Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland)

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Saint Ignatius High School
Image:sihs logo.gif
"Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam"; "Men for Others"
Location
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Information
Locale Urban
President Rev. John Libens, S.J. (Interim)
Principal Peter Corrigan
Students 1,415
Faculty 115
Type Jesuit, Private
Mascot Wildcat
Established 1886
Homepage www.ignatius.edu

Saint Ignatius High School is a private Roman Catholic Jesuit high school for young men located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school is renowned for its high standards of academic excellence, athletic program and its performing arts programs. Each year, nearly 100% of graduates go on to colleges and universities within one year of graduation.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Founded in 1886 by a group of German Jesuits from Buffalo, New York on the invitation of Bishop Richard Gilmour, the school was originally a six-year secondary school based on the German Gymnasium that was to be attended after the completion of six years of grammar school. Separate four-year high school and college programs were formed in 1902, with the college changing its name to John Carroll University in 1923 and moving out of the Cleveland location to neighboring University Heights, Ohio in 1935.

[edit] Campus

St. Ignatius High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Main Building completed in 1891
The Main Building completed in 1891
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Coordinates: 41°28′60″N 81°42′28″W / 41.48333, -81.70778Coordinates: 41°28′60″N 81°42′28″W / 41.48333, -81.70778
Built/Founded: 1888
Architect: Brother Wipfler
Architectural style(s): Gothic
Added to NRHP: January 21, 1974
NRHP Reference#: 74001451[2]
Governing body: Private

Saint Ignatius High School remains at its original location at 1911 West 30th Street to this day. The campus includes the original structure, now known as the Main Building, which was completed in 1891 and is now a designated Cleveland Historic Landmark.[3] On January 21, 1974, Saint Ignatius was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Other buildings are Loyola Hall (originally St. Mary of the Assumption Elementary School), Clavius Science Center, Saint Mary of the Assumption Chapel (named after a church that once was located on the current campus), Father Sullivan, S.J. Gymnasium, Carroll Gymnasium, Murphy Field House, Kyle Field, and the O'Donnell Athletic Complex, which houses Wasmer Field and Dale Gabor Track, and the Xavier Center, which is currently used by the band program. In addition, a $10.2 Million state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center will replace the Xavier Center to house all Performing Arts. A new $3.3 million state-of-the-art Cafeteria will replace the current student center, stage, senior lounge, and cooking areas. The food services opened in August 2006, and in August 2007 phase two completed the project with a renovated student center and a cafeteria with a broader selection than many college cafeterias.

Also, both St. Mary of the Assumption Chapel and the Murphy Field House were funded and overseen by Merlin Murphy, the man who founded and ran Murphy's Oil Soap until it was eventually bought by Palmolive.[4]

[edit] Service

The school shares its motto "Men for Others" (attributed to Father Pedro Arrupe, S.J.) with nearly every other Jesuit school,[5] and challenges its students to be "open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving, and committed to doing justice" in accordance with the expectations set forth by the school's "Graduate at Graduation" ("Grad at Grad") document.[5]

The school is located in the heart of the Ohio City neighborhood on the Near West Side of Cleveland, which it provides support to through community involvement programs like the Arrupe Neighborhood Partnership Program and the Saint Benedict Joseph Labre Ministry (a program in which faculty and students build relationships with the homeless through weekly visitation). The high school was the first in the country to institute a for-credit compulsory service called "Sophomore Service".[6] It also houses the St. Joseph of Arimethea Pallbearers Society, which sends upperclassmen to funerals of families who are unable to provide their own pallbearers.[7]

[edit] Fine arts program

In 1990, a fine arts program was added to the school's curriculum. This program is growing, and includes an award-winning chorus and a recently-formed a cappella singing group, the "Cat-o'-tonics". The chorus has received awards in competitions, and the "Cat-o'-tonics" were awarded National Runner-up in the 2006 National Championship of High School A Cappella.[citation needed] There are many musical opportunities including Pep Band, Stage Band, Ignatius Brass, Jazz Band, Liturgical Musicians, and others.[8] The marching band has performed the Script Cats Show for 20 consecutive years, and has won many awards and honors at music festivals abroad.

