Holy Names Academy
| Holy Names Academy | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
| 728 21st Avenue East Seattle, Washington, (King County), 98112 United States | |
| Coordinates | 47°37′34.19″N 122°18′14.94″W / 47.6261639°N 122.3041500°WCoordinates: 47°37′34.19″N 122°18′14.94″W / 47.6261639°N 122.3041500°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Private, All-Girls |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1880 |
| CEEB Code | 481100 |
| Principal | Elizabeth Swift |
| Vice principal | Kim Dawson, April Little |
| Faculty | 50 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 690 (2013-2014) |
| Student to teacher ratio | 14:1 |
| Color(s) | Maroon and grey |
| Athletics conference | Seattle Metropolitan League (WIAA 3A classification) |
| Mascot | Cougar |
| Team name | Cougars |
| Accreditation(s) | Northwest Association of Independent Schools, AdvancED |
| Newspaper | 'The Dome' |
| Yearbook | 'Excalibur' |
| Tuition | $13,572 (2013-2014) |
| Affiliation | Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary |
| Admissions Director | Eileen Denby |
| Athletic Director | Lacey London |
| Website | Official Website |
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Holy Names Academy is a Catholic private all-girls college-preparatory high school located on the east slope of Seattle's Capitol Hill at 21st Avenue East between E. Aloha and E. Roy Streets. It is the oldest continually operating school in Washington state. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, the school has been named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education four separate times. Holy Names Academy emphasizes academics, community service, ethics, and leadership. The school sends many of its students to highly selective universities every year. Of the graduating class of 2013, 100% were admitted to 197 different colleges and universities, from which the graduates have chosen to attend 88, located in 23 states, the District of Columbia, and two foreign countries. More than 88% of the Class of 2013 earned merit-based college scholarships collectively valued at $28.4 million. For 2013-2014, Holy Names Academy has enrolled 690 students. The student-teacher ratio is currently 14:1, and the average class size 22. Tuition is $13,572 for the 2013-2014 school year. Approximately 32% of current students receive financial aid. Of the enrollment, 33% are students of color. More than 26% of current students are of a faith other than Roman Catholic.
History
Holy Names Academy was founded on November 9, 1880, by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. Its original location was in two buildings at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Seneca Street in downtown Seattle. In 1884, the school moved to 7th Avenue and S. Jackson Street in the International District. Construction of the present building in the Capitol Hill neighborhood began in 1906 and was completed in 1908. The architect of the neo-classical-style, domed building was Albert Breitung; its design has been carefully preserved over the years with few exterior changes. The adjacent Jeanne Marie McAteer Lee Gymnasium was built in 1990 on what was previously tennis courts; an atrium connects the gym to the main building.
Holy Names Academy originally incorporated a boarding school and grade school, and a normal school was added in 1908. The normal school closed in 1930, the grade school in 1963, and the boarding school in 1967.
Mission Statement
Every aspect of the school is guided by the Holy Names Academy Mission and Philosophy Statement as last revised by the Board of Trustees in 2003:
"Holy Names Academy, the oldest continually operating school in the State of Washington, was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary on November 9, 1880. This Catholic secondary school serves young women of diverse ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds. The unique character of a Holy Names education is achieved in various complementary ways.
"We teach, model, and promote Gospel values. This heritage is transmitted to students through school policies, academic programs, and co-curricular activities that encourage personal growth and respect for others. The Academy seeks to prepare young women for lives of leadership and loving service through excellent academic offerings and meaningful student life programs. The academic curriculum challenges students to develop their scholastic capabilities and individual talents through a four-year program of college preparatory courses. An extensive student leadership program offers multiple avenues for participation.
"Holy Names Academy seeks to prepare educated women for a life that proclaims the love of God for the human person. Instructed in an atmosphere that fosters the formation of a conscious ethical stance, young women who graduate from the Academy will discover the power that is theirs to direct their lives in peace, justice, and mercy––a manner befitting those whose faith inspires others. We pledge ourselves to preserve the lasting values of our tradition while we design the Academy of the future."
Academics: Advanced Placement
Holy Names Academy is strongly committed to offering its students broad access to Advanced Placement courses and national testing in a wide range of subjects. All students enrolled in an AP class are required to take the corresponding AP exam. In May 2013, 858 AP exams in 16 subjects were proctored to 400 candidates at Holy Names Academy, including 77% of all students enrolled in Grades 10, 11, and 12. Of students tested in 2013, 91% earned a grade of 3 or higher on at least one AP exam. Of the grades received, 86% were a 3 or higher, and 56% were a top grade of 4 or 5. In 2013, the College Board awarded 202 AP Scholar designations to 193 Holy Names Academy students, including nine National AP Scholars and 80 AP Scholars with Distinction. Among the Class of 2013, 96% earned a score of 3 or above on one or more exams during their years at HNA, and 77% received an AP Scholar designation.
