Villanova Preparatory School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Villanova Preparatory School
type = Roman Catholic, Augustinian, Private secondary
students = 325
established = 1924
city = Ojai
state = California
country = USA
oversight = Order of St. Augustine
grades = 9-12
mascot = Wildcats
newspaper = The New View
yearbook = The Villanovan
website = [http://www.villanovaprep.org]

Villanova Preparatory School is an Augustinian Catholic co-ed day/ boarding school located in the small town of Ojai, California, USA. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, it was founded by Augustinian friars in 1924 and is the only co-ed Augustinian boarding school in the country. In 2007 enrollment was 323 with some 42 faculty members.Fact|date=September 2008 Some one-third of students are boarders, and represent 10 different countries.Fact|date=September 2008

The curriculum includes four units of religion: Old Testament, New Testament, Morality and Social Justice, and Christian Vocations.Fact|date=September 2008 Math, English, Religion and Science courses are required for all four years in order to graduate. Three languages are offered: Spanish, Japanese and Latin. Virgil is studied in the Latin Advanced Placement course. The school also offers Advanced Placement courses in other subjects, such as Calculus, English Composition, English Literature, and US History.Fact|date=September 2008

The Boarding Program

A majority of the boarding students come from South Korea, Taiwan, and Mainland China, with a smaller number of students coming from Vietnam, Mexico, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, United States and other countries.Fact|date=September 2008 In contrast, the non-boarding day students at Villanova make up about 70% of the population. Roughly 50% are from the Ojai Valley, while the rest of the students come from surrounding cities such as Carpinteria, Ventura, Camarillo, Santa Paula, Oxnard, Somis, and Fillmore.

Patron Saint

The school is named in honour of St. Thomas of Villanova, a sixteenth century Spanish Augustinian.Fact|date=September 2008 Thomas was born at Fuenllana in the diocese of Toledo, Spain, in 1488 and was brought up in Villaneuva de los Infantes, a nearby town; hence his name, Thomas of Villanova. In the year 1544, King Charles V of Spain appointed Thomas as Archbishop of Valencia. Thomas succeeded in the spiritual renewal of his diocese, and gained the title 'Father of the Poor'. He gave two-thirds of the income of his diocese to care for the poor in various ways.Fact|date=September 2008 Each day up to 500 poor people came to his door to be fed and to receive money. Other English speaking Augustinian Colleges named for this saint are St. Thomas of Villanova College in Ontario, Canada, and Villanova College, located in Brisbane, Australia. He is also the patron saint to the popular Catholic college, Villanova University located in Villanova, PA,USA.

The Augustinian Order in North America

The of the order happened in 1796 when Irish friars arrived in Philadelphia. Michael Hurley was the first American to join the Order the following year. Friars established schools, Universities and other works throughout the Americas, also including Villanova University in Villanova, PA located just outside of Philadelphia (USA) and Merrimack College (USA). Malvern Preparatory School was founded in 1842 alongside Villanova University, and by 1909 two Augustinian houses and a school had been established in Chicago, 1922 in San Diego, by 1925 this school; and Los Angeles; 1926 a school in Oklahoma; in 1947 a college in Massachusetts; in 1953 a school in Pennsylvania; 1959 a school in New Jersey and in 1962 a school in Illinois.

Athletics

Last year, the girls' tennis team was the runner-up in the Division 4 CIF final.Fact|date=September 2008 The team is also the team in the highest division of all the teams at Villanova because of their tremendous amount of natural ability.Fact|date=September 2008

Villanova discontinued its football program in 1974, but it was brought back as an 8-man program in 2001. In 2004 the program went to 11-man as an Independent (non-league) Division XIII team. After two very successful independent seasons Villanova joined the Frontier League as a Division XI team, competing against schools in some cases three to four times its size.Fact|date=September 2008

The boys' varsity basketball team is looking forward to a strong season with new Head Coach Matt Murphy.

The boys' soccer team will be led by coach Mike Marvin and a crew of passionate boys who are looking forward to a bright start next season in their new League.

The baseball team is hoping for a fresh start with a new coach, Brian Roney.

All of the Villanova athletic teams have recently joined Frontier League, and are looking forward to playing against teams such as Malibu, Fillmore, Santa Clara, and Bishop Diego.

Controversies

*In 1998 James Woodstock, a 31-year-old religion and morality teacher was convicted of statutory rape after impregnating a 16-year-old student. [ [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83821279.html Statutory Rape conviction] ]

*In early 2006 it was discovered that the headmaster had hired a Latin teacher Shannon McCreery who had been convicted of second degree murder for assisting in his father's suicide in 1996. Though the headmaster was aware of the conviction, he did not disclose this information to the school's board of directors nor the rest of the staff. [ [http://www.losangelesmission.com/ed/news/2006news/0603news.htm Los Angeles Mission - Head hires murderer] ] Fallout from the incident included McCreery's dismissal and an attempt to oust the headmaster.

Notable Alumni

*William P. Clark, Jr. -- Justice on the California Supreme Court, National Security Advisor to Ronald Reagan (1982-1983), and Secretary of the Interior (1983-1985).

Notable staff member

*Parry Shen -- a Chinese American actor best known for his performance in the 2002 movie Better Luck Tomorrow -- worked for several years at the school as a member of the dormitory staff and Drama Teacher.

References

External links

* [http://www.villanovaprep.org Villanova Preparatory School]
* [http://www.osanet.org Order of St Augustine, International Homepage]
* [http://www.augnet.org/ Augnet] International Cooperative Web Site for Schools in the Tradition of St. Augustine