La Salle Institute
La Salle Institute (LSI) is an all-male Private, Catholic, college preparatory school operated by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, enrolling young men in grades six through twelve in North Greenbush, New York, USA. It is operated independent of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. The current principal is Brother Carl Malacalza.
History
La Salle Institute was founded in 1850 and was originally located in downtown Troy. The school was first charted by the New York State Board of Regents in 1891.[3] In the 1960s a modern facility was constructed on Williams Road near the boundary between the city of Troy and the town of North Greenbush. The new campus opened in September 1966. A substantial renovation and expansion was completed in 2001. La Salle Institute is located adjacent to the Hudson Valley Community College campus. La Salle Institute has twice been recognized by the United States Department of Education as a School of Educational Excellence. La Salle Institute is recognized by the Middle States Association Commission on Secondary Schools.
Military
La Salle's cadet battalion was first formed in 1891. Presently, all high school students at La Salle are enrolled in the Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) Program. The goal of the program at the Institute is not to prepare students to be soldiers nor facilitate recruitment, but to motivate the youths to be better citizens.[4] The JROTC program at La Salle has been distinguished as an "Honor Unit with Distinction" by the United States Department of the Army. This is the highest merit ranking a school can be given. It means that La Salle Institute scored above a 95 on the assessment by the Department of the Army that occurs every 3 years.
Currently, the highest cadet ranks available to cadets are Cadet Sergeant for Freshmen, Cadet Master Sergeant for Sophomores, Cadet Command Sergent Major for Juniors, and Cadet Colonel for Seniors. At the present time there are only one Cadet Sergeant who is a Freshman, one Cadet Master Sergeant who is a Sophomore, and one Cadet Colonel. The current Senior to be Cadet Colonel is Andrew Witkowski. The current Sophomore to hold the rank of Master Sergeant is Frederick III Bayer, who was also the first Freshman to be promoted to the rank of Cadet Sergeant. The current Freshman to be a Cadet Sergeant is Christopher Ribét, the second person to hold this rank as a Freshman.
The Commander of the O'Donovan drill team is c/COL Witkowski. The Commander of the McCormick drill team is c/LTC Hellmich. The Commander of the Color Guard is c/LTC Balli.
The Color Guard can be used to present the colors at various ceremonies and events, and they may be contacted through the school
Athletics
La Salle Institute competes in men's interscholastic baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, bowling, ice hockey, lacrosse, football, wrestling, soccer, tennis and track (indoor & outdoor). La Salle Institute also has an Alpine ski team and a ski/snowboard club.
The LSI varsity basketball team plays in the Big 10 in Class AA. They won the Section 2 Class A Basketball Championship in 2003.
The La Salle Institute 2008 varsity football team won the Big 10 this season, and plays for the Section II Class AA Championship Friday November 8 at Schenetady High School. They defeated Bethelhem and Saratoga to reach this stage in the playoffs. The head coach is Mr. Al Rapp, his assistants are Gary Lauver, Tim Maloney and Gerald Washington. In 2007 Marquis Terrell broke the La Salle record for most rushing yards in a season.
The La Salle Institute 2008 varsity soccer team won the Big 10 championship this season, and lost to Columbia High School, 4-2, in the first round of the Section II Class AA playoffs.
The La Salle Institute 2007-2008 varsity indoor track team finished 2nd (of 7) at the Big 10 Championships. First place finishes included David Nicol in the 1,000M, and Denis Hurley in the 3,200M. Other top finishers included Denis Hurley (2nd) in the 1,600M, David Nicol (3rd) in the 1,600M, James Doran (3rd) in the 3,200M, Chris Legare (2nd) in the 55H, Ethan Fleming (2nd) in the High Jump, Kyle Styczynski (2nd) in the Long Jump and Andrew Barada (2nd) in the Shot Put. On Saturday March 10, 2008 the LSI 4x1600m (4xmile) relay team of David Nicol, James Doran, Denis Hurley and Joe Kennedy placed 8th at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships at the New Balance Track and Field Center in New York City. They set a new school record in the event.