Other Academic Information
The graduation requirements from Holy Names Academy include four years of English, three years of Mathematics, two years each of International Language, Laboratory Science, and Social Studies, at least one year of a Fine Arts subject, one and a half years of Physical Education, and three years of elective subjects chosen from among all the various departments. The curriculum also requires four years of Religion, covering the topics of world cultures, scripture literature, morality/service, and contemporary problems.
Student Life and School Spirit
Over 40% of students hold leadership positions during their years at HNA, including service on the Associated Student Body, Campus Ministry & Community, or Sport & Spirit. Leadership positions also include service as Class Officers and Representatives, Club Officers, Athletic Team Captains, Peer Mentors, and Student Ambassadors. There are more than 40 student clubs, ranging from History Bowl and the Global Issues Club to the Harry Potter Club. A Multicultural Student Union provides venues for the 33% of enrollment who are students of color, including the Black Student Union, Asian/Pacific Islander Focus Group, and El Movimiento de Mujeres Hispanas. A National Honor Society is active, as are competitive teams in Speech and Debate. HNA often pairs with O'Dea High School, an all-boys Catholic school also located in Seattle, for social events including dances such as Homecoming and Winter Ball, though the Academy hosts its own Junior and Senior proms. In addition, Holy Names Academy hosts its own homecoming.
Students at Holy Names Academy demonstrate school spirit by wearing their school colors to athletic games, as well as their class colors. These class colors are worn especially on Class Spirit days. The 9th-grade students are always green, and the rising sophomore class adopts the color of the previous year's seniors, which they keep until their own graduation.
Each color corresponds to a name. The names are as follows:
Green: (voted on by the 9th grade at the beginning of the year)
Yellow: Cadets
Blue: Pipers (formerly orange)
Red: Skippers
Athletics
Holy Names Academy fields highly competitive teams in 13 sports, and nearly 95% of current students participate in at least one during their years at the Academy. In the fall, crew, volleyball, soccer, cross country, and golf are offered. Basketball, gymnastics, and swimming are the winter sports. In the spring, lacrosse, golf, softball, crew, tennis, track, and Ultimate Frisbee are offered. Teams in 10 of the 13 HNA sports compete in the 3A-level Seattle Metropolitan League (or Metro League); crew, lacrosse, and Ultimate Frisbee are non-league, club sports. In each athletic season, at least one non-cut sport is offered: crew and cross country in the fall, swimming in the winter, track and crew in the spring. Ultimate Frisbee was offered for the first time at the school in spring 2012.
For the entire 2012-2013 school season, HNA teams collectively won the Seattle Metro League's All Sports Trophy for the sixth consecutive year.
Since 1996, Holy Names Academy sports teams have won:
• 11 State Team championships through the Washington Interscholastic Activities Asssociation (Basketball, Golf, Soccer, Swimming, Track)
• 19 Sea-King District 2 championships (Basketball, Golf, Softball, Swimming, Track)
• 50 Metro League championships (Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Track, Volleyball)
• 15 Washington State Team Academic championships
Holy Names Academy is one of only two high schools in the Pacific Northwest states to offer crew (rowing) as a full-fledged, interscholastic sport. Since 1982, the crew program has qualified boats to compete 13 times at the USRowing Youth Invitational National Championships and 14 times at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston.
Theatre and Music
Every year Holy Names Academy performs theater productions for the students and the community. In the fall, a musical is produced; in the winter, a play. The New Works Festival, in the spring, consists of one-act plays and short films written, directed, acted, and produced by students. Advanced, state-of-the-art lighting equipment and software were installed in the school's auditorium in 2011.
Music ensembles include a concert choir, vocal ensemble, jazz band, chamber ensemble and orchestra, which give at least two concerts per year, travel to competitions, and perform at school events. The school provides students with in-house music recording and production studios, with editing software.
Awards and recognition
During the 1984-85, 1990–91, 1995–96 and 2001-02 school years, Holy Names Academy was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[1] the highest award an American school can receive.[2][3]
As of 2007, the school was one of only five schools nationwide to be honored as a Blue Ribbon School on four separate occasions.[4] In 2012, Seattle Business Magazine named Holy Names Academy the "Best Non-Profit Company to Work for" in Washington state.[5] Also in 2012, the Puget Sound Business Journal awarded Holy Names Academy the first-place gold medal in the medium-size businesses category of the magazine's annual competition, Washington’s Best Workplaces 2012.[6] In 2008, Washington CEO Magazine chose Holy Names Academy as one of the best 100 companies to work for in Washington state.
References
- ↑ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
- ↑ CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
- ↑ Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
- ↑ Berger, Susan. "School gets 4th Blue Ribbon: Carmel Catholic is only one in state honored this year", Chicago Tribune, October 10, 2007. Accessed November 1, 2007. "Carmel also received the Blue Ribbon Award in 1985, 1996 and 2002. Only four other high schools nationwide have won the award four times."
- ↑ Seattle Business, July 2012: 100 Best Companies To Work For: Non-Profit Companies
- ↑ Puget Sound Business Journal: Washington's Best Workplaces 2012
External links
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