Cistercian Preparatory School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cistercian Preparatory School is a Roman Catholic school for boys located in Irving, Texas, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas. Serving grades five through twelve (though previously having a 4th grade pre-form), the school has a population of about 350 boys. Each grade is assigned a priest or a dedicated teacher as a "Form Master," who follows the class over the years and is responsible for building a feeling of community.
The school's roots lie with a group of Cistercians who came to Texas in 1956 to help found the University of Dallas, located adjacent to what would become the Cistercian campus. Later that year, an uprising in communist Hungary allowed a group from Zirc Abbey in western Hungary to escape, and they joined their colleagues in Texas. The monks of Zirc had a long tradition of teaching in the abbey's college preparatory schools, so in 1962 they started Cistercian Preparatory School to continue their work in secondary education.
Contents |
[edit] Student body
Recent graduates have enrolled at the University of Dallas, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Stanford University, the University of Notre Dame, Duke University, Yale University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Vanderbilt University, Rice University, Georgetown University, the University of Oklahoma, Bard College, Johns Hopkins University, Pomona College, Carleton College, Davidson College,Washington & Lee University, the United States Military Academy at West Point, the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Naval Academy, Washington University in St. Louis, and others.
Over the last five years (Classes 2004-2008), nearly 76% of all students have been recognized as either National Merit Semifinalists or Commended students for their performance on the PSAT/NMSQT. For Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) taken their senior year, the Class of 2007 had an average score of 1422 (not including the Writing section), following a trend had the seniors scoring an average of between 1464 and 1422 on the national test since 2003.
[edit] Curriculum
All Cistercian students follow a schedule of eight-period days. In the Middle School, the classes required include Latin, Religion, English, English Lab, Computer, Art, Health, Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Earth Science, Life Science, and Physical Science (2 years), American History (2 years), World History, and Texas History. In the Upper School, the classes required include English (4 years), Moral Theology, Systematic Theology, Church History, American History, World History (2 years), Government, Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. In addition, an Upper School student must choose either Spanish or French for four years (though given a teacher and a petition with 10 signatures, any other language may be taken), either Physics II, Chemistry II, or Biology II for senior year, and one elective every semester (though in special cases it is allowed for a student to replace or shorten his lunch period in order to take more than one elective class).
[edit] Athletics
Students are encouraged to participate in sports in every season. Cistercian fields teams in eight varsity sports in three athletic seasons: football and cross country (fall); basketball, soccer, and swimming (winter); baseball, track & field, and tennis (spring). The school is a member of the Southwest Preparatory Conference, which hosts championship tournaments and meets at the end of every season.
School-sponsored sports are available to both Upper and Middle School students, beginning in the Third Form (7th grade). Students in Forms III and IV, and those not wishing to participate in organized sports or wanting to take advantage of the study hall given by only one athletics period, take a physical education class while their classmates are participating in athletics practices.
The school's mascot is the Hawk. Its colors are black and white.
[edit] Publications
Cistercian's literary and art magazine, Reflections, was conceived, written, and laid out by student editors and staff. Five hundred copies are printed each year, by Diebold Productions, Inc. The current Editors-in-Chief are Nick Rotundo (Class of 2009) and Michael Lawson (Class of 2009). For three years in a row Reflections has won the Columbia Scholastic Press Gold Crown Award, an award which only the top 8-14 magazines throughout the nation win.
[edit] Notable alumni
- James M. Moroney III, '74; Publisher/CEO, Dallas Morning News[citation needed]
- Hon. Will Ford Hartnett, '74; Rep. Dist. 114, Texas House of Representatives[citation needed]
- Hon. Carlos Lopez, '84; 116th Judicial Dist. Court, Dallas County, Texas[citation needed]
[edit] External links
| Southwest Preparatory Conference |
|---|
|
All Saints Episcopal School - Casady School - Cistercian Preparatory School - Episcopal School of Dallas - Episcopal High School |