The La Salle Institute 2008 varsity baseball team was ranked #1 in the state during their 2008 season. They made it to the state semi-finals where they lost to eventual state champions the Mamaroneck Tigers 7-5 ending their season 27-1.
Band
The music department at is run by John Russell. There three major performing ensembles: The Cadet Blues Jazz Band, the Symphonic Band and the Middle School Band (a.k.a The Blue Eagles Junior Jazz Band). The Cadet Blues Jazz Band have won awards at the New Hartford and Oneida Jazz Festivals. In past years they have also traveled to Berklee College of Musical High School Jazz Festival and participated in the Columbus Day Parade in New York City.
Notable Awards
- 2003 Second Place at Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival, Boston, MA
- 2008 Gold Award at the Fonda-Fultonville Jazz Festival, Fonda, NY
- 2008 Gold Award at the Oneida Jazz Festival, Oneida, NY
Activities
- The Debate Club was co-founded in the Fall of 2007 by Lucas Bifera and Jordan Lavelle. This club, which is moderated by Mr. Hayes, meets weekly and is open to all students in grades 9 through 12. The Debate Club serves as an open forum for debate and discussion about current events, and issues that affect our lives. New members are always welcome.
- The McCormick and O'Donovan drill teams are the two La Salle Institute drill teams. Led by 1SG's Smith and Peters, together they perform both school duties as well as competitions around the state and country. They are noted by their red cords and usually are the highest ranking students. Every day before school, both drill teams practice their drill routines.
- The Color Guard are members of the student body who present the colors at sporting events and Masses. Members are noted by their white cords.
- The Cadet is La Salle's student newspaper. Moderated by John Conrad, it is written and published by the media homeroom. The newspaper is distributed to all homerooms on a monthly basis, with the exception of one month due to the deletion of the newspaper from the computers witch led to better security. The Cadet talks about sports, events, music, teacher interviews and a debate section. All students in grades six-through-twelve may contribute to the newspaper.
- The Student Senate representatives are elected at the beginning of each year. There are senators representing grades seven-through-twelve. The moderator of the Student Senate is Dr. Libbey-Landis. The Student Senate runs fundraisers, intramural sports and dances among other things at La Salle, and is very involved with service projects.
- The Drama Club at La Salle is run by Virginia Maffia-Tobler and puts on an annual performance in the spring. They have also had coffee house style performances in past falls. Students in grades 9-12, along with girls from regional high schools have put on productions such as Spoon River Anthology, ""Dial M for Murder, and Sherlock Holmes and The Case of the Sign of Four Students who do not want to perform can still participate by being a member of the production crew which help with scenery, set-tp up, cleaning, curtain and lighting.
- St. Mary's School in Kenya La Salle Institute along with other Lasallian schools across the country support and fund the St. Mary's School in Nyeri, Kenya. LSI holds clothing drives and a magazine drive to support the school in Kenya. La Salle Institute is the largest contributor to the St. Mary's School out of all Lasallian schools that donate. All the money raised from yearly magazine drive in February goes to support the school. La Salle is the only school/group participating the Reading at Home Fund-raising Program that donates all the money to a charitable cause outside of the school/group. Last year over $7,000 was raised. LSI also collects new or gently used clothing with a La Salle imprint/design on it for the children at St. Mary's. This year more than 10 boxes of clothing were sent.
Notable alumni
The following is an incomplete list of notable La Salle Institute alumni:
- Dr. Joseph J. Bulmer: Nuclear engineer and President of Hudson Valley Community College from 1979 to 1996.[5]
- William L. Carley (1930): Mayor of Troy, NY from 1984 to 1985.[6]
- Robert D. Carlson, P.E.: Mayor of Watervliet, New York from 1996[7] until 2007.[8]
- Pat M. Casale: New York State Assemblyman for the 108th Assembly District from 1992 until 2006.[9]
- Dr. Peter J. Cayan (1947): President of SUNY Institute of Technology from 1982 until 2002; the school's library now bears his name. He was president of North Country Community College from 1976 until 1982.[10] Currently he is a member of La Salle's Board of Trustees.
- Robert T. Coonrod (1962)[11]: President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) from 1997 to 2005.[12]
- James V. Coffey (1896): Appointed as a Justice for the New York State Supreme Court in 1925.[13]
- Bishop Howard J. Hubbard (1956): Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany from 1977 to the present.[14]
- Guy Hebert: Hockey goalie, he played for 10 years in the National Hockey League and Team USA, including the 1997 NHL All-Star Game.
- Bishop Elias Manning (1956): Bishop of Valença, Brazil.[14]
- Michael R. McNulty[15]: Member of the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 2009. Represented the 21st Congressional District of New York.
- Dr. Martin E. Sullivan: Director of the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. Former Director of the New York State Museum.[16]
- Scott Sicko (born January 30, 1988 in Albany, New York) is an American football tight end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at New Hampshire, and played high school football at Lasalle Institute. Sicko made 70 receptions as a tight end for 1,449 yards and 25 touchdowns his first year there. He also played defensive end, recording 103 tackles and 14.5 sacks his senior year. He led his team to a state Section 2 Class AA championship in 2005. He was named second team all-state at defensive end.
See also
References
- ^ "La Salle Institute". Private School Review. http://www.privateschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/19321. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- ^ MSA-CSS. "MSA-Commission on Secondary Schools". http://www.css-msa.org/search.php/. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- ^ "About Us: History". La Salle Institute. Archived from the original on 2008-06-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20080602063042/http://www.lasalleinstitute.org/aboutus/history.html. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- ^ "Army JROTC Program". La Salle Institute. Archived from the original on 2008-05-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20080510191449/http://www.lasalleinstitute.org/academics/jrotc/index.html. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- ^ "Statement from Hudson Valley Community College President Andrew J. Matonak on Dr. Joseph J. Bulmer's Death" (Press release). Hudson Valley Community College. 2006-10-06. https://www.hvcc.edu/news_events/newsstory.php?id=4428. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- ^ "Carley, William L.". Albany Times Union. Oct. 9, 1999. pp. B12.
- ^ Gardinier, Bob (Oct 6, 1996). "Watervliet Must Hold Mayoral Election Nov. 5". Albany Times Union. pp. C1.
- ^ Vielkind, Jimmy (Sept 19, 2007). "Councilman ousts mayor in Watervliet contest". Albany Times Union. pp. A6.
- ^ Odato, James (May 24, 2006). "Casale says he won't run for re-election; Assembly Republican is fifth member of minority party to say he's leaving". Albany Times Union. pp. B1.
- ^ https://ssl.sunyit.edu/webfiles/gala_may-2008_invitation1210803451.pdf
- ^ McGuire, Mark (Nov. 14, 2001). "Groundbreaking for Digital Facility in Albany, N.Y., Area Ushers In New Era". Albany Times Union. pp. E1.
- ^ http://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/Member_Biographies_A-D.html
- ^ "Ex-Justice Coffey Dies on Auto Trip". Special to the New York Times. Apr 25, 1937. pp. 42.
- ^ a b "La Salle Institute Homecoming Weekend 2006: Reunion Event Highlights" (PDF). The Alumni Cadet. La Salle Institute. Summer/Fall 2006. http://www.lasalleinstitute.org/documents/pdf/AlumniCadetFinalSummer2006.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- ^ Scruton, Bruce (Oct 20, 1989). "LaSalle Institute to Induct 4 into its Hall of Fame". Albany Times Union. pp. B7.
- ^ http://www.npg.si.edu/inform/sullivan.htm
External links