Saint Charles Preparatory School

Infobox_University
name = Saint Charles Preparatory School
interests =
native_name =
latin_name =


motto = "Euntes Ergo Docete Omnes Gentes"("Going out, therefore, teach all nations")Matthew 28:19Also: "Facta non Verba" meaning "Actions not words"
established = 1923
type = Roman Catholic, Private
endowment =
staff =
faculty = 34
president =
principal = Dominic Cavello
rector =
chancellor =
vice_chancellor =
dean = Scott Pharion &
James R. Lower
head_label =
head =
students = 621
undergrad =
postgrad =
doctoral =
city = Columbus
state = Ohio
country = U.S.
campus = Urban
free_label =
free =
colors = Cardinal Red and White
color box|#C41E3A color box|#FFFFFF
mascot = Charlie the Cardinal
affiliations =
website = http://www.stcharlesprep.org/

Saint Charles Preparatory School is a four-year college-preparatory school (a type of high school) in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1923 by the Bishop of Columbus, James J. Hartley, as a Roman Catholic college seminary. Today, it is an all-male high school serving the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.

The Saint Charles mascot is Charlie the Cardinal and the patron Saint is Saint Charles Borromeo. The school's motto, inscribed above the front door, is "Euntes Ergo Docete Omnes Gentes", a quote from the Gospel of Matthew in the Latin Vulgate: "Going out, therefore, teach all nations." The school calls itself "The Distinctive Leader in Catholic Education." The original nickname for the school's students was "Carolians." (It is derived from the Latin word "Carolus"," which means "Charles.") In 1947, the students began to refer to themselves as "Cardinals."

History

St. Charles was founded in 1923 by Columbus Bishop James J. Hartley and was originally called The College and Seminary of St. Charles Borromeo. For the first two years, St. Charles did not have a building of its own until a school was completed in 1925. For the two years that the school was being built, students went to class at Sacred Heart School in Columbus. The first graduating class had 17 graduates.

St. Charles was flooded on January 20 and 21 of 1959. In a matter of 24 hours, nearly five inches of rain fell. The rain, along with the frozen ground (because of the cold January temperatures), caused the neighboring Alum Creek to overrun and flood the St. Charles campus. It caused over $150,000 of damage; classes were temporarily cancelled. Some of the damages include sinking of the lower chapel and ruining of about a quarter of the library’s books. In order to prevent future floods, a dike along the bank of the creek and the Alum Creek Reservoir has been built.

Columbus Bishop Clarence G. Issenmann decided to convert St. Charles exclusively to a seminary in 1961. This decision was unpopular but it stuck anyway. Only young men who were considering joining the priesthood were allowed to attend the school. Alumni pressure eventually forced St. Charles to revert to a college preparatory school in 1969. At that time, college operation was suspended and still is.

Building and construction

1931 saw the completion of St. Charles’ gymnasium and the Our Lady Lourdes Grotto. Major renovations were made to the gym in 1951 to more the double the capacity.

A Gaelic-style chapel (called the "Lower Chapel") was added on to the east side of the school in 1937. Bishop Hartley dedicated the chapel to Mother of Mercy. A Milwaukee art company beautified the chapel with artwork in 1952.

A natatorium was built next to the multipurpose room in 1990. And in 1999, the Jack Ryan Training and Fitness Facility was built adjoining to the gym.

By the 1990s, since St. Charles was no longer a seminary and it did not house students, the dorm rooms were not necessary. The former art room on the fourth floor was used for housing purposes. In 1993, some of the dorm rooms were converted into a physics lab. In 1995, residence rooms for priests were also converted into classrooms because no priests lived in them, however an office and living quarters for Monsignor Thomas M. Bennett, a Social Studies teacher, were maintained on the main floor of the school until his death on September 7, 2008.

Construction on the $5.5 million Robert C. Walter Student Commons and the Student Services and Fine Arts Center, the largest addition to Saint Charles in its history, began in June 2005. The approximately convert|27000|sqft|m2|sing=on addition, which replaced the courtyard behind the school, was ready for graduation at the end of the following school year. The addition will house the convert|15000|sqft|m2|sing=on Robert C. Walter Student Commons Area, which will serve as a new cafeteria and will provide ample seating space for school and community functions. "The Walter Student Commons is being named in memory of Robert C. Walter, father of 1963 graduate Robert D. “Bob” Walter, honorary chairman and lead contributor to the current capital campaign being conducted to finance the new addition. Bob Walter and his ’63 classmate, architect Robert Corna of Cleveland, initiated the concept for the Commons nearly two years ago." Corna was the architect on the project, and based his designs off of a similar plan for Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, also an all-male school. Behind the Robert C. Walter Student Commons Area is the convert|12000|sqft|m2|sing=on Student Services & Fine Arts Center. The ground floor will anchor the north end of the atrium, and will house a new kitchen, sponsored by Donatos Pizza, and restrooms. The second floor will house offices for the guidance and counseling programs, campus ministry, and the school nurse. On the third floor is an extensive art room and gallery, with a kiln and mud rooms; and a music and choir room, with instrument storage and practice rooms; as well as offices for the respective instructors. The second and third floor connect to the original building at its rear stairwell, and to the Robert C. Walter Student Commons Area by a staircase.

