Saint Louis School

Saint Louis School
Memor Et Fedelis
Mindful and Faithful
Address
3142 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii, 96816-1579
 United States
Information
Type Private, All-Boys
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established 1846
Oversight Society of Mary
President Walter Kirimitsu
Principal Pat Hamamoto
Grades 612
Campus type Urban
Color(s) Red and Blue         
Team name Crusaders
Accreditation(s) Western Association of Schools and Colleges[1]
Newspaper 'The Collegian'
Yearbook 'The Crusader'
Website

Saint Louis School, located in the town of Kaimuki in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a historic Roman Catholic college preparatory school for boys founded in 1846 to serve the needs of early Hawaiian Catholics in the former Kingdom of Hawaii. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, it is currently affiliated with the Society of Mary, a religious order of brothers and priests called the "Marianists." Its most famous graduates are Saint Damien of Molokai (canonized Oct 2009) and the late Governor of Hawaii John A. Burns, credited with securing statehood and developing the modern State of Hawaii.

Contents

Establishment

Saint Louis School was originally located in Windward Oahu as the College of ʻĀhuimanu, founded by the Fathers of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 1846. During this time, Saint Damien of Molokai completed his training at the school and was ordained.[2] In 1881, it moved to downtown Honolulu, adjacent to Washington Place, the home of Liliuokalani, who would become Queen of Hawaii in 1891. When the school moved to downtown Honolulu, the school was called the College of Saint Louis, named after the patron saint of Louis Maigret, Bishop of Honolulu. The emblem for Saint Louis College can be seen above the door of the administration building of Chaminade University on the Chaminade/Saint Louis campus.

Marianists assumed control of the school and determined a need for the expansion of facilities to meet the needs of the burgeoning Hawaii Catholic population. Because of the Marianist core mission to educate regardless of ethnic, religious, or fiscal means, the Marianists purchased land in Kalaepōhaku, a hillside division of Honolulu's Kaimuki community to allow the school to better serve Hawaii. Kalaepōhaku opened in September 1928 as Saint Louis School.

Development

In 1949, Saint Louis School dropped lower grade levels one at a time and eventually became exclusively a high school serving grades 9, 10, 11 and 12. In 1980, grades 7 and 8 were reinstated. In 1990, grade 6 was reinstated and it joined grades 7 and 8 to become a separate middle school within Saint Louis School. Most recently, grade 5 was reinstated and added to the middle school.

Academics

Saint Louis School is fully accredited by the Western Catholic Education Association[1] (WCEA) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). It offers three distinct curricula that students and parents can choose from.

Athletics

Saint Louis School plays competitively in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) and the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association (HHSAA). Sometimes it fields members in the Pac-5, an alliance of Honolulu-area private academies.

Lacking professional sports teams in the state has made Hawaii high school teams extremely popular. Several generations of Hawaiian residents have become avid fans of Saint Louis School athletics, especially its football team. It has often been hailed by the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspapers as Hawaii's Team as it has played in prestigious invitational tournaments throughout the world. Whoever assumes the position of head football coach has over the years become a celebrity in the state.

Saint Louis School also fields teams in bowling, cross country, kayaking, tennis, water polo and volleyball in the fall. In winter it competes in canoe paddling, basketball, soccer, swimming and diving, riflery, tennis and wrestling. In spring it competes in baseball, golf, judo, tennis and track.

Notable alumni

Kim Coco Iwamoto, Hawaii Politician, first transexual from Saint Louis

See also

External links

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools". http://www.acswasc.org/directory_search.cfm. Retrieved 2009-08-04. 
  2. ^ Holy man: Father Damien of Molokai By Gavan Daws p.34