Benilde-St. Margaret's
Benilde-St. Margaret's | |
---|---|
Location | |
St. Louis Park, Minnesota, (Hennepin County) United States | |
Coordinates | 44°57′30″N 93°20′43″W / 44.95833°N 93.34528°WCoordinates: 44°57′30″N 93°20′43″W / 44.95833°N 93.34528°W |
Information | |
Type | Private, Day, College-prep |
Motto |
Pietas ∙ Veritas ∙ Scientia (Duty ∙ Truth ∙ Knowledge) |
Religious affiliation(s) | Christian |
Denomination | Catholic |
Patron saint(s) |
Saint Bénilde Romançon Saint Margaret of Scotland |
Established |
1907 (St. Margaret) 1956 (Benilde) |
Opened | 1974 (current school) |
President | Dr. Adam Ehrmantraut |
Principal | Dr. Susan Skinner |
Faculty | 95 |
Grades | 7–12 |
Gender | Coeducational |
Enrollment | 1,184 (2013) |
• Grade 7 | 134 |
• Grade 8 | 151 |
• Grade 9 | 219 |
• Grade 10 | 237 |
• Grade 11 | 229 |
• Grade 12 | 214 |
Average class size | 21.6 |
Student to teacher ratio | 11.4:1 |
Color(s) | Red and White |
Athletics | 26 varsity sports |
Athletics conference | Metro West Conference |
Mascot | Red Knight |
Nickname | Red Knights |
Accreditation | North Central Association of Colleges and Schools [1] |
Average ACT scores | 27 |
Newspaper | Knight Errant http://bsmknighterrant.org |
Yearbook | Sangraal |
Athletic Director | Jerry Pettinger |
Website | www.bsmschool.org |
Benilde-St. Margaret's is a Catholic, co-educational private prep school for grades 7–12 located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, that draws its over one thousand students from throughout the Twin Cities Metro Area. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
History
It is named after Saint Bénilde Romançon and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Benilde-St. Margaret's was originally a secondary school formed by a merger in 1974 between St. Margaret's Academy, a Catholic secondary school for girls in Minneapolis, and Benilde High School, a Catholic secondary school for boys in St. Louis Park. Its present building was originally that of Benilde High School.
St. Margaret's Academy
St. Margaret's was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1907 as St. Margaret’s Academy.[2] The campus for this all-girls school was located near the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis and included two mansions and a carriage house that had been built in the 1880s. By 1959 the old school had become inadequate in size – for every 100 girls accepted, about 200 were turned away. The Sisters of St. Joseph, who had anticipated such a problem, had purchased twenty-eight acres, and by 1960 a new school was built on Upton Avenue, near the Eloise Butler Wildflower Gardens and Wirth Park.
Benilde High School
The Brothers of the Christian Schools (informally known as the Christian Brothers), under the direction of Brother Mark Sullivan, built a boys' school in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park in 1956 because De La Salle (the first all-boys Catholic high school in the west metro) was full.
Merger
Both schools operated independently until the 1970s, at which time enrollment began to decline and costs began to escalate. In 1974, the St. Margaret’s facility was sold to the Minneapolis school system, and the merged Benilde-St. Margaret's School opened its door at the former Benilde High School site. One hundred ninety students graduated in its first class.
The school has undergone two major additions since the merger; a new gym in 1986, along with a new chapel, theatre, arts center, and classroom wing in 2001.
Academics
BSM Statistics | |||
---|---|---|---|
BSM Average | MN Average | National Average | |
ACT | 26 | 21.1 | |
SAT Critical Reading | 585 | 496 | |
SAT Math | 612 | 514 | |
SAT Writing | 579 | 488 |
Junior High School
In 1989, a junior high was added, and one hundred seventh- and eighth-graders were enrolled in the first year. Students receive laptops in order to do their work over the school year. As a "school within a school," the junior high exists to help seventh and eighth grade students develop their potential and make a successful transition from elementary to high school. The junior faculty and staff foster decision-making and responsibility in a nurturing atmosphere, and they provide a variety of spiritual, academic, and extracurricular opportunities for student involvement. The Junior High is in the same building as the high school.
Activities
The school competes in the Metro West Conference in the Minnesota State High School League. The school's newspaper is the Knight Errant. The Knight Errant has won several awards and the website, bsmknighterrant.org,[3] in 2009 received one of seven National Pace Maker Awards for progressive journalism. Speech is also quite popular, with 100 students participating in the season of 2009-2010.
Team State Championships | |||
---|---|---|---|
Season | Sport | Number of Championships | Year |
Fall | Soccer, Boys | 5 | 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2011, |
Soccer, Girls | 4 | 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 | |
Cross Country, Boys | 4 | 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 (Catholic State HS Champs) | |
Football, Boys[4] | 1 |
2016 | |
Winter | Alpine Skiing, Boys | 1 | 2004 |
Alpine Skiing, Girls | 1 | 2000 | |
Hockey, Girls | 2 | 2002, 2004 | |
Dance Team, Girls | 9 | 1985, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017 | |
Hockey, Boys | 3 | 1999, 2001, 2012 | |
Basketball, Girls | 2 | 2006, 2010 | |
Basketball, Boys | 4 | 1963 & 1964 (Catholic State HS Champs), 2008 | |
Spring | Golf, Boys | 2 | 1963 (Catholic State HS Champs), 2003 |
Lacrosse, Boys | 3 | 2007, 2010, 2011 | |
Total | 59 |
Individual State Championships | |||
---|---|---|---|
Season | Sport | Number of Championships | Year |
Fall | Swimming & Diving, Girls | 10 | 1978, 1978, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2002, 2003, 2003, 2004, 2004 |
Tennis, Girls | 1 | 2005 | |
Cross Country, Boys | 2 | 1999, 2000 | |
Winter | Wrestling | 18 | 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1967, 2010, 2013 |
Spring | Golf, Boys | 1 | 2003 |
Track & Field, Boys | 7 | 2000, 2000, 2001, 2001, 2010, 2011, 2011 | |
Total | 48 |
Notable alumni
- Andrew Alberts, NHl Vancouver Canucks
- Mark T. Vande Hei, A NASA Astronaut
- Devean George, NBA Los Angeles Lakers.
- Sean Lumpkin, NFL New Orleans Saints.
- Larry Mikan, basketball player for NCAA DI Minnesota Golden Gophers, and NBA Cleveland Cavaliers[5]
- Father H. Timothy ("Tim") Vakoc – the first U.S. military chaplain to die from wounds received in the Iraq War.
- Jordan Taylor, NCAA University of Wisconsin-Madison 2008 Mr. Basketball award winner. Led the Badgers to the Sweet 16 in 2011 March Madness
- Michael Fabiano, professional opera singer
- David Carr, journalist
- Erik Madigan Heck, photographer, founding editor of Nomenus Quarterly
- Grant Besse (2013) - Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey, 2013 Mr Hockey Award, drafted by the Anaheim Ducks
- Will Steger (1962), Polar Explorer, Author
References
- ↑ Institution Summary, AdvancED, Retrieved 2012-07-08
- ↑ Benilde-St. Margaret's School Homepage, History of Benilde-St.Margaret's Archived February 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ http://www.bsmknighterrant.org
- ↑ Frederick, Jace (November 26, 2016). "Benilde-St. Margaret's Wins First State Title Without Star Running Back". www.twincities.com. Pinoeer Press. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
- ↑ Faces In The Crowd, Sports Illustrated, March 1, 1965, Accessed October 2, 2011.