Archbishop Rummel High School
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Archbishop Rummel High School is a Christian secondary school located in Metairie, a community in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The school is named after Archbishop Joseph Rummel, a former Archbishop in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
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[edit] Tradition
Rummel is a high school dedicated to educating young men in the Roman Catholic tradition; Rummel is owned by the Archdiocese of New Orleans and administered and staffed by lay and religious personnel.
Archbishop Rummel High School is accredited by the Department of Education of the State of Louisiana and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is nationally recognized as a Secondary School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education.
The school continues the tradition of the Christian Brothers who responded to the request of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 1962 to conduct the school. For a period of 31 years (1962 - 1993), the Christian Brothers provided administrators and faculty who brought into the school the 315-year tradition of St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, the founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, who was named patron of all teachers by Pope Pius XII on May 15, 1950.
Archbishop Rummel High School continues to incorporate that LaSallian philosophy of education with a strong commitment to the individual student. The school provides a well-balanced education, providing for the spiritual, intellectual, and physical development of its students. The faculty perceives its role as one of ministers of grace, touching hearts as well as minds.
The LaSallian tradition seeks to give students a Christian spirituality of frequently remembering God's holy presence, of seeing God's work in life's situations with the eyes of faith, and of directing one's life with a view to pleasing God. The school recognizes as its two founders and patrons -- Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel and Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle.
[edit] School's Mission
Archbishop Rummel High School has been a preeminent source of quality Catholic education for the young men of New Orleans and its surrounding communities for over 40 years. During that time Archbishop Rummel has been dedicated to providing educational experiences in a religious climate conducive to a high quality of living and learning that develops the intellectual, emotional, social, vocational, and spiritual competencies of each of its students.
As a Catholic, archdiocesan high school, Archbishop Rummel’s mission is to be an experience of the living Gospel while challenging students to reach their spiritual, academic and personal potential.
“The mission of Archbishop Rummel High School is to educate each student in a spirit of faith and of academic excellence according to Roman Catholic principles in the tradition of the Christian Brothers. As a caring, disciplined community, Archbishop Rummel nurtures each student and challenges him to recognize the dignity of his life and the lives of others and to develop and share, to the best of his ability, his unique talents."
[edit] School's Beginning
Opened on September 10, 1962, Archbishop Rummel High School was one of four archdiocesan Catholic high schools established for students of Jefferson Parish (County), a New Orleans suburb, as a result of an archdiocesan campaign. On that first day of class, 225 freshmen formed the charter class of the school. In its second year, with the admission of nine freshman classes, the school had an enrollment of almost 600 students. Additional freshman classes were added each year until the 1965-66 school year when the school was a complete high school with 1,100 students. The charter class of 222 was graduated on May 27, 1966. The school operated as a four year high school until 1981 when the Archdiocese of New Orleans gave permission for the school to begin an eighth grade program for the 1982-83 academic year.
The senior high school plant occupies one third of the campus and consists of five separate building adjoined by covered walkways. The remaining portion of the campus is structure-free for athletic programs and future development. The senior high campus is divided into the faculty office wing, the administration-library wing, and the classroom wings completing a quadrangle in the center of which is the school chapel. A senior wing was added in 1966 to accommodate the first senior class. Additionally, in 1985 the school purchased the former Stuart Prep property adjacent to the school to use for a junior high campus.
The school cafeteria and gymnasium are located on the senior high campus. In memory of the Nelson-Smyth family of Chicago, the gymnasium was dedicated in May 1963. A building program that saw the construction of the senior wing also included the music building, an athletic field house, and an addition to the faculty office wing. During the 1980-81 school year, the school enclosed the area under the senior wing to make a student mall and also added a weight room to the field house.
The Brothers of the Christian Schools (Christian Brothers) conducted Archbishop Rummel High School through June 1993, when they relinquished governance to the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Two Christian Brothers currently remain on staff for the school year. They and lay men and women comprise the administration, faculty, and staff of the school.
[edit] School Crest
The crest, or coat-of-arms, of Archbishop Rummel High School symbolizes the school in a fourfold manner:
In the upper left quadrant is the star of faith of the Christian Brothers. This star symbolizes the faith of the faculty in youth and the faith which they seek to foster in their students. Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel is symbolized in the upper right quadrant by a hunting horn from his own coat-of-arms.
