West Philadelphia Catholic High School

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West Philadelphia Catholic High School is a co-educational Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It's located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 45th and Chestnut Streets. West Catholic, as it is commonly referred to, is located in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia. It is not far away from the Drexel University campus, and is very close to the following three public schools: West Philadelphia High School, Overbrook High School, and Parkway West High School.

West Philadelphia Catholic School -

Motto:
United in Faith, Loyalty, Knowledge

Established:
Boys - 1916,
Girls - 1926,
Co-Ed - 1989

Colors: Blue, Gold, and White

Nicknames:
West Catholic, West, and Dub C

Mascot: Burr

Located:
4501 Chestnut St. Philadelphia, PA 19139

Contact Information:
215-386-2244

Website www.westcatholic.org

1 Mission Statement
2 Early Beginnings
3 The Brothers of the Christian Schools
4 Alma Mater
5 Academic Achievements
6 Major Athletic Achievements
7 Administration
8 School Trivia
9 Bibliography

[edit] Mission Statement

West Philadelphia Catholic High School is a Catholic Community of Academic Excellence in an urban setting open to all students. The school's academic, technological, and co-curricular programs help develop our diverse student body into young men and women of strong moral character prepared to accept the challenges of a dynamic, ever changing global society. We believe that education is a life-long process and that the school, parents, and students are partners in the moral and academic learning experience.

[edit] Early Beginnings

West Catholic started out in 1916 as West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys. The school was built as a response to the need for secondary Catholic education in West Philadelphia. The school was placed in the hands of the Society of Mary, commonly known as the Marianists brothers and priests. From 1916 until 1926, the Marianists headed the school community. In 1926, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools assumed the responsibility of the education and spiritual development of young men of West Catholic. To this day, the Christian Brothers continue to have a large influence in the West Catholic community and instill the Lasallian spirit of community, faith, and service for the advancement of others.

In September of 1927, as another response to the need for Catholic secondary education for young women, West Philadelphia Catholic Girls High School was created. The faculty was comprised of thirty-two religious nuns of six different orders and three laywomen. Each religious order brought a distinct educational style. Because of this, the young women were exposed to a variety of Catholic religious traditions.

While both schools thrived strongly through the 1950s, the changing economy of the surrounding neighborhoods caused enrollment to severely drop in both schools. This steady drop continued for thirty years and it then became obviously necessary that the two schools needed to be combined.

The co-educational West Philadelphia Catholic High School opened its doors on September 8, 1989. Today, they continue their

"tradition of excellence by fostering the intellectual, physical, and spiritual growth of hundreds of young men and women of various cultures and backgrounds."

[edit] The Brothers of the Christian Schools

The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, also known as the Christian Brothers, the Lasallian Brothers, the French Christian Brothers, or the De La Salle Brothers, is a Roman Catholic religious teaching order, founded by French Priest Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle.

De La Salle was a canon of the cathedral and came from a wealthy family. He dreamed of setting up free schools where the children of the working and poor class citizens could learn reading, writing and arithmetic and also receive religious instruction and other training appropriate for forming good Christians.

There are countless Christian Brothers that still today work in the school.

On another note, St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle is the school's Patron Saint.

[edit] Alma Mater

West Catholic Alma Mater

We're a new generation!
Born of long tradition!
Years of dedication!
To God and education!

Faith, knowledge, loyalty we hold
Shining in light...blue, white, and gold.
Our minds, our hearts, our bodies, too
Grow in this school where dreams come true!

Refrain
West Catholic High, West Catholic High
We sing your praises clear!
We're proud you're our Alma Mater
You're the "best", West Catholic High!

United yet diversified
Facing our future side by side
Growing, learning, moving ahead,
West Catholic, we will not forget. (Repeat Refrain)

[edit] Academic Achievements

Based on the school's

student focus and support; school organization and culture; challenging standards and curriculum; active teaching and learning; professional community; leadership and educational vitality; school, family, and community partnerships, and indicators of success,

the Blue Ribbon Schools program (in affiliation with the United States Department of Education) has awarded West Catholic the prestigious 'Blue Ribbon School of Excellence' recognition several times.

West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the Blue Ribbon Schools program in the academic year of 1983-1984 Co-Educational West Philadelphia Catholic High School was also named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the Blue Ribbon Schools program in the academic years of 1994-1996.

[edit] Major Athletic Achievements

West Catholic is a member of the Philadelphia Catholic League. In Football, it West Catholic is a part of the Blue Division. The Blue Division is comprised of schools with smaller enrollement than that of the schools in the Red Division. In Football, the League does not have an official League Champion, instead, they have 2 champions (having one from each division).

In the 2006 football season, varsity Head Coach Brian Fluck led his team to the Blue Division championship for the fourth straight time. The previous three had all resulted in losses to Archbishop Wood High School. It seemed as if the fourth time would have to be a charm, with many key players including junior transfers offensive lineman Earl Griffiths and defensive lineman Derrick Green helped the Burrs reach this Final Battle . The Burrs won their matchup against the Vikings on December 2, 2006. The Blue Division Championship plaque currently resides in the West Catholic main office.

