Kellenberg Memorial High School

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Kellenberg Memorial High School
One Heart, One Mind
Location
Uniondale, New York, USA
Information
Religion	Roman Catholic
President	Fr. Phillip Eichner, S.M.
Enrollment	2550 [1]
Faculty	124 [2]
Average class size	Approx 500 ea. year = 1987
Type	Parochial
Campus	Suburban
Mascot	Firebird
Color(s)	Blue and Gold
Established	1987
Homepage	kellenberg.org

Kellenberg Memorial High School is a private Roman Catholic high school in Uniondale, Long Island, New York. The second Marianist school on Long Island, Kellenberg prides itself on high academic standards and a strong focus on faith.

Contents 1 History 2 Campus 3 Students and faculty 4 A Typical Day 5 Academics 6 Co-curricular and extracurricular activities 7 Controversies 7.1 Faculty 7.2 School events 8 External links 9 Notes and references

[edit] History

Named after the Most Reverend Walter P. Kellenberg, the first bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the high school was founded by Fr. Philip Eichner, S.M., then President of Chaminade High School in Mineola, and the Marianists in 1987. The Diocese of Rockville Centre had recently consolidated St. Agnes Cathedral High School and Maria Regina Diocesan High School, but was still having financial difficulties. Therefore, the Marianists agreed to assume responsibility for a second Long Island high school, and they took over the building where Maria Regina was originally housed. The school building was built in 1966. Kellenberg Memorial is part of the Providence of Meribah, which currently incorporates Kellenberg, Chaminade and St. Martin De Porres Marianist School.

[edit] Campus

The north entrance of the school features a mural of the Holy Family, including an unusual depiction of Jesus as a teenager, designed by artist Yan Rieger in 1997, in honor of the school's tenth anniversary. Students and Marianists assisted the artist and his wife with the execution of the mural. ^[3] Kellenberg Memorial has four athletic fields, baseball, football, softball etc., each are separately named after the one of the four gospel writers.

[edit] Students and faculty

As of January 2007, Kellenberg students numbered almost 2500, including the middle schoolers in the Latin School. Sixteen percent of the students were black. The school's faculty includes 124 members , including about 12 Marianist priests and brothers. Out of 160 names, 124 different individuals are listed, including 12 members of the Society of Mary and two under the name Mr Kenneth Conrade (Jr & Sr). Excludes private lesson teachers.</ref> Many of Kellenberg's faculty members are alumni.

[edit] A Typical Day

The official homeroom bell rings at 8:10 am. Students report to their homerooms to watch a prayer video, say the pledge of allegiance, and watch the morning announcements on the overhead. After that the academic day begins. A student may have at least one study hall a day whether or not he or she is doing band, orchestra, S.M.A.R.T., or a varsity sport. Lunch periods run from period 04 to period 07. At 12:00 pm the school stops everything and says The Angelus prayer. The day ends at officially 2:50 after the Three o'clock prayer is said as well as the afternoon announcements. The early buses depart at about 3:15, and the late buses depart between 5:00 and 5:30.

[edit] Academics

The high school's curriculum includes three programs: Honors, Academic I and Academic II. Students on all three tracks take four years of classical education courses in English, Math, (Catholic) Religion, Social Studies, and Science. Students in the Honors track take 4 years of foreign language (Latin, French, or Spanish). Students on the Academic I track take three years of a foreign language and an English Composition course in their fourth year, while Academic II students take English Skills courses in place of a language for three years and English Composition in their fourth year. In Freshman year, the students take Chorus classes; Sophomores take a Health class (which encompasses a variety of topics ranging from personal hygiene to sexual education); Junior year students take an introductory course of Music; Seniors take an Art class, though there is the option to interview for a more advanced art class, Portfolio Prep. In both Freshman and Sophomore years, the students take tae kwon do in place of a general physical education class. Students in the Latin School take Latin along with other liberal arts subjects and the classic courses.^[4] Kellenberg Memorial has no Advanced Placement courses.

The high school is a CHSAA member and belongs to the New York State Association of Independent Schools. It is also registered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York and accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.^[5]

[edit] Co-curricular and extracurricular activities

In the Marianist tradition, many students join sodality groups to mutually reinforce their Catholic faith. The groups meet weekly and participate in various religious activities. The school also operates Emmanuel, the Marianist Retreat House, a facility devoted to students' spiritual formation. Students attend a series of retreats during their time at the school.^[6]

A major cocurricular focus is music; activities in this area include Band (four levels), Chorus (four levels), Fiddle Club, Jazz Band, the Firebird Swing Jazz Choir, Orchestra, Pit Band, and Jubilee Choir, Gregorian Consortium (or as the students call it St. Greg's). Publications include the yearbook (Blue and Gold), literary magazine (Renaissance), newspaper (Phoenix), and freshman newspaper.^[7]

Kellenberg also has a nationally ranked Academic Quiz Bowl team, as well as a Science Olympiad team, which has qualified for the New York State Science Olympiad Competition for the past 12 years.{{Fact|date=November 2007}

A major activity for female students at Kellenberg is the Blue and Gold sports night. The students who participate are divided into two teams, a blue team and a gold team. The competition takes place on one night in early May.

[edit] Controversies

Kellenberg has been involved in several controversial incidents.

[edit] Faculty

There have been two separate criminal incidents involving Kellenberg faculty members. On April 4, 2003, English and Chorus teacher Matthew Maiello, who himself graduated from Kellenberg in 1991, was arrested in the Kellenberg parking lot. He was charged with sexually abusing teenagers whom he met through his work as youth ministry director at St. Raphael's Roman Catholic Church in East Meadow between 1999 and 2001.^[8] Maiello was later convicted and found guilty of raping and sodomizing two 15-year-old girls, one 16-year-old girl and one 16-year-old boy. He served two years in a state prison and was released on March 29, 2005.^[9]

On January 26, 2007, Miriam Crujeiras, a Spanish teacher, was arrested and charged with grand larceny, identity theft, and possession of stolen property. The arrest came after a Kellenberg student reported a credit card stolen on December 21, 2006. Nassau County Police Department Detective Sgt. Michael Williams said Crujeiras used the student's credit card to buy more than $450 worth of shirts, and one jacket at Macy's in Roosevelt Field Mall.^[10][11]

[edit] School events

Kellenberg administrators have twice eliminated activities that they considered "no longer commensurate with the goals of a Christian education".^[12]

In 2003, Kellenberg abolished the school's hockey team, reasoning that hockey "kept degenerating into physical mayhem".

In 2005, the school received national attention when the principal, Brother Kenneth Hoagland, cancelled the Senior Prom. In a letter from late March 2005, he cited booze cruises sponsored by parents, cocktail parties, and the film American Pie as examples of "adolescent culture being formed and led by the media". The school received national attention from ABC ^[13], CNN, Fox News, MTV, VH1, The New York Times, and Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.

[edit] External links

• One of the letters about the prom cancellations
• [http://kellenberg.org/Resources/PDF%20Files/prom-march.pdf Another one of the letters

[edit] Notes and references