Belen Jesuit Preparatory School

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Established	1854
School type	Private
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic(Jesuit)
President and Principal	Reverend Marcelino Garcia, S.J.
Location	Miami, Florida, USA
Student Body	approximately 1,400 students (All male)
Grades	6-12
School Mascot	Wolverine
School Website	http://www.belenjesuit.org
Students to Teacher ratio	15:1*
*as of 2006

Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is a Roman Catholic high school in Miami, Florida. It was established in Cuba by the Jesuits in 1854, but moved to the United States after the communist government of Fidel Castro, himself an alumnus, took power. Its current principal is Father Marcelino Garcia.

Belen is one of four all-male schools in greater Miami-Dade, along with Mesivta School Of Greater Miami, Yeshiva Toras Chaim, and Christopher Columbus High School.

1 Timeline
2 Athletics
3 Noteworthy Alumni
4 External links

[edit] Timeline

For over a century and a half, from the island of Cuba to the United States, Belen Jesuit has survived and prospered.

March 2, 1854 - Her Majesty Isabella II of Spain issues a royal charter founding the "Colegio de Belén" (Belen School) in Havana, Cuba. Belen School begins its educational work in the building formerly occupied by the convent and convalescent hospital of Our Lady of Belen, hence the name of the school.
1925 - Sixty acres of new land and several buildings are donated to Belen School. The complex is later known as "The Palace of Education." As of 2005, "The Palace of Education" still stands in Havana, Cuba (Note: Google Earth is required to view link).
September 18, 1961 - Belen Jesuit School is established in the United States. The fourth floor of the Gesu Church in downtown Miami becomes the first site of Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. The faculty, like many other priests and religious, had been expelled from Cuba by the Communist government of Fidel Castro, an alumnus of the school. The school's property was ultimately taken over by the government.
October 22, 1962 - Belen Jesuit Preparatory School acquires its own building and moves to a new site on the corner of S.W. 8th Street and 7th Avenue in Miami. Rugged urban location and recent immigration of students' parents makes for most street-wise classes of alumni in school's history.
October 17, 1980 - Ground-breaking ceremony is held for a new building on a 30 acre-site located in west Dade County.
September 14, 1981 - The school year 1981-82 begins in the new facilities with an enrollment of 598 students.
1990 - 450th anniversary of the Institution of the Society of Jesus and 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
1992/93 - A language laboratory, two computer laboratories and four new classrooms are installed. The library is remodeled. A new track and a parking lot are added.
1994 - Belen Jesuit Preparatory School celebrates its 140th anniversary of founding of the school in Havana. The construction of the gymnasium starts.
1995 - The gymnasium is inaugurated. Two more classrooms are added. Computers are updated in the computer labs.
November 1996 - Belen Jesuit receives accreditation from SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools), a prestigious and recognized association devoted to recognizing elite institutions.
March 1997 - Construction of a new media center in the library begins. The media center will provide 30,000 volumes of audiovisual material and a computer resource center with 26 networked computers to access the Internet and CD-ROM libraries.
May 1997 - Ground breaking ceremony for a new wing that would provide a larger cafeteria, eight more classrooms, and a guest dining room.
January 1998 - Belen Jesuit inaugurates the new Vincam wing, providing a larger cafeteria, eight new classrooms, and a guest dining room.
2002 - Belen inaugurates the additions of Villa Javier, the Jesuit residence on campus, and the Raúl and Nidia Rodriguez Science Pavilion. Work is also completed on the new outdoor basketball courts and tennis courts.
2004 - Belen celebrates it's Sesquicentennial. Belen innaugurates the Ignatian Center for the Arts which includes new classrooms, a choir and orchestra practice room, a stagecraft workshop, an amphitheater, the Olga & Carlos Saladrigas art gallery, and the Ophelia & Juan Js. Roca theatre with a 662 patron capacity.
2006 - The Catholic School Honor Roll names Belen Jesuit as one of the top 50 Catholic high school in the U.S. again this year. Belen Jesuit was recognized in two categories, Academic Excellence and Civic Education. Belen Jesuit was also the only Florida school on the Honor Roll noted to have a highly selective admission policy.

[edit] Athletics

Belen fields teams in all major sports. Sports programs sponsored by the school: baseball, football, soccer, volleyball, basketball, golf, swimming, water polo, tennis, wrestling, crew (rowing), and many more. Frankie Ruiz helped replace long-time Cross Country coach Carlos Barquin. Ruiz, a full time marathon runner, has helped the Belen Wolverines triumph and maintain their tough position to always qualify for States. Richard Stuart has successfully led the football program for over 20 years; Belen won its first district title in 2006, with a win over Monsignor Pace. Belen will have four football players playing Ivy League football in the Fall of 2006-2007 (3 Princeton, 1 Dartmouth). The crew team has become one of the toughest teams in the school as of late and has improved in both size and efficiency due to the coaching of former head coaches Dawn Viyella and Adam Thorstad and new head coach Edgardo Carranza. Belen also has an excellent soccer team. In the last four years the team has seen itself reach the Regional finals twice and was District champion three out of the last five years. Belen recently renewed athletic competition with its longtime rival, Columbus. The schools resumed their basketball rivalry in 2003 after not playing for over 20 years. Belen won both the 2003 and 2004 games. The two schools also began a new tradition of a yearly football game. The 2006-2007 school year was met with great success by both the swimming team and cross country team at Belen Jesuit. Both teams won state titles in their respective divisions.

[edit] Noteworthy Alumni

Belen has produced many bureaucrats, professionals, and other influential members of society. These include:

Fidel Castro - Cuban Dictator
Roberto Goizueta - Former CEO of Coca-Cola; his foundation plays an important role at the school.
Humberto Hernandez - Former city commissioner.
Manny Diaz - Mayor of the City of Miami. Presides over an unprecedented economic boom, and helped lead the city out of junkbond status.
Joe Garcia - Former executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation, and leading Democratic consultant.
Raúl Esparza - Broadway actor.
Marcello Llorente - District 116 Representative for the Florida House.
Gaston Cantens - Former District 114 Representative for the Florida House.