Montini Catholic High School

Montini Catholic High School
Address
19W070 16th Street Lombard, Illinois 60148-4797 United States
Coordinates	41°51′13″N 88°0′3″W / 41.85361°N 88.00083°W / 41.85361; -88.00083Coordinates: 41°51′13″N 88°0′3″W / 41.85361°N 88.00083°W / 41.85361; -88.00083
Information
Type	Private, Parochial, Co-educational
Motto	Signum Fidei (The Sign of Faith)
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s)	St. John Baptist De La Salle
Established	1966
Authority	Diocese of Joliet
Oversight
CEEB code	142663
President	James F. Segredo
Principal	Maryann O'Neill
Faculty	86
Grades	9–12
Gender	co-educational
Age range	13-18
Enrollment	700 (2014)
Average class size	20
Student to teacher ratio	14:3
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Maroon, Gold and White
Athletics conference	Suburban Christian Conference
Mascot	Bronco
Team name	Broncos
Accreditation	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
Publication	Musings (literary magazine)
Yearbook	Echoes
School fees	$475, Fr/Soph $575 Jr/Sr[2]
Tuition	$10,475[2]
Website	www.montini.org

Montini Catholic High School (often shortened to Montini) is a co-educational, college preparatory, high school, run by the Christian Brothers in Lombard, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois. The school was planned by the Christian Brothers in 1963. Pope Paul VI, whose name was Giovanni Battista Montini (John Baptist Montini), was elected to the Papacy that same year. In his honor, the Christian Brothers named the school Montini Catholic High School. Construction of the buildings took place in 1965 and 1966. In September 1966, Montini Catholic High school opened its doors to 217 freshmen. The first commencement exercises were held on June 1, 1970. Since then, Montini Catholic has graduated more than 6,000 students, over 98% of whom have gone on to college.^[3]

LaSallian tradition

John Baptist De La Salle, a French cleric, organized the Brothers of the Christian Schools (also known as the Christian Brothers) in France in 1682, an order dedicated solely to education. In the 300 plus years since then, the Christian Brothers have never lost sight of that singular mission, as the organization has grown to include secondary schools, colleges and universities in more than 80 countries.

John Baptist De La Salle was declared a saint by Pope Leo XIII in 1900, and was named patron saint of all Christian teachers by Pope Pius XII in 1950.

Renovations

The campus renovation initiative, begun in the fall of 2002, is called the Capital Campaign.^[4] It is divided into three phases addressing facility and campus improvements and growth to the school’s endowment fund. When completed, this Campaign will provide Montini students, as well as faculty and staff, excellent, state-of-the-art instructional and extracurricular facilities and a strong endowment fund.

Phase I of the Capital Campaign, construction of the West Wing, was completed in 2003. The West Wing contains the 300 Corridor, which added 8 new classrooms to the school and the Field House which has 3 full basketball courts, 18 hoops with 3 partitions, and 2 batting cages.

New Academic and Administrative Center

Inside 300 Corridor, West Wing

Completed Duffy Memorial Staudium Field Turf

Phase II of the Capital Campaign, demolition of Dominic Hall and construction of an Academic and Administrative Center, was completed in 2009. The new 32,000 square foot building consists of six new science laboratories, a technology driven learning resource center, guidance center, administrative center, and two student washrooms. Also at this time, the auditorium was remodeled and improvements were made to the sound, lighting, electrical, and audio visual systems. The cafeteria was also remodeled and improved upon with the construction of a new food serving area and a new storage area, along with the painting of a new student mural, the purchase of new cafeteria tables and chairs. New trophy cases and an audio visual system were installed. A new Campus Ministry Center was constructed. Additionally, the athletic corridor also experienced a major facelift with the construction of a new concession and storage facility, the installation of irrigation systems, scoreboards for all the athletic fields, and field grading and fencing improvements.^[5]