[edit] Alma mater

The alma maters of St. Ignatius and another Jesuit high school, St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, are identical except for the last two lines, which refer to the school name and colors.[9][10] The alma mater was composed in 1937 by the St. Ignatius High School band director, Jack Hearns Sr. St. Xavier High School received permission to use the version modified for their school in 1958.[11]

Our famed alma mater graces
Every shrine within our hearts
With her unforgotten faces
And the faith that she imparts
Years in passing cannot sever
Ties of new days from the old
We're Ignatius men forever
As we hail the blue and gold.[9]

[edit] St. Ignatius Fight Song

On Ignatius with your gold and blue
You're the best team that we ever knew
You've got what it takes to win this game
Honor to your name (RAH RAH RAH)
Fight you Wildcats of Ignatius High
(Opponent's name)'s team can bid this game goodbye
On the old beam now
You blue and gold team now
And fight to victory![9]

[edit] Notable alumni

See List of Alumni of Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland, Ohio)

[edit] OHSAA Division I State Championships

Saint Ignatius High School's sports teams have won Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division I State Championships in:

[edit] Other athletic achievements

  • Crew - Midwest Scholastic Rowing Championship - 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 />National Championships - Gold in Men's Junior 4+ 2004, Silver in Men's Lightweight 8+ in 2006[13]
  • St. Ignatius Wildcats named “High School Team of the 90s” by Student Sport Magazine.[14]
  • Appeared in the very first high school football game televised on ESPN.[citation needed]
  • Featured on the Team Cheerios box along with Saint Xavier High School.[15]
  • Saint Ignatius appeared on the USA Today Super 25 rankings list for best high school football programs 8 times through 2002, tying them for second place for the most number of appearances.[16]
  • Ranked #18 in "The Best High School Athletic Programs" in the U.S. by Sports Illustrated.[17]
  • Saint Ignatius has won a title in a record 9 different Boys' sports offered by the OHSAA, out of a possible 11. They have not won a title in Swimming (state runner-up twice), and Bowling (tournament just started in 2007).

[edit] The Holy War

A strong rivalry exists between St. Edward High School and St. Ignatius High School. The two schools are quite similar in that both are Catholic, college prep, all-boys schools on the west side of the Cleveland area. The schools are separated by only six miles. One of the main reasons for the rivalry is that the schools draw from the same student pool (e.g., boys from west side Catholic grade schools.) Because of this, when the students face-off in direct competition, they commonly are up against former grade school friends.

The schools both produce high quality athletic teams, combining for over 50 state titles in the last 30 years.[18] While the schools compete in virtually all sports annually, the main event is the football match up that draws upward of 13,000 fans.[19] In addition, basketball games between the two schools (commonly twice a year) sell out at the hosting school's gymnasium.

Several match-ups live in the lore of Cleveland high school sports. In 1993, the regular season football match-up was regarded as one of the greatest Cleveland football games, resulting in a 35-34 3OT win for St. Ignatius. While the schools are only six miles apart, in 1998 basketball regional lines were drawn along the Cleveland/Lakewood border and the two teams met in the Division I state championship, won by St. Edward.[20] This occurred again in 2008 when St. Edward defeated St. Ignatius 6-2 in the Division 1 Baseball state championship game.

[edit] Other extracurricular achievements

  • Ohio High School Speech League State Champions in Policy Debate 2001, 2004, 2006[21]
  • In 2005 the Cleveland chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network awarded its annual Activist Organization award to the student group UMOJA (United Men of Just Actions)[22]
  • In 2008 the Model United Nations team was awarded Top Overall Delegation at the 2008 Carnegie Mellon Model United Nations Conference.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Academic Excellence." Saint Ignatius High School Webpage. 11 Feb 2007 [1].
  2. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2008-04-15).
  3. ^ "Facilities." Saint Ignatius High School Webpage. 11 Feb 2007 [2].
  4. ^ (The Saint Ignatius Magazine, Issue 1 2006).
  5. ^ a b "Philosophy." Saint Ignatius High School Webpaghe. 11 Feb 2007 [3].
  6. ^ "Sophomore Service Program Homepage." Saint Ignatius High School Webpage. 11 Feb 2007 [4].
  7. ^ Smith, Robert L.. Student group eases burden at funerals." Plain Dealer Cleveland11 November 2005, late ed.
  8. ^ "Ignatius Band Program Homepage." Saint Ignatius High School Webpage. 11 Feb 2007 [5].
  9. ^ a b c St. Ignatius High School. Alma Mater & Fight Song. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
  10. ^ Class of 2005 Commencement (PDF) (2005-06-01). Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
  11. ^ St. Ignatius High School. "The making of the Saint Ignatius Alma Mater" (PDF), St. Ignatius Magazine, Fall 2004. Retrieved on 2007-04-28. 
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i [6] Ohio High School Athletic Association All-Time State Tournament Results
  13. ^ [7] Page on Athletic Achievements on Ignatius Website
  14. ^ [8] Football Records Page on Ignatius website
  15. ^ "News For And About Our Schools" (PDF), The JSEA Bulletin, Jesuit Secondary Education Association, November 1999, pp. 11. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. 
  16. ^ "All-Time Super 25, School by School", 2002-08-23. 
  17. ^ [9] Sports Illustrated website "The Best High School Athletic Programs"
  18. ^ Ohio High School Athletic Association. Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
  19. ^ "Ohio: Edmonds Runs Eagles Past St. Ignatius", 2006-10-17. Retrieved on 2007-07-24. 
  20. ^ "Boys Basketball D1 State Champs". Retrieved on 2007-07-24. 
  21. ^ [10] Announcement of Victory on Ignatius website
  22. ^ Gay People’s Chronicle - news update July 8, 2005

