Strake Jesuit College Preparatory

Strake Jesuit College Preparatory

"Men for Others"
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
"For the Greater Glory of God"
Motto of the Jesuits
,
Address
8900 Bellaire Boulevard
Houston, Texas
United States
Coordinates 29°42′29″N 95°32′23″W / 29.70809°N 95.53979°W / 29.70809; -95.53979Coordinates: 29°42′29″N 95°32′23″W / 29.70809°N 95.53979°W / 29.70809; -95.53979
Information
Type Private, all boys
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic, Jesuit
Patron saint(s) St. Ignatius of Loyola
St. Stanislaus Kostka
Established June 21, 1960 (June 21, 1960)
President Daniel K. Lahart
Principal Ken Lojo
Asst. Principal Jeff Johnson; Mark McNeil; Trip Norkus
Chaplain Flavio Bravo
Faculty 100
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 1023
Student to teacher ratio 10:1
Campus Urban
Campus size 52 acres
Color(s) Green and White          
Mascot Fighting Crusaders
Nickname Crusaders
Accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools [1]
Average SAT scores 1915[2]
Publication Plume (literary magazine)
Newspaper Magis
Yearbook The Crusader
Tuition $18,400
Dean of Students Dan Healey
Admissions Director, Thomas Beverick
Athletics Director, Mike Crowley
Website strakejesuit
Carlos Setien's Untitled on Strake campus

Strake Jesuit College Preparatory ("Strake Jesuit" or "Strake") is a Jesuit, college-preparatory school for males, grades 9-12, in the Chinatown area and in the Greater Sharpstown district of Houston, Texas.[3] It is located in proximity to Alief.[4]

With over 900 students, it is the largest Catholic high school in Houston. It boasts such a large collection of art installed around the campus, both inside and out, that the City of Houston has classified the campus as an art museum,[5] for which the school maintains a full-time curator. The school is located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. It is one of only two private schools in Texas that are members of the University Interscholastic League (the other being Dallas Jesuit), which allows it to compete athletically against the largest public schools.

History

The school was founded by Father Michael Kenelley, S.J.,[6][7] on June 21, 1960, in land on what was then the undeveloped, west side of Houston.

During a three-year period until 1993, the number of applications submitted to Strake Jesuit doubled. Fr. Brian Zinnamon, the school President, said during the year that there were two times the number of applicants compared to available spots. At the time, tuition was $4,700 per year, described by Stephanie Asin of the Houston Chronicle as being steep.[4] Father Zinnamon said, "Certainly what is going on in the public schools is a factor. Parents are choosing a safe environment where they know their children are getting Christian values."[4]

Athletics

The "Fighting Crusaders" were one of many Catholic high schools that originally competed in the now defunct T.C.I.L. (Texas Christian Interscholastic League). The league began in 1935 under the direction of Albert Mitchell (then principal of Central Catholic, San Antonio). Strake Jesuit's last year of competition in the T.C.I.L. concluded when the league came to a close in the 1999-2000 athletic season with the baseball team capturing the final T.C.I.L State Championship in any sport. From the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2003, the Crusaders competed as an independent in all sports until their admission into the University Interscholastic League (U.I.L.). They began competing in their listed district of 19-5A in the fall of 2003. The Crusader's own numerous district, regional and state championships in their various sports that date back from over the past 50 years in their old league. The Crusaders also won several district and regional championships along with a state championship, state runners-up, and state semi-finalists within the past eight years in the U.I.L. The "Fighting Crusaders" athletic department provides 13 different programs which include: baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, water polo, and wrestling.

Rivalry

Despite moving to the U.I.L., Strake Jesuit still maintains its rivalry with Saint Thomas High School (STH). Since 1964 Strake has a record of 23-27-1 against STH.[8] Another less noted rivalry is the one between Strake and Dallas Jesuit, in which Strake has gone 10-14 since 1970.

Cross country / track

The Cross Country Team won 22 straight TCIL State titles starting in 1972.

Spiritual life

Retreat & Leadership Center

Strake has a spacious country retreat with a lake and woods to accommodate various forms of retreats, and other groups. It includes a chapel and dining room each seating 125 people, and adjacent to the dining room a conference hall plus 8 rooms for break-out sessions. Near the chapel is a large, octagonal building in a wooded setting, for quiet reflection. There are 8 cabins spread over the grounds, each with 5 double bedrooms. There is also a bunkhouse, in proximity to the recreation area which includes a 400,000 square foot covered pavilion. A guest house completes the facility.[9][10]

Retreats

St. Ignatius statue at Strake

All students and members of faculty and staff take part in a retreat at some point during the school year. Besides taking part in their own retreat, many teachers are involved in retreats for students.

Freshmen participate in a three-day retreat, led by juniors and seniors who spend several months in preparation. Sophomores are responsible for the "nuts and bolts" dimension of the retreat such as errands, meals, and cleaning. Freshmen gather in homes, spend a night at school, visit nursing homes, and engage in various activities designed to promote spiritual growth and class bonding.

