Providence High School (San Antonio)
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Providence High School is a Catholic, single-gender college preparatory high school located in downtown San Antonio, Texas. It is accredited by the Texas Catholic Conference Education Department and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of The College Board.
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[edit] Basic Facts
The name of the school's principal is Sister Antoinette Billeaud. Ann Bristol, a former principal, currently serves as the school's president. Providence students are known as "Provets", which is also the school's mascot. The official school colors are blue and white, and students wear uniforms with the exception of "Blue and White" days, which are subject to a dress code. Students run a yearbook and a school newspaper and organizations from the National Honor Society to S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) are present on campus.
[edit] History and Progress
Providence HS was established by the Congregation of Divine Providence as a girls' high school back in 1951, with a broad selection of courses. The school has evolved with time, trying out various types of schedules and eventually phasing out its home economics-based courses in exchange for more career-minded technology courses. The role of the CDP order has also changed with time. In 1991, Providence High School was incorporated, thus leaving the decision-making to a board of directors that includes both CDP sisters and lay people. In 2006, Sr. Antoinette was instated as principal, the most recent CDP sister to serve since Sr. Ramona Bezner in 2000.
The high school has also responded to the declining interest in Catholic education in the city, but in a different manner from other single-gender high schools such as Holy Cross or St. Anthony's. Instead of becoming a fully co-educational school, it has chosen instead to widen its enrollment to include 7th and 8th graders. Some courses taken by Providence HS students are co-ed, as a limited number of courses are shared with the neighboring boys' high school Central Catholic. There are also co-ed opportunities for Providence students who wish to take part in Central Catholic's Mighty Button Band and in the ROTC program; the latter is a recent development as the program was opened to Providence students in 2003.
[edit] Community
Providence HS fosters a sense of community at its school, involving its students' parents in long-standing traditions such as the Mother/Daughter Luncheon and the Father/Daughter Banquet, and encouraging its seniors to reach out to the school's fresh(wo)men via "big/little sister" events, among other events and activities.
Students can also elect to participate in various competitive athletic activities, from basketball to cross country to track & field and volleyball. Two of the more recent sports additions are tennis and golf. And Providence students who wish to be involved in spirit organizations can choose to cheer either for fellow Provets or for Central Catholic.
[edit] Alumnae
The school's alumnae have gone on to success in varying fields. Its graduates are businesswomen and politicians, artists and writers, scientists and doctors and a whole host of achievers and contributors to their respective communities. More famous alumnae include singer/songwriter Tish Hinojosa, local newspaper columnist Jeanne Jakle, and former local councilwoman Maria Antonietta Berriozabal.