[edit] External links

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High Schools in the Diocese of Cleveland
Archbishop Hoban High School, Akron • Beaumont School, Cleveland Heights • Benedictine High School, Cleveland • Cleveland Central Catholic High School, Cleveland • Elyria Catholic High School, Elyria • Gilmour Academy, Gates Mills • Holy Name High School, Parma Heights • Lake Catholic High School, Mentor • Magnificat High School, Rocky River • Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School, Chardon • Our Lady of the Elms High School, Akron • Padua Franciscan High School, Parma • Regina High School, South Euclid • St. Edward High School, Lakewood • Saint Ignatius High School, Cleveland • St. Joseph Academy, Cleveland • St. Martin de Porres High School, Cleveland • St. Peter Chanel High School, Bedford • St. Vincent - St. Mary High School, Akron • Trinity High School, Garfield Heights • Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, Cleveland • Walsh Jesuit High School, Cuyahoga Falls
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Institutional Constituent Members

Arrupe Jesuit High School (CO) · Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA) · Bellarmine Preparatory School (WA) · Boston College High School (MA) · Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School (IN) · Brophy College Preparatory (AZ) · Canisius High School (NY) · Cheverus High School (ME) · Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola (PR) · Creighton Preparatory School (NE) · Cristo Rey High School of Sacramento (CA) · Cristo Rey Jesuit High School of Baltimore (MD) · Cristo Rey Jesuit High School of Chicago (IL) · Cristo Rey Jesuit High School - Twin Cities (MN) · De Smet Jesuit High School (MO) · Fairfield College Preparatory School (CT) · Fordham Preparatory School (NY) · Georgetown Preparatory School (MD) · Gonzaga College High School (DC) · Gonzaga Preparatory School (WA) · Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas (TX) · Jesuit High School of New Orleans (LA) · Jesuit High School of Portland (OR) · Jesuit High School of Sacramento (CA) · Jesuit High School of Tampa (FL) · Loyola Academy (IL) · Loyola Blakefield (MD) · Loyola High School of Detroit (MI) · Loyola High School of Los Angeles (CA) · Loyola School (NY) · Marquette University High School (WI) · McQuaid Jesuit High School (NY) · Red Cloud Indian School (SD) · Regis High School (NY) · Regis Jesuit High School (CO) · Rockhurst High School (MO) · St. Ignatius College Preparatory (CA) · St. Ignatius College Preparatory School (IL) · St. Ignatius High School (OH) · St. John's Jesuit High School and Academy (OH) · Saint Joseph's Preparatory School (PA) · Saint Louis University High School (MO) · St. Peter's Preparatory School (NJ) · St. Xavier High School (OH) · Scranton Preparatory School (PA) · Seattle Preparatory School (WA) · Strake Jesuit College Preparatory (TX) · University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy (MI) · Verbum Dei High School (CA) · Walsh Jesuit High School (OH) · Xavier High School of New York City (NY)

Institutional Associate Members

Belen Jesuit Preparatory School (Miami, FL) · Loyola High School of Montreal (QC, Canada) · Saint Bonaventure's College (NL, Canada) · St. John's College (Belize, BZ) · St. Paul's High School (MB, Canada) · Xavier High School of Micronesia (Chuuk, FSM)
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