonara, Gold Medalist, 1972 Summer Olympics
*Julie Chen, television personality who also serves as hostess of "Big Brother"
*Carlos Dengler, bassist of the band Interpol
*DJ Envy, radio personality on New York City's Hot 97
*Peter Facinelli, actor
*Eric Gioia, New York City councilman
*Dan Henning, NFL Football Player and Coach
*Father Mychal Judge, Chaplain for the New York City Fire Department who died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001
*Vince Lombardi, former Green Bay Packers coach
*Frank Serpico, New York police officer who uncovered corruption; later portrayed by Al Pacino in "Serpico"
*Joe Torre, New York Yankees former manager, Los Angeles Dodgers manager

External links

* [http://sfponline.org/ School Website]
* [http://www.newsphoto.com/usa1_detail.php/40662/Sports/Locust_ValleySaint_FrancisBoysHigh_schoolvarsitylacrosseManhassettournament/ Saint Francis Prep boys varsity lacrosse in game action against Locust Valley on March 31, 2007]
* [http://www.prepmun.com SFP Model United Nations Conference (PREPMUN I) January 19, 2008]