Phase III of the Capital Campaign is the last Phase. It was begun in the summer of 2010 and should be completed by the year 2016. It consists of six initiatives: construction of a New Music Wing and a Student Physical Fitness center, renovation of the Duffy Memorial Stadium, Cafeteria, and 22 classrooms, and improvements to the Baseball Field. The renovation of Duffy Memorial Stadium which consisted of adding lights, artificial turf, new viewing stands, a six-lane all-weather running surface, and a long jump pit, a triple jump pit, and pole vault pad was completed in the summer of 2011 in time for the fall sport playing schedule.^[6]

Academics

Students and teacher using computer in the New Learning Resource Center

Montini Catholic High School provides a college preparatory curriculum as comprehensive and rigorous as any high school can offer. With annual ACT scores well above the national average, 98% of graduating seniors continue their education at the college of their choice. In recent years those choices have included some of America’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning, such as Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Michigan, Brown, Purdue, Marquette, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and many more.

All students take the ACT Exam. The top 25% of the class of 2011 earned an average ACT score of 29. Seventy-five percent of students earned an average ACT score of 25 and all exceeded the State and National Average at 23. Annually over 80% of Montini’s Advanced Placement (AP) students receive college credit. In the last seven years, the Montini Catholic High School Math Team has finished in the top 10 in the 2A Division Math Competition in the State of Illinois.

The faculty for the 2011-12 school year consists of 52 men and women whose average teaching experience is 17 years. Seventy-three percent have advance degrees with 37 having master's degrees and 5 having Ph.D.'s.^[7]

The school year is divided into two 18-week semesters. Mid-semester grades are issued at 9 weeks. The school day consists of 8 class periods of 48 minutes each.

Athletics

Montini is a member of the Suburban Christian Conference for girls and boys sports, the Chicago Catholic League for boys football, and the Illinois High School Association. Teams are stylized as the Broncos and Lady Broncos respectively.

The school offers a number of fall, winter, spring and year-round sports for both girls and boys. Sports offerings include:

Athletic accomplishments

The Broncos football team began its current streak of state playoff appearances in 1993, making it to the semifinals that year. The first football state championship was won during the 2004 season, with a 44-7 victory over Coal City in the Class 4a title game. The Broncos and Lady Broncos regularly compete for regional, sectional, and state titles in a number of different sports. Since the year 2000, Montini has shown extraordinary success with its Girls Basketball, Dance, Boys Football, and Boys Wrestling teams. The school also maintains competitive teams in every other sport that it fields. High finishes and state titles within the IHSA listed below:^[8]

Boy Baseball

Boys Football

Boys Track & Field

Boys Wrestling

Girls Basketball

Girls Softball

Girls Cross Country

The school's dance team, The Broncettes, have won two consecutive state Pom titles and over 15 state titles in the IDTA dating back to 1994.^[9]

Notable alumni

• Scott Sobkowiak, Former MLB player (Atlanta Braves)
• Chase Beebe, Former bantamweight Champion World Extreme Cage Fighting
• Jordan Westerkamp, Athlete, Wide Receiver Nebraska Cornhuskers
• Jaleel Johnson, Athlete, Defensive Lineman Minnesota Vikings
• Victor Ciardelli, CEO/Founder of Guaranteed Rate

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Montini Catholic High School (Lombard, Illinois).

• Official website

Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet
Bishops	Ordinaries Martin Dewey McNamara Romeo Roy Blanchette Joseph Leopold Imesch J. Peter Sartain R. Daniel Conlon Auxiliaries Raymond James Vonesh Daniel Kucera Daniel L. Ryan Roger Kaffer James Edward Fitzgerald Joseph M. Siegel
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus Parishes St. Mary's Church, Beaverville
Education	Higher Education Benedictine University Lewis University University of St. Francis High Schools Benet Academy, Lisle Bishop McNamara High School, Kankakee IC Catholic Prep, Elmhurst Joliet Catholic Academy, Joliet Montini Catholic High School, Lombard Providence Catholic High School, New Lenox St. Francis High School, Wheaton
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