Loyola College Prep

Loyola College Prep [http://www.loyolaprep.org/] is a private Catholic coeducational high school in Shreveport, Louisiana operated by the Diocese of Shreveport [http://www.dioshpt.org/] .

History

Originally a high school for boys, St. John Berchman's College opened on November 3, 1902, by the Rev. John Francis O'Connor, S.J., of the New Orleans Province [http://www.norprov.org/] of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). O'Connor was invited by Bishop Anthony Durier of the Diocese of Natchitoches to establish a new church and a high school for boys in Shreveport. The school was first located on the north side of the 1500 block of Texas Avenue, and moved to its present location on Jordan Street in 1938 as St. John’s High School.

St. John's was a full time military school during the World War II years. In 1960 the school's name was changed to Jesuit High School. In 1972 the Board of Trustees hired the first lay principal. The Jesuits relinquished control of the school in 1982 to the Diocese of Alexandria-Shreveport, and the school took on its present name in honor of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. Girls were admitted to Loyola for the first time in 1987. St. Vincent's Academy, a Catholic high school for girls, closed in 1988. In 2005, Loyola temporarily admitted nearly 200 students from several Catholic high schools damaged by Hurricane Katrina in south Louisiana.

Facilities

The major structures on the Jordan Street campus are a three level classroom building constructed in two phases - the first (western) half of the high school, including a cafeteria, was completed in 1938, and the second (eastern) half was completed in 1949 [http://www.caddohistory.com/saint_john_cathedral.html] ; a four level classroom building that opened in 1929 as a residence hall for Jesuit priests; a gymnasium including boys' dressing rooms; a girls' dressing room building; and the single story Anderson building used for various administrative offices.

The Loyola Athletic Complex on Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway includes Messmer Stadium (football, soccer and lacrosse), Cicero Field (baseball), St. Vincent’s Field (softball) and the Flyer Field House.

Academics

Loyola announced in 2008 that eight juniors were named as National Merit Scholars, the highest number in the school's history. [http://www.loyolaprep.org/parentflyer/Apr24_08.pdf] Ten students won awards (including three first-place awards) at the 2008 Louisiana State Rally held April 19 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. [http://appl003.lsu.edu/slas/recruitweb.nsf/$Content/State+Rally+Results?OpenDocument]

Loyola won the Sweepstakes Award for Division III schools participating in the 2007 Northwest Louisiana High School Literary Rally, held at Northwestern State University on March 17. Eleven students won awards (including two first-place awards) at the Louisiana State Rally held April 21 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. [http://www.nsula.edu/news/rally21.htm]

Loyola was named on the Acton Institute's first Catholic High School Honor Roll (2004). Membership is limited to the top 50 Catholic schools in the United States. This honor roll recognizes those schools that best maintain high academic standards, uphold their Catholic identities, and prepare students to actively engage the world. [http://www.chshonor.org/index.php]

Loyola graduation requirements include the completion of 100 hours of community service with an approved non-profit organization or project dedicated to helping individuals with special needs. [http://www.loyolaprep.org/service.htm]

Regular student print publications are the newspaper, "The Flyer", and the annual yearbook, "Flight". The development office produces the electronic "E-Flyer" and "ParentFlyer."

ports

The school has won Louisiana state athletic championships in baseball (1964 and 1974), soccer (1996), football (1967 and 1976) and girls softball (1996). Boys athletic teams are known as the Flyers, girls teams are the Lady Flyers, and the mascot is Snoopy from the "Peanuts" comic strip by Charles M. Schulz. Loyola received permission in 1966 by Schulz to use Snoopy as its mascot and remains the only school so honored [http://www.loyolaprep.org/alumni/eflyer/eflyer48.htm]

Notable alumni

Historic seals

The two wolves and cauldron in the first two seals are from St. Ignatius Loyola's family crest and symbolizes generosity, having enough to give to the wolves. The pelican feeding its young with her own blood is an ancient symbol of Christianity (Christ feeding the Church with his body and blood through the Eucharist). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyola_University_New_Orleans]

External links

* [http://www.loyolaprep.org www.loyolaprep.org] Loyola College Prep