St. Bede Academy

Saint Bede Academy is a private, four-year, Catholic college preparatory high school located in Peru, Illinois. The campus buildings and monastery are situated on 100 acres of wooded land. The monastery is home to 32 Benedictine monks who have taken a vow of stability, meaning that they remain at Saint Bede Abbey for their lifetimes. The Benedictine monks, with the help of the lay community, continue to take an active role in the administration, faculty, and staff of the academy.

The school operates on a fixed daily schedule of eight periods of forty-three minutes. Students are required to enroll in seven courses per semester. Two semesters of 18 weeks each comprise the school year. The school is accredited by the State of Illinois, the North Central Association, and the Office of Catholic Education of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria.

History

St. Bede Abbey and Academy were founded in 1890 by a group of six monks whose task it was to establish a Benedictine teaching institution where young men could receive a Catholic education. The school, which opened in 1891, was an all-boys school until 1973, and a boarding school until 1981. The school became a boarding school once again in 2006. Prior to the 1970s, it was not uncommon for parents to send their boys hundreds of miles to attend and live at St. Bede.

After the boarding school closed, the Academy was still able to draw a consistent number of students from the local area, though never enough to challenge the local public schools. The original building is still in use, and it plainly shows its age on the inside. It has undergone some renovations since it was built over one hundred years ago, but none recently.

The continued existence of the school has always depended heavily on the monetary contributions of alumni and other friends of the Academy. Other fund-raising events such as an annual auction and phone-a-thon help.

tudent profile

The student population is made up of over 300 students. Saint Bede Academy believes students should not be denied a Catholic education because of the lack of funds. Therefore, the Academy provides financial assistance through a work-study grant, loan assistance, scholarships, and family discounts. The school also continues to draw financial support from over 6,000 alumni. The student-faculty ratio is 15-1 with an average class size of 22 students.

97% of graduates attend a post-secondary college or university.

Athletics

Boys sports

*Baseball
*Basketball
*Bowling
*Cross Country
*Football
*Golf
*Tennis
*Track & Field
*Weightlifting
*Wrestling

Girls sports

*Basketball
*Bowling
*Cheerleading
*Cross Country
*Softball
*Tennis
*Track & Field
*Volleyball
*Weightlifting
*Wrestling

Clubs and activities

*Abbey Mass Servers: A group of 8 to 10 junior and senior boys who volunteer and agree to serve at Masses for the Saint Bede Abbey monastic community.

*Band: A cohesive group of students who perform at school events such as football & basketball games, pep rallies, and concerts.

*Caedmon Literary Magazine editors: Selects the content and layout for the magazine each year.

*Chorus: Strengthens students' choral skills.

*Eucharistic Ministers: Enhances and encourages growth as a Christian and reverence for the Eucharist, specifically.

*Fall Theatre: Provides opportunities for student actors to explore a variety of acting styles and nurture a love of the dramatic arts.

*Pep Club: Shows school spirit, spreads good cheer, and raises morale.

*Prom Committee: Raises funds for Prom, and works to make Prom a successful and memorable event.

*Saint Bede Academy Student Government: Promotes the interests of St. Bede Academy and its students, and provides leadership training to elected students.

*Scholastic Bowl: Competes intellectually against other schools in the state, and enhances knowledge base of participants.

*Science Club: Investigates the scientific behaviors, phenomena, and laws of nature for curious students.

*Spanish Club: Gives students an additional opportunity to practice speaking Spanish as well as to learn more about Hispanic countries, especially Hispanic food, art, and culture.

*Spring Musical: Trains students in musical theatre, and develops acting and music skills.

*Stage Rats: Helps students discover and develop their God given talents through the collaborative arts of set design, construction, and play production.

*Student Ambassador Team: Shares knowledge and experiences of St. Bede with grade school students and their parents.

*Yearbook Club: Teaches students writing, layout, and design techniques.

*Paintball Club: Teaches students strategies to end hostage situations, and a sense of team work but mostly how to end hostage situations.

Campus

The 100-acre St. Bede campus includes the school, its attached monastery, a church, a football field with stands, a baseball field with stands, a basketball stadium/theater, the Saint Bede Abbey Press building, and lots of open space.

Main building

The school itself is a five-level brick building with dozens of classrooms and offices. The top floor is the only floor not currently in use. The building can be roughly divided in half, with the north half containing most of the classrooms, and the south half containing most of the offices. The Academy used to be a boarding school, and the south half of the building used to be where boarding students were housed. Hence, the former dorm rooms, being small, tend to make perfect offices. The main administrative office is located on the first floor. There are computer labs on the first and second floors. The art department takes up most of the third floor. The two main science labs and classrooms are located on the basement level. Lockers are located on the second and basement levels of the building. There is an underground tunnel that connects the main building with the basketball stadium, where gym classes are held.

aint Bede Abbey

St. Bede Abbey, attached to the school, is the permanent residence of thirty-two monks who live according to the Rule of Saint Benedict. The monks, many of whom actively participate in the everyday workings of the school, follow the gospel of Christ by serving God, the Church, and the community through daily prayer, both communal and private, serious work, quiet reflection, hospitality, and the renunciation of marriage, possessions, and pleasure.

The Abbey was founded in 1890, along with the Academy, by a group of six monks who were sent from the St. Vincent Archabbey in western Pennsylvania to spread the Benedictine tradition. By 1910, the community of monks had grown large enough to become independent from St. Vincent's, and so the monks elected their first abbot. The population of monks peaked sometime during the middle of the twentieth century, and has since declined to its current population of 32. Abbot Claude Peifer, OSB, is the current abbot; he succeeded Abbot Roger Corpus, OSB. Father Dominic Garramone, OSB, a monk and priest of the Abbey and the Academy, is renowned for his breadmaking skills and has a column and show on it.

Abbey Church

The Abbey Church is a multi-purpose building containing a general assembly area, students' chapel, theater/lecture hall, lounge, kitchenette, and conference rooms. The students use the Abbey Church for Eucharistic liturgies, prayer services, penance services, classes, plays, and meetings.

Library

The St. Bede Academy library is a multi-level facility consisting of two large reading rooms on two levels joined by four levels of stacks. The theology library consists of the upper reading room and the top level of the stacks. The academy library consists of the lower reading room and three levels of stacks. The academy collection totals 20,000 volumes and the monastery collection contains 19,000 volumes.

tudent refectory

The student refectory (dining room), located on the main floor of the school building, provides hot lunch and snack items daily to students. Students remain on campus during lunchtime and may bring a lunch from home if they prefer. The refectory was renovated during the summer of 1997 to restore the original tin ceiling which had been covered over for years. Ceiling fan/light fixtures now hang to provide an atmosphere of former days at the Academy.

ee also

* Peru, Illinois

External links

* [http://www.st-bede.com/ Saint Bede Academy]
* [http://www.stbedeabbey.org/ Saint Bede Abbey]