J.K. Mullen High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
J.K. Mullen High School
Image:Signum_Fidei.jpg
“Care and Vigilance”
Established 1931
School type Private, Catholic
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Principal Greg Gotchey
Location Denver, CO, USA
Campus Suburban
39 acres
Enrollment 1010
Faculty 84
Student:teacher
ratio		 17:1
Athletics 23 sports
Color(s) Blue and Gold
Mascot The Mustangs
Homepage [1]

J.K. Mullen High School is a Catholic High School in Denver, Colorado administered by the Brothers of the Christian Schools.

Contents

[edit] History

Mullen High School is named for John K. Mullen, a native Irishman and philanthropist who founded the Colorado Milling and Elevator Company. In 1928--working with Bishop Henry Tihen--Mullen opened negotiations with the Christian Brothers of the New Orleans/Santa Fe province with the intent of establishing an orphanage for teenage boys. Unfortunately, Mullen died before he could accomplish the project, but his daughters and their husbands assumed his plans. They purchased the Shirley Dairy Farm and opened the "J.K. Mullen Home for Boys" in 1931 with eighteen boys and three Christian Brothers.

Since its opening, Mullen has weathered four significantly different eras:

  • From 1931 to 1950, the school was conducted for orphans only, and the boys worked the farm and attended school.
  • From 1950 to 1965, paying boarders and day students were added, and the school’s name was changed to J.K. Mullen High School.
  • Starting in 1966, the last of the orphans graduated and the school enhanced its college preparatory curriculum.
  • And in 1989 Mullen “went co-ed” as female students were accepted for admission.

In the early years of the school, the entire administration and most of the faculty were Christian Brothers. Today, the school is conducted almost entirely by lay people. Nevertheless, the Christian Brothers have passed on their Lasallian values, which were established by St. John Baptist de la Salle in 1680.

[edit] Academics

Mullen's academic year follows the trimester system: five 70-minute classes a day, 15 classes per year. This provides for both the school’s solid core of college prep, honors, and AP courses and a selection of over 130 sections of challenging academic electives. The result is a curriculum that is both rigorous and comprehensive, suited to meet the many needs of the school's diverse community of learners. In addition, all students select and complete their own community service project. Since 1983, Mullen students have logged over 200,000 hours of service to the people of Denver.

[edit] Athletics

Mullen is a member of the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) and the 5A Centennial League. Since 1989, the school’s young men’s and young women’s teams have brought home 33 league and 51 state championships in 15 different sports. Recent state championships include 5A football in 2004, 4A girls' and 5A boys' basketball in 2006, and hockey in 2006.

[edit] Clubs

Mullen offers a wide variety of clubs and organizations. Over 90% of students participate in at least one co-curricular activity throughout the year. Some of these include:

[edit] Speech and Debate

Mullen Speech and Debate participates in the CHSAA Large School Division State Tournament. Mullen is also a Charter Member of the National Forensics League and participates in all of its sponsored activities. In addition, the school also attends numerous invitational meets and sponsors six tournaments during the school year. Frank Sferra has been a key figurehead in Mullen Speech and Debate for over 40 years. Mr. Sferra is a Seven-Diamond National Forensics League coach and is an inductee to the CHSAA Hall of Fame. While Mr. Sferra continues to teach speech classes at Mullen, he is no longer the primary coach.

[edit] Performing Arts

Many students enjoy participating in Mullen's Performing Arts department. The school's "cafe-chape-torium" (so named due to its function as the cafeteria, school chapel and auditorium), the Rilko Center, serves as the venue for all of Mullen's theatrical and choral performances.

The Department of Visual and Performing Arts is proud to announce the addition of Mullen Symphonic Orchestra (MSO) in the 2007-2008 school year.

[edit] Choral Arts

Mullen Singers is a non-audition ensemble that is open to students on all levels. Members learn and perform a variety of both traditional and contemporary styles of choral music at numerous venues throughout the year, including several formal concerts. In addition to the annual performance opportunities, students are encouraged to expand their musicianship abilities through the use of music theory, sight-reading, and private voice instruction. The needs of the individual student are addressed during class through a variety of means including individual vocal coaching, group work, the preparation of solos, and small ensemble singing. Students enrolled in Mullen Singers also spend one term working as part of a men's ensemble - Varsity Singers - or as part of Women's Chorus.

Singers at Mullen are not limited to the Denver metro area or the state of Colorado. In March 2006, Mullen Singers performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In February 2007, they performed as part of a nationally selected festival chorus at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver. In June 2008, Mullen Singers will be performing by invitation for the 2008 Summer Olympic festival in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, China.

[edit] Theatre

Members of Mullen Theatre have the opportunity to particiapte in several major dramatic productions throughout the year, either as performers or in technical production areas. For the 2006-2007 season, Mullen produced Dickens' A Christmas Carol in the fall and will produce Wizard of Oz in the spring as well as several one-act performances in the winter. Other recent productions include The Sound of Music (Spring 2006), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Fall 2005), The Miracle Worker (Fall 2004), The Fantasticks (Spring 2005), and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Spring 2004). Mullen Theatre also presents an annual series of student-directed one act plays, usually in February. In theater, Mullen students find a chance to distinguish themselves from the "Mullen is just a sports school" stereotype. They come together to show that Mullen is a school for everyone, no matter what your interests.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../j/2E/k/J.K._Mullen_High_School_c6ff.html"