St. Francis Preparatory School

St. Francis Preparatory School
Address
6100 Francis Lewis Boulevard
New York City (Fresh Meadows, Queens), New York, 11365
 United States
Information
Type Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic;
Franciscan
Established 1858
Principal Br. Leonard Conway
Faculty 137
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 2750 [1]  (2008)
Average class size 40
Color(s) Red and blue         
Fight song On For Ol' St Francis
Mascot Terrier
Nickname Prep
Team name Terriers
Rival Holy Cross High School (Flushing)
Accreditation(s) Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools [2]
Publication The Little Portion Literary Magazine
Newspaper 'The Seraph'
Yearbook 'San Fran'
Tuition $7,250 (2010-2011 school year)
Alumni Over 25,000
Dean of Students Theodore Jahn
Admissions Director Theodore Jahn
Athletic Director Sal Fischetti
Website http://www.sfponline.org/

St. Francis Preparatory School, commonly known as St. Francis Prep, is a private, independent Catholic college preparatory school in the Fresh Meadows neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. It is the largest non-diocesan Catholic high school in the United States.[3] St. Francis is run by the Franciscan Brothers, who maintain a residence on the top floor of the school. The school has a student body of about 2,750 students and graduates between 600 and 700 students annually. Under the college preparatory curriculum, over 99 percent of graduating seniors continue on to a higher education.

Contents

History

St. Francis Preparatory opened in 1858 as St. Francis Academy, a small all-boys high school on 300 Baltic Street in Brooklyn, New York.[3] It took its current name in 1935, then moved to a larger facility in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1952.[4] The school moved to its current location in Fresh Meadows, Queens in 1974 when it acquired the facility that formerly housed Bishop Reilly High School, a co-educational Catholic high school. The school began admitting female students that same year.[4] There are currently plans to add a three-story addition to the rear of the existing building.[5] The program will support students interested in the arts.

Recognition

St. Francis Prep was recognized by the U.S. News & World Report as an "Outstanding American High School" and is consistently ranked as one of the top high schools in the country.[4]

2009 swine flu outbreak

On April 24, 2009, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene dispatched a team of investigators to the school after 150 students complained of symptoms consistent with swine flu.[6] Several of the students had recently traveled to Mexico.[7] Eight of the New York school cases were said to be "probable" swine flu by New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden on April 25. On April 26 in a 3:00 PM EDT advisory the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that the Queens cases are indeed associated with the H1N1 virus.[8] The students suffered only mild symptoms, and all have since recovered.[9] On April 27 federal officials confirmed 20 new cases.[10]

Co-curricular activities and athletics

St. Francis Prep has a rivalry with Holy Cross High School, fueled particularly by their football teams. Known as the "Battle of the Boulevard" due to the two schools being located only 2 miles apart on Francis Lewis Boulevard,[11] the rivalry between the Prep Terriers and the Holy Cross Knights has been called "arguably the greatest rivalry in New York City football."[12]

The St. Francis Prep girl's tennis team has been undefeated for 12 consecutive years, making them 11 time CHSAA champions. In 2011 the St. Francis Prep Varsity Handball team won their 9th consecutive CHSAA championship (with an undefeated season). In 2011 their Junior Varsity Handball team won their 8th consecutive undefeated championship, (that being their 5th perfect season since 2003).

Other teams include:

Co-curricular clubs include:

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "St. Francis Preparatory School Online". Sfponline.org. http://www.sfponline.org/sfp_home.asp. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  2. ^ MSA-CSS. "MSA-Commission on Secondary Schools". http://www.css-msa.org/search.php/. Retrieved 2009-05-27. 
  3. ^ a b Gustafson, Anna (November 28, 2008). "Students, Faculty Reflect on 150 Years of St. Francis Prep". The New York Daily News. http://www.nypost.com/seven/11282008/news/regionalnews/queens/students__faculty_reflect_on_150_years_o_147506212.htm. 
  4. ^ a b c "About St. Francis Preparatory School". SFPonline.org. http://www.sfponline.org/aboutsfp.html. 
  5. ^ Rhoades, Liz (December 4, 2008). "St. Francis Prep readies building expansion plan.". Queens Chronicle. http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=2731&dept_id=574908&newsid=20213829. Retrieved 2009-01-13. 
  6. ^ Trapasso, Clare (2009-04-25). "150 kids sick at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens". Daily News (New York, New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/04/25/2009-04-25_150_kids_sick_at_queens_school.html. Retrieved 2009-04-25. . Note: The Daily News article is misleading about the infections at other schools. See this April 17 WCBS-TV article, which reports the illness at one of the schools was norovirus, not influenza, and this April 21 Newsday article, which reports the illness at the other school was identified as a common form, not a new form, of influenza.
  7. ^ Anahad O'Connor (April 24, 2009). "Swine Flu Fears at a Private School in Queens". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/nyregion/25sick.html?_r=1&ref=americas. Retrieved 2009-04-26. 
  8. ^ Staff Writer (April 26, 2009). "U.S. declares swine flu public health emergency". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30398682/. Retrieved 2009-04-26. 
  9. ^ Staff Writer (April 26, 2006). "CDC: 8 New York students have swine flu". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/26/swine.flu.ny/. Retrieved 2009-04-26. 
  10. ^ "73 cases of swine flu confirmed; hundreds more feared". CNN. April 27, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/27/swine.flu/index.html. Retrieved April 27, 2009. 
  11. ^ Samuel, Ebenezer (October 7, 2008). "St. Francis Prep Cruises Past Holy Cross in Battle of the Boulevard". The New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/high_school/2008/10/07/2008-10-07_st_francis_prep_cruises_past_holy_cross_.html. 
  12. ^ "Live Blog: Holy Cross-St. Francis Prep Football". Five Boro Sports. http://www.fiveborosports.com/ssp/news?news_id=186. 
  13. ^ "Patti Ann Browne '83". St. Francis Preparatory Alumni. http://alumni.sfponline.org/?BrownePattiAnne. Retrieved 7 February 2010. 
  14. ^ "JackMyersLunchAtMichaels.com - CBS' Julie Chen: Unique Blend of Cultural Influences Motivates Big Brother Host". JackMyers.com. September 21, 2007. http://www.jackmyers.com/commentary/lunch-at-michaels/9918752.html. Retrieved 2009-01-13. 
  15. ^ "Peter Facinelli's Twitter account". December 16, 2009. http://twitter.com/peterfacinelli/status/6740640552. Retrieved December 17, 2009. 
  16. ^ "New York City Council: District 26 - Eric N. Gioia". New York City Council. http://council.nyc.gov/d26/html/members/home.shtml. Retrieved 3 December 2009. 
  17. ^ "Dan Henning - Miami Dolphins". Miami Dolphins official site. http://www.miamidolphins.com/content/dan-henning. Retrieved 7 February 2010. 
  18. ^ "Hall of Famers: Vince Lombardi". Pro Football Hall of Fame. http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?player_id=132. Retrieved 7 February 2010. 
  19. ^ "Frank Serpico '54". St. Francis Preparatory Alumni. http://alumni.sfponline.org/?SerpicoFrank. Retrieved 7 February 2010. 
  20. ^ Newell, Kevin. "The Joe Torre Story". Scholastic Corporation. http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=7081. Retrieved 2009-01-07. 

External links