| Santa Margarita Catholic High School | |
|---|---|
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Caritas Christi
Love of Christ
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| Address | |
| 22062 Antonio Parkway Rancho Santa Margarita, California, 92688 United States |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private, Coeducational |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Patron saint(s) | St. Margaret Mary Alacoque |
| Established | 1987 |
| Authority | The Diocese of Orange |
| President | Paul Carey |
| Principal | Ray Dunne |
| Asst. Principal | Mary Beth Dougherty; Tom Smith |
| Chaplain | Reverend John B. Weling |
| Faculty | 117 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1,550 (2010-2011) |
| Average class size | 395 |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Campus size | 42 acres (170,000 m2) |
| Color(s) | Blue & Gold |
| Fight song | Notre Dame Victory March |
| Athletics conference | CIF-SS:PAC5:Trinity League |
| Mascot | Eagle |
| Team name | Eagles |
| Accreditation(s) | Western Association of Schools and Colleges[1] |
| Average SAT scores | 540 (Critical Reading) 550 (Math) 550 (Writing) |
| Average ACT scores | 24.8 (English) 24.4 (Math) 25.6 (Reading) 24.0 (Science Reasoning) 24.6 (Composite) |
| Newspaper | 'The Eagle Eye [2] |
| Yearbook | 'The Talon' |
| School fees | $400 |
| Tuition | $10,950 Registered Catholic, $12,055 Non Catholic (2011-2012) |
| Vice President | Lucretia Dominguez; Juliette Ugartechea |
| Website | http://www.smhs.org |
Santa Margarita Catholic High School (abbreviated as SMCHS) is a coeducational preparatory Roman Catholic high school located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, United States. SMCHS is owned and operated by the Diocese of Orange,[3] and was opened in 1987 under the direction of the Bishop of Orange. Although it follows the Catholic tradition, admission is open to students of all faiths. As of the fall 2010 semester, 1,573 students were enrolled in grades 9 through 12. SMCHS opened in the fall of 1987, the first Catholic high school to serve South Orange County. Its 42-acre (170,000 m2) campus is adjacent to the San Francisco Solano parish church. The League of Philanthropists oversaw the founding and worked to make the school a proper image of the projected view. Prominent features include a chapel with a bell tower and chimes, and the Von der Ahe Pavilion. Other facilities include a library/media center, four academic buildings, an administration building, a gymnasium, athletic fields, an aquatics center, and tennis courts. Santa Margarita Catholic High School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. SMCHS is also an International Baccalaureate World School, and it offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams. SMCHS also offers a comprehensive Auxiliary Studies Program (ASP) to help students who learn differently.[4] Recently, the Class of 2010 earned $19 million in scholarship offers.[5]
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The Eagle Athletic Center opened in May 2010.[6] The center is the first LEED-certified building in the Diocese of Orange and in Rancho Santa Margarita. In August 2011 the school openend its new $10.3 million 2-story, LEED-certified academic building, that houses a permenent 3,700 square foot permenent televison studio, new counseling offices and ASP classrooms, and a second story completely devoted to World Lanuage classrooms. A "Talon Theatre" is planned that would replace the "Eagle Dome" that is currently used for talent productions.
Admission to Santa Margarita Catholic High School is based on academic transcripts, activities, and the High School Placement Test. The results of the exam are used to help place students in the most appropriate classes for their freshman year.[7][8] The admissions process includes: the application process, review of academic transcripts, review of standardized testing results, recommendation letters from the students' Math teacher, English Teacher, and Principal/School Counselor, and participation in activities. Prospective Students are encouraged to shadow a current SMCHS student. Incoming freshman students spend the day at Santa Margarita with a current SMCHS freshman with similar interests.
Santa Margarita Catholic High School offers awards in the form of financial assistance and scholarships – these are awards that do not have to be repaid. Santa Margarita awards financial assistance and privately funded scholarships to students based on need, academic excellence, leadership, service, talent and other criteria. Financial assistance, combined with SMCHS scholarships can provide up to 50% of the cost of tuition at SMCHS.
A variety of courses are offered to students, which gives each student the opportunity to take courses fit to his/her individual strengths.[9] SMCHS offers numerous Honors courses, Advanced Placement courses, an International Baccalaureate program, an Interdisciplinary Triad Program, and an Auxiliary Studies Program for students with mild learning differences. Along with this curriculum, SMCHS also offers a Model United Nations (MUN) [10] program as part of the Honors History department and an Arts and Dance program that encompasses various branches of the performing arts and art classes.[11]
The spiritual aspect of Santa Margarita is developed within students through religious education classes, school wide masses, and various retreats throughout the year. The retreat experience culminates with Kairos, a retreat specifically for seniors. Each student also works to fulfill Christian Service projects each year which are undertaken in the students’ religion classes.[12]
SMCHS's graduation requirements prepares students to be involved citizens of the world. Students must successfully complete a minimum of 270 credits of course work to graduate from SMCHS. Included within credits completed satisfactorily are the following course requirements:[13]
Students are expected to meet all Christian Service obligations before graduation. SMCHS provides students with the opportunity to be involved with different Campus Ministry activities. There are grade level retreats and campus retreats, Kairos, Peer Ministry, and several school wide masses throughout the year.[14]
SMCHS has several extra-curricular activities on campus.[15] These activities include ASB/Student Council, Color Guard, Drama Productions, Mock Trial, and Pep Squad.
Co-curricular activities:Choir, Dance Team, Debate and Argument, Eagle Regiment (Band), Eagle Television (ETV Morning Announcements), Journalism (The Eagle Eye Newspaper), Model United Nations, Orchestra, and Yearbook.[16]
SMCHS has a variety of Clubs and Service Organizations.[17] Some of which include:
Santa Margarita's Model United Nations program started in 1991. Santa Margarita's delegates have won numerous awards at the local, regional, state, national, and international levels. Most notably, Harvard MUN, UC Berkeley MUN, UC Santa Barbara MUN, Royal Russell School MUN, Duke MUN, and Beijing (BEIMUN) MUN in China. In September 2010, Santa Margarita Model UN hosted the largest one-day Model UN conference in the world, the South Orange County Model United Nations Conference, or SOCOMUN [1]. Over 1,200 students from 27 different schools, ranging from San Diego to San Francisco, attended the conference.
Santa Margarita Catholic High School's athletic teams, known as the Eagles, compete in the Trinity League. SMCHS also offers club sports including ice hockey,[22] roller hockey and equestrian. Since 1991, the Eagles have captured 145 league titles, 42 CIF titles, four Southern California Regional titles and four State Champion titles. In addition to those team successes, SMCHS has produced 51 individual CIF Champions and 38 CIF Players of the Year.[23] SMCHS recently hired new head football coach Harry Welch. On December 10, 2011 Santa Margarita captured its third CIF title in football.[24]Then on December 16th they played in the division 1 state championship game. They won it 42-37.
SMCHS has produced many distinguished athletes such as Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer, Olympic gold medalist Amy Rodriguez, Outland Trophy recipient Kris Farris, and recipient of the Walter Payton Award and Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Brian Finneran.[4]
SMCHS participates in 14 sports including:Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, Water Polo, Cross Country, Golf, Tennis, Wrestling, Basebal, *Softball[25] Lacrosse, Track and Field, and Swimming.