Dominating the lower left quadrant is an open book, symbolic of the knowledge provided by Archbishop Rummel High School and the basis of all the education and culture available to the students.
The seal of the State of Louisiana completes the crest in the lower right quadrant. The pelican is the state bird of Louisiana. The bird, which legendarily gives its blood to sustain its young, symbolizes devotedness which should characterize the Archbishop Rummel student.Separating and joining the quadrant is the cross symbolizing religion, which keeps each endeavor of the school in its proper perspective and joins them all under its benevolent influence.
[edit] School Colors and Mascot
After the school colors (Columbia blue, scarlet red, and white) and the Raider mascot were established, the school commissioned famed New Orleans artist John Churchill Chase to sketch the then unnamed Archbishop Rummel Raider. But, in 1966, the Raiders were participants in a District Track meet when Ms. John Cressend, the mother of a senior track team member, suggested her son's name, Rufus, as an appropriate mascot name to then principal Brother John Fairfax, FSC. Brother John told Ms. Cressend that if her son won his upcoming mile race, the name of Archbishop Rummel's mascot would be "Rufus." Sporting a broken arm, senior Rufus Cressend won his race and the school's new mascot has been called "Rufus" ever since.
In 1978 the Archbishop Rummel student body had an election to name Rufus' horse. After reviewing hundreds of names, the students finally selected "Rumpus" as the name of Rufus' horse. The nickname "Super Ants" is sometimes associated with Archbishop Rummel Raider football. This nickname dates back to 1972 when a tiny group of Raiders defeated a heavily favored Chalmette Owl team by a 3-0 score. The Owl coach said at the time that the Raider defense was so thorough that it was like stepping into an ant pile.
[edit] Blue Ribbon Award
On September 28, 1989, Archbishop Rummel High School was recognized as a Secondary School of Excellence by President George Bush at ceremonies in Washington, D.C. Created by the Secretary of Education in 1982, the Blue Ribbon Recognition Program's purpose is to identify and honor America's outstanding public and private schools. To receive recognition, Archbishop Rummel was nominated by the Council for American Private Education and then passed a rigorous screening and two-day site visit. The school was then recommended to the Secretary of Education who presented the award to Archbishop Rummel representatives.
[edit] Raider Code of Pride
An Archbishop Rummel Raider strives to be a Christian gentlemen - one who takes to heart Jesus' command to love God and to love one's neighbor. He shows his commitment to this command by his actions: He is courteous to his fellow Raiders, respectful of his elders, and protective of his school and its property. He supports his commitment by word, gesture, and posture in such a way that he is a Temple of the Holy Spirit. His general behavior gives evidence of his pride in being a member of the Archbishop Rummel Family.
[edit] Academics
The Program of Studies at Archbishop Rummel High School is the result of the continuous work of the Curriculum Committee. It complies with the requirements of the Louisiana State Board of Education, the Louisiana Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and the general entrance requirements of universities and colleges. The Louisiana State Board of Education, the Office of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and the Archbishop Rummel Curriculum Committee, have approved these requirements.
The primary purpose of a Catholic high school like Archbishop Rummel is the faith development of its students. With this as its goal, the gospel values and teaching of faith are integrated throughout the school curricula and programs. The religion program, classroom instruction, prayer and worship opportunities, retreats, and service projects articulate the unique Catholic identity of the school in its faith development of the students, as well as that of the total school community. Therefore, it is essential that every student participate fully in the total program.
At Archbishop Rummel, the faculty members take great pride in educating the young men. A large percent of the teachers have acquired advanced degrees in their particular fields. They take the time to advance in their knowledge because they believe in the school and the need to offer its students the best possible learning experience. Archbishop Rummel High School, having an outstanding record as a college preparatory school, is nationally recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
In order to best meet the needs of students who are scheduled into courses in English, mathematics, foreign language, social studies, and science, students are assigned by the faculty to levels of ability called “tracks.” These tracks are entitled Advanced Honors, Honors, Academic, and Basic.