West Catholic has won many football championships, which has resulted in the school's publicity on many forms of local sports media on a regular basis. The following is a listing of the championship wins, the year they were won, and the winning head coach:

1925: Tom Tracey

1932: Jocko McGarry

1940: Bob Dougherty

1941: Bob Dougherty

1943: Bob Dougherty

1944: Bob Dougherty

1945: Bill McCoy

1946: Bill McCoy

1951: Jack Shields

1962: Vince McAneney

1965: John McAneney

2006: Brian Fluck

West Catholic is currently second in the Catholic League's list of the Most Football Championships Won (behind Saint Joseph's Prep with 15)

In all other sports, West Catholic is in the Southern Division.

West Catholic has won many men's basketball championships, the following is a listing of the championships won, the year they were won, and the winning head coach:

1921: Brother Michael Quinlan

1931: Jocko McGarry

1938: Pat Conway

1949: Joe Langan

1952: Jim Usilton, Jr.

1953: Jim Usilton, Jr.

1955: Jim Usilton, Jr.

1959: Jack Devine

West Catholic is currently fourth in the Catholic League's list of Most Basketball Championships Won (with the first place leader being Roman Catholic High School with 27 titles).

[edit] Administration

West's administration is comprised of a president, principal, and several assistant principals. The following information is current as of the 2006-2007 academic year:

Brother Tim Ahern, F.S.C. - President

Sister Mary Bur, I.H.M. - Principal

Brother Michael Andrejko - Assistant Principal of Academic Affairs

Mr. John Jackson - Assistant Principal of Student Services

Ms. Mary DeMasi - Assistant Principal of Student Affairs

Mr. Brian Fluck - Head of Admissions Department

[edit] School Trivia

West Catholic is easily accessible via the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line, as it is only one block away from the 46th Street Station. It is also fairly located near the 31 and 64 SEPTA bus routes.

The school's Patroness is Mary, Mother of God.

West's school colors are blue, gold, and white.

The West Catholic mascot is a burr. The legend as to why this is dates back to the beginning years of West Catholic High School for Boys. Legend goes that all Catholic school students, mainly boys, wore similar clothing; thus it was hard to distinguish school from school. But, there were many burr trees lined up along Chestnut street, and the falling burrs got stuck on some of the West boys clothing as they walked to school. Therefore, many people could recognize West Catholic boys easily, just by looking at them and seeing burrs.

While West's mascot is a burr, their live mascot is a character called Burr-Man. He is a male in a costume flourished in vibrant cartoonish-shades of the school colors. He does not resemble a burr, but still, he is referred to as Burr-Man.

West's ethnicity percentage makes it very diverse among other Catholic schools in the Archdiocese:

Ethnicity

Black - 68.86%

White - 21.61%

Asian/Pacific Islander - 7.81%

Hispanic - 1.7%

American Indian/Alaskan Native - 0%

(Source NCES, 2003-2004)

West Catholic has Membership Association ties to the National Catholic Education Association (NCES).

The West Catholic Administration repeatedly denies any recognization, whatsoever, to an official 'Freshman Day', yet there are rumors and strong beliefs that this day does indeed exist.

West's principal Sister Mary Bur's name is the also the name of the school's mascot (but with different spelling), but despite popular belief, this name had no part in her partaking of her adminstrative position.

The school has four bell schedules (A, B, C, and D). All schedules except B result in a dismissal time of 2:24 in the afternoon.

The A schedule is the most common of them all. Mostly referred to as the 'Regular' schedule, (is the schedule with the longest periods), has an 18 minute homeroom and 8 periods at 44 minutes each.
The B schedule, also referred to as the 'Wednesday' schedule, results in a dismissal time of 1:44, having an 18 minute homeroom and 8 periods at 39 minutes each. The Wednesday schedule, hence the name, is used EVERY Wednesday throughout the year (except when standardized tests are being administered).
The other two schedules are the C (also called Short Homeroom Assembly Schedule) and the D (also called Long Homeroom Assembly). They are mostly used when assemblies are called. (While both of these schedules have shorter periods than both the A and B schedule, the C and D schedule are very rarely used.)
- In the C schedule, the assembly is held during a 42 minute homeroom, while the following 8 periods succeed as usual, but at only 41 minutes each.
- In the D schedule, (the schedule with the shortest periods) the assembly is held during a 66 minute homeroom, while the following 8 periods succeed as usual, but at only 38 minutes each.
On another note, sometimes Special Schedules are given to usually accomodate an assembly longer than 66 minutes. The schedule usually shortens each period's time, but dismissal is 2:24. Special Schedules are not usually set for Wednesdays. (Once again, Special Schedules are very scarcely used).

A prominent alumnus is Peter Boyle, an actor who is mostly known as Ray Romano's father on the hit TV show Everybody Loves Raymond. Boyle graduated with the Class of 1953. He is on the School Hall of Fame and his picture is on the Wall of Fame on the school's first floor.

There are currently 819 students attending West Catholic: