Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School
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| Bishop O'Connell High School |
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| Established | 1957 |
| Type | Parochial Secondary |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| President | Barry Edward Breen |
| Principal | Richard J. Martin |
| Students | Approx. 1,440[1] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Location | Arlington County, Virginia USA |
| Oversight | Diocese of Arlington |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Navy Blue and Silver |
| Mascot | The Knights |
| Yearbook | The Shield |
| Newspaper | The Visor |
| Website | O'Connell High School (official) |
Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School (also known as "DJO"[2]) was founded in 1957 in Arlington County, Virginia. It was operated by the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, but has been under the direction of the Diocese of Arlington since 1974. The school is named for Bishop Denis J. O'Connell, a bishop of the Diocese of Richmond during the early 1900s.
It is a Catholic college preparatory school and is the only private high school in Arlington County. Though it is located in North Arlington, students come from all over the DC metro area including Maryland, Washington, D.C., and over six cities and counties of Virginia. Approximately 1,440 students are currently enrolled.
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[edit] Administration and Faculty
The School Administration is divided into two levels. The president of the school is responsible for fundraising, long-term campus goals and projects, and non-academic properties of the school. The principal is responsible for academics and day-to-day activities.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary Order of nuns assists lay teachers in instructing the students.
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[edit] Academics
98% of all graduates of Bishop O'Connell move on to college and 100% of students graduate on average.
[edit] Advanced Placement Program
These AP Courses are offered to students:[3]
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[edit] Honors Program
Honors classes are also offered in a variety of academic areas. These courses are offered at the honors level:[6]
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[edit] Activities
[edit] Athletics
Bishop O'Connell High School participates in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC). In this league, O'Connell participates in all major sports against other catholic high schools of the D.C. metro area. Historically, the school's athletic rival has been Paul VI Catholic High School, located in Fairfax. Bishop Ireton High School, located in Alexandria, is also one of O'Connell's athletic rivals.
[edit] Basketball
[edit] Boys Varsity Team
These are some statistics from the last five years of O'Connell Varsity Boys Basketball:[7]
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[edit] Notable Alumni
(References)[8]
- 2004:
- Ernie Lomax: now plays tight end for the Hampton University football team.
- Noah Rogers: now plays receiver for the Catholic University football team.
- Freddie Stanback: now plays forward for Loyola College.
- Jeremy Trimble: now plays as a wide receiver for the United States Military Academy football team.
- 2005:
- Marcus Ginyard: former guard/forward; now plays for the University of North Carolina (UNC).
- Bryant Majors: now plays guard for Marymount University.
- Dave Neal: now plays forward for at the University of Maryland.
- 2006:
- Adam Baumgartner: now plays for Johns Hopkins University.
- Wilbur Johnson: now plays for Gannon University.
- Rockwell Moody: now plays for St. Joseph's University.
- Tyler Young: currently serving his two year Mormon mission in San Francisco,California will play for Boise State University in 2008.
[edit] Football
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Eric Metcalf: University of Texas, Cleveland Browns
- Terrence Wilkins: University of Virginia, Indianapolis Colts
- Casey Crawford: University of Virginia, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
[edit] Soccer
[edit] Girls Varsity Soccer
The O'Connell Girls Varsity Soccer team held the record for being undefeated from (12) to (12). They were National Champions at the high school level in 2004.[citation needed]
[edit] Boys Varsity Soccer
The boys soccer team defeated the 19-0-1 DeMatha Stags on October 31, 2006 in the conference quarter-finals. The victory prevented DeMatha, who at one point this season was ranked number 1 in the nation, from winning their 4th straight WCAC title. This resulted in the defeat of DeMatha's 67 game winning streak. The team then lost to Paul VI 2-1 in the semi-final round of the WCAC tournament.[citation needed]
[edit] Notable Alumni
- John Arsala (1995):
- Played for Boston University (ranked #1 nationally by Soccer America at the time)[citation needed]
- After college, played professionally in Europe for Polonia Warsaw[citation needed]
- Currently lives in New York City
[edit] Swimming
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Kate Ziegler (2006):
- Won the 800 and 1500 long course meter freestyles at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montréal
- Set the American speed record for the 1650 freestyle[citation needed]
[edit] Clubs
O'Connell has over 60 student-operated clubs. Their focuses are generally academic, charitable, and common interest.
These clubs currently include: (listed alphabetically)[9]
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[edit] Charitable Events
[edit] Superdance
The O'Connell Superdance is an annual 12 hour dance-a-thon held at the school which raises money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. O’Connell began holding the Superdance in 1976 because students wanted to speed the discovery of a cure for cystic fibrosis (CF), a fatal disease of the lungs which had claimed the life of sophomore Brenda O’Donnell on April 14, 1975. Her sister Maura was a senior in 1976 and also had cystic fibrosis. Their brother, Sean, died of cystic fibrosis that same year.
Maura graduated and went on to nursing school at Marymount University, continuing to support the Superdance in hopes that a cure would be found. Her last Superdance was in 1978 when she came out of the hospital just for the event. In a speech delivered to the O’Connell community she said:
“All of you I know have dreams – dreams of college, of success, of love and happiness – dreams of the future. We with cystic fibrosis have dreams too. Your wonderful all-out efforts and work for this dance-a-thon may help make some of our dreams come true.”
Two months later, she too died of this disease.
Since 1989, when the CF gene was discovered, scientists have been writing a remarkable medical success story. CF researchers are quickly translating what they learn about the CF gene and CF cells in the laboratory, into promising new treatments. Based on their success, landmark gene therapy studies and clinical trials on new drug treatments are now underway. In the years that O’Connell has held the Superdance, the life expectancy of a CF patient has doubled. Over the past thirty years, O'Connell students have raised over $2,900,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for the disease. By investing in CF research, you are investing in the lives of those with the disease. Working together, we can give the children and young adults with CF the quality of life and the future they deserve.
Bishop Denis J. O'Connell's Superdance is the largest high school fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in the nation, and one of the largest high school fundraising events in the country.
[edit] Chunky Soup Drive
The Chunky Soup Drive is held annually throughout the month of October. Students have a month to collect as many cans of Chunky Soup as possible. At the end of the month, all cans are collected and donated to Christ House homeless shelter in Alexandria, Virginia. According to the school, this event yields over 8,000 cans of soup each year.[10] This year students collected the highest number of cans ever: over 12,600.[citation needed]
[edit] Media Exposure
The morning of May 7, 2002, on D.C. metro area shock jock Elliot Segal's radio program, DC101's "Elliot in the Morning" was conducting a contest. The winners of this contest would be cage dancers at an upcoming Kid Rock concert at George Mason University's Patriot Center. Wanting to be contestants, two sixteen-year-old O'Connell students, claiming to be eighteen, called the show. Instead of discussing the contest, the students, goaded by Elliot, discussed alleged sexual activity at O'Connell. [11] The students, who had used false names on air, were suspended the same day for their comments.[12] The principal addressed the student body over the PA system and criticized the immoral content of that morning's show. The following day (May 8th), Mr. Segal, angered by the students' suspension, personally insulted the principal on air, making lewd insinuations about his family. He also mocked the school's mission statement.[13]The two days of broadcasting were ruled indecent by the FCC. As a result, in October 2003, sixteen months after the incident, DC101's parent company Clear Channel Communications was fined $55,000. [14]
[edit] External links
- Bishop O'Connell High School (official site)
- Bishop O'Connell Virtual Tour
- DJO Alumni Website
- Superdance Official Website
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b Statistical information gathered from O'Connell's official site's O'Connell: History & Enrollment page.
- ^ "DJO" is an abbreviation for "Denis J. O'Connell."
- ^ Advanced placement course listings taken from Academics: AP Program on O'Connell's official site.
- ^ a b Only offered as a combined AP Physics C Electromagnetism and Mechanics class
- ^ a b Only offered as a combined Macro/Micro Economics class
- ^ Honors course listing found on individual department pages within O'Connell's Academics: Available Courses page.
- ^ Statistics taken from O'Connell Boys Basketball page.
- ^ Information about varsity basketball alumni status taken from O'Connell Boy's Basketball official site.
- ^ Club names/info taken from O'Connell Clubs Page
- ^ O'Connell Admissions Page
- ^ Atlantic Magazine Article on Elliot in the Morning [1]
- ^ FCC Transcript of Elliot in the Morning's offensive material from May 7th and 8th, 2002 [2]
- ^ Mission Statement: "Our mission is to provide students an education rooted in the life of Christ and to foster the pursuit of excellence in the whole person." (quoted from O'Connell Website)
- ^ FCC Announcement of Fine (Released October 2, 2003)
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