Holy Cross High School (Flushing)

Infobox Secondary school
name = Holy Cross High School

established = 1955
type = Private all-male secondary
affiliations = Roman Catholic, Holy Cross
accreditation = Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
president = Bro. Stephen LaMendola, CSC
principal = Joseph Giannuzzi
address = 26-20 Francis Lewis Boulevard
city = Flushing, Queens
state = New York
zip = 11358
country = USA
grades = 9–12
students = 970
athletics = 12 sports
mascot = Knight
colors = Green and gold
website = [http://www.holycrosshs.org www.holycrosshs.org]

Holy Cross High School is an all-boys high school in Flushing, in the New York City borough of Queens. Founded in 1955, the school was chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York and accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, it is sponsored by the Brothers of Holy Cross. There is a 98% college placement rate. The School's teams are called the Holy Cross Knights, the school's arch rivals are the Saint Francis Prep High School Terriers. Since they are both located on Francis Lewis Boulevard, when they play each other the game is called the Battle of the Boulevard. The school recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary of Founding. In 1979 the school celebrated both its 25th anniversary of founding and the 20th anniversary of its first graduation class. Both events were characterized by a large percentage of alumni and alumni parent involvement. The Office of Alumni Relations was developed during the three year period leading up to these celebrations. The school now boasts a very successful [alumni website] http://community.holycrosshs.org which may be accessed by alums, present and former parents, former faculty and friends.

The school's Alumni / Development Newsletter ["Crossroads"] http://community.holycrosshs.org/?CrossArchive may be accessed by any interested party as a "friend" of the school where the reader can view the success of the school's institutional advancement efforts and other current events at the school.

In conjunction with the school's recent celebration of its 50th anniversary, U.S. News and World Report celebrated the mission of the school with the following remarks:

In 2005, Holy Cross High School celebrated its50th anniversary as the first Catholic high school forboys in Queens. The school serves a diverse populationof students, providing them with a strong academicand moral foundation to succeed in the 21st century.Holy Cross is sponsored by the Congregation of HolyCross, the religious community that founded theUniversity of Notre Dame in 1840.

Holy Cross has remained true to its mission thatencourages the pursuit of academic excellence andnurtures a commitment to the integral growth of thewhole person by focusing on Christian values andintellectual, creative, social and physical development.By providing a rigorous college preparatorycurriculum, nearly all (98 percent) of graduatingseniors continue their higher education. Holy Crossalumni have attended some of the nation’s mostprestigious colleges and universities including Cornell,Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, New YorkUniversity, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon,Georgetown, Boston College, University of Southern California, Villanova,the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and theU.S. Naval Academy, to name a few. More than 13,000Holy Cross alumni in all walks of life are making adifference in the world today.Holy Cross students flourish in a school withstate-of-the art facilities, where they receive individualizedattention from a dedicated and caring faculty.

In addition to the core curriculum, the school offerstwo distinct programs that meet the specific needsof its students. The Father Basil Moreau HonorsProgram provides academically gifted students witha challenging course of study designed to maximizetheir academic potential. Advanced Placement andcollege courses enable students to earn more than20 college credits prior to graduation. The BrotherAndre Enrichment Program helps students who needassistance transitioning from grade school into highschool by providing them with an additional focus oncommunication and organizational skills.The Holy Cross Learn and Serve Program is unparalleledand nationally recognized for its serviceto the community. The program instills a commitmentin Holy Cross students that extends beyond theirfour years at Holy Cross and is often found in theirprofessional and social lives as alumni.Holy Cross students pursue interests anddevelop leadership skills through extensiveextracurricular programs. The student-run, fullyequipped HC Television Studio produces dailybroadcasts with occasional celebrity guests. TheHoly Cross Athletic Program remains one of theschool’s steadfast attractions, with 23 teams competingin 10 interscholastic sports that consistentlycapture many city and state championships.“Our end product is ‘The Holy Cross Man,’” saysBrother Stephen LaMendola, CSC, President. “We arededicated to the ethical and academic developmentof young men who are moral, spiritual and of serviceto others.”

History

The concept of the first all boys Catholic high school in Queens was born on the campus of Notre Dame University in the early 1940's out of a friendship between Msgr. Edmund Reilly, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church (Flatlands) and Rev. Frederick Schulte, CSC. The Brothers of Holy Cross were invited to staff the Boys' Department of St. Thomas Aquinas in 1944 and St. Francis of Assisi in 1947. Within two months after coming to St. Thomas Aquinas, the Brothers were invited to establish a high school in the Bayside West section of Queens.

In September, 1955, ten years after the initial plans were drawn, Holy Cross High School, Flushing, officially opened in the still incomplete building. The support of interested parents and friends contributed greatly to the success of the school. With the first graduating class of 460 in June, 1959, the school was well on its way to becoming the fine institution it is today.

Holy Cross began as a comprehensive high school offering college preparatory courses in addition to conducting programs in industrial arts and general studies. It is now entirely college prep, with about 98% of our graduates continuing their higher education in schools throughout the country.

Academics

Holy Cross has always been a college preparatory school. When the school was first opened, they had an industrial arts program which included a print shop which printed, among other things, the school newspaper "The Lance". This program was discontinued during the principalship of Brother Aubert Harrigan, C.S.C. in favor of expanding the mission and purpose of the school as a more "college prep" environment. A New York State Education Department official remarked to John McGovern, during his principalship, that the industrial arts program at Holy Cross "in the early days" distinguished the school in a national profile of Catholic secondary schools in the United States. One of schools most distinctive programs is its "Service Learning" program ably guided by faculty member Michael Genvoese; in 1977 the school was awarded Newsdays "High School of the Year Award" for the school's successful involvement in a variety of community projects - all made possible by the students' participating in this distinctive program. This emphasis on "educating the whole person" is consistent with the charism of Holy Cross' religious mission succinctly stated as educating "both the mind and the heart." Graduates have attended such institutes as Cornell University, West Point, Howard University, Villanova University, Boston College, Notre Dame, Fordham, Catholic University of America, Harvard, and Columbia University.

Religious Life

Besides athletics, Holy Cross offers many more intellectual pursuits such as Campus Ministry, Student Government, and the National Honors Society (NHS). The Holy Cross Brothers still staff the school in various capacities from Bookstore Manager to President. The religious philosophy is based of off the mission of The Brothers of Holy Cross which were founded in LeMans, France in 1835 by Father Basil Moreau.

Notable Alumni

Andreas Chronis, soccer player for AEK Athens of the Greek Super League.

John Giannone, Rangers sideline reporter and MSG Hockey Night Live host; Inside the Rangers host

Joseph Giannuzzi, Current Principal of Holy Cross

Steve Villanueva, Weather Anchor for NBC 4 in Washington, D.C.

External links

* [http://www.holycrosshs.org/home.aspx Holy Cross web page]
* [http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&SchoolID=00926234&ID=00926234 National Center for Education Statistics data for Holy Cross High School]