Academics

St. Charles graduation requirements include: 4 years of religion class, English, foreign language, mathematics, and science; 3 years of social studies; and 1 year of fine arts, health, physical education. Some of the AP classes that are offered to juniors and seniors are AP Latin, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, English, and Calculus.

Saint Charles is one of the last schools to require students to take at least two years of Latin, a practice retained from the school's past as a seminary where four years of Latin and two years of Greek used to be mandatory.

Many students graduating from Saint Charles attend some of the premier college institutions in the country, including the University of Notre Dame, Harvard, Cornell University, Yale University, and The University of Pennsylvania. There is also a notably large number of students each year who are admitted to and attend the United States service academies.

In 2005, Saint Charles Preparatory was one of three schools in Central Ohio to have every sophomore pass every section of the new Ohio Graduation Test. (The state-wide public school pass rate was 64%.) In addition, the 2004-2005 class of 122 contained 11 National Merit semifinalists and 13 commended scholars, one of the highest percentages in Central Ohio.Fact|date=March 2007

Theatre

Since St. Charles is an all-male school, the theatre department has had to use different methods to incorporate the female roles of plays and musicals. Both prep school and seminary students performed the first plays at St. Charles in 1929 under the direction of Monsignor Joseph A. Cousins. Female roles were played by male students dressing up as women until 1971. It was then that Mrs. Teresa McLean (the school’s biology teacher) became the first woman to perform in a St. Charles play. The next year, female students from St. Joseph Academy and Bishop Watterson High School played female parts in a production. Ever since then, female roles for plays have been filled by open auditions from women at other Central Ohio schools. The current theater director is Mr. R.Douglas Montgomery.

Notable people

*Bishop James J. Hartley: He was the Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio from 1904 to 1944 who founded St. Charles. His 40 years as Bishop of Columbus are far more than anyone before or after. Under his tenure, the number of parishes with schools in Columbus went from 37 to 74. Also, he started what is now known as the "The Catholic Times", which had an office at St. Charles for a short period of time (Fabro, 16-17, 165).

List of principals and rectors

Alma Mater and Patronal Hymn

Alma Mater

Hail, Alma Mater dear.
Loyal Carolians here.
Thy fame spread far and near
O'er hill and dale;
Our voices raise to thee,
Singing their praise to thee
And happy days with thee,
Saint Charles, hail!

When student days are o'er
And classes meet no more,
When life has called the score:
Prosper or fail;
Still in the twilight gray,
As ages pass away,
Lift we our hearts to say;
Saint Charles, hail!

Patronal Hymn

O Saint Charles, our holy Father,
Mighty patron of us all!
In thine honor, lo! we gather,
Let thy kindly blessing fall.
Pray for us who name thee patron,
Hear thy sons who on thee call.

O Saint Charles, true guide to heaven,
Unto death our patron be.
When the clouds grow dark at even'
And God's way we fail to see,
Lift the weak, inspire the weary,
Bring us home to Christ with thee.

Athletic achievements

:"This is an incomplete list."

References

*Fabro, Louis V. "Saint Charles Borromeo Preparatory School: The First 75 Years of Excellence". United States: n.p., 2000.

"$5.5 Million Campus Construction Project Underway for the Robert C. Walter Student Commons and the Student Services and Fine Arts Center." Saint Charles Preparatory School, 2006. http://www.stcharlesprep.org/expansion/index.php

ee also

*List of high schools in Ohio

External links

* [http://www.stcharlesprep.org St. Charles Prep Official Website]
* [http://www.cdeducation.org Diocese of Columbus Education Website]
* [http://www.eteamz.com/scswim St. Charles Prep Swimming]
* [http://eteamz.active.com/saintcharlessoccer/ St. Charles Soccer]
*Geolinks-US-buildingscale|39.9692310|-82.9474030

]