Strake Jesuit College Preparatory

Infobox Secondary school
name = Strake Jesuit College Preparatory

motto = "Men for Others", "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam", "Sic Deus Vult"
established = June 21, 1960
type = Jesuit Private school
affiliations = Catholic, Jesuit
president = Fr. Daniel K. Lahart, S.J.
principal = Mr. Richard Nevle
dean = Mr. Kelly Clemons
city = Houston
state = Texas
country = USA
enrollment = 864
grades = 9–12
faculty = 111
campus = Urban, 44 acres
mascot = The Fighting Crusaders
colors = Green and White
yearbook = The Crusader
newspaper = Magis
website = [http://www.strakejesuit.org/ www.strakejesuit.org]
picture =

Strake Jesuit College Preparatory is a Jesuit, university-preparatory school for young men in southwest Houston, Texas, founded on June 21, 1960. The school is also known for the large collection of art pieces placed around the campus. The school is classified as an official art museum with a full-time curator. The school is located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. It is one of two private schools in Texas that are members of the University Interscholastic League, the other being Dallas Jesuit.

People of Strake Jesuit

trake Jesuit Educational Television

The school uses a closed-circuit television system known as Strake Jesuit Educational Television (SJET). SJET was established in 1970 when an audiovisual system of that magnitude was unique for an institution such as a high school; today such a system remains rare for most high schools. Daily morning prayer is led by students via the system, and announcements are shown in a format similar to typical television news programs. Programs are produced by students under the guidance of Mr. Jim Gilbert, who has moderated SJET since its inception. The students participating in SJET can take Television Production for half a class credit. [http://www.strakejesuit.org/s/103/strake.aspx?sid=103&gid=1&pgid=965 Strake Jesuit - SJET ] ]

Around 1999, Strake Jesuit updated its SJET system with the addition of smart boards in some classrooms, and boards were added to all classrooms by the beginning of the 2006 school year. Smart boards use projectors and touch sensitive technology to produce an interactive way of teaching. They are also used for the display of the SJET morning announcements.

Throughout the course of the year, the student body may view new installments of the school's own game show, "Scribbage Match" during the morning announcements. SJET is also commonly used to announce items of interest to the student body, including student council candidate speeches and messages from the faculty. In addition, 'news strips', 'interviews', and other programs that are intended to be comical (such as teacher impersonations) are shown on SJET. Special guests are featured on occasion. The ten SJET announcers, two of whom announce on any given day, compose a story every school quarter; it is then shown to the student body after announcements are finished, should time permit.

ports

Lacrosse

At the request of overwhelming student demand, Strake Jesuit implemented a Lacrosse program in 2000. Students from the first Strake Jesuit squad made the brand new team a strong force, winning Texas state championships during the first two years.

Rugby

Rugby Strake Jesuit's 13th sport began in the Spring of 2008, with participation in the Texas Rugby Union.

occer

Strake Jesuit has a longstanding history of competitive excellence in soccer, as the team won the TCIL State Championship against Dallas Jesuit in its inaugural season of 1975, and has won numerous titles over the past 30 years.

piritual Life

Retreats

All students, members of faculty and staff take part in a retreat at some point during the school year. Apart for taking part in their own retreat, many teachers are involved in retreats for students.

Freshmen participate in a 3 day retreat, led by juniors and seniors who spend several months in preparation. Sophomores are responsible for the 'nuts and bolts' dimension of the retreat such as errands, meals and cleaning. Freshmen gather in homes, spend a night at school, visit nursing homes, and engage in various activities designed to promote spiritual growth and class bonding.

Sophomores take part in a retreat with their fathers or father-figures. The purpose of the sophomore retreat is to develop the relationship between father & son as well as the spirituality of the student.

Juniors have a choice of retreat. One is a 3 day retreat experience, the first day of which is spent with the disadvantaged members of the Houston area. Afterwards, juniors spend 2 days reflecting on the experience, upon the broken-ness of the world, and how Christ is present in the poorest of the poor. Another option is the prayer-styles retreat, which was begun in 1996 after requests from students over 2-3 years. During this 3 day residential retreat, juniors discover and experience a variety of prayer methods such as meditation, praying with music, nature, psalms and using such things as play-dough in prayer.

Seniors participate in the 4 day Kairos retreat, during which they, together with faculty, share their lives particularly those moments when they have experienced God, emptiness, joy, pain or healing. The purpose is for students to see how God is present in all aspects of life. [ [http://www.strakejesuit.org/s/103/strake.aspx?sid=103&gid=1&pgid=948 Strake Jesuit - Retreats ] ]

Prayer & Worship

During the academic year, the Eucharist (Mass) is celebrated before classes in the school chapel, and is also celebrated during the lunch break each Wednesday and Friday. A student leads a school-wide morning prayer/reflection each day via the school's television system, and some classes (particularly theology) begin with a moment of prayer or reflection.

Whole school worship occurs on several occasions, some examples being: the beginning of the school year, Advent, the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Ash Wednesday, Easter, Holy Thursday and commencement.

Community Service

Catholicism embraces a preferential option for the poor, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that a healthy spirituality is expressed in a concern for the social aspects of life. [ [http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a7.htm#III Catechism of the Catholic Church - PART 3 SECTION 2 CHAPTER 2 ARTICLE 7 ] ] Strake Jesuit embraces this concept, and was one of the first Catholic schools in Texas to require its students to engage in community service in order to graduate.

Freshmen visit nursing homes, sophomores collect Christmas gifts for underprivileged children, juniors engage in various projects and seniors are required to spend 100 hours of service in such places as soup kitchens, camps for special needs children and missions abroad. Seniors are also required to produce a reflection paper on the experience. [ [http://www.strakejesuit.org/s/103/strake.aspx?sid=103&gid=1&pgid=947 Strake Jesuit - Community Service ] ]

The Strake Jesuit website states: "Strake Jesuit College Preparatory is grounded in the conviction of St. Ignatius Loyola that God is to be found in all things. All activities of the school, from biology to band, from football to forensics, have this objective: to find God in all of God's wondrous creation." [ [http://www.strakejesuit.org/s/103/section.aspx?pgid=870 Strake Jesuit - Spiritual Life ] ] . It is the declared goal of the Pastoral Department to foster this aim.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.strakejesuit.org/ Official website of school]
*Jesuit Secondary Education Association for other Jesuit high schools