Sophomores take part in a retreat with their fathers or father-figures. The purpose of the sophomore retreat is to develop the relationship between father and son as well as the spirituality of the student.

Juniors have a choice of retreat. One is a three-day retreat experience, the first day of which is spent with the disadvantaged members of the Houston area. Afterwards, they spend two days reflecting on the experience, upon the brokenness of the world, and the meaning of Jesus' claim to be present in the poorest. The other option is focused on prayer; this began in 1996 after requests from students over 2–3 years. During this three-day residential retreat, juniors discover and experience a variety of prayer methods such as meditation, praying with music, through nature, and the psalms, and using such things as play-dough as creative prayer.

Seniors participate in a four-day Kairos Retreat, during which they, together with faculty, share their lives, particularly those moments when they have experienced God, emptiness, joy, pain, or healing. The purpose is to see how the Spirit of God is present in all aspects of life. There is a special session of this retreat each year open also to juniors, often referred to as "Junior Kairos".[11]

Community service

Catholicism embraces a preferential option for the poor, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that a healthy spirituality is expressed in a concern for the social aspects of life.[12] Strake Jesuit shares this understanding and was one of the first Catholic schools in Texas to require its students to engage in community service in order to graduate.

Freshmen visit nursing homes, sophomores collect Christmas gifts for underprivileged children, juniors engage in various projects, and seniors are required to spend 100 hours of community service in such places as soup kitchens, camps for special needs children, and missions abroad. Seniors are also required to produce a reflection paper on the experience.[13]

The Strake Jesuit website states: "Strake Jesuit College Preparatory is grounded in the conviction of St. Ignatius of Loyola that God is to be found in all things. All activities of the school, from biology to band, from football to forensics, have this objective: to find God in all of God's wondrous creation."[14] It is the declared goal of the Pastoral Department to foster this aim.

Notable alumni

Entrance to Strake Jesuit

Awards and honors

Strake Jesuit was recognized by the Texas ACT Council with the 2009 College Readiness Award for maintaining or increasing the number of students taking the ACT Assessment over the past five years and significantly increasing their level of achievement and college readiness.[16] Also, since the foundation of the Catholic High School Honor Roll in 2004 by the Cardinal Newman Society, this society has bestowed the following honors on Strake Jesuit: ranked among the top 50 Catholic High Schools in the United States in 2004,[17] 2005,[18] 2007,[19] 2008,[20] and 2010;[21][note 1] recognized for its academics in 2004,[22] 2005,[23] 2006,[24] and 2007;[25] and in 2004,[26] 2005,[27] and 2007[28] recognized for its civic education.[note 2]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Note that no list was compiled in 2009 and 2011.
  2. ↑ Note that no category leaders were named in 2008, 2010, and 2012.

References

  1. ↑ SACS-CASI. "SACS-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  2. ↑ Congratulations to the Class of 2013!
  3. ↑ "Chinatown." (Archive) Greater Sharpstown Management District. Retrieved on December 4, 2012. Map image, Archive
  4. 1 2 3 Asin, Stephanie. "GOING BY DIFFERENT BOOKS/More private institutions get the call". Houston Chronicle. August 8, 1993. Section C, Page 1. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  5. ↑ Strake Jesuit - Campus
  6. ↑ Pope, John (2011-01-11). "The Rev. Michael Kennelly, former Loyola University president, dies at age 96". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  7. ↑ "Past president of Loyola dies at age 96". Loyola University New Orleans. 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  8. ↑ Jenkins, Jeff. "GAME OF THE WEEK Strake to host rivalry game Crusaders favored over historic foes in opener of school's 50th." Houston Chronicle. August 19, 2010. Retrieved on July 23, 2011.
  9. ↑ R&L Center
  10. ↑ Map of Retreat Center
  11. ↑ Strake Jesuit - Retreats
  12. ↑ Catechism of the Catholic Church - PART 3 SECTION 2 CHAPTER 2 ARTICLE 7
  13. ↑ Strake Jesuit - Community Service
  14. ↑ Strake Jesuit - Spiritual Life
  15. ↑ http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/mobile/memberDisplay.cfm?memberID=419
  16. ↑ JESUIT RECEIVES 2009 COLLEGE READINESS AWARD FROM TEXAS ACT COUNCIL
  17. ↑ 2004 Catholic High School Honor Roll
  18. ↑ 2005 Catholic High School Honor Roll
  19. ↑ 2007 Catholic High School Honor Roll
  20. ↑ 2008 Catholic High School Honor Roll
  21. ↑ 2010 Catholic High School Honor Roll
  22. ↑ 2004 Leaders in Academics
  23. ↑ 2005 Leaders in Academics
  24. ↑ 2006 Leaders in Academics
  25. ↑ 2007 Leaders in Academics
  26. ↑ 2004 Leaders in Civic Education
  27. ↑ 2005 Leaders in Civic Education
  28. ↑ 2007 Leaders in Civic Education

